Splitsider

Yesterday, Michael Ian Black's wrote a blog post about his new book You're Not Doing It Right, in which he explains what it's like to feel that you're not doing it right.

I suspect there are many people out who feel as I used to, that everybody else has their shit figured out, that they are the only ones muddling through life with this intense feeling of incompetence, that any successes that have are accidental and any failures deserved.

And this week, in a fun and funny series of diary entries, New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake is writing and drawing about the shame of working while clothed [...]

"We’re all kind of using the same guests," said Jimmy Pardo of comedy podcast hosts, before announcing an upcoming Never Not Funny with guests Marc Maron, Todd Glass, Adam Carolla and Chris Hardwick. Just kidding! Further opinions are aired in this article about the seriousness of comedy podcasts, from John Hodgman's notion that podcasts can't rightfully be called comedy "when you’re weeping” to Pete Holmes' point that the vast array of content means that listeners can expect podcasts to suit their ever more specific needs. Now there's a fun thought experiment: what is your specific, personal dream podcast? Mine would be the male trio of Stella plus [...]

One of the benefits of being a comedian during an election year is that you get to rise above the vicious negativity of stump speeches and news soundbites and make your own poignant remarks about the general political culture. Interestingly enough, a large number of those “comedians being serious” moments this year had nothing to do with health care reform, the oil spill or the 2010 midterm elections. The comedy community not only took its own detached, satiric tone, it selected its own discussion topics. So here are 10 Moments Comedians Made Us Think in 2010.

Jumpin' jackrabbits! Comedy is a dangerous game, sonny boy; if you're not careful you could end up gettin' punched before the punchline. Ominous old-timey warnings aside, this article about the mob's influence on the post-Prohibition nightclub scene – and on comedian Allan Drake – is a crazy read. Imagine if comedy clubs today worked like this:

Southbound in Danville, Illinois, Sammy Shore had a similar experience. "I'm working and all of a sudden in the middle of my show – these guys get in an argument at the ringside table. Mob guys. Guy takes out a gun and shoots the other guy in the head! I picked up [...]

Are you less likely to go see live standup shows since the podcast boom? More likely to buy a standup comedy album? More likely to have dreams about being onstage and getting held-up by a fellow comedian in a ski mask who points a gun at you and shouts, "Comedy! Bang! Bang!"? Yes, implies this article about the new prevalence of comedy podcasts.

Listening to a live show, performed in front of an audience, now feels inevitably deflating — the energy off, the crowd response interruptive, the comic now working a crowd, instead of just working you. That’s the appeal of the podcast: the comedian is broadcasting straight [...]

Twitter is pretty ubiquitous these days. It seems like almost everyone's got an account and comedians seem to LOVE the free service. It's certainly got a lot going for it: it's rapidly growing in popularity, it's easier to maintain than a blog or website, and 140 characters seems to be just the right amount of space to squeeze in a good joke now and then. Additionally, if you've got a pretty substantial fan base (or you're trying to grow one), Twitter can be an easy way to stay in touch and interact with your fans.

With all sorts of funny people hopping online it can be tough to [...]

There's a lot of interesting stuff in this piece on David Wain — his movement between the mainstream and the esoteric, for one — but one especially interesting thread is the description of how his real-life stress gave him the idea for Wanderlust:

“You always fantasize about: Could I just pick up and completely do something else?” Mr. Wain said. “Who says you have to go to a job, and who says you have to earn money? Who says you have to have a bathroom with a door? All these things are societal assumptions, and how far can you go with that?”

This poor girl has the soul of a depressed, self-loathing 32-year-old comedian and the body of an adorable five-year-old girl. Slow down, kid! You are way too young to be having an existential crisis! If you're starting off life this neurotic, I can't imagine what you're going to be like once you're actually an adult trying to be a comedian. It'll either be a total disaster or you'll be the best comedian ever.