My tweets

• Fri, 15:04: Your Noose Is Gonna Break When I Am�There https://t.co/AI2sW75dLa http://t.co/kX4UgDqvIG
• Fri, 18:03: Photo: http://t.co/g0vUQfSlzd
• Fri, 18:51: Photoset: clarity-in-insanity: ungoliantschilde: ungoliantschilde: some kittens being kittens. *I posted... http://t.co/fXdzcqXqaw
• Fri, 18:53: Photoset: photinus: Your princess is here~ http://t.co/ip89VdVBxZ
• Fri, 18:57: So is Miyamoto Bowser Jr's biological mother, or did he just hatch the egg?
• Fri, 19:17: RT @burgerdrome: Love to read the titles of all these YouTube videos about Anita Sarkeesian http://t.co/wA5vwUdhuL
• Fri, 19:34: Photo: raspbeary: tell nintendo to hire me theyre missing out on tons of cash http://t.co/4qErouY4nO
• Fri, 19:35: Photo: asklucidfantasy: spoopy-haunter: He is the most adorable and loveable evil genius ever! DAMNIT... http://t.co/SvcKcRgKFe
• Fri, 19:35: Photo: sonicthehedgehog: Hedgehog Life. http://t.co/i6ERYhD1xK
• Fri, 19:41: Photoset: katanafatale: Try. http://t.co/a1L71B0Rig

( Read more... )

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City of Comedy

bethje and I did some things worth writing about in the past few days. On Wednesday, she asked me to look for Late Show tickets, and I believe the only day in September for which they were still available was the very next day. I guess people weren't able to get time off work or whatever with such little notice. I would have liked to have gone when someone I really admired was the guest, but we ended up getting the Vice President of the United States, which isn't too shabby. Beth had been to tapings of other television shows, but I never had. We went to the theater, where they stamped our hands and gave us numbers, then told us to come back in an hour or so. In the meantime, we ate at the Hello Deli, where Rupert Jee took the order. Beth told me she recently found out his parents were from China. I always kind of figured he was of Indian descent. Anyway, Beth had the Entertainment Weekly, which was turkey and pepper jack on sourdough; and I had the Arent Fox, with ham (although you could also get turkey), cheese, and pesto. I looked it up, and the name comes from a law firm and lobbying agency based in Washington. Weird thing to name a sandwich after, and it doesn't appear to be listed on the deli's website. It was quite good, though.

After we were seated in the theater, there was a warm-up comedian, then Stephen Colbert came out to take questions. Unfortunately, most of the questions were from people who wanted to get their picture taken with him. The Joe Biden interview turned out to be really sad, and it also ran long. I can't remember anything they cut aside from the part at the beginning where Biden's microphone wasn't working, but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that that isn't in the extended version either. The next guest was the CEO of Uber, and some guy in the balcony heckled him twice. His point was about taking away money from cab drivers, which is definitely valid, but this was very much not the proper time or place. This was cut from the broadcast, but unfortunately so were Colbert's jokes comparing Uber drivers to jazz musicians due to the guy's references to a "gig economy." That term doesn't sound all that positive to me, as it always struck me that one of the worst parts of working as an artist or entertainer was always having to look for work. I guess that's not entirely true for Uber drivers, but still. Coincidentally, I actually took an Uber car for the first time last night, because our friend and neighbor Tavie was willing to pay for it. I really wouldn't be able to justify the cost of either that OR a taxi if I could take the subway. The musical guest was Toby Keith, whom Colbert had inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. I'm not a fan of his, but it's not like he was excruciating to listen to either. We were in the third row from the back on the right side from the stage, and I doubt you can see us, but let us know if you do. I'm wearing a Super Mario Bros. T-shirt and glasses with dark blue frames. After the show, we had some food at the Steak & Shake next door. I tried a foot-long hot dog, which wasn't that great, but the bun was actually better than usual. I'm not sure why they call their burgers Steakburgers; I've had one before and they don't particularly taste like steak. Maybe it's just for the sake of the rhyme.

Friday's main event was seeing John Hodgman at the Bell House in Gowanus. I tried to take some pictures with my phone, but they didn't come out at all, so here are some that Tavie posted:

I still don't understand why he grew that mustache when he had such a youthful face before that, but he actually said during the show that it was because he'd basically given up. He told stories about his parents' summer cabin in western Massachusetts and his family's more recent vacations in Maine. While he's best known for making stuff up, I assume this was at least mostly true. I could really identify with one story he told, about how his dad told him that the dump to which they took the garbage was technically in a different municipality, so if someone there asked he should say he was staying with a family friend. The dump staff never asked, but he was afraid for years that they would, because he liked to follow the rules and figured he was incapable of lying. It's much the same way with me. I feel it worth mentioning that, over at my WordPress, I wrote about Frank Black's song about Jonathan Richman before attending the show, and Hodgman referenced both of them. He mentioned that Black Francis often stays in Massachusetts and has kids the same age as Hodgman's, and he played "Roadrunner" on the ukulele. Small world, isn't it? Or maybe I'm just drawn to a certain group of celebrities.