Kathleen Madigan

Short, Irish, Catholic (duh), and funny as hell. I was surprised when I saw Kathleen Madigan on Last Comic Standing, thinking she was too famous for a reality competition. I've seen her on Comedy Central and she is a regular on XM's Laugh USA.

I'll be honest: at first, I didn't like her much. Can't place why, exactly. Maybe she was too irreverent ("I'm Catholic, so I don't read the Bible."). Maybe it was her voice. Maybe it was the way she talked about Mexicans.

But she's right-- the priest isn't married, so the least he can do is give the rest of us a book report once a week! And she's from the Midwest-- I couldn't make it through the first half-hour of Fargo, and by comparison her accent isn't so bad. And really-- she's actually pointing out how silly we are as a country about the "dreaded mexicans" who take our jobs and whatnot.

Isn't that the point-- that we learn how to laugh at how serious we're being? That we take issues that divide us, and unite over the abject stupidity of it all? It is possible to take issues seriously, but then take a moment to step back and take it not-so-seriously. The people who can't do that (and I know these people, and so do you) are very hard to be around.

Now that I am thinking of this upcoming holiday, filled with family, traditions, and the occasional drama, perhaps it is best to enter the situation focusing on what makes others laugh. The fact that they can at all is the best starting point. (Oh, and the New York radio station Q104.3 still plays "Alice's Restaurant" at noon on Thanksgiving Day. Tune in, stream live, or find it elsewhere for download. It is well worth the listen, and a tradition that should go on ad infinitum.)

Craptacular blog attendance

On the fact that I stopped writing...

I never thought I would have to wait this long in life to have a shitty year. Lost one job, spent countless hours looking for a new one, only to be disappointed at nearly every turn while at the new one. Met some awesome people along the way, but the crap economy forced me into redundancy. So it's been several months with no job-- still looking though. Finding ways to laugh has helped. Being the accidental Stay-at-Home Mom has helped. The humor streaming live from my childrens' mouths is probably the hottest ticket around.

Lost a dear family member this year. That's been rough. But my aunt (most credited with making our dearly departed's last months happy) has been a help to us all.

My experience with stand-up comedy these days is courtesy of XM Radio's Laugh USA (channel 151). Having kiddies in the car most of the time means that I am thankful the comedy is rather clean. There are some classics (Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart, and even the occasional Henny Youngman) as well as a lot of great modern comedians (Kathleen Madigan, Dane Cook, and Gabriel Iglesias). If I can find a good, local (cheap) comedy show, I'd be thrilled to attend.

And I got myself a Twitter account. Not sure why. But in a roundabout way, it got me back here. So I guess that's all good.

Ooooooohhh... too soon?

From theonion.com: 'Kennedy Curse' Claims Life Of 77-Year-Old Tumor-Riddled Binge-Drinker'

Seriously? I didn't like his politics, and anyone who knows me knows that. Annoyed critics suggested that maybe the man should be in the ground before stuff like this is published. But then.. doesn't it lose its potential comedic value? Does it even have comedic value?

This title refers to Adam Ferrara's bit about Abe and Mary Lincoln. Apparently Mary was pissed that the hubs wasn't taking her out anymore, and made him take her to the theater. Lincoln (according to Ferrara) grumbled that he "needed this like a hole in the head." There was a great combination of laughter and groaning. We can't make light of Lincoln's assassination, apparently. But Mel Brooks is a comic genius for making fun of Hitler in "The Producers." I find both of these examples hilarious, for the record.

One of the most marvelous aspects of comedy is its subjectivity. When everyone in the world has his or her own tastes, it is truly mind-boggling to conceive that many people can find the same thing makes them all laugh.... unless it doesn't.

A cookie without sugar is a cracker.

As a woman obsessed with stand-up, I nearly died when NBC created "Last Comic Standing." Many comics that I love have made their way through that show: DC Benny, Kathleen Madigan, Gabriel Iglesias. But one that really did it for me was Gary Gulman.

He is clever, he is intelligent, and best of all he's clean! He's like Bob Saget if there was more Danny Tanner in him. The most risque joke I've ever head from him has to do with "The Pill." "There's a pill that cures polio.... that's not The Pill." No agenda, no promotion of a personal outlook. Just a great balance of truth and timing.

Seriously, check out his reflection on his love of grapes and his hatred for grapefruit. I laugh because I say to myself, 'why didn't I think of that? It is perfectly true!'

(I'm unsure of the legality of posting his work here, but since I might just be shouting at air, here goes...)
On the abject hatred of grapefruit

He's a worker-- I learned this on Last Comic Standing, and when he toured with the infamous Dane Cook ("Tourgasm"). He keeps notebooks upon notebooks on his topics, writing until he has enough material to present. I believe I heard somewhere George Carlin was the same way. This makes a lot of sense, since this is probably why he doesn't have to rely on insults and crude language. It's like the old saying: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.

So here's to you, Gary Gulman-- a tall drink of water who truly is refreshing. I raise my cup of grapefruit-free fruit cocktail to you.

Live-- laugh!

I believe it was the late great George Carlin who observed that when a comic does well, they "kill" and when a comic does poorly, they "die." Hard to imagine, but it really does seem that comedy and laughter are really that important in human existence.

Why is comedy so important? Doesn't it seem trivial? Who's standing over a catatonic man in the street screaming, 'quick! Get Kathy Griffin over here!' Why aren't comedy clubs covered by health insurance (stick that in the Universal Healthcare public option, Obama!) Why does the class clown get in trouble, when he should be part of the Health curriculum? How many people are dying without laughter-- literally?

But it is important. Our existence is the result of emotions, if you'll follow my philosophical path. We are all defined by our experiences and our reactions to those experiences. It's not only what occurs around you, but your interaction and reaction to those occurances. So we must laugh; we must cry; we must be angry; we must be content.

In the words of a rather wise juggler I met several years ago: "We are here for a good time... not for a long time." I think of that statement often, and comedians, as a group, seem to really believe that. There's a Christian comedian who tells his audience, "Life is too short not to laugh; life is too long not to laugh." An interesting paradox, but clearly makes the point.

Getting Started

If I were writing my bio for a play program, it would begin as follows: "Sylvana Budesheim is not funny." It's true: not funny at all.

It all started when I tried to tell my friends stories that I thought were funny, and was met with the blank stare that indicated I shouldn't be done speaking. So I gave up on trying to be funny.. or I thought I had. In college, I met a guy who laughed at everything I said-- not because he was making fun of me, or trying to get in my pants. He thought I was genuinely funny. 'Maybe there's hope for this storyteller yet,' I thought to myself.

Remember that scene in Office Space? Not the one where they demolish the printer (although I'm sure it feels good to be a gangster). The one where the main character is asked what he would do if he didn't have to work. My answer is Stand-Up Comedy. If I could, I'd be on stage telling stories to uproarious laughter. This is where I remind you of the "not-funny" part of my personality. Snappy comebacks, scathing "after-the-fact" commentary-- that I can do. But it blows me away that people can formulate funny scenarios and offer unprompted commentary. As much as I consider it, there's no way I could do what they do.

You know what they say: "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach." My adaptation is "Those who can, joke; those who can't, discuss." I hope you'll read what I have to say. Maybe I'll come out of this a little funnier-- okay, a little funny. Maybe you will, too.