Thanks to Sidesplitter for the heads up!

So my thing lately has been punk rock comedy. I spent part of my weekend writing a comedy manifesto which is inspired by stuff like this. The rest of the week, I’ll be posting excerpts from the manifesto, and showing references to things that inspire or supplement the ideas. Hope you likes!

From an interview with the creator Jillian Mayer:

“I like to think that the short is structured like a joke or a throwaway YouTube video,” says 26-year-old Jillian Mayer, “but it also has serious art concerns behind it. This highbrow versus lowbrow dichotomy fuels a lot of the festival, and collaborators’ perception of Miami. There’s a savvy audience here, but it’s not as large as other major cities. So, one way of doing things here to draw the crowd that wants 2-D butt and gay jokes is to expose them to what appears to be a funny viral video but is actually video art.” Read the rest of this entry »

So my mom was featured on the My Parents Were Awesome website, run by the hilarious and talented Eliot Glazer, who just released a book of the same name, which you should buy because he is nice, and it’s good, and it’s a nice thing to do good stuff for nice people.  Especially when they are singlehandedly trying to make the internet a better place.

I am really happy that this photo exists, and is available for other people to see, but it also makes me sad, because I miss my mom (RIP), who seriously was awesome.  This photo is from when she was a junior model in Paris.  Or maybe from right before, when she went to CalArts.  Did you know that when she was 16 she applied to colleges because all of her older friends were doing that, and she thought it was a good idea, even though she was only a junior in high school?  When she got accepted (because her work was so awesome and she failed to mention her age) her high school (LaGuardia, where they made Fame!) was like WTF, so they struck a deal: if she successfully completed her freshman year of college, she’d get her high school diploma.  So she moved to LA at 17 and bought a car even though she couldn’t legally drive it.  I mean she drove it anyway though, ’cause you know, my mom was a badass.

So if you ever get bored at work, a fun thing to do is live chat the people who work at luxury condos and ask them info about the buildings.  If you click on the pic below, you’ll see where it starts to get crazy.  In a good way.

The other night I saw this documentary, which was fantastic. That said, it also made me incredibly sad. Not so much because they show Bill as essentially a loner, and a workaholic, but more because he is a benchmark of an era (or really many eras) of New York that no longer exists. This is the third film ¹ I’ve seen recently that touches apon a sort of Lonely New Yorkers theme, which seems to be my central occupation lately. Is it something about this city that does this to us, or is it just a basic function of the human condition? Either way the movie is really worth checking out. Happy Friday!

Oh and for those who have seen it, here’s an interesting interview with the director, Richard Press, about the making of the film.

Read the rest of this entry »

So my friend and colleague Laura Crescenti (designer of the infamous Fart Assessment Study) sent me this. Possibly because of the scientific elements involved, the graphic design component, or just because farts are funny. Either or, my love of farts is your gain. Enjoy.

I went to a dance party in Philly and they played this track which is by A JAPANESE ORCHESTRA FROM THE 70′s.  FOR REAL?!  So without further ado, I present to you the Yellow Magic Orchestra: Firecracker

To The Man With Dog Flirting With The Clerk At The Bookstore,

Watched you talk about her upcoming novel and book of short stories with great interest.  No one mentioned why there were two full two liter bottles of Canada Dry Seltzer in the middle of the floor.  Seemed like a wise omission.

Hoping you got her number,

-Chioke*

*inspired by the supremely excellent “Letters to New Yorkers” by Cirocco Dunlap (aka: the best).

Thanks to Tavon B, for the heads up!

So Broad City is my new favoritest thing.  Once you start watching it’s ridiculously addictive.  Here are some highlights: