Politics, Trump, and comedy
Talking polls, podcasts, and precision.
Norm-al
Norm clip that’s relevant again:
Comedy pods
What people are getting wrong about comedy podcasts:
Please consider that comedians are not actually right wing but just desperate for followers/audience/attention and will go wherever and talk to whomever in order to gain them.
Standup contains multitudes. Go see it live and you'll see a wide range of styles/views that can't be reduced for some simplistic thinkpiece. The comics I see nightly in NYC overwhelmingly skew left (if they skew at all).
Keep in mind mentally well people don't go into a profession where you crave the approval of strangers nightly.
It’d be wise to stop calling us "modern day philosophers" and remember we are merely clowns who sling zingers to sell chicken fingers.
Whoever will let comics say anything they want will enjoy our support. Comedians are the first ones to take it on the chin from both government censors and/or the easily offended.
Check out my podcast: Kind of a Lot with Matt Ruby.
Writing in the age of Trump
Author Roger Rosenblatt: How to Be a Writer in the Second Age of Trump
In my experience, good writing requires four things: precision of language, the freedom to say anything, respect and — perhaps most important — love. The responsibilities of the writer today are no different from those of any writer in any age…
Start with precision: As Mark Twain put it, the difference between the almost right word and the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. The simple reason precision is essential in writing is that it allows both writer and reader a clear shared understanding. Often, this comes down to finding the correct noun. Emerson called nouns the “speaking language of things.” A good rule of thumb is that if you need three adjectives to describe something, you have the wrong something.
Election jokes
Me talking politics onstage…
