3 Fast Things
Last time I wrote, I freaked a few folks out because my musings came across as a little self-critical. Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to come across so doom and gloom about myself. Love yo’self and all that :)
Hey I’m off on a big jet plane next week. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. Once I wrap up the roadtrip through Texas with friends, I kind of just want to go sit in a small Spanish village, work and learn Spanish. I’d prefer to go to Latin America because I started with Colombian Spanish and accents and slangs and formalities are different, but it’s a little exxy.
I also mentioned here last time that I’m trying to quit comedy. But, I had a really great talk with my mindset coach Claudine, last week (it was recorded for my podcast), and she challenged me with the perspective of: why with the “all or nothing” attitude? She pointed out that I don’t have to give up just because I can’t give it my all right now. I can keep my comedy pen sharp the same way I do with the occasional newsletter piece. So you know, something for us all to think about.
1 Slow Thing: Am I even funny?
I proudly identify as an eco-warrior and if you don’t know what an eco-warrior is, I’m just like a regular person, but I don’t flush.
What? I like to save water. I don’t know what for exactly. I’ve got all this toilet water saved up now. It’s kinda gross. But I heard that’s what eco-warriors do. It’s in the eco-warrior handbook.
So, what you just read is not that far off the intro to like, every comedy gig I do. I get the crowd on side with my flush joke because everyone loves toilet humour and bam, I launch into the eco-warrior jokes.
I’m a little tired of talking about my composting and worm farms these days though. In fact, I’m just bored of my sense of humour entirely. One of the reasons I’m shying away from comedy is because I just don’t even think I’m that funny. If I am funny, I’m like a million times funnier behind the safety of my keyboard. Have you laughed yet?
When I’m on stage I’m a mega dork. Sure I can get an audience to laugh quite often, which is really good for my self-esteem, but you know who I can’t really get to laugh? Other comedians. I don’t think other comedians think I’m very funny. And that’s kind of when you know you’re not pro—when you can tell other comedians are not on side with you. When they can see straight through into your fumbling soul. When they look at the stage and see nothing but the mega beginner dork that you truly are.
Which is fine. I don’t really think many other comedians are funny either. The circuit I run is full of beginners just trying to make it in this comedian eat comedian world.
There’s this thing in comedian culture where everyone is super critical of their peers. Which makes sense. In fact we’re not that different from a bunch of scholars in that way. You know, just being super nice to each other at the water cooler but then pooping on each other’s work in secret.
Apparently scholarly types are all sickeningly nice to each other IRL but when it comes to reviewing each other’s work, they’re brutal bastards. They rip each other’s metaphoric white coats to threads. It’s the nerd way of fighting. They never pull punches in the intellectual arena.
So yeah, I think comedians are like that. We have a very discreet way of making each other feel bad about ourselves. While one might be super nice and friendly to another at the bar, they’re more than happy to sit stone faced in the audience while watching each other.
Sometimes we don’t even watch each other. That’s how dirty we get. We’ll just stand outside the room, not even willing to offer our bodies as props to fill the room and make it easier for each other. We are not even willing to objectify ourselves in support of each other.
But let me just say that John Glover, who is my interviewee for this week (you’ll see in a second if you continue scrolling) is not one of those people who I don’t give my body to. If he is on stage, my body is there, and not just there, I also allow laughter to come out of it. And it’s legit. John is a funny bugger. Charisma and wit are sharp. That’s what I dig in a comedian. That’s what I will objectify myself for.
Watch
This week’s video: My interview with comedian, John Glover. Brilliant guy. Go see his show at the Sydney Comedy Festival.
Upcoming Shows
On a wee break until I return from travels (unless I do some while on travels which is completely possible).
Recommendation
Read: Is This Anything? By Jerry Seinfeld. This book is full of his best work. It’s just page after page of simple, yet utterly brilliant comedy IMO.