I missed most of it, as I was out of town. The contest on Wednesday went well, though I have to admit - it's a straight up head count vote. If you bring a few friends, co-workers, etc. I would think you'd have a good shot at advancing even if you weren't the best comedian.
Is that fair you ask, well - perhaps. I think it balances out in the end, because in a show where there are say eight people competing, you have arguably seven groups of guests that aren't there to support you specifically, so it should balance out in the end.
Nevertheless, it's not a strategy any of the current crop of comedians is using. I find it interesting.
Ari closed the show Thursday and from eveything I heard, did a really nice job.
Joe did his thing over Friday and Saturday, and Sunday for that matter.
Thankfully it was the kind of week that I didn't feel too terrible about being out of the office.
I would imagine that by now there are few who don't know that George Carlin died. A hugely influential comedian, Carlin was a key comedy figure in moving the transformation of what we now consider comedy forward.
Think for a moment about the fact that he was arrested for something he said on stage. How many comedians take those kinds of chances? No arrest because he got in to a fight with an audience member, but because he did a bit.
There will always be a debate as to what a comedians role is when they are on stage, and I think that debate is a healthy one. For those who are able to embrace a provocative stance and make a living, this comedy thing isn't such a bad gig.
I think there is a tendency when someone dies to assume that whatever they did in life they will do better in Heaven. Look at the recent hypothetical "Meet The Press" shows proposed now that Tim Russert has died. Given that Carlin wasn't known as much of a Heaven guy, I don't know it's appropriate to do that in his case. Still, there's a part of me that thinks he'd see the humor in having to start over again and sign up for open mic night with a few guys who didn't get a chance to try it when they were alive.
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