Doesn’t Matter Who Wins the K Race; We’re All the Same

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

Do you think Bill Maher attends them? Yaaaawwwwwnnnnn.

No.

This is why only I should comment. His cocktail parties are guys from his area, some poor white Trumpers, other "economic" Rs, racially diverse liberals including both rich and poor- but all the average Joe, no celebs. Geez, haven't you been reading?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Bollocks. I love his standup, and his Don Ricklesesque Golden Globes appearances.

But the hidden gem in his catalogue is the animated podcast series with Carl Pilkington. I could listen to Pilkington all day. I won’t pretend to know why. He’s like a sophisticated version of Medicated Pete from the Stern Show, whose prank calls and interviews are fucking amazing, because he has no idea he’s funny.

ETA: But if we’re debating standups, I think you have the Big Three - Pryor, Carlin, Murphy - and everybody else is bouncing around tiers below. Carlin’s final HBO special is a rare moment where an aging pro goes out with a grand slam. And I still listen to Delirious and Raw.

Chris Rock comes closest to that rarified air. But he’s not quite there yet.

Btw, when Anthony Jeselnik is firing on all cylinders, he’s hysterical. But he often seems to phone it in.

An episode of Monkey News in one of the podcasts forever killed him for me. So the podcasts were Ricky and Stephen insulting Carl, and they were funny. But there was a Monkey News where Carl claimed there was a shortage of doctors and so a chimp did a heart surgery. To comment on that stupidity (which seemed terribly contrived) one should not say something stupid, yes? Ricky said Carl was stupid because, “a chimp can’t do surgery, you need opposable thumbs.” I don’t think he was saying some meta-dada thing, I think he believes only man had thumbs.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

No.

This is why only I should comment. His cocktail parties are guys from his area, some poor white Trumpers, other "economic" Rs, racially diverse liberals including both rich and poor- but all the average Joe, no celebs. Geez, haven't you been reading?

Come on, his cocktail parties are filled with nothing but male mid-level bank loan officers who will only keep coming as long as he's paying for the booze. I bet even his wife skips them all.

One of the loan officers has a spanish sounding surname of some sort, another thinks their grandmother may have been Jewish, and one once voted for a Democrat back in college under the sway of a hippie chick, and so they call themselves diverse.

Also, there is a guy who at the end of every evening, precisely at 10:25, when someone suggests a cup of coffee before getting in their cars, shouts out "Coffee is for Closers" and everyone laughs, so they think they are witty.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

Come on, his cocktail parties are filled with nothing but male mid-level bank loan officers who will only keep coming as long as he's paying for the booze. I bet even his wife skips them all.

One of the loan officers has a spanish sounding surname of some sort, another thinks their grandmother may have been Jewish, and one once voted for a Democrat back in college under the sway of a hippie chick, and so they call themselves diverse.

Also, there is a guy who at the end of every evening, precisely at 10:25, when someone suggests a cup of coffee before getting in their cars, shouts out "Coffee is for Closers" and everyone laughs, so they think they are witty.

Maternal gma or paternal?

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

Come on, his cocktail parties are filled with nothing but male mid-level bank loan officers who will only keep coming as long as he's paying for the booze. I bet even his wife skips them all.

One of the loan officers has a spanish sounding surname of some sort, another thinks their grandmother may have been Jewish, and one once voted for a Democrat back in college under the sway of a hippie chick, and so they call themselves diverse.

Also, there is a guy who at the end of every evening, precisely at 10:25, when someone suggests a cup of coffee before getting in their cars, shouts out "Coffee is for Closers" and everyone laughs, so they think they are witty.

This is flat. You can do better.

And do you really think I'd throw the party? That may happen by accident. But I prefer attending. I'm the guy who bugs you for a Gauloises in the driveway, complains it's harsh, and walks off. You prattle on in an affected cadence about some carefully selected subject, with someone who buys your bullshit. I look at the moon. Fuck. The Uber is still 3 minutes away.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

An episode of Monkey News in one of the podcasts forever killed him for me. So the podcasts were Ricky and Stephen insulting Carl, and they were funny. But there was a Monkey News where Carl claimed there was a shortage of doctors and so a chimp did a heart surgery. To comment on that stupidity (which seemed terribly contrived) one should not say something stupid, yes? Ricky said Carl was stupid because, “a chimp can’t do surgery, you need opposable thumbs.” I don’t think he was saying some meta-dada thing, I think he believes only man had thumbs.

Me thinks you're analyzing a bit too deeply there. Cognitive dissonance, suspension of disbelief, might serve you well.

(If this is your most dry vintage and I'm whiffing, well done sir. But you owe an assist to two martinis.)

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

What I still can't understand, though, is who the hell goes to Sebby's cocktail parties? I mean, those sound just awful.

They're all kind of awful. People can be really fucking boring. And they're all boring in the same ways. A lot of wit is canned, and most people are not really listening but thinking about the next thing they're going to say. Or they're thinking about how they might elicit some form of reaction, or remain consistent with some personal brand or image they wish to convey.

You can try to outrun Shakespeare's stage, but you'll never succeed.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Me thinks you're analyzing a bit too deeply there. Cognitive dissonance, suspension of disbelief, might serve you well.

(If this is your most dry vintage and I'm whiffing, well done sir. But you owe an assist to two martinis.)

Not a whiff. The podcasts went on forever- and there was a sameness, Carl is stupid and Ricky will goof on him. The whole Monkey News was stupid on its face, but funny. But Ricky’s goofs were always accurate. Then, in one of dozens of podcasts he says this stupid thing about opposable thumbs? It’s like Norman Rockwell suddenly went dada; or Ricky ain’t so smart? You gonna call someone stupid, you can’t be stupid.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

They're all kind of awful. People can be really fucking boring. And they're all boring in the same ways. A lot of wit is canned, and most people are not really listening but thinking about the next thing they're going to say. Or they're thinking about how they might elicit some form of reaction, or remain consistent with some personal brand or image they wish to convey.

If you are still talking about Maher's show, agree completely, and he is the worst of them.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

Maternal gma or paternal?

I'm betting paternal.

Of course, if they want real diversity, they can always invite Dershowitz. He's always available.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

Not a whiff. The podcasts went on forever- and there was a sameness, Carl is stupid and Ricky will goof on him. The whole Monkey News was stupid on its face, but funny. But Ricky’s goofs were always accurate. Then, in one of dozens of podcasts he says this stupid thing about opposable thumbs? It’s like Norman Rockwell suddenly went dada; or Ricky ain’t so smart? You gonna call someone stupid, you can’t be stupid.

You’ve just undone Trump Nation and identity politics in a sentence.* If you cared about humanity, you might... buy billboards, perhaps airtime?


____
* The redundancy is noted.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

If you are still talking about Maher's show, agree completely, and he is the worst of them.

Maher’s show, here, the next conversation you’ll have. The third rail is always insecurity and ego. Wrecks all conversations.

You know this.

The only guy who honestly doesn’t exhibit ego of any kind is Hank. I suspect he’s crazy. In a great way.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Maher’s show, here, the next conversation you’ll have. The third rail is always insecurity and ego. Wrecks all conversations.

You know this.

The only guy who honestly doesn’t exhibit ego of any kind is Hank. I suspect he’s crazy. In a great way.

I've been watching Maher's show for years, due to a spouse that likes him for some reason or another he can't articulate very well. I don't really find him all that interesting or insightful, but he can have a point every now and then.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

I've been watching Maher's show for years, due to a spouse that likes him for some reason or another he can't articulate very well. I don't really find him all that interesting or insightful, but he can have a point every now and then.

I'm sorry.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

I've been watching Maher's show for years, due to a spouse that likes him for some reason or another he can't articulate very well. I don't really find him all that interesting or insightful, but he can have a point every now and then.

The shows where he’d have Andrew Sullivan, Rushdie, and Hitchens on were his best moments. Rushdie is a fantastic guest. Sullivan still performs well, also.

He had Charles Blow on a few weeks ago and there were numerous testy exchanges. That was somewhat insightful, because Blow explained a definition of social justice warrior I’d not heard before.

If you’re famous and you’ve done a big book, you do Maher. And he does a solid job of actually researching the books.

His interview with Bannon was also great. He can’t stand the guy, but he held it together and hit Bannon with a polite but strong cross examination.

Maher reminds of the old days, when people engaged rather than shouted over or refused to entertain the positions of their opponents. The days before deplatforming, call out mobs, or someone asserting the opponent had no right to speak because he or she didn’t come from a certain background.

And of course I love his refusal to kowtow to either side’s sanctimonious positions. He rips the crybabies and virtue signalers on the right and left. Is he revealing some amazing new insight? No. But he’s tacking toward the middle and calling out the children and bullshitters on both sides. He’s this rare thing we see little of in political debates anymore: A rational person with common sense.