Endorsements - Comedy

Okay, okay, so I didn't get around to doing the endorsements weekly (I know, you're shocked).  This week's theme is Comedy, or at least what I think is funny.

Book: My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster  This is Lancaster's 5th book and she's still hitting them out of the park.  Jen is from Huntington, IN and went to Purdue before moving to Chicago.  After losing her job in the post-911 DotCom crash, she kept her sanity through 2 years of unemployment by blogging.  Her sarcastic rants got such a following that she was offered a book deal to write about the ordeal (Bitter is the New Black).  He subsequent books chronicle how life in the big city isn't like they show it on TV (Bright Lights, Big Ass), her weight loss struggle (Such a Pretty Fat) and how fashion has been the one constant in her life (Pretty in Plaid).  All of the books are available in hardcover, and the old ones are in paperback and Kindle edition as well.

Podcast: The Nerdist  Hosted by Chris Hardwick and based on his website. Chris is a stand-up comedian and hosts several shows on the nerdy-science-tecnology-video gaming network G4. Each week on the free podcast, Chris (along with his side-kicks Matt Mira and Jonah Ray) interviews a comedian about the craft of comedy, how technology is changing media, and other such topics with lots of nerdy tomfoolery thrown in. Most of the hour-long podcasts are fairly explicit (think HBO comedy special, not Comedy Central). Guest have included Joel McHale, Drew Carey, Jim Gaffigan, and Tom Lennon.  Speaking of Tom Lennon...

TV: Reno 911! Comedy Central's hit about the Reno, NV sheriff's department (Cops! meets The Office). The show is written by three of the cast members (Tom Lennon, Kerri Kenney, and Robert Ben Garant) but has a lot of ad-libing. Re-runs are on Comedy Central and Logo all the time, but get the DVD's (all 6 seasons available on Netflix) for all the hilarious out-takes. For me the bet part is seeing all the actors play recurring suspects (always with their faces blurred out)

Music: Fountains of Wayne Welcome Interstate Managers   While not technically a comedy album, all of the songs are quirky and catchy, and most of them have ingeniously funny lyrics. Once you get past the overplayed "Stacy's Mom", the rest of the album is a great mix of upbeat pop (Bright Future in Sales, Little Red Light), classic country (Hung Up on You), folk (Valley Winter Song, Yours and Mine) and psychedelic (Peace and Love, Supercollider)