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)

Endorsements Week of 4/26/10

Inspired by Slate's culture and political Gabfests, I'm starting a weekly endorsements section. This week's theme is "Around the World (if only in my mind)"

Book: Behaving Like Adults by Anna Maxted. Maxted is a 30-something British writer in the same vein as Marian Keyes and Helen Fielding. Her books are the height of chick-lit, funny and emotional with a not completely predictable happy ending. The best part is they only get better with re-reading. This book revolves around Holly, her dating agency Boy Meets Girl, and her struggle to grow up while still maintaining her child-like heart. Available in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle edition from Amazon.

Podcast: A History of the World in 100 Objects. Neil MacGregor, curator of the British Museum, takes you through the entire history of humanity through objects in the museum's collection. The daily episodes focus on one object and are about 15 minutes long and each week is grouped into a theme. The first 1/3 is available on iTunes with new episodes coming in a few months. I suggest listening to a week's worth at a time (they were great during my car trip this weekend from Highland to Peoria to Kokomo and back home). Available from iTunes and the BBC 4 website.

TV: Corner Gas. This Canadian sit-com centers around the gas station/diner in the small town of Dog River, Saskatchewan (think middle-of-nowhere Kansas). Seinfeld meets Andy Griffith, this show is pure comedy with none of the seasons-long interpersonal dramas that so often bog down American sit-coms (like the Friends Ross-and-Rachel saga). It's not surprising that my Dad's favorite character is Oscar Leroy, the retired former gas station owner who's hobbies include referring to everyone as "jackass", putting his carpentry skills to use by (poorly) building his own coffin, and harassing the local police into guarding his freshly poured sidewalk from would-be name writers. The series ended last fall, but all 6 seasons are available on DVD and the first 4 are on Netflix.

Music: Jamie Cullum. American standards with a modern rock/pop twist. Cullum, 30 years old, grew up in the tiny village of Hullavington, about 2 hours west of London. His records have steadily moved away from his jazz/show-tune base into more of his original work, but they've consistently maintained his high-energy, free-ranging piano and wailing vocals. My favorites are "It Ain't Necessarily So" from Pointless Nostalgic, "Lover, You Should've Com Over" from Twentysomething, and "Photograph" from Catching Tales. Ben and I saw him live in Durham a few years ago and it was hands down the best concert I've ever been to. He performed a whole song (lead and back-up vocals, bass, melody and percussion) with just a piano, a mic, and a sampler. Amazing!

Food: Jamie Olliver's "Jamie at Home". Another young Brit, Oliver's style is simple classics with an Italian flair. This newest Food Network series and companion cookbook is set on Jamie's country farmhouse in Essex. Each episode focuses on one classic English ingredient (potatoes, onions, salad, carrots and beets, etc.) and shows it from dirt to table. He has the same exuberant experimental attitude of Jamie Cullum.