#47 Laughter & history
Issue #47 Laughter & history
1st February 2023
I'm writing this on the train home from a Hoopla night at The Miller pub where all three members of my family - Laura, Radio and I have just performed.
The night was the brilliant Pints & Powerpoints, the brainchild of my lovely friend Kevin Miller, where improvisers & comedians present 5-minute Powerpoint talks on something they are passionate about.
Laura spoke eloquently about appropriate Western response strategies after devastating natural disasters, I shared my thoughts on the Golden Age of Superman and Radio lay on the stage, looked cute and stole the evening out from under us.
The Miller is an important place for me - the stage where I've performed most often and the venue I view as my improv home. It was a special moment for me to watch Radio climb those stairs (images of a younger me staring down from the walls) and enter a space of such laughter and history. I found it uniquely affecting.
I'm honestly not someone who calls myself a pet parent or whatever. But I do feel a powerful connection to that little dog of ours - and I'm pleased I could show him something that means the world to me.
Ok, weirdly intense introduction; let's get to the recommendations.
Rule of three
[Article] Good conversations have lots of doorknobs
I love it when I discover improv theory being communicated to a mainstream audience. This is a great article about the art of conversation and the concept of giving and taking. It's interesting because the writer doesn't use much accepted improv terminology and yet there's a huge amount of learning here.
[TV] US Office
The first time I watched the US Office (which I infinitely prefer to the mean-spirited British version), I was watching it weekly by downloading new episodes on LimeWire. I know for a fact there is ONE EPISODE, hidden somewhere in the middle of its nine-season run, that I was never able to procure. So the completionist in me has demanded a full rewatch of the entire thing (now handily available on Netflix) to track down that lost episode. And in doing so, I have been reminded that, at its peak, it was such beautiful, heartfelt, funny TV.
[Tech] NuraTrue Pros
I took a chance and kickstarted these Nura earbuds last year. They are the first of their kind - able to receive lossless audio at CD quality. They also scan your ears and tweak the soundstage for your specific hearing (the FUTURE!!). My Apple AirPod Pros are still more convenient, but these things knock them out of the water in a side-by-side comparison. It's like listening to my favourite songs for the first time again.
Spotlight
I'm debuting a new online course with Queen City Comedy next month. It's called The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Improvisers, and it's basically a distillation of everything I've learned about improv in the last 20 years. It reflects how I feel about improv right now - that it should be patient, grounded in relationships and discovered in the moment. Queen City Comedy always do an amazing job and have you covered with tiered-pricing too.
Longform thoughts
"Golden Age Superman is not boring. He has a Superdog and a Supercat. And a Superhorse. He also has a Supermonkey. All of whom wear matching capes."
Find out more about The Golden Age of Superman.
Radio Days
So noble, Radio.