Generally, NBC sucks at pretty much all news-type broadcasting. Specifically, the 2008 Summer Olympic coverage, from what I’ve seen, is atrocious. And the Olympics could be such a great chance for the US to show that we can produce quality content with global appeal.

Maybe it’s the fact that most of the coverage is heavy on either American athletes or athletes with well known international gossip stories. Or maybe its the seemingly endless commercial breaks. No – these things should have been expected, are in fact part of a long history of Olympic coverage aesthetics. I think what I’m most annoyed by are the self-important “Chinese Cultural” pieces that are peppered throughout the event coverage. Perhaps I should have expected this? Well, I didn’t.

Bob Costas & Mary Carillo Suck. Why?

Posted: August 15th, 2008 under Reviews, Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: 20

OK, so by now we all know that Doug Benson smokes weed.  I mean, the man created The Marijuana-Logues.  Benson is an expert at crafting jokes for the weed smoking community, and has taken this talent to the big screen.  In Super High Me, Doug Benson sets out to discover what effects marijuana have on his stand-up career, his mind, and his body.

Based on a concept similar to Morgan Spurlock’s “Super Size Me”, Doug Benson documents his experience of abstaining from weed for 30 days, and then consuming massive amounts for 30 days.  Since Doug is already a stoner, the 30 days of sobriety are just as funny as his 30 days of being baked.

Super High Me is just as much about stand-up comedy as it is about weed. The film has some excellent cameos from the LA comedy scene. Comedians Jimmy Dore, Sarah Silverman, Dana Gould, Zach Galifianakis, Bob Odenkirk, Patton Oswalt and tons of others discuss their views on marijuana, and one of them even smokes it on camera.

People that don’t enjoy smoking reefer will enjoy this movie as well. “Super High Me” examines California’s system of medical marijuana use and adds a much needed layer of seriousness that keeps the movie from being just a bunch of dumb stoner moments.

Go check out some of Doug’s clips on RooftopComedy.com, and add “Super High Me” to the top of your Netflix queue!

Posted: August 14th, 2008 under Reviews.
Comments: 21

Last night Iliza Shlesinger was announced as the first female (and sixth overall) winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing.   Along with a cash prize, development deal, and a new car, Iliza will join a few of the other finalists on a nationwide tour.  Hopefully this will be a perfect jump start to take her to superstar-dome.

As a nod to female comics everywhere, here is one of my favorite clips from Maria Bamford discussing women comics:

Posted: August 8th, 2008 under Reviews, Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: none

OK, so we’ve all seen John McCain’s ad where he calls Barack Obama the world’s biggest celebrity and likens him to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.  Recently, Paris Hilton felt the urge to defend her honor and came right back at McCain with a video of her own.  In the words of Paolo, “God bless America”.

Check out what Costaki Economopolous has to say about all of this:

Posted: August 5th, 2008 under Reviews, Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: 3

Last month, fellow Rooftopper Nate Winters and I visited America’s neighbor to the north to borrow some comedy sugar. We were signing up our 20th partner club, our very first and only in Canada – Rick Bronson’s The Comic Strip. Located in the 2nd biggest mall in North America, (don’t worry, USA, we’re still #1 – f-yeah!), The Comic Strip shares its home with a roller coaster, mini golf course, and full-fledged water park! Oh, and Hooters, lest Nate allow me to forget.

Everyone at the club was amazing. Some shout outs: Rick Bronson, the owner, is supercool and a former comic himself. Tammy, his wife, books the club and is in charge of PR, which works really well because she knows her stuff inside out – talk about industry insider. Dino, the general manager, is a sweetheart who runs a tight (but funny) ship. Anna, who manages reservations and the office, was our comic relief during the day and helped us with anything we needed, which for Nate was finding a ladder and me was finding the fountain soda machine.

The club itself is awesome; huge, great décor, and really cool waitstaff who hooked us up with many a Kokanee beer, it’s no wonder The Comic Strip brings in the biggest comedy names every week (and big crowds to boot). While Nate crawled through the ceiling with wires, I test-test-tested the audio and stalked UPS, who had lost track of our much-needed equipment packages. But by the end of the week, we had a perfect set-up at the club, as evidenced in our first ever Canadian recording on Thursday night with headliner and all-around-great-guy Daniel Kinno.

Check out a clip of Daniel Kinno, and Annie on Canadian radio, after the jump!

Posted: August 5th, 2008 under Reviews, Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: 6

Hey now, The RooftopComedy.com Blog is now officially upgraded to WordPress 2.6! Sound the victory horns! Not bad for a guy with a high school equivalency certificate.

That’s all really, carry on.

Posted: July 15th, 2008 under Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy, Reviews, Ruminations, theorizations and stuff, The New Clip Round-Up.
Comments: 2

After 3 great years of booze, short stories, and crazy phone calls, Air Out My Shorts (AoMS) has finally made it to their 100th episode!

Join hosts Preston Buttons & The Word Whore as they clumsily narrate their way through submitted works of Short Fiction: often painfully, always absent-mindedly and completely unencumbered by any relevant credentials!

Though each episode of Air Out My Shorts will make a somewhat valiant attempt to present a short work of original fiction, Buttons & The Whore are a FAR CRY from traditional — let alone knowledgeable literary critics. This free-form netcast is intended only in good ALTERNATIVE UNCENSORED fun and will not be appropriate for all listeners OR aspiring authors.

Posted: June 26th, 2008 under Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy, Press Releases, Reviews.
Comments: none

RooftopComedy’s own Andi Smith received an amazing review on her new album HOMEPERM from Punchline Magazine.  Go check out what the critics are saying, and go buy the damn album!

Posted: June 19th, 2008 under Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy, Reviews.
Comments: 1

RooftopComedy was out in full force last night at Club Deluxe on Haight Street in San Francisco. The drinks were flowin’, the audio equipment was dialed in, and the RooftopComedy staff was ready for an amazing show.

It’s no secret around the office that I’m a HUGE fan of Kevin Camia. His strange ruminations on life, work and relationships coupled with his creepy-guy-meets-slacker style of delivery are an amazing combination.

Kevin’s strange and often disturbing thoughts are always leading in an unpredictable direction. He is one of the few comics that I can watch over and over again and still be completely entertained by. Kevin doesn’t put on an act, he’s just a really funny guy with a microphone.

Kevin’s (yet to be titled) CD will be available sometime in the next few weeks at the RooftopComedy Store. Until then, you’ll have to make due with his current material already on RooftopComedy, or go check out his MySpace page to see when he’s playing at a club near you.

Posted: June 10th, 2008 under Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy, Reviews.
Comments: none

One of the best ways to get a message across is to use humor. W. Kamau Bell manages to mix current political headlines and long standing racial issues with a touch of sarcasm and irony. In this 90-minute show, he tackles issues such as PC terminology, the boycott of China, Barack Obama’s bid for the White House, and interracial relationships.

W. Kamau Bell commands attention. His charismatic style of delivery is humorous, thoughtful, goofy and vulnerable all wrapped into one. All of these qualities put together are reminiscense of a college professor. Kamau is able to discuss touchy issues without taking it to an angry level. Instead of offering solutions, he makes sure that you’re in on the joke with him.

The show is not all quips and sarcasm, it has a very personal feel to it as well. Kamau provides us with his back story of being raised by a single mother, his experiences dating a white woman, and studying martial arts as a teen.

As polished as the written material is, it’s Kamau’s personality that really shines through and makes the show enjoyable. He is a natural performer and his words come off as very thoughtful and sincere. This show is a must see!

The W. Kamau Bell Curve is playing Thursdays at the Shelton Theater ( 533 Sutter Street) in San Francisco and has been extended to July 3. For tickets and more info click here

You can also check out his podcast Siskel & Negro or his stand-up comedy at RooftopComedy.

Posted: June 6th, 2008 under Reviews.
Comments: 3