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Paul F. Tompkins

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Posts posted by Paul F. Tompkins

  1. Posted

    Hi Paul, do you listen to all of the episodes before they come out for quality control purposes?

     

    If so, do you have any particularly memorable moments that you missed during the record and only discovered upon relistening?

     

    I listen back to every episode, and because everything happens in such a rush in that hour, I am constantly surprised and delighted by the show. Some stuff I remember, but always always always there are things I forgot or didn't fully catch the first time. Episode 101 in particular-- I laughed out loud listening to that one more than any other episode so far,

    • Like 4

  2. Posted

    Hi Paul, nice to see you again.

     

    There's a song that Eben plays in the background on occasion, that I can't quite place. I think it's the theme to a sci-fi TV show, but I'm not sure. Do you know what song that is?

     

    Thank you kindly.

     

    I bet it's "Lost In Space"

    • Like 2

  4. Posted

    Your one on one Spontaneanation show with Craig Cackowski was incredibly quick with the improv; it seemed you were attuned to each other and it helped it flow great.

    Is having just one person to do improve with more difficult or just different than working with three or four other people?

     

    Well, I guess it's a bit more challenging to develop a story & keep it going with fewer people, but the pressure is a fun pressure. Ultimately, every combination has its own unique challenges AND benefits. With two of us, it's the adrenaline-fueled fun of keeping all the balls in the air with just one partner; with a large group, say, 5 or more people, the resultant chaos delights me.

    • Like 2

  5. Posted

    Am I the only one who found the audio in this ep bad? The audience was miked, but at a higher level that the stage...me sad.

     

    Hey there! We have gotten a fair amount of comments about the audio on these Bell House shows. We tried floor mics for these shows, because we had hoped to make things simpler when we do road shows, but still preserve the freedom of movement for the performers. We researched the mics thoroughly and spent a good deal of money on them. Us, not Earwolf. Eban and I.

     

    The audience was not miked at a higher level than the stage. The layout of the Bell House/our equipment was such that the audience was only minimally miked.

     

    We checked and double-checked everything at sound check, but! The audience doesn't come to sound check. The Bell House is a good-sized venue and they can pack a lot of people in there, far more than Largo, and these folks were INTO THE SHOW. We could not have anticipated that their response would be so emphatic. I mean, not without being a little monstrous.

     

    We have a couple more live shows that were miked with headset mics and should sound like our Largo shows traditionally have sounded. We will continue to improve the live sound.

     

    Thank you all for listening and enjoying the show.

    • Like 4

  7. Posted

     

    In terms of deaths, I agree. In terms of election results, I laugh in your face. This says it all:

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLG9g7BcjKs&t=140s

     

    Great episode, though.

    I really, REALLY don't want to get into this here, but let me just say, time and place, dude. Time and place. I'm asking, as a personal favor, please don't post shit like this here. Especially if you're going to be so disrespectful of peoples' feelings. There are plenty of other places to take this nonsense. You can do what you like, obviously, but I'd prefer you didn't do this. Thanks.

    • Like 7

  8. Posted

    Hello Paul! You're my hero and that's not hyperbole.

     

    Is there anything I can do to get a Spontaneanation show in Toronto?

     

    I'd love to do Spontaneanation in Toronto! And I am confident it will happen when all the right conditions are in place.

     

    Does the 300-person deal still apply, even though this isn't stand-up? Does the 300-person deal still apply to stand up?!

     

    The "300 thing" was a plan that was as useful as it was short-lived! I just book shows now. If I haven't booked a show in a specific place, it's probably a matter of time and/or logistics.

     

    Why doesn't the Earwolf store have Spontaneanation pins (something I would buy), but it does have Kulap socks?

     

    The Spontaneanation pins are not for sale-- they are gifts for guests of the show! But speaking of pins AND socks, the Earwolf store DOES offer pins of my face and socks with the Spontaneanation logo!

    • Like 2

  9. Posted

    Just started episode, and I am honestly flabbergasted regarding the "See ID/Check ID".

     

    What do you think this accomplishes exactly? You have already handed the person your credit card. Best case scenario, you have needlessly made this transaction longer. You have indedliby created a system to inconvenience yourself daily, thereby confusing and irritating the person you handed the card to.

     

    What this accomplishes, hopefully, is that maybe the clerk will ask someone who has stolen my card to see I.D., and hopefully that person who has stolen my card does not look like me. Also, just looked up the word "indelibly" and you maaaaaaaay be wrong about the "system" I have "created."

     

    The entire signature 'thing' is a hold-over from the early days of credit cards, when we didn't have ease of electronic transparency and oversight. We already have much better checks and reconciliation for stolen cards and fraud.

     

    That's true, at least! Hey, you've really done your research for this bit of scholarly condescension on a comedy podcast discussion forum! Oh, and speaking of archaic practices, it's actually spelled holdover. You don't need the hyphen. And you're double-spacing after your periods.

     

    If you write 'See ID' on the back of your credit, and hand your card to another individual for processing, 1 of 2 things is going to happen:

     

    (Neither of the two things you're about to illustrate has ever happened, but go ahead.)

     

    1.) They are just going to swipe the card whether they see this note on the back or not. You are then in the position of pointing out that they didn't check your ID, thus getting into an uncomfortable position of forcing the other person to backpedal and ask for your ID...thus verify the card is indeed yours and finishing the transaction that was always going to happen. OR, what probably happens 99 percent of the time, you simply silently accept that this was a silly and ineffective form of fraud prevention.

     

    I would not point out that they didn't ask for I.D., because I know that I am me and that I am using my card which has not been stolen from me by me. I don't work for the store; I am not the "secret shopper," so my goal when writing "Please ask for I.D." on the back of my card is not to test the cashier. All of these forms of fraud protection are flawed and you're kind of throwing a Hail Mary that anyone will even check a signature. So this is not, actually, any more absurd than a signing the card. If anything, it may deter someone who doesn't have my exact face from using a card that says "See I.D." because what if the cashier does ask? See? So I lose nothing by writing that on my card. It's kind of a lateral move in terms of security, but one that I prefer.

     

    2.) You are trying to pay for something real quick while having a conversation with someone on a phone or wrangling your children. The salesperson/clerk/server has to politely ask you several times for your ID, in which case you become irritated regarding the stupid thing you wrote on the back of your Credit Card that serves no actual purpose but to waste your own time and create uncomfortable situations.

     

    Thing is, I'm not an asshole, so I never talk on the phone when a human being is waiting on me. I also don't have kids to wrangle. I also don't live in the cold open of an infomercial. So although you can see these scenarios so clearly, indelibly even, they are not predestined.

     

    Now, this individual you have tried to pawn your ACTUAL card off to is really off-put and pretending to examine your credit card and ID with the hardened-eye of an FBI fraud investigator. This charade carries on until you are either bursting red in the face, or nod, dully satisfied in the rigid standards of the pimply 15 year-old, managing the register at a walgreen's, natural eye for multi-layer counterfeiting.

     

    And maybe your little sketch here says more about you than it does about how ridiculous and thoughtless I am supposedly being? Because it seems like you really have contempt for cashiers.

     

    Just sign the back of the card!

     

    Why? The entire signature 'thing' is a hold-over from the early days of credit cards, when we didn't have ease of electronic transparency and oversight. We already have much better checks and reconciliation for stolen cards and fraud. So it doesn't really matter what's on the back of the card, right? RIGHT?

     

    Edit: I do like the idea that your license could have an option in the signature area that says 'See birth certificate'. And then the clerk has to carefully pretend to compare the rings on your toes with those of your birth certificate and make some hard decisions regarding the validity of your purchase.

     

    OH THANK GOD YOU WENT BACK AND ADDED THIS JOHN OLIVER-TYPE EVISCERATION TO YOUR FLAWLESS POST THIS IS SOME GOOD COMEDY AND YOU SHOULD QUIT YOUR DAY JOB (IF IT IS NOT ALREADY COMEDY)

    • Like 9

  10. Posted

    Hey Paul, I know it might mess up the flow up things, but is there any way an episode could use a listener submitted location/question? Maybe if a guest doesn't show and you just interview one of the improvisors or something?

     

    Because if other listeners are like me, they all have a "perfect" idea for a location and a hilarious question thought up. Some would be better than others. Maybe a poll or thread on the forums to aggregate/pick submissions. idk just a thought.

     

    While I have no doubt that many listeners are certain they have the "perfect" location and/or question, my experience with soliciting this kind of stuff from the audience is that it leads to me sifting through a lot of, shall we say, LESS-than-perfect responses.

     

    And honestly, it's really not ever about the location or the question. It's about what we do with it, where we go from there. If you especially enjoy one episode or particularly despise another it all comes down to what we've done and how you took it in; there are no magic, "can't miss" locations.

     

    So I think we're all set. Thank you and I hope you will continue to listen!

    • Like 3

  11. Posted

    I've noticed in recent episodes the commercial break is coming after the introduction of the improvisers and not in the middle of the improv. What caused this change in format? Is it in order to let the improv flow continuously instead of introducing a commercial break cliffhanger? And do you prefer it this way so far?

     

    Initially I had the second break where it was because I wanted get into the improv right after we met everyone, so the players would be fresh in people's minds when we started playing. In studio, everyone is, of course, there from the very beginning, as anything said up to the improv set is considered fodder for the improv. So the players are present to absorb as much potential material as possible. For the live shows, it would be weird to have the players there from the start without introducing them, so we intro them first. It didn't feel right to take a break in the middle of the set in front of an audience (although I think we do that in the "Sport Club" episode with Kumail Nanjiani). After a while, it just occurred to me that we could do that in the studio, too, and the small distance of an ad or two between meeting our improvisors and the improv itself wouldn't hurt anything. Plus we get to hang out with the improvisors a little more. I am enjoying the change so far!

    • Like 2

  12. Posted

    Was there a lost episode somewhere? I think this is the second time recently that PFT has been a week off on saying what the release date would be.

     

    Well, what happened was, Earwolf had this plan to hold various podcast episodes back for a week for reasons that who cares. So for a few epiodes I was anticipating those episodes being released a week later than they were/will be. I believe things right themselves in a week or so.

     

    There are no lost episodes.

    • Like 12

  14. Posted

    Hi Paul!

     

    Outside of the live shows it's frequently mentioned that the episodes are being recorded well before they're going to be released. I recall doing some math based on a comment during the plugs section of an episode and determined that the episode was recorded maybe 3-4 months in advance. My questions are:

     

    What's the highest number of "banked" episodes there were at any one point?

     

    I don't know offhand what the highest number of banked episodes was before the gap started closing. But it was a lot. You could probably piece it together from the plugs at the end of the episodes if you're inclined to do the work (PS: I am not).

     

    How many episodes were recorded prior to the release of the first episode?

    I believe 10.

     

    and unrelated...please tell me you'll be at the CBB live show in July (San Diego), I'll be so sad if I don't get to meet you :(

    Get ready to be sad. I will not be there. Hopefully another time!

    • Like 1

  16. Posted

    Honestly, did I miss the announcement that this show would only be live from now on?

     

    It just shook out that way. Due to my various other professional obligations and travel, I was unable to record on weekdays, which is when we record the studio episodes. We contributed with live recordings at Largo and a few other special settings.

     

    We have resumed recording studio episodes.

    • Like 10

  19. Posted

     

    Otago, New Zealand

    Was privileged to see Paul & co in Wellington last year :)

    Kia Ora!

    Congratulations on Spontaneanation's birthday

    Thank you!

    Is there a list of all Spont affiliated URLs/Sponsors?

    I do not know if such a list exists!

    May I please ask the likelihood of a live Spontaneantion on the next JoCo cruise?

    Likelihood is low, I'm afraid. I haven't yet committed to the cruise for 2017 because I'm not quite sure what my life will be that time next year. It depends on a few different projects whose outcomes have yet to be determined. Also, since I just did the podcast on this last cruise, I'll probably want to do something different next time.

    Are there any plans to expand the range of logo-emblazoned merchandise?

    Yes! More soon.

    • Like 3

  20. Posted

    This question is for Paul: Paul, assuming they have been recorded, might you consider releasing select musical performances from SPONTANEANATION LIVE as an album, possibly for charity (à la the Comedy Death Ray Xmas CD) or a Howl™ exclusive?

    That's a real maybe. It'd depend on the quality of the performances & sound and getting music clearances. We shall see!

    • Like 2
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