MichaelStanford

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3Wv1nX-Pog

Hey, I actually need another ticket, but I don't live in Chicago. We're driving in from Missouri (8 hours) - any chance you could meet us somewhere before-hand?

Anyone else going to this? I'm not going to be in for i4h, but I'll be there for Matt's workshop on Sunday and then ASSSSCAT. Looking forward to it!

I disagree that you can't teach people to be funny.

Oh, okay, well I'm done here.

This shirt objectifies robot women.

I think there's only a disconnect if your opinion is that porn is somehow diminishing to those who participate in it. If profiting from the exploitation of sexuality bothers you, then why don't you have a problem with sex toys? That's incredibly assumptive. I'd be willing to bet that most porn actresses would disagree with you. I'd wager that they're empowered by their sexuality, and that they made a conscious choice to pursue the career that they're in. Equally assumptive, but that's the tone of the conversation. I don't think the types of people who view women as objects are doing it because of porn. They're doing it because they're shitty people who aren't able to empathize with others. They don't just treat women as objects, they treat people as objects. What 'deteriorating sexual life of this country'? What are you even talking about? If anything, the fact that we have porn should be celebrated as proof of our country's sexual openness, not blamed for whatever made-up statistics you're talking about. I can't speak for Matt, but to me these aren't at all a part of the same spectrum. The only common denominator is vagina.

Let's shortcut this argument and say that I have different tastes than you do.

What's bothering you, humans? My wife won't stop watching reality television. Normally that wouldn't bother me, but the shows she's been hooked on lately are completely uninteresting. They're over-produced and the drama is so incredibly manufactured that it's hard to even call it 'reality tv'. Shows like Ultimate Dance Competition, in which a grown lady shatters the dreams of children and Real Housewives of whatever county, where literally everyone hates each other and there is no plot. I'm a pretty good husband - maybe even the best. But I have a hell of a time containing my rage when these shows are on. I've been trying to tune them out and focus on writing things, but they're like creativity vacuums. They're so uninspiring that they actually render me unable to imagine. Beer isn't helping.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/week-god-72 This is bothering me this week. tl;dr - a group in Kansas has filed a suit claiming that evolution is a religion, and therefor can't be taught in classrooms.

improv9humans

Holy shit, Eric was amazing. Great episode. I wish the first set of improvisers (Nick, Erin, and Matt) would have gotten to do more scenes, though.

And yet, here you are, totally not being oversensitive at all. You're getting upset about someone's opinion on milk and posters. Chill out. So let me get this straight - you were afraid that you'd be misrepresented, so to combat that you chose not to represent yourself? It's hard to feel sorry for you. You were given the opportunity to have a discussion, and instead chose to take the internet equivalent of 'talking about him behind his back' by bitching on the forums. I don't believe Matt is guilty of bullying anyone. I believe you're guilty of being offended on behalf of someone who wasn't. They're two hot babes wrestling in a kiddie pool full of jello, and you're a strict Protestant referee with a thousand PSI asshole. Again - chill the f out. Where was the spin? It seems like that's exactly why you didn't do it. You chose to circumvent the accountability of conversation and post on the forums instead. Let's rephrase that. You chose to talk about Matt instead of to Matt. Talking about someone is something that a bully would do. I also definitely believe that you were afraid to talk to Matt. Not because of a little shouting, but because you know you don't have a defensible position. Thomas didn't feel bullied, and you were upset on his behalf. There's really no argument to be made - your platform has no legs. You simply can't defend something that you can't defend, and you were afraid of that. But let's use your words. You have 'better things to do with your time' than to defend something for which you pretend to have conviction? If you're so 'anti-bullying' to the point where gentle ribbing about milk-drinking sends you into an internet rage, then I'd think you'd have more passion about it. You'd want to spread your anti-bullying message on as many mediums as possible. But you claim to have no time for that. More to the point, you claim to have no time for Matt. As if you're above him somehow. As if he isn't worth your time at all. My point here is that one of 3 things is true - 1) You're actually a bully yourself. You talk about people behind their backs and don't burden yourself with the responsibility of accountability, and you look down upon them as if they are inferior. 2) You actually couldn't care less about bullying. Your lack of conviction is pretty glaring even though you continue to pretend to be upset about silly things like "someone's opinion on posters". It's all a show, and you're milking this attention as much as you can. 3) You had a knee-jerk reaction to misinterpreted comedy and you're afraid to admit it. Whatever it is, man, one thing's for sure. You need to chill out.

Maybe I should have asked the question first so that you guys don't just think this is me complaining

Yay, Ben!

I think they were saying Açaí

Yeah, discourtesy is a part of the CBB format.

Hey, thanks so much! I feel like that line undercut the scene, though. It was a cheap laugh that would have broken the reality of the scene if it had been in the middle. Luckily it was at the end so we didn't have to try to recover from it. That's just my harsh personal judgement. I appreciate everyone's kind words on this, and it makes me happy knowing that I could make a few people laugh. You're all great! You guys, I can't tell you how much this book is worth. It's insane how much knowledge is packed into it. They did a great job in giving a holistic view of each piece of the improv puzzle, and each of those views can be broken down into pretty concise maxims. Please buy it. Support seven years of hard work!

Thanks guys, you're all very kind! There was an act of betrayal in there, too, when one of our members decided to go see Times Square and do tourist stuff while the rest of us went to watch shows, and then the reconciliation of that situation. And we also slayed a dragon. Really, all the credit for that should be Matt's, Ian's, and Amy's. They're absolute professionals and they made me feel comfortable. Honestly, the entire weekend was amazing. We went into it expecting to be "those guys", but literally everyone we talked to made us feel welcome. Even though we were completely new to this thing that they love and have been doing for years and years, they didn't treat it like it was "their thing" and we were visiting. They made us feel like we were a part of it. Improvisers are the best people on the planet.

Well at least you can't tell I'm nervous. I've got a really good poker voice.

You guys, this was the scariest moment of my life.

I don't know that he's overtly addressed his opinion on it, but I think I remember him doing a bit about it as the pope on an episode of CBB. http://www.earwolf.com/episode/breaking-bread/ this one I think

Anyone else think the new intern (Jonah, right?) sounds kinda like Gemberling?

Do it. Obviously, you're a fan of improv. You might even be in an improv group yourself, or you might just be someone who thinks it's funny. But you might also be someone who lives in the middle of the country. You might be someone who is interested in performing improv with no idea how to get started. That was me about 4 months ago when I first got my hands on this book. I live in a small town with no improv for hundreds of miles. There's nowhere to train anywhere near me. I emailed Matt Besser out of desperation, asking for advice. I say 'out of desperation' because I didn't ever expect him to email me back, but as it turns out he's the greatest person in the world. Anyways, we exchanged some emails, and he mentioned this book. He told me that if I could get a group together and commit to practicing at least twice a week, then as an experiment they'd send us an early copy of the book and let us perform at the Del Close Marathon in June. This was in March. Naturally I jumped at the opportunity. I assembled a group of friends (who had no idea what long form improv was) and we practiced twice a week for 2.5 months. As we went into the DCM, none of my group had ever seen any live long form improv. We had all watched ASSSSCAT together (the DVD), and I had seen a live show once. But we did it. After two and a half months of practice using only this book, we performed a Harold in front of a live audience at one of the biggest improv festivals in the country. What I'm saying is the book works. It was written in a way that makes it easy to get started. It lays things out in a very easy way, and it guides you all the way from 'what is improv' to performing a Harold and more. If you're at all interested in improv, there's no excuse to not own this book. http://ucbstore.com/books/the-upright-citizens-brigade-comedy-improvisation-manual

Solid gold.