words

There are a lot of things that are overwhelming. Hospitals. Years of separation since high school. Braiding hair without any fly aways.

Comedy is overwhelming. to me. because i'm not funny.

Being a grown up is overwhelming.

Being a grown up comedian must be impossible. or is it improbable?

I still think continuously getting tested to make the right choice is the most overwhelming part. It's easy to be irresponsible. In joke telling, during conference calls (hopefully not the same instance and if so I'm routing for laughs). It's convenient to make choices not thinking of the consequences (easier when consequences have not been experienced but lets not argue on semantics now).

It's your actions

Valuing them

Recognizing your choices

Knowing what you're up against

Deciding and doing it again and again

Wait I started rapping.

Point it still there. Whether I am watching last weeks SNL (btw best sketch was Tina Fay being "in love" Justin Beiber... he's a thing right??) or dealing with my own situations.

Overwhelming - yes. Not funny 85% of the time - absolutely. Accidentally funny 5% of the time - nicki yes,SNL... we'll say 4.2%. Doesn't matter. We need to be responsible and conscious of these choices.

In jokes. Only talking about jokes. (and fine other stuff.)

Episode 35 x 16 = 560 (2010)

so i haven't watched a 1975 SNL episode in awhile. Fans, I don't think you get the gumption it takes to do this. But I won't let you down. I made a promise and I'm only in the business of breaking ones that involve diets and not drinking (are those mutually exclusive?). what's the point I'm making.... oh yeah, I did watch this weeks SNL. I even set tivo to season pass it.

to be honest, I watched it more because of Zach Galifianakis. I thought he could make it funny. (because he is a funny person, this is also known as a comedian, or a spontaneous funny person i don't think they get a name - poor souls) I like to think he did make it funny, in the way he could, given its on NBC and has become a tool for promotion then an expression of youth and creativity. oh those darn networks.

best sketch was the last one.

[need to explain why – have to rewatch – sorry future nicki]

I wonder sometimes how SNL got here. How did their skits get so long? How did their jokes become repeats of jokes instead inventions of humor? Why is there no pushes of envelopes? What is nacho cheese made of? (I'm just saying if I have their attention I'm going to ask the questions that need to be asked)

to Zach - you are a funny man and my opinion counts (to my tivo at least).

And now this...

What I just discovered has confirmed I can’t just sit here and recap every episode: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0694451/plotsummary

It was a dumb idea anyway. Especially when those fine people at IMDB did such a concise and accurate job. I still think there is something to gain from watching every episode. And no it's not because I want to slowly kill myself (you know because most of it is boring and not funny). This just means I need to provide what some might call “insights” or at least interesting fact-jokes.

1975 - Episode 5:

Note: 5 min in - haven't laughed once.

YES ABBA!

Doesn't hurt that (1) I love ABBA, (2) this is one of my favorite ABBA songs (SOS), and (3) ABBA makes everything better (it’s science, you wouldn’t understand). You and I both know it I am just mature enough to admit it. Now a lot of you will judge me for liking ABBA. But you're just stupid (note this argument worked in 4^th grade. I’m expecting the same results now). They are a good band despite their outfits. Pure good pop music. It transcends (see Chuck Klosterman's book Eating the Dinosaur - and yes I did think this way about ABBA prior to his essay, he's just better at communicating thoughts. He as it turns out is a “writer”).

"Goodness, what a wonderful country, Wow what a nifty history, Gee it's a powerful nation, And it's been 200 years now, Isn't it wonderful?, Oh, you know it certainly is.
Well, I relived my country's history, In a class called Social Studies, And I learned the Pledge of Allegiance, And I sing my national anthem, 'My country 'tis of thee.'" - Loudon Wainwright III

Yup. That's a song. That I just heard. And no I didn't throw my TV out the window. It's not TVs fault. It's mine. I should buy my TV flowers.

This Loudon Wainwright is a very strange man. He kind of looks like he's going to cry. And people are laughing at him, but I don't think he means to be funny. I think he instead is writing a deep compassionate song that exemplifies what's going on. Research, as I've just conducted, he won a grammy last year. Good for him. Thank you ABBA for closing the show successfully at least from my perspective.

1975 - Episode 6:

Dear SNL - I see now that it is a tradition to continue to run a joke into the ground by replaying a skit episode after episode but please stop. Not funny in 2010 not funny in 1975 (see Jaws III sketch).
I can't even pay attention. I'm starting to loose sight of why this was innovative. I'm going to have to do some research into this.

1975 - Number 4

I've made a new rule for this SNL viewing I'm doing. I can't be drunk. Hmm. Now that I think about it maybe I should be drunk. Maybe that's how it is intended to be watched. After all who is sober at 11 PM on a Saturday? Maybe just maybe that's why I've never really laughed at this. Drinking. I should watch each episode sober then drunk as a science experiment. Take it to the science fair. That should get me a blue ribbon. But that seems like a lot of work. Oh well, rule already made - sober it is.

I'm just going to have to say that I don't get this joke, in these last few episodes before they go to a commercial they go to someone in the audience and put some kind of caption under the persons name. I think they are supposed to be jokes but I don't think I'm 1975 enough.

Ew. worst musical act. that i've seen so far. i'm sure there are more to come.

I'm starting to run out of things to say. I could just sit and recap the episodes moment by moment but that just might be as boring as watching every episode. Chevy's opening was funny. Shark bit went to long. (wasn't that entertaining?)

This isn't funny. Why does it need to be an hour and five min long? I need to investigate where this segment of time came from. Maybe this element is the key ingredient to funny. I worry it’s too much. But I’m still early on this journey.

This next part is going to be hard to describe. But I don't like when someone is doing stand-up and they say a line that ended up getting a laugh that seems unexpected, or larger than what I will call the “expected laugh.” And then the comedian ends up pausing and repeating the line. Which entices an awkward second flow of laughing. I always feel like it is them being greedy. They want that free extra laugh.

Side note, it’s bizarre how listening to women talking about ERA has become a nice break from hearing about health care reform.

I survived.