The Return of Brendan Kennedy

I didn't notice he was gone, but here's my good friend and Beicide stalwart (and inventor of that mucked up way to spell "Bayside") Brendan Kennedy flexing his stand-up muscles.

Vern, Writer

Continuing today's theme of sharing my blog pleasures, I thought I should shine a bit on a guy I am finding to be the most consistently fascinating and entertaining film writer on the interweb. He calls himself Vern, and he writes in character as if he was in prison for most of the '90s. Just as likely to be true as not, but its not really important to enjoying his writing. What is important is that his film reviews are very insightful, very hilarious, and utterly unique. It is wrapped in a casual style that, for once, is witty and unpretentious rather than just lazy or manipulative. I laugh more regularly reading his movie write-ups than at any actual "humor" site, and he makes the ugly points about cinema that more official critics pussyfoot around. In addition, he wrote a whole book about Steven Seagal that was not an ironic hipster joke. That is some kind of accomplishment. Recently, he published a crushing and discursive review of the Frank Miller misfire The Spirit. Take a look at his work here.

(Richard Pryor's Favorite Word In The '70s) With A Seizure

I recently did a post on Star Time celebrating James Brown. The man was at the pinnacle of at least one of the arts (music). I used to harass my pal who became an accredited master of music about the James Brown theory, which argues that an understanding of all music ever can best be delineated as pre- and post-JB.

Talking in such a broadly historical yet abstractly personal terms, there are few artists I exalt to the extent I do James Brown. One I do a little bit more is Richard Pryor, who did even more than Brown to redefine his art (comedy). Regardless of the specificity, his influence is on everybody who has made a joke in the last 40 years, whether they know it or not. Truly revolutionary honesty, ugliness, humanity, and dazzling skill. There are plenty of Pryor clips circulating on the interweb, so seek them out. I just want to share maybe the best routine from what I feel to be the best comedy album ever, "That (Richard Pryor's Favorite Word In The '70s)'s Crazy".

Bliss Blog

My good friend Ty Bliss has taken the bold prancing skip step into the blogosphere with his recently christened Bliss Blog. Its only a few posts deep and we've already got budget food recommendations and a crossword, so take a look and leave your digital fingerprints (comment). For my money (which is none), it doesn't get any better than this little comic gem, a found letter to Dr. Willie Dicker. Here's a small taste:

Let me start by saying: breaking the news about a patient’s health is supposed to be the hardest part of our job as Doctors. You treat the process more like a hidden camera/reality show. This is not the first of this kind of complaint we’ve received about you and we are seriously considering your suspension.

New Flight of the Conchords Online

Hey kids, though you would be excited to know that Funny or Die posted the upcoming season premiere of Flight of the Conchords for everybody to watch for free!

Season 2 Online Premiere - Flight of the Conchords (US Only) - watch more funny videos

Cheers.