Feldman's Faves: August 26, 2024

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE

I cannot believe we are heading into the last week of August and our final long weekend of the summer. To those of you with kids in school I congratulate you in getting through another summer.

This fall should be very interesting one for those of you who follow American politics.  With the conventions now over the real campaigns begin.  To say this upcoming election is the most consequential of our lifetimes would not be hyperbole. I will certainly be following with great interest.

Today will be an interesting one for the sports history books when Danny Jansen plays this afternoon at Fenway Park. Jansen, as  a member of the Boston Red Sox.  Jansen will become the first player ever to play for both teams in the same game when the Jays and BoSox resume their suspended (rain delayed) game from earlier this season.  This fact will definitely come up in some sort of Trivia Night someday soon.

Today’s theme is comedians I like. Given how much is happening in the world that is negative these days I think making time to laugh and be joyful is more important than ever.

WHAT THIS COMEDIAN SAID WILL SHOCK YOU By: Bill Maher – Many commentators claim that Bill Maher is the H.L. Mencken of the 21st century. He is cranky and ornery and speaks about what he believes to be the truth. He is the nation’s human “BS detector” and he calls out the hypocrisy and stupidity that he sees on all sides of life and most importantly, on all sides of the political spectrum, which I greatly respect and admire.  In this book he has one chapter called Republicans and another called Democrats whom he lambastes with equal levels of ferocity and in each case he pulls no punches. But his laser is focused on all aspects of society ranging from helicopter parenting to his views on the futility of higher education, the fragility of youth and to of course all topics that are political.  In What this Comedian Said Will Shock You we see a series of essays (a/k/a rants) of Maher that reflects his most refined level of crankiness – but wow is it amusing and entertaining. As one reviewer notes, “The hilarious and controversial host of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher has written his funniest, most opinionated, and most necessary book ever—a brilliantly astute and acerbically funny vivisection of American life, politics, and culture. Some of the smartest commentary about what’s happening in America is coming from a comedian—this comedian being Bill Maher. If you want to understand what’s wrong with this country, it turns out that one of the best informed and most thought-provoking analysts is this very funny pothead. The book was inspired by the “editorial” Bill delivers at the end of each episode of Real Time. These editorials are direct-to-camera sermons about culture, politics, and what’s happening in the world. To put this book together, Maher reviewed more than a decade of his editorials, rewriting, reimagining, and updating them, and adding new material to speak exactly to the moment we’re in. Free speech, cops, drugs, race, religion, the generations, cancel culture, the parties, the media, show biz, romance, health—Maher covers it all. The result is a hugely entertaining work of commentary about American culture in the tradition of Mark Twain, Will Rogers, and H. L. Mencken.”  Love him or hate him, you cannot ignore him and his hilarious and insightful thoughts. Here’s a good review from Kirkus-  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/bill-maher/what-this-comedian-said-will-shock-you/

SmartLess -  "Nate Bargatze" – I try to spend a few minutes every week laughing by finding great comedians out there. One of TikTok’s favourites is Nate Bargatze.  You may not know him by name but if you see his face you likely will. His work on SNL is awesome and he is most famous for his George Washington skit, which you should watch (it was actually on last weekend as a rerun).  His discussion with the boys on Smartless is pretty entertaining as well. Here’s an excerpt from the PODCAST itself, “Untuck your button-down; it’s Nate Bargatze. We discover the wonders of Magic, the Easter Bunny, a KFC-catered family reunion, and an elevator in the ocean. You can’t take your eyes off a mime… it’s an all-new SmartLess.” https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/smartless/id1521578868?i=1000661247512

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and participation.And remember to stay safe, stay healthy and to docket daily.

Jon