Last Post: John Mulaney

Hey everyone, it's Matt for one last time.

The semester's almost over which means there aren't many events to look forward to until next year. Hopefully next April has comedians as good or better than what SPA offered this year. It was all great.

On that note, I'd like to review the last show from Tuesday, John Mulaney. Before John went on though, a friend of his, Joe Mande, took the stage first to also do some comedy. Just like music, it's common for bigger comedians to have an opener and just like music, they can be really hit or miss. I've seen some terrible openers in my time, comedy and otherwise. I actually saw Joe Mande last year when he opened for someone else here at PSU (Mike Birbiglia?). I remember him being very funny and as a result I've been following his hilarious twitter for the last year or so (@JoeMande).

Joe once again did not disappoint. All his material was new and hilarious. Joe's comedy style is to tell funny stories that personally happened to him. Two stand-outs include having some GI issues late at night at a Jewish Summer Camp when he was a kid, and accidentally using the toilet after cutting up peppers for dinner. The latter story had me laughing so hard I could barely breathe. Part of what made it so funny was how you could anticipate where the story was going to go. Needless to say, the story ends with his girlfriend walking in on him naked, crying, and covered in milk.

John Mulaney during his most recent 1-hour Comedy Central special.

After Joe's short and sweet 30 minute set, John Mulaney took the stage. The funny thing about John Mulaney is that for being almost 30 years old, he could blend in with the crowd of student that was there that night.He looks very young and he often brings it up in his jokes for comedic effect. One of the more entertaining aspects of the show was Mulaney's almost reverse heckling of the audience. He would ask audience members questions about their majors and job ideas and then make fun of them when they were a graduating senior with no idea what to do with their degree. It was very entertaining and John apologized so it wasn't hurtful.

Mulaney is also a story kind of comedian and he has some of the funniest stories I've ever heard. I already mentioned the Salt & Pepper diner story earlier in this blog. Imagine stories of that caliber for almost the entire hour. That can give you a good idea of how great he is. I had actually heard a large portion of his routine already, but the way he presents the stories keeps them fresh and almost as funny as the first time you hear it. He also had a fair share of funny tangents that kept the audience entertained for the whole show.

But that's it for comedy. Don't forget to check out Movin' On tomorrow like Maria said! It's free and a great stress relief before finals weekend. I'll leave you with another one of my favorite Mulaney jokes about waking up the next day from a black out. Good luck and goodbye!

Moving On

Hey Nittany Lions,

It's hard to believe that this semester is almost over.  It seems like yesterday I was studying for my first midterms, but my mom keeps reminding me of how soon until I arrive home (7 days!).  I have bittersweet feelings, since I LOVE being home but I also love being at school.

This is the main stage at last year's Movin' On.. Looks pretty
bumpin' to me.

Sadly, PSU events are also coming to a close, but fortunately, there is still one event to look forward to before enclosing ourselves in our rooms to study for finals.  The event is called Movin' On and apparently has been a part of Penn State tradition since 1974.  This spring festival originated with the purpose to celebrate students graduating and getting done with the school year.  Their website claims corporate and local sponsors provide plenty of "freebies".  Of course, food and drinks will be for sale.



The event will be held on Friday outside of Beaver Stadium on the IM fields.  The first performer, Keegan Tawa, starts at 3 p.m.  Following that show, David Mayfield, Parade,Young the Giant (presented by SPA),Michael Franti & Spearhead, Ludacris, and The Avett Brothers will perform until 9:30 p.m.  

I never went in the past, but I've already made plans with friends to go check it out.  I googled last year's Movin' On and found a couple of videos and it looks pretty cool. Look below at the video I found on YouTube.


Well, that is all I have for tonight.  Good luck studying!!! 


-Maria 


Here is Lupe Fiasco performing at last year's event:

O Brother Man: The Art and Life of Lynd Ward

This is Pat again, checking in for my final blog post of the semester!

Again I decided to change to topic up a bit this week and talk about an event I attended last friday (after hearing The Von Shakes in the HUB). In Paterno Library at 2:30 on friday afternoon, I sat down to watch a film entitled "O Brother Man: The Art and Life of Lynd Ward". The subject of the film was a man named Lynd Ward, who is known as the father of the American graphic novel because of his major influences to the world of storytelling through pictures. "O Brother Man" featured over 150 pieces of Ward's art, particularly his woodcuts, for which he was famous. For those who don't know, woodcutting is the process of carving out detailed pictures on boards of wood and, after applying ink to the carvings, pressing them onto a piece of paper. This results in a mirrored image of what was carved on the wood. Ward was famous for 6 wordless woodcarving graphic novels, including "Gods' Man", "Madman's Drum", "Wild Pilgrimage", "Prelude to a Million Years", "Song Without Words", and "Vertigo". What I found so interesting about the film and the woodcarving novels specifically was that they were so well executed. Furthermore, the woodcarving novels were totally wordless, and yet had the ability to convey emotion and tell a better story than some authors today can do with 3 or 4-book series. Ward’s subject matter was very serious as well, as the film detailed, and many of his woodcuts pertained to life during the Great Depression, wordlessly discussion things like corporate greed and the dichotomy of good and evil in unrestrained capitalism that still resonate with us today in 2012. I know I keep coming back to it, but the fact that Ward’s novels were totally wordless were what really blew me away. All of the stories are so clearly defined and the actions and emotions very much in evidence, despite not having the words with which to describe what is going on. I think this really takes the idea of the graphic novel to another level, removing the “novel” part and emphasizing the “graphic”. Ward’s daughter Robin Ward Savage, who was interviewed in the film, was also present at the viewing and introduced the filmmakers themselves, after which they took questions from the group. Savage talked about her father as well as his work, and her own understanding of just how important he was not only to society, but to the world of graphic novels as well. If you’re ever in the library and need something to do, I highly recommend checking out some of Ward’s pieces, found in the Rare Books room. You may not be able to take them home, but taking the time to read Ward’s work is time well spent.

Thanks for reading and following our blog! Have a good rest of the semester and remember that on a campus as large as PSU’s there’s always something to do, all you have to do is look for it!

John Mulaney Reminder and Corpsing

Hey again, it's Matt.

Just wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow night John Mulaney of SNL and stand-up fame will be in the HUB at 8PM. It's free and ticketless (first come, first served), so you have no excuse not to check out a great comedian... unless of course you're worried about finals next week or something. Another fun fact I found out about John Mulaney and his SNL creation, Stefon, is that Mulaney purposely tried to make Bill Hader break character and laugh. I personally think that when an actor or comedian breaks character on occasion, it's one of the funniest things ever. Who doesn't get a kick out of seeing Stephen Colbert or Michael Palin laughing hysterically? It takes a lot of skill to make a good actor/comedian laugh.

Stephen Colbert corpsing. Also, check out the clip here (around the 2:20 mark).

This little fact is actually a terrific setup for what I will be talking about next. In fact, the situation I described above, when a comedian/actor breaks character and can't stop laughing, it is called corpsing. As Wikipedia defines it, corpsing is a British slang term when a character breaks out laughing or makes another cast member laugh. (Wikipedia). Obviously, a lot of this doesn't make it into the movies or previously recorded tv shows. Mostly you will find this happening on live shows or in the blooper reels of your favorite film or show.

The thing about corpsing is that it is not always due to something hilarious being said. Anything can set an actor/comedian off and can potentially ruin an important shot. Sometimes, it will even get to the point where after numerous mess-ups of the takes it really is not funny anymore and starts to get annoying. However, this isn't always enough to get the person to stop corpsing. It becomes something of a self fulfilling prophecy in that they are so worried about laughing and ruining the take, it makes it all the harder to stop laughing.

Surely some of us have felt something similar to this, even if we aren't actors or comedians. I remember my freshman year in the dorms when I was watching a funny video. My roommate was sleeping not even 10 feet away and I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe. The fact that I was trying to be quiet and considerate made the video all the more funny and my reaction all the more loud. I eventually had to take a 5 minute break to calm down and stop laughing...

A lot of the information I have on corpsing comes from none other than one of England's best comedians, Ricky Gervais. Gervais and his friends working on the tv show Extras made a mini documentary (more of a blooper reel than anything) about the phenomenon. Check it out below.

I've got the Von Shakes

Welcome back!

So I figured I'd mix it up a little this week and change the topic of my blog posts from the poetic goings-on here at PSU to the musical side of PSU entertainment. A little preliminary knowledge, every Friday afternoon, actually at noon on the dot, Student Programming Association (SPA) schedules a musical act, typically acoustic, to perform on the second floor of the HUB, next to Heritage Hall. So this past friday, since I didn't have class and had to wait in the HUB for an hour or so before my next class, I figured why not check out that day's act. I sat down and listened in to Von Shakes, three members of an Irish rock quartet that played an "acoustic" set. However, there was an electric bass and electric guitar, as well as the acoustic being played by the lead singer. But the sound wasn't overwhelmingly electric, because the tones of the electric instruments were clean and the acoustic guitar was more resonant than the others. Von Shakes' repertoire included a wide range of original tracks, including my personal favorite "Bali" which the lead singer said, in his wonderfully thick Irish accent, was about "an island we've never been to, but we plan on getting there someday." The song had a folky feel to it, kind of like an edgier, bluesier Bob Dylan, but it was the sad, howling vocals that made the song what it was. Coupled with a very technical and very impressive blues guitar solo, the song became an instant classic and I was hooked for the rest of the set. Von Shakes also covered a Bob Marley song, which I don't know the name of but it was a great cover and was such a drastic change from the reggae I was expecting that it really surprised me. But the song was great and the performance was just as endearing as the originals from Von Shakes. Between each song the lead singer made some friendly banter with the crowd and made a great connection with the students sitting and listening to the performance. Overall, it was a great set from some really talented guys, and I highly suggest getting out to the HUB next Friday for SPA’s final noontime concert of the semester if you find yourself with nothing to do at noon. You’ll hear some great music and spend a relaxing hour in the HUB, the perfect way to wind down at the end of the last week of classes and relax before finals start up!

-Pat

Lost in Afghanistan Review

Heyy,

On Friday, I went to watch The International Center for the Study of Terrorism's Event, "Lost in Afghanistan" with my friend Cristina, who is also studying International Politics. We arrived at the Lewis-Katz Building (aka the law school) and entered into the auditorium that was hosting the event and were delighted to find out that we were able to speak to the speaker, Jack Segal.  Segal is now an independent consultant and lecturer at the National Defense University in D.C.  He served in Vietnam and has since worked in the National Security Council during the Clinton administration and was also senior political adviser to the NATO commander in charge of Afghanistan.
The event started promptly at 6 p.m. and was very enlightening.  Afghanistan has been on the news a lot recently, and I felt it would be a great opportunity to learn more about what is going on there, since I am mainly interested in European and South American politics and government.
The event was definitely worth going to.  It was evident that Segal was extremely knowledgeable on the subject of American influence on Afghanistan and the effects our counter-insurgency (military tactic that the U.S. is using right now for the region) will have in the future.
After the lecture, there was a reception with delicious food that I rarely get to enjoy during my college days.  There was crab cakes, homemade pita chips and mango sauce, spanakopitas, chimichurri meatballs, the most delicious chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted.  (Yes, even better than West Dining Halls).
After eating, Cristina and I went to go talk to  ICST's director, John Horgan and he told us that for next semester they have a former terrorist coming to speak, as well as a former CIA agent.
Overall, it was a great event, and I'll surely be attending most of ICST's events for next semester which you can find here.

Below, is a YouTube video about the U.S.'s counter-insurgency strategy, just in case you are interested.

Hope you all enjoy the last of the weekend.

-Maria

My Absence, Am I Nostradamus?, The Boston Marathon, and Some Music News

Hey all, Matt here again.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I couldn't make the Hal Sparks and John Caparulo shows due to being in Boston for the marathon. I'll get to that in a minute. As far as comedy at Penn State goes, Hal Sparks apparently had a good set Friday night (Collegian) as did John Caparulo on Monday (Collegian).

Also, remember how in my last post I mentioned how great it would be if John Mulaney would come to Penn State? A few days after that post, SPA announced he would be coming as well for FREE. Needless to say, I am very excited to go and considering I picked the correct comedian to be announced next out of all the comedians out there, I have now accepted the fact that I have been born with the gift of divination. Mulaney will be performing in the HUB on April 24 (Tuesday) at 8PM. Another interesting fact I discovered is that John Mulaney writes for SNL. He is credited with creating the character Stefon, who is played by the also very talented Bill Hader. Check out the link below for another taste of John Mulaney's work!

On to the Marathon. Obviously, I didn't run it. I haven't done anything to physically exert myself since the boxing season ended 2-3 weeks ago. My dad ran it, though. It was his 5-6th marathon and the first time he's ever qualified for Boston. He ran it in a little over 4 hours which was good considering the heat (over 90 at some parts of the race). Overall, it was a fun trip. However, I wish there had been a little bit more time to explore the area more. It definitely got me thinking of checking out medical schools in the area though!

Lastly, let's talk a little bit about some of the music coming to Penn State. Movin' On, Penn State's annual senior send-off and weekend before finals stress relief is now only 9 days away. Headlining the show will be one of my favorite bands, the folk group The Avett Brothers. With them will be another staple of live music festivals, Michael Franti & Spearhead. Also announced was Ludacris, Young the Giant, and The David Mayfield Parade. Before these major acts, the winners of the recent local Battle of the Bands will play. From the event page on Facebook, it looks like the event will begin at 3PM in the fields near Beaver Stadium. Be sure to check it out because like this month's comedy, it's also FREE.

Also, because nothing is better with comedy than a little music, here is what to expect from a headliner like The Avett Brothers.