7/27/11
Are you a company looking to impress everyone who walks in through your door? Are you looking for something to tweet to get media buzz and eventually IPO? Of course you are — because you are savvy and understand the new world of social media that relies more on word-of-mouth than full page ads in evening papers or airplanes flying banners by a beach advertising your weird steak dinner. Your problem has been solved. By donating $1000 to our Kickstarter campaign to help fund the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival you will receive a plaque that you can put up in your office, brag about to clients or simply impress your teenage children with. By clicking on, “Yes, my company wants the world to know that we are very, very cool and the best thing ever” you will be taking an important step towards a very profitable future. You might throw away more money on uneaten pasta and sandwiches at meetings about how your new phone system works. Why not give this a shot? Don’t you want to be mentioned in the New York Times or The Huffington Post as one of the companies that helped fund an Awkward Party Bus? Of course you do. I have no idea if that will happen, but your chances definitely increase if you pledge money. Thank you. Also, please do this before August 2nd, since there is a small chance everything will go out of business that day.
Below is what you plaque will say:
“This plaque is to certify that YOUR COMPANY’S NAME has donated graciously to the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival. That means YOUR COMPANY’S NAME is cool and ‘gets it.’ It means YOUR COMPANY’S NAME is attractive, possibly environmentally friendly, and a generous lover. This plaque certifies that YOUR COMPANY’S NAME is a brand that can be trusted, even in a blizzard or during war-time. YOUR COMPANY’S NAME is number one and we love you. Sincerely, The Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival”
7/23/11
Here’s who is on our show each night at Just For Laughs.
Monday July 25, 8:30
Underworld
Eugene Mirman, The Pajama Men, Hannibal Buress, Maria Bamford, Kumail Nanjiani
Tuesday July 26, 10:00
Underworld
Eugene Mirman, Jimmy Carr, Reggie Watts, Chris Hardwick, Paul F. Tompkins, Kumail Nanjiani
Wednesday July 27, 10:00
Underworld
Eugene Mirman, Reggie Watts, Arj Barker, Kumail Nanjiani, Kristen Schaal
Thursday July 28, 10:00
Underworld
Eugene Mirman, Andy Kindler, John Mulaney, Kurt Braunohler, David O’Doherty
Saturday July 30, 10:00
Underworld
Eugene Mirman , Reggie Watts, Hannibal Buress, John Mulaney, Kumail Nanjiani
Here is the very dumb video I made announcing I’ll be at the festival that 5 out of 9 people dislike:
7/16/11
You can read about our Kickstarter project for the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival 2011 at
LaughSpin, SplitSider, HuffPo Comedy. So far we’ve raised 20% and each day we move that much closer to our dream of a petting zoo, Awkward Party Bus, and copious amounts of free food for people.
7/14/11
The 4th Annual Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival!
This year’s festival will take place from September 15th – 18th in Brooklyn at Bell House and Union Hall. We have a bunch of awesome stuff planned that we’re VERY excited about.
Normally, each year, we half-heartedly consider trying to get sponsors to fund our lovely and demented dreams, but this year we’ve decided to try something different: Kickstarter. With that in mind, please watch the video, look at our oddball incentives, and consider donating anywhere between $10 and $10,000. It would be very helpful. Thank you. Click-ity click click click here!
5/25/11
A few weeks ago I moved and arranged with Time Warner to move my cable. Just like when it happened to you, Time Warner Cable didn’t show up (twice) to our appointment. Their monolithic apathy to their inability to do what they say they will was frustrating, so I thought I’d make fun of them by writing a letter expressing my feelings and taking out full page ads in a few New York news papers running the letter.
You can see the ad on page 5 in this week’s Summer Guide issue of New York Press.
And here is the ad from the Greenpoint Gazette.
5/22/11
Watch the season finale of Bob’s Burger tonight at 8:30/7:30c! Here a preview:
Eugene
5/8/11
Last week I co-hosted Star Talk Radio with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and we talked about the physics of superheros. Though we never figured out the power behind Green Lantern’s will-powered-ring, we did discover that Daredevil is slightly plausible and that Mr. Fantastic is very un-realistic (and not just because it’s not likely for someone to be very smart, but because of how much he stretches). Here’s a link to the hour-long program.
Eugene
3/20/11
Watch a new episode of Bob’s Burgers tonight on Fox at 8:30/7:30c guest starring Megan Mullally (from Party Down, a show I loved).
Eugene
3/18/11
One of the most fun things I get to do is be part of John Wesley Harding’s Cabinet of Wonders. The show features different musicians, writers (even poets!) and often me. I think cover of Kevin Ayers’ Religious Experience conveys the fun we had last week (featuring John Wesley Harding, Andrew Bird, Tift Merrit, Josh Ritter, Jonathan Coe, David Wax Museum, Robert Lloyd, The English UK, and me on the theremin — which I can both play and not play, as you will see).
Eugene
3/8/11
I admired Mike DeStefano so much. He was the realization of what the ideal standup comedian could become as well as a testament to the American Dream and will power. I’d only met and hung out with him a handful of times. He’d just started doing my show at Union Hall this last fall. He was amazing. He killed with the darkest and most heartfelt comedy I’d seen in quite some time if not ever. He joked and shared about his wife dying of AIDS, his difficult childhood, about heroin addiction, being a counselor and mentor to addicts, and giving talks on drugs and HIV. He recounted the time (while giving a talk) someone asked him (I think it was a teacher at a high school) if you could get AIDS from a doorknob, and he explained, quite rightly, only if it was covered in blood and you fucked it. And even then the air would probably have killed the HIV virus. It was simply one of the funniest and most touching standup performances I’d seen. For weeks to come I kept telling people about the amazing performance Mike did. Mike emailed me Saturday to see if he could do my show March 6th to practice for his one-man show. I said of course. Then, because of rain and a meeting, he asked if it’d be okay to cancel. He said he could be there if I really needed him to, but that it’d be inconvenient. I said no problem, another time. I will miss you very much Mike. You were a very kind and very funny man. Goodbye, RIP.
Below is a clip of Mike telling a beautiful story about his wife, Franny. Watch it, pass it on:
