I Love Comedy Central - The Daily Show

I have a confession: I don't watch the news anymore. I check CNN maybe once a week. I get most of my news from blogs that I've deemed relevant and informative. I also watch a lot of Current; they really seem to have a good understanding of the trends in new media and reporting for now. Sometimes when I'm sick of my ipod, I do enjoy flipping to NPR to find out what's up in the world.

But I am a little ashamed to say that I get a lot of my news from... The Daily Show. Just a little ashamed though because I really don't think it's all that bad. Even though it's a self-declared "fake news" program, the Daily Show has provided me with just as much, if not more, insight than the 24-hour news networks. That may sound incredibly sad/dumb/impossible, but let me explain.

During the Presidential Race last year, I did make it a habit to stay informed by the traditional media. I checked CNN multiple times a day, watched all the debates, cringed while forcing myself to give FOX a chance, and stayed up on FactCheck to see what was what. But the Daily Show proved to me that it was the only place that went back into past, the achives, to give the full story.

Go to 5:20 on this one to see what I mean.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Indecision 2008 - Last Day
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Like, why is Sarah Palin's recording of Barack Obama even relevant? It's not; John McCain shares the same exact views. Yet, on all the traditional news sources I watched, that point was never addressed. Interesting. And besides, Jon Stewart is straight up hilarious, so that's reason enough to watch.

Summer Time at Bonnaroo

When I think of summer, I think of all the festivals and concerts that are coming up.  Since I'm graduating this semester, I'll finally have plenty of free time to travel, chill, relax, party, read, and basically do anything I want... when I'm not focusing on work of course.  When I was looking at summer festivals, I was surprised to see comedy is usually a staple at some of these events.

This year at Bonnaroo in Tennessee - which is the closest and has more than a few musical acts I'd like to see - there's going to be a lot of great comics performing (my picks bolded):

Jimmy Fallon 

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog 

The Daily Show's John Oliver, Rob Riggle & Rory Albanese 

Michael Ian Black & Michael Showalter 

Aziz Ansari 

Kristen Schaal 

Arj Barker 

Todd Barry 

Wayne Federman

Nick Thune 

Nick Kroll 

Kurt Braunohler 

Amy Schumer 

Kumail Nanjiani 

Pete Holmes

I would love to go to Bonnaroo, and while I don't like to think I'm high maintenance, I just can't imagine roughing it for four days on a farm in Tennessee... in a tent... in June.  

I mean, Baltimore is too humid to me, so I realistically can't handle it.  I would love to go because in addition to comedy there will be great music (Mars Volta, Animal Collective, Santigold, etc.), films, and all kinds of art and unique vendors.  If you've been or are thinking of going, please share your thoughts, I'm still on the fence!

Jon Lajoie in D.C. Tonight! - Part Two

The show at the DC Improv with Jon Lajoie was great! You could tell that the audience was familiar with Lajoie from his Internet work. He blended his online videos seamlessly in between a stand-up routine.

As I mentioned before, I wasn't sure what to expect form the standup but I was impressed. He would leave the stage and appear in some memorable costumes from his various Internet video characters, including MC Vagina and Everyday Normal Guy. He sung some live songs and played guitar, which seems to be a trend among comedians nowadays.

(Mike, Jon Lajoie and me)

His humor is definitely aimed towards the college-aged and 20s to early 30s set. I wouldn't recommend it to your parents. The table of older women next to me clearly did not enjoy the show and said it was "typical, college boy humor." They, however, had never seen the Internet content and decided to come to the show on a whim. For the most part though, the audience seemed very receptive at the sold-out performance, and laughs filled the Improv.

At the end of the show, Lajoie was gracious enough to meet with members of the audience and take photos. Afterwards, Lajoie asked my boyfriend for a cigarette and we all enjoyed a quick smoke break. Unfortunately, I a had one to many shots of tequila to remember anything noteworthy from the conversation, but he was very friendly and easy to talk to. Check out some of his videos and go to see him live if you have the chance!

Jon Lajoie in D.C. Tonight!

Comedian Jon Lajoie is performing at the Improv in D.C. tonight, and yours truly will be in attendence. I'm really looking forward to this because Lajoie has gained fame from his Internet videos!

By using his website, YouTube, Collegehumor, Ebaumsworld, FunnyorDie and other video blogging platfroms, the Canadian comedian gathered a strong following which warrented a standup tour not only in his home country, but across the states as well.

Lajoie is a prefect example of how new media can be used positively for comedians. There's so many platforms available, put yourself out there and use them! I can't wait to see how his comedic style translates to standup. How will stuff like this be funny live onstage?