Comedian Tig Notaro And Her Stand-Up Routine About Cancer

I heard a remarkable story this week about a standup comedian named Tig Notaro while listening to one of my favorite podcasts The Business, on KCRW. 2012 has not been a good year for Notaro to say the least; she had pneumonia which led to a bacterial infection that put her in the hospital, her mother died suddenly, her girlfriend left her and then, to top it all off, she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.

In late August, the day after she got her diagnosis, she had a show at the Largo in L.A. and, though she thought about canceling, went onstage anyway and performed an epic set about her woes which killed. Louis C.K. happened to be in the audience and tweeted about her show the next day saying it was the best thing he had seen in 27 years of standup.

That was enough to launch Notaro's career in a whole new direction. And now a recording of this set from the Largo has been released as a comedy album via Louis C.K.'s website. You can hear an excerpt from the opening of the set on THIS AMERICAN LIFE.  It's really amazing to hear as the audience comes to realize she is not joking but telling the truth, but doing so in an incredibly funny way. As it turns out, Notaro is doing well after a double mastectomy and the cancer is in remission.

Sitcom Master Directs Michael Urie in PARTNERS

Tonight on CBS, the new sitcom PARTNERS debuts. It's from the creators of WILL AND GRACE and stars Michael Urie, who was in my second feature WTC VIEW (which he did right after graduating from Juilliard). It's about two best friends, one gay and one straight, who run an architecture firm and it's inspired by the real life friend between creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan.

I found an interesting story on NPR today about the director of tonight's pilot episode, James Burrows. He's directed more than 50 TV pilots over the last 20 some years, starting with TAXI and including other hits like CHEERS, FRIENDS and THE BIG BANG THEORY.  He has an interesting theory about directing sitcoms too--he often does it with his eyes closed. Literally. He says it's more important to hear the show, like radio. Which I guess why NPR did a feature on him :)

Trending: Mad Men Inspires More Drinking At Work

There's an interesting piece over at NPR.org today that caught my eye about an apparent increase of on-the-job drinking.  They tie the story in the popularity of MAD MEN.  The real reason, however, is not to ape Don Draper and Co. but to keep employees who are working ridiculously long hours somewhat happy by including a bar on the premises. It's the same reason some hi-tech companies have elaborate cafeterias or ping pong tables or basketball courts (see Pixar); its' all to keep their employees from leaving.

Overall, the NPR piece states that there is a new and much more relaxed attitude toward drinking at work in recent years. Additionally, they do make the argument that drinking leads to creative breakthroughs, which is something that has been seen on MAD MEN. The NPR piece also discusses an academic study that apparently showed an increase in creativity and problem solving for people who were drinking.  Conversely, there is also the problem of executives peeing themselves from drinking too much at the office (see Freddie).

Below is a fun/scary montage of all the boozing on the 60s show, courtesy of New York Magazine's VULTURE site. Cheers!

Oreo Cookies Are 100 Years Old And Still Taste Delicious

Yesterday, the all-American Oreo cookie celebrated its 100th anniversary.  According to NPR's Marketplace report, sales of the original black and white cookie topped 2 billion dollars worldwide last year.

It's a bit of a New York story too as the chocolate sandwich cookie was created and first made by the Nabisco company at a big factory in the far west section of Chelsea during the now-artsy neighborhood's more industrial phase.  The building that housed the Nabsico company is currently famous to foodies for being the home base for The Food Network and, on the ground floor, the Chelsea Market.

The AP has a nice compilation of the look of Oreos over the years which, despite it's now trademark blue color and logo, has changed a bit over the years. It makes me hungry just looking at it....I think I'll go celebrate the Oreo now!

Madonna Wins The Super Bowl

If you were on Twitter last night during the Big Game, the most trending topic was easily #Madonna.  Not to mention the flurry of opinions and wisecracks that filled Facebook before, during and after her much-anticipated half-time show at the Super Bowl.

Today, there are plenty of post-mortems online about her over-the-top and very entertaining 17-minute show. It has generally received great notices and rightfully so.  If Madonna knows anything after 30 some years in showbiz, it's how to put on a show!

Over at NPR.com, there was a nice appreciation of not only her half-time show but also Madonna in general.  Writer Linda Holmes remarks about the unlikely span and breadth of Madonna's career as an entertainer; one that began in 1984 with "Borderline" and has not let up since.  Holmes points out how many laughed at the Material Girl, expecting her to fade away like many of the neon-colored fads of the day. But the bottom line is that her staying power and her showmanship are remarkable by any standard.  So for all the criticism out there, you gotta admit that Madonna is still here and still putting on an incredible show.

Is This Photo Worth 4.3 Million Dollars?

The answer is yes.  That's how much it went for at auction last week at Christie's, according to a story on NPR.  The photographer is Andreas Gursky and the photo is of the Rhine River in his native Germany.  On the surface it's not an extraordinary image. But the actual print that was sold is very large, 6 x11 feet.  But I think I'd want something 60 x 111 feet for that price!  

Of course, art experts have a lot to say in the NPR piece about the photographer's German background, his famous mentors and the significance of the Rhine in Western art.  But I would not have guessed it was the Rhine, more or less a river, when I first saw it.  It almost looks like a painting of horizontal stripes of green and grey. But all that adds up to major cha-ching in the somewhat loopy world of contemporary art valuation these days.

And what was the photo Gursky beat out that was the previous record holder?  That would be 3.3 million for Cindy Sherman's "Unititled".

German Nursing Home's "Cure" For Alzheimers

A nursing home in Germany has developed an unusual solution for a serious problem; Alzheimers and dementia patients who wander away and then get lost.  One of the workers at the facility in Dusseldorf came up with an idea that sounded crazy at first but they decided to give it a shot.  


Realizing the patients would leave in search of transportation, he suggested building a fake bus stop right in front of the nursing home as a way to "catch" them.  Not only did it work, it changed the way that employees dealt with patients in general, reducing stress and increasing the patients well-being.  


I found out about this whole fascinating story on the NPR RadioLab podcast.  You can click here to hear it in its entirety or you can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes.  

Alec Baldwin Guest Host Gig On NPR

Alec Baldwin served as guest host this weekend on WNYC's arts show "Studio 360", subbing for regular host Kurt Anderson.  He did a great job, interviewing Laura Linney about acting and Mary Carr about her latest memoir of about addiction.  

It was quite a change having him as host as he was more conversational with the guests, like he was having them over for dinner.  He also did a number of droll jokes regarding Kurt Anderson's whereabouts ("he's in the trunk of my Toyota") in the same, flat NPR-style voice that made his "Schweddy Balls'" sketch such an SNL classic.  Hearing him talk like this made me want to watch that skit again and, all these years later, it is still hysterical.

Stories By Their Parents on THIS AMERICAN LIFE

NPR's "This American Life" celebrated their 400th episode this week with a unique experiement; all of the show's reporter/producers called their parents and asked them to pitch stories.  Host Ira Glass explained how everyone who works on the show is always being peppered by ideas from friends and family members about stories that would be "perfect" for the award-winning radio show.  So this week he finally decided to take them up on their offers and the results are extraordinary. 


The pitches range from something as simple and odd as "something on the Eerie Canal" to a dad's obsession with a "rotary-dial controlled car" to one parent's interest in "funny funeral stories".  There is a prize for the best story, decided by all the reporters (and Ira Glass) voting at the end of the show.  To make their judgement, there's also a series of very unusual and very funny behind the scenes-style critiques after each piece filled with some brutal honesty.  In fact, one story is deemed so "boring" that it's stopped half-way through.  


I've been a fan of the show for a few years and this special episode is one of my favorites. Definitely worth a listen. And when you're done, you can vote on your favorite story too on their website...my vote went to the last story. The two winners will have their parents flown to Chicago for a visit.  Perfect.