I was a little worried about it at first. The first episode of the new season was kind of lame. Plus, I read somewhere (last year) that the guys ran out of songs and were having a hard time creating new ones for the new season. It was also somewhat ominous to see that “Scrubs” took two characters from the Flight of the Conchords (the woman-player and the racist grocery stand owner), although they were not reoccurring characters. But this past week’s episode, the second of the new season, was great! Jermaine and Brett becoming male prostitutes to buy their guitars back…that they sold in order to pay the bills…all because they were short $2.75…the EXACT amount of money Brett used to buy a second cup for the apartment! That is CLASSIC Conchords! I really had a LOL experience watching the episode. But the best part about the episode were the two new songs, which is the real reason I wrote this post: to share those songs with you. The brilliant part is these songs is that they could actually be top 40 hit songs…where has mainstream music gone?? “Sugarlumps” is like the male version of “My Humps”…and Dave’s rap at the end is hilarious. As for, “You Don’t Have to Be a Prostitute,” is that Brett or UB40?!?!? That song should be blasting through college dorms while kids are getting high as we speak (isn’t that right Ras Trent aka: Andy Samberg?!?) Anyway here are the videos…can’t wait til next episode!
Plagiarism. That’s right, plagiarism. I was thankfully alerted to this about a half an hour ago from Matthew Zellman (of Zehl Steen Think Pound fame), who “googles” his group 20 minutes after every waking hour (J/K!). He pointed out that the blog “I’m finally rockin!” copied my November 14th review of the Zehl Steen Think Pound show…WORD FROM WORD!
See my post @ http://mattisblogging.wordpress.com/2008/11/14/review-zehlsteen-think-pound-102808/
See their “post” @ http://im-finally-rockin.blogspot.com/2008/11/review-zehlsteen-think-pound-102808.html
Now, I am experiencing numerous emotions right now. First off, I am flattered that someone liked my work enough to steal it from me. Mattisblogging must be doing something right to be cited by a famous comedian (Mike Birbiglia) and be plagiarized from.
I am also very confused: why take this post? Are you trying to pretend that you were there? Are you using my blog as an alibi that you couldn’t be somewhere else that night (i.e., a date?). It’s just such a strange post to take. There are so many other post, that discuss much more mainstream, well-known topics. To take a review about a regional sketch comedy group? I don’t know…
But I am mostly outraged! Who does this man, James, think he is? Well I’ll answer that question for him as bluntly as I can (in a 4th-grade dialect)…he’s a copy cat! I was at that Zehl Steen Think Pound Show, and as my review noted, there were only about 10 people in the audience (and I knew five of them). I did not see James there. When I asked Matthew Zellman if he knew who he was, he could not recall knowing him.
Not only did he take my blog post, he also feigned on the fact that he attended the show! Zehl Stein Think Pound is a burgeoning group, they don’t need invisible fans, they need real fans! They need real tukoses in the seats, not people pretending they were there! Although, Zehl Steen is probably happy with the additionally free publicity, so I will leave that point at that.
My crack research team (aka: Jack @ http://notaplumber.blogspot.com) has also pointed out three more examples of plagiarism. Here’s one of them.
Original Post: http://djcnor.wordpress.com/2008/12/24/difference-and-sensitivity-to-it/
However, I am not jumping to conclusions yet. There may be a perfectly good reason that James has used my review in his blog. Perhaps he just really liked the post. Maybe he really is a fan of Zehl Steen Think Pound and wanted to get the word out about the group. However, he was too lazy to create his own review or copy the videos. Or maybe his blog revolves around showcasing other blogs that he likes (but doesn’t tell the reader that).
Ironically, I have a had conversation just today about copyright. I learned that a musician can use a “poor-man-copyright” technique by putting their music on a CD and mail it to themselves and never open the envelope. At that point, whatever is on that CD is considered a copyright piece of work. What do blogs have to do copyright their work. Should I email the blog to myself and never open the email? I will have to consult my lawyer on this.
I will contact James now to inquire about the reason for which he made his blog look identical to mine. I will encourage all my loyal readers to also leave comments on James blog http://im-finally-rocking.blogspot.com to explain himself.
I was at work today, checking on my blog stats to see how my “Quest for 2009″ was going (see the previous post), when I noticed that I had a referral source of sleepwalkwithmike.com/press. I thought to myself, “Is the site for Mike Birbiglia’s Sleepwalk With Me? No, it can’t be.”But when I clicked on the link, I was miraculously redirected to the Sleepwalk with Me Official Webpage, in their “Press” section. As I scrolled to the bottom, I was shocked to see that my blog’s review of the play was added in their website! I am stoked about this! I never would have thought that my stupid, little blog would be respected enough to be put on Nathan Lane-produced play’s website.
My blog was listed underneath pretty well-known blogs such as the Gawker and Comedy Central. And under newspaper’s reviews from the New York Times, the New York and Associated Press. I would have never thought in a million years that my blog would be in the same company as those. I sort of feel that the people in charge of the play’s site don’t realize that I’m not famous, or that my blog doesn’t reach thousands of people per day. As Mike himself would say about his trip to Iraq, “I was around people gone from the United States so long, they didn’t realize that I’m not famous.” Perhaps those running the website where abroad for a very long time and came back to see this blog saying nice things about to show to think, “Wow, look at this nice review. They have borders and fancy colors, they must be well-known. Let’s put it on the site.” I’m sure they are much more well-known and well-read pages out there, who also gave the play favorable reviews. It’s strange that they chose my site, I hope they are enough positive reviews out there (the play really deserves all the free press they get, I really enjoyed it).
When I invited Mike to leave a comment on my blog, I had a feeling that he may actually do it. But this is much better! I wonder what those around the ‘net…the people who have no idea who I am or what I do, think about the review. Maybe they are sticking around and reading the rest of the site. That would be sweet!
If “Matt Is Blogging”…is on the sleepwalkwithmike.com website today…obviously the next step is my own section in the New York Times.
Thanks for the free press, people at Sleepwalk with Me! And you had anything to do with it Mike, thanks to you too!
Whenever I am at a party or someone’s residence, I always find myself sitting on the arm rest of a chair or couch (even when the chair or couch is empty). So, in the same vein as Elaine Benes’ “muffin top” theme, I am going to sell arm rests that can be used a chair. I really have no idea whether other people enjoy sitting on arm rests. However, these arm rests are going to come with cupholders, back rests, matching ottomans and pull out leg rests to give everyone the maximum amount of comfort. I will call my invention the “Armorden Seat.” So, whose interested in buying one?
I’ve been hearing a lot about the terrorists hiding out in the caves of Pakistan lately. These bozos have been protected and secluded in this region since the early part of this century and they need to be captured. We cannot allow them to build up in numbers. However, nothing has worked so far; we were not able to “smoke them out of their caves” like George Bush wanted to. After thinking about it, I have developed a strategy to finally get these terrorists to move out of their caves. Gentrification.
That’s right, let’s gentrify the caves of Pakistan. It has happened before, once young, Caucasian people move to a unwanted area, the current inhabitants are displaced. Once we swarm the caves with yuppies and hipsters, the terrorist will find it impossible to live there and will move out. For example, everyday, thousands of people move from their hometowns and try to make a new life in the New York. Plenty of neighborhoods have been taken over by yuppies and hipsters trying to settle down in the big apple: Sunset Heights, Harlem, Park Slope, Lower East Side, etc. Well now, yuppies and hipsters, we need your help to protect this country.
It snowed last night in New York, who wants to live where it snows? Why don’t you move to the warm climate of Pakistan? Plus, there’s plenty of room to start your own city, who wants to live in old tenements and railroad apartments where you can have an entire cave to yourself! Why would you want to deal with MTA? They are proposing new taxes and hike increases. Additionally the subways are overcrowded…it would be much cooler to travel around in mopeds and dune buggies! Also, there’s no laws in the desert so that means there’s no last calls at the bar; you can drink all night! And talk about ironic, what’s more ironic than moving to the Pakistan desert when everyone expects you to move to the big city!
Once our dedicated yuppies and hipsters move to the caves we will start to witness an impact. The terrorist will be driven to insanity when the prices of rent for their caves start to skyrocket. They will be unable to stand the stench of cheap, crappy beer such as Pabst Blue Ribbon. They will have difficulty communicating with each other on their cell phones and walkie-talkies when their celluar towers are flooded by yuppies and hipsters texting and chatting on their Blackberries and iPhones. They won’t be able to listen to their intelligence hearings, or film their sketchy videos to Al-Jezeera when everyone is blasting M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” in the background. Their training fields will be taken over by kick-ball leagues…it will be great! The terrorists will not be able to tolerate living in such an environment, they will be forced to move out of their caves and into a less-secluded area where U.S. forces will be able to track them down.
So, what do you say yuppies and hipsters, your country needs you. Buy those plane tickets to Karachi and get moving to that desert. The faster we get those terrorists out of their caves, the better.
I would like to begin by saying that I am writing this review directly to Mike Birbiglia as he may be alerted about this blog through “Google Alerts.” And no, don’t worry Mike, I won’t call you “pawkward” (pudgy + awkward). Honestly, I think you have lost some weight since the last time I saw you.
I saw your off-broadway show, “Sleepwalk With Me” almost two weeks ago and I am finally getting around to writing a blog about it. I’ve been wanting to write this review the moment I walked out of the Bleecker Street Theatre but I haven’t been able to get around to it…sorry Mike. But now that I am writing this blog, I would like to say that “Sleepwalk With Me” was hands down the funniest thing I have seen in five years and probably in the top ten funniest things I have seen in my life. From the moment you came on stage, you were “en fuego.” Even your “turn off your cell phone” reminder was funny! You came to my college almost three ago and you were funny then (no Mike, it wasn’t the show at the deli counter)…but that didn’t even compare to what I witnessed at the Bleecker Street Theatre. You were absolutely hilarious and I did not want the show to end. I read in the NY Times review about your “perfect delivery” and if there was a better word than perfect, I would use it. You made my girlfriend laugh harder than I have ever seen her when you started talking about your bear escape plan was like receiving the parachute in gym class for sky diving (it’s not working but it’s building team skills!). And your karate pose to attack the Jackal in your room was hysterical! Your skill-set is much more than just making English muffin pizzas and microwaving hot chocolate.
I have all of your CD’s, join your mailing list, read your secret public journal, “friended” you on Myspace and Facebook, and seen all of your TV specials and appearances and a part of me expected you to perform a lot of old, recycled jokes but that didn’t happen. I was surprised about how fresh your material was (you’ve been holding out on us for years!) I was also surprised about how open and honest you were about your life. For the other, non-Mike Birbiglia readers out there, Mike speaks a lot about his personal issues, including his difficulty with R.E.M. behavioral disorder, relationship issues, anger issues, etc. and there was not a moment of awkwardness during these moments. (Back to Mike) You were not ashamed or embarrassed to talk about anything you did in the past, and I feel that audience appreciated that. Whenever you told a potentially humiliating story, you were able to bounce right back with a joke to dispel any tension in the room. So no Mike, I do not feel you are the king at “making awkward situations even more awkward.
Based on the articles and television segments on your show, I thought that you would mostly discuss your sleepwalking during the show, but you were brilliantly able to give a biographical monologue of may different aspects of your life and tie every story back into the sleepwalking at the end, well done!
You even included me and my girlfriend in the act (to the slightest degree). If you remember, Mike, I was at the show 4PM show on Sunday, November 23rd, and you were explaining your bear encounter in Alaska. You were demonstrating how you finally faced your fear and “gathered enough courage to tell the guide to do something”…you know the (clap clap) “YA YA YA.” You screamed your last “YA” right in front of us and then opened up your hands and apologized for the not-so-violation of personal space.
I don’t want to give too much about the show away, so I will just encourage all my readers in the New York metro area to see this play. You will NOT be disappointed. As Mike would say, it’s a great moment…like someone giving you pizza. I know times are tough in the economy, and you may only have enough money to see one show this holiday season. But if you see Mike Birbiglia, you will get your money’s worth. I have been laughing to Mike’s jokes for a long time now (I feel like since High School) and he has earned everything he has acheived. I am glad that Nathan Lane decided to produce this show, I hope this finally gets Mike the recognition he deserves. Ira Glass of “This American Life” said of this show, “Catch him before he gets too famous.” He may not be famous yet, but Mike if you would like to leave a comment, you would officially be the most famous person to leave a comment on this blog.
Instead of just repeating everything already said about the stupidity demonstrated by this man, I am simply going to raise a single point: why is Plaxico Burress wearing sweatpants to a club? He stated that he bought his gun in order to protect his expensive jewerly…why are you wearing sweatpants with expensive jewerly? Do you only care about the upper half of you appearance? It makes no sense to me…
It was a clear black light, a clear light moon, Warren G. was on the streets of Washington meeting with federal officials to explore the possibility of hiring him to head up a new regulatory system. Warren G., who was on-top of the hip-hop charts in 1994 with his hit song “Regulators,” may soon be regulating more than just stealing of property, which he was damn good at. Mr G. is being asked by the federal government to regulate various aspects of the economy that are most pressing in these troubling times: the credit industry, the housing industry, the automobile industry and the banking industry. As growing concerns of the use of the $700 billion dollar bailout loom, Mr. G. will have a tall task. It has recently been discovered that AIG was using bailout money to send their employees on lavish getaways, while Secretary Paulson is contemplating using the money to help stabilize Wall Street while neglecting the housing market. Democrats want to use some money to help rescue the failing automobile industry, while Republicans do not think the automobile companies will use the money wisely. All this comes in the wake historic low levels of confidence about the direction of this country. Despite this, Warren G. still remains optimistic and confident. While speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. G. screamed into the microphone, “REGULAAATOOORRSSS, MOUNT UP!”
The idea of hiring Mr. G. was first introduced by Washington Senator, Patty Murray. “Ever since I heard all this talk of de-regulation, I had that damn song stuck my head. Then I figured that we don’t just need any geek of the street. So I hit the east side of the LBC, on a mission to try and find Mr. Warren G.” When Senator Murray found Mr. G., he was at 2-1 and Lewis shooting some dice. Not dissuaded by this ominous sign of reckless spending, Senator Murray asked Mr. G to attend a meeting in Washington about regulating the economy. According to Senator Murray, Mr. G. simply responded by saying, “Let’s do this.” ”When I first heard that Warren was going to be leading the regulation of the economy I was excited,” New York Senator Chuck Schumer exclaimed, “but I thought it was going to be Warren Buffett. Personally, I think that Nate Dogg would do a better job.”
During the Congressional meeting, Mr. G. spoke about the problems the current financial meltdown has caused in the 213. Mr. G. spoke about people loosing their houses due to faulty mortgages and the effect the credit crisis has had on his neighbors, who face repo men everyday: ”I’m getting jacked, I’m breaking myself, I can’t believe they are taking our wealth. They took our rings, they took our rolex. I look at the brotha [repo man] and said, ‘damn what’s next?’” Mr. G. also expressed disbelief about the country’s economic situation. While talking to the senators, he put his head down in disappointment and stated “I can’t believe this is happening my own town.” Perhaps such hardship has caused Mr. G. to become existential and contemplative because he then told Congress that “If I had wings I can fly, let me contemplate of ways of helping the average American citizens with regulation.”
Meanwhile at the White House, during his press conference, President Bush excitedly spoke to reporters about the prospect of having Warren G. head up regulation. “MAN I LOVE THAT SONG! I USED TO SING THAT ALL THE TIME IN THE 1990′S WHEN I WAS DRUNK…IF I HAD A NICKEL FOR EVERY TIME I GOT DRUNK AND SUNG THAT….” Then, all of the sudden, the electricity went out at the White House before the president could finish his sentence. Vice President Cheney could not be reached for comment…obviously.
In his closing statement, Mr. G. told everyone to ease their fears and worries. He believes that he is man to do the job, but he cannot do it alone. Mr. G. asked for the help of the entire country as he said ”BACK UP, BACK UP. CAUSE IT’S ON. THE UNITED STATES AND ME…WARREN TO THE G.” Finally, as Mr. G. has been known to do, he demonstrated a flare for the dramatic as he slammed the microphone on the table and said, “I’m tweaking on a new whole era…bad economy step to this? I dare ya…” Will this be a “whole new era” of regulation? We will only have to wait and see.
It is my belief that real comedy doesn’t rely on extraneous factors such as props, fancy set designs, or in ZehlSteen Think Pound’s (ZSTP) case, an audience. I was one of the few people that was not deterred by “the threat of rain” (as member Matthew Zellman put it), and made my way to the Gene Frankel Theater on Tuesday, October 28th to watch New York’s self-proclaimed only sketch comedy troupe, ZehlSteen Think Pound, perform at their ”Spooktacular.” Right away I will give ZSTP loads of credit as they performed as enthusiastically and vigorously in a room of 10 people as they would in a room of 100 people. The mark of true amateur-professionalism. Although it was advertised as a Halloween show, and the group encouraged the audience to wear costumes (they promised surprises for the best costume), the ten-person audience all came as the person who just got off work or out of class. Despite this, the group was still cordial enough to give out free candy…we even got to hear that an audience member’s roommate hooked-up with Tampa Bay Ray Designated Hitter, Cornelius “Cliff” Floyd.
I have seen ZSTP around eight times now and I must say that they are improving and polishing up their act with every performance. In the past, I have left some ZSTP shows thinking to myself, “that had some really funny moments, but there was some crap I could do without.” However, I have left the last two ZSTP shows with a dry-throat due to excessive laughter (perhaps they should give out free water instead of preservative-laced candy).
The group started off their set with their only re-occurring sketch (to my knowledge), Peer Power! The peppy and caring, but explicitly neo-nazi Saturday morning children’s group. This time around Peer Power! was helping us decide on who to vote for by using oreos and hydrox (vegan and kosher friendly!). Peer Power! is enough to make anyone laugh and question their own political correctness at the same time. Peer Power! is true genius.
Thankfully, ZSTP is efficient enough to have a bunch of new sketches at every show. At the Spooktacular, I saw seven out of the nine sketches (on my list) for the first time. ZSTP also kept the show topical, a must in my opinion for any sketch comedy group. In addition to the election-themed Peer Power!, they had two Halloween themed-sketches: “Slutty Nurse” which was about a girl whose favorite holiday is Halloween because she is a slutty-nurse in reality and appears normal during Halloween; and “Zombie,” about a girl who is trying to break up with her recently turned Zombie boyfriend (but is unaware of this development). This sketch provided a great one-liner when the girl asked her boyfriend, “What do you like about me besides my body?” To which the zombie responded with “braaaaaiiinnnsss.” LOL’s all around.
ZSTP has something for everyone. They gave the trendy, computer-crazed youth something to laugh about with sketches about Dostoyevsky’s quest to create the greatest Facebook page ever and how Rick Roll is the perfect 80’s song to annoy your friends. They gave the 1990’s pop-culture aficionados (like you, Michael Ian Black!) laughter ammo with their own “Are You Afraid of the Dark” episode and their sketch about the 98 Degrees cover band that is trying to ditch their tone-deaf band member who is in the band to commemorate his wife that was eaten by a shark (“she dead”). ZSTP also gave the sports fan something to chew over with their trash-talking softball sketch. ZSTP even arrogantly showed off their technology skills with two videos: the executive, the product for the business man who has no time for the bathroom (“smells like success”); and the “baby holder” for the lazy American parent. It was incidentally funny to watch the group awkwardly try and drag the over-sized and outdated television set across the room.
Although I would rate their show an 8.5 out of 10, I was not impressed with one sketch. This was the Johnson and Longfellow sketch, where a man went on ajob interview only to discover that his prospective-boss has an erection sticking out of his pants. Then the boss made a bunch of sexual innuendos. I see why other people may find this hilarious, but it was a bit hackneyed for me.
ZehlSteen Think Pound is up and coming. They are settling into their own, finally starting to form their own identity on stage. They are figuring out what really works and what doesn’t. I am not an expert on the sketch comedy scene in New York City right now, but I do think that ZSTP should be on top of any New York Magazine “Best of Sketch Comedy” list. I expect good things in the future from this troupe. If this was a Baseball America publication, I would rank ZSTP in the top 5 of a very deep farm system, like the Florida Marlins. And they even have more personality than Hanley Ramirez. I would encourage everyone to check out their videos on youtube site http://www.youtube.com/user/ZehlSteenThinkPound, their myspace page http://www.myspace.com/zehlsteenthinkpound and to attend their “640 Math, 720 Verbal” on November 25 at the End Times Underground (24 Bond Street, Manhattan).
The other day I bought a bag of “Plackers” Dental-Flossers. We’ve all seen them and even used them at one point. Now, I am not denigrating the usefulness of this product, it is great. I can’t use regular floss, and I always take way too much string when I try to. This is more ergo-dynamic and economical for me. Listen…I don’t mean to use my blog as a product placer.
However, when I was reading the packet I saw the following, “Engineered not to shred or break during use. The Same Fiber Used To Make Bulletproof Vests.” Now, I’m all for the string not breaking or shredding when I’m using it…but do we really need the same fiber that is used to make bulletproof vests? Do the other bullet-prone fibers not work? I’ve used the non-bulletproof flossers before and they have never broke on me; they worked just fine. Can I make my own bulletproof vest out of this material? Is there such a surplus of bulletproof fiber that we needed to find another use for it?
Honestly, I’m a little concerned. Is the material used for bulletproof vests so cheap and inexpensive that we can buy a whole bunch of bullet-proof strings for under three dollars. At this rate, how much would it cost to make my own bulletproof vest? Twenty bucks? How safe are our bulletproof vests if the material is so cheap? I think our local police departments should know that their equipment is being made from the same materials as dental flossers. Or are the cops using their vests to help keep their gums clean? Is this the government’s way of saving money…by taking dental plans away from police officers and giving them dual-purpose dental hygienic vests?
I can see the advertisements now: “Plackers Micro-Mint Dental Floss…Save Your Gums and Lives!” Or “Helps Fight Cavity and Crime at the Same Time (for the hip-hop jingle). Maybe that’s the target market: Rappers with the gold teeth who are trying to protect their mouths while flossing (Hat-tip to Jack for the suggestion). Since 50 Cent has been shot in the mouth numerous times, the marketers figured rappers can use a floss that will help protect them from bullets. I’m just saying…
Plagiarism. That’s right, plagiarism. I was thankfully alerted to this about a half an hour ago from Matthew Zellman (of Zehl Steen Think Pound fame), who “googles” his group 20 minutes after every waking hour (J/K!). He pointed out that the blog “I’m finally rockin!” copied my November 14th review of the Zehl Steen Think Pound show…WORD FROM WORD!
I would like to begin by saying that I am writing this review directly to Mike Birbiglia as he may be alerted about this blog through “Google Alerts.” And no, don’t worry Mike, I won’t call you “pawkward” (pudgy + awkward). Honestly, I think you have lost some weight since the last time I saw you.
It was a clear black light, a clear light moon, Warren G. was on the streets of Washington meeting with federal officials to explore the possibility of hiring him to head up a new regulatory system. Warren G., who was on-top of the hip-hop charts in 1994 with his hit song “Regulators,” may soon be regulating more than just stealing of property, which he was damn good at. Mr G. is being asked by the federal government to regulate various aspects of the economy that are most pressing in these troubling times: the credit industry, the housing industry, the automobile industry and the banking industry. As growing concerns of the use of the $700 billion dollar bailout loom, Mr. G. will have a tall task. It has recently been discovered that AIG was using bailout money to send their employees on lavish getaways, while Secretary Paulson is contemplating using the money to help stabilize Wall Street while neglecting the housing market. Democrats want to use some money to help rescue the failing automobile industry, while Republicans do not think the automobile companies will use the money wisely. All this comes in the wake historic low levels of confidence about the direction of this country. Despite this, Warren G. still remains optimistic and confident. While speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. G. screamed into the microphone, “REGULAAATOOORRSSS, MOUNT UP!”
The other day I bought a bag of “Plackers” Dental-Flossers. We’ve all seen them and even used them at one point. Now, I am not denigrating the usefulness of this product, it is great. I can’t use regular floss, and I always take way too much string when I try to. This is more ergo-dynamic and economical for me. Listen…I don’t mean to use my blog as a product placer.