​​"Meanwhile, back at the ranch..."

It's a plot device in storytelling that Tony Zhou talks about in his film essay covering Orson Welles' F For Fake. Create two story arcs. Bring Arc A to its most exciting point, and then (meanwhile, back at the ranch) switch to Arc B. Leave your audience wondering what's going on in Arc A as you pull them into Arc B. Tell Arc B until it's at its most exciting point, and then switch back to Arc A, and so on and so on until your story is told. This form can be found in a lot of movies and television shows, largely because it's so effective. But it can make writers lazy. We need to be aware of these forms, and once in a while think about how we can play with them.

​The most recent episode of Rick and Morty (2.9, "Look Who's Purging Now") is a prime example of how to play with form. 

Looky here, sweetheart. I'm sorry to tell ya' this, but you ain't funny. You can't be funny. Because if you're funny, then we have made a huge mistake by giving 10 out of 10 Late Night jobs to men. And the men in charge up here? We don't make mistakes. We make money, see? And lots of it. What do you make? The bed, Dinner, and only 70% as much money as us.

Dana Gould is one of the best stand up comedians of all time. If you don't know that by now, please go watch both of his stand up specials "Let Me Put My Thoughts In You" and "I Know It's Wrong". Dana gave the key note address at the "Just For Laughs" comedy festival and the advice he gives is profoundly important for open mic comedians and 20 year veterans alike.

By: Jim Capie

Vagina Time is the story of a struggling, veteran comic who stumbles on an awful, hack-y catch phrase, and then rides that wave to stardom. It is silly and ridiculous but it has an actual message without getting too preach-y. Sit down, get high, put your headphones in so your boss doesn't hear what you're doing, and enjoy:

When I first heard the news that Stephen Colbert would be taking over the Late Show, I was a bit worried. Late night T.V. has been evolving rapidly (along with the rest of the entertainment business). I was afraid that Colbert would be taking an evolutionary step back by going to a more traditional talk show format. Well, I think I thought wrong.

When did you first notice that you had the ability to make people laugh?
Probably summer camp, when I was around six years old. I did the “talent” show as The Unknown Comic, bag over my head and everything. I’m guessing I did a bunch of fart jokes and knocked on the cafeteria—nothing groundbreaking—but it worked, and I was hooked. From then on I was the class clown; always getting in trouble for cracking jokes when I shouldn’t, and generally at the teacher’s expense. I didn’t take the stage, however...

The movie industry is crumbling. Desperately, crumbling. 30 years from now we'll tell our grand-kids about this crazy thing called "Movie Studios". The future will be full of hoverboards, flying cars, Fax Machines (Yeah. You fucking heard me. I'm predicting a Fax Machine comeback), but most importantly: crowd funded movies. 

When did you first notice that you had the ability to make people laugh?
When I was in elementary school. I was kind of a chubby kid and humor is a great defense mechanism. 

When did you start doing stand up?
I started doing standup my junior year of college right before I turned 21.

Look out for J.J. Whitehead, man. He's currently touring with Jim Jefferies, but he's on the come up. He's a little absurd, very relatable, and extremely funny. He's got a distinct style all his own and it's just a matter of time before every comedy nerd knows who he is. 

I asked him some questions about starting out, opening for Jefferies, and his plans for the future:

Bill Burr (among many, many others) showed up to "Night of Too Many Stars", hosted by Jon Stewart. In a night that included many of the funniest people on Earth, Bill Burr had the best stand up set of the night. Recently, Bill Burr has set record highs of not giving a fuck, and this set is just the latest example of that.
Bill Burr knew two things before he did this set: 
1. That particular crowd would hate everything he said. 
2. Everything he said was true and fucking hilarious. 
Just watch for yourself: