I will be watching the best of Amy Poehler on Saturday Night Live tomorrow night, will you? Actually, that's kind of a lie because I likely will not be home to watch it, but it seemed like a more interesting way of letting you know that I love Amy Poehler and that you should watch the show than just telling you that I love Amy Poehler and that you should watch the show. Capiche?

I'm enjoying Parks and Rec so far...a little bumpy here and there, and I'm hoping both Aziz and Rashida will have more of a chance to flex their comedy muscles, but I'm sure they will, and I have no doubt this will be another acclaimed hit for Schur and Daniels. Speaking of which, I'm loving the new Office direction...it's definitely the kick in the pants the show needed.

I bought John Mulaney's The Top Part over the weekend, and highly reccommend it. His set was a highlight of SF Sketchfest for me, and the album doesn't disappoint. Maria Bamford's new album Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome comes out on the 21st, and that should be fantastic as well. I really wish Tig Notaro would release an album. I'm so obsessed with her. Which brings me to...In The Motherhood. Is anyone watching this? I really want to love it for the following reasons: a) It's based on a web series created by a (non-mother!) funny woman (Chelsea Handler), is written and directed by many talented women, and involves potentially three-dimensional, funny female characters b)Tig Notaro is in it c) Ken Marino is in it d) Horatio Sanz is in it e) Shows about kids and parents are generally really unfunny, so making one that is actually funny could change comedy as we know it and could specifically change the 'mom' role in comedy f) Rachel Harris is in it. The problem is that I'm not actually loving it, really. The plots are bland and formulaic, the main characters (also bland) don't seem to stray much from their 'type of mom' categories, and the performances aren't particularly funny (except for Tig! I love you, Tig!!). I believe Cheryl Hines and Megan Mulally have it in them to give strong comedic performances. I just really want a comedy about women to be really funny. Make it work, people!!

Youall, I am sick so am just going to post lamely about this now, but more later: Comedy Central is giving Reno 911 the shaft in terms of promoting their amazing sixth season! Although we don't get Comedy Central in Canada, you can support Reno 911 by watching it on the Comedy Network and letting them know via the internet that you love it and want more. Because who wouldn't? You can also spread the word to your friends and family. I haven't seen any of the sixth season, but according to cast members it's supposed to be the best yet! And I'm sure they wouldn't just say that! I love this show. Watch it!

Okay, school has finally, finally slowed down some. I'm back! With a little Easter miracle for you: Michael and Michael are blogging in anticipation of the new series debuting in July. We won't see it until who knows when here in Canada (I hate-love you, Canada), but I am SO EXCITED nonetheless. Rumour has it that the premiere might coincide with the LONG-awaited release of The State on DVD, which would be truly amazing. It will also coincide with something going on in Reno 911-ville that I'm too lazy to research despite my deep love of Reno 911, which I've been watching for the past two days. Kerri Kenney is my hero.

Better posts to come, I promise.

Heads Up

Hey! Hey! Bad news and good news. Bad news first? Michael Showalter will not be a guest on Jimmy Fallon tonight. Good news? He will be doing a bit with head writer and long-time collaborator AD Miles on the show! AD Miles told me (the internet) on Twitter. That bad news isn't even really bad news, because Showalter was never scheduled or rumored to be a guest! Psych!

What's Diddy up to?

When crunch time is over in three weeks' time, I will be posting more often. I have visions of a summer spent in my dark basement, huddled over my computer, hands working feverishly, just as the unibomber huddled over his bombs (topical!). As I wrote in an earlier post, though, I compulsively "make" time to check some of my favourite comedians' Twitter updates. I think Twitter might be the best thing to happen to internet comedy since that Spaghetti Cat video on youtube. I have many comedians as Facebook friends, and their status updates are often funny, or at least generally more entertaining than most updates ("Meagan hates Mondays :("), but there's so much more room on facebook for them to spread their wings - they can post videos and pictures, they can create events out of shows and product releases, they can get annoyed by being tagged over and over again in those awful and weird Mr. Men/Southpark characters/etc. pictures. But Twitter has one focus, and one focus only: post what you're doing, thinking, etc., in 140 characters or less. Ultimately, most comedians on there probably see it, at least in part, as a promotional tool - the more followers you have, the more random people and industry people alike will see your face as they navigate Twitterverse. Virtual-fandom is becoming more and more legitimate and coveted by all entertainers. However, by the same token, the standards for virtual entertainment are rising, even when the entertainers in question only have 140 characters to work with. Making people laugh with so few characters is a challenge, requiring sharp wit and quick thinking. The twitterverse moves at the speed of light, or at least the speed of chubby little fingers and beady eyes trained by video games and MTV (or so I'm told) to get in, scoff, and get out. A lot of comedians are delivering, posting frequent, funny updates. Some are more frequent than funny, some more funny than frequent, but the point remains that it's free, real-time entertainment. Not to mention the fact that followers can communicate with their followees (or, I suppose, leaders, though that adds a strange power dynamic to the non-relationship), and if that 140-character comment is interesting enough, one is likely (well, semi-likely...trust me) to get a response. Almost as good as live.

Here are some of my favourite Twitter-ers, some intentionally funny, some not (Diddy). For a more comprehensive list of who I think is worth following, see here. Because I know my opinion means a lot. A lot.

Steve Agee
Eric Wareheim
Doug Lussenhop
Margaret Cho
Diddy
Sara Benincasa
Morgan Murphy
Jason Woliner
Tom Scharpling
Watch With Comics
Michael Ian Black
Rainn Wilson
Doug Benson
Dave Hill
Paul F. Tompkins
Jimmy Fallon
Aziz Ansari
Paul Scheer
AD Miles
Rob Cordrry
Tim Heidecker
John Hodgman
Rob Huebel
Todd Barry
Michael Showalter

A note about Watch With Comics: a bunch of comedians live-twittered the Oscars in connection with WWC, and it was extremely enjoyable to watch. Most of the jokes were very funny, and it was inspirational to watch the rapid-fire creativity. They'll be live-twittering other events, so keep an eye out.

Iiinteresting...

Coincidence, or Stella joke thievery?

shit-ty

I am insanely busy with school. No time for my favourite things. When I have a few minutes, I'll rant about The Sarah Silverman Program being cancelled, and probably talk about how cute Michael Showalter's cat movies are. I don't even have time to link those things.

**EDIT: THIS JUST IN! Steve Agee told me (and by me I mean the internet) on Twitter that CC changed their minds and there WILL be a SSP third season! Hooray! Female comics will come out on top after all!

Yes, I still make time for Twitter. I love you, Twitter.