More New Music

Today, I finally discovered Sia.

I spent most of the day listening to her videos as I worked (which was difficult, because they’re all filled with wonderful visuals, and I had to keep my attention on my work). I read some articles about her during breaks.

Her live performances remind me of early David Bowie, or Klaus Nomi. Her music videos remind me of Laurie Anderson.

I’m excited about this discovery.

Here is a trio of music videos featuring the dancer Maddie Ziegler:

And here’s a live performance on Saturday Night Live (introduced by some jerk):

Turnaround

As I walked into Westlake Station this morning, I decided to buy a copy of Real Change (the local newspaper sold by homeless people) from that nice lady who sits in the entrance every morning. She handed me my paper, and I discovered that all I had on me was a one and a five. (Real Change costs $2.) I handed her the five dollar bill.

The Real Change vendor explained that she didn’t have any change. For the briefest of moments, I started to return the paper to her. Then it didn’t feel right. I told her to keep the five dollar bill, and suggested she buy herself some coffee. She protested, but I insisted, so she took it.

As I walked away, with the paper under my arm, it occurred to me: I probably had enough coins in my pocket to have paid the right price. It was too late. I seemed destined to give a three-dollar tip on a two-dollar newspaper.

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be posting that. I don’t want to brag about an act of charity. I’m writing about it only because it seems tied, somehow, to something that happened later in the day.

I stopped off at an ATM on my way into work.

As lunchtime approached, I thought I might walk over to the food court for some Korean food. Just then, a coworker appeared at my desk and asked if I’d like a sandwich.

She explained that she’d bought a sandwich at Jimmy John’s, and discovered, after she’d returned to her desk, that it didn’t have the avocado she’d asked for. She called to complain, and was told to return for a replacement sandwich – plus a free bag of chips for the inconvenience. When she asked what to do with the original sandwich, she was told to keep it, or give it to someone else. So, my coworker was giving it to me.

My coworker left for Jimmy John’s. I bit into the original sandwich – and avocado squished out.

When my coworker  returned, she told me that it was pointed out that the avocado is usually wrapped into the cheese, to hold it in place, so it’s hard to spot at first. I replied that I’d found the original avocado. (We both said, “Oops!”)

So, that was my day: I paid too much for a newspaper, and I got a free sandwich.

By A Comedian

As I crossed “dystopian novel” off the 2016 Reading Challenge, I looked at the category above it: “A book written by a comedian”. I don’t have a lot of experience reading that genre, but it sounded pleasant enough. I did an internet search and found a list of books by comedians.

I chose The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee, by Sarah Silverman, on a whim. It was available for download from the library.

The Bedwetter was published in 2010.

The book starts off as a fairly interesting memoir of Sarah Silverman’s childhood in New Hampshire, dealing with depression, and her parents’ divorce, becoming a vegetarian at an early age, and coping with nocturnal enuresis until she was sixteen. It includes stories of becoming a stand-up comedian in New York, and her short career as a writer/performer for Saturday Night Live. (Nothing she wrote ever made it to the SNL stage.)

Of course, it’s written by Sarah Silverman, so it contains many jokes about body parts and body functions.

The book contains a foreword and a “midword” – both written by Sarah Silverman, in which she ridicules both the book and its author. (“If you’re famous, you get to write a book, and not the other way around…“, she explains.)

The second half of the book is a series of episodes about the process of writing comedy. She explains and defends some of her more notorious performances – telling a joke about a racist (which got her accused of being a racist), her jokes about Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, and the dress she wore to the Emmys.

There is an extended segment about the history and production of The Sarah Silverman Program, including its unconventional writing sessions. I haven’t seen more than an episode or two of the show, but I found the segment interesting.

The book closes with an afterword, written by God on December 1, 2063, explaining all the wonderful contributions Sarah Silverman has made to Mankind, during her long and successful career.

I found The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee to be entertaining and funny. (I could have enjoyed it more without the silly foreword, midword, and afterword.) I especially enjoyed the parts where she wrote about philosophy and politics. She adopted a “Make it A Treat” viewpoint, suggested by a friend (a variation of “everything in moderation”) – the reason she smokes marijuana, but doesn’t drink alcohol. Sarah Silverman is a long-time advocate for Equal Rights, and campaigned to elect Barack Obama president.

• A book written by a comedian