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Filed under: Looked Into Tagged: comedy, events, Jesse Thorn, podcasts, radio, Will Franken
I saw the comedian Will Franken at Upright Citizens Brigade a few months ago, and I'm still reeling from, marveling at, trying to process the hilarity, erudition and outrageousness of Franken's mind and his eerie gift for projecting dozens (multiple, manifold dozens!) of personalities in a single performance. Download his podcast. Listen to an interview he did with Jesse Thorn of The Sound of Young America (completely coincidentally, I appear as a voice at the beginning of this recording). Watch some videos. If you're still not convinced, read this Gothamist interview. And see him live. The next New York show is this Saturday, Feb. 16, at Karma Lounge, 51st 1st Ave. (between 3rd and 4th Sts.), 8 p.m. And I'm not just promoting a friend; I don't even know him yet. But please take my word for it—his talent and imagination are well out of the ordinary.
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They say that dashes “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like em dashes—provides a thoughtful pause amid the hubbub.
Emdashes, founded in 2004, is currently written and drawn by Emily Gordon, Martin Schneider, Pollux, Jonathan Taylor, and Benjamin Chambers, as well as occasional guest contributors. (Unsigned posts through October 2008 are by Emily Gordon.)
The site is designed and maintained by House of Pretty and illustrated by Jesse Ewing for Inkleaf Studio. Additional drawings are by Carolita Johnson and Pollux (who also draws our daily comic, "The Wavy Rule"). The kissable Emdashes logo is by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.
Other writing by Emily Gordon
- Profile: Valerie Casey, Designers Accord founder, is spearheading the design of sustainability (for SXSW World; PDF, p. 20)
- Feature: Rea Irvin: visionary art director, man about town, and New Yorker founding father (for Print)
- Report: Learning to read with comic books--that are edited by Françoise Mouly (for Print)
- Interview: Designer Eleanor Grosch (for Print)
- Review: Charles Addams: A Cartoonist's Life by Linda H. Davis (for Newsday)
- Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
- Review: Does a New Republic redesign mean a change of tune? (for Print)
- Interview: James Surowiecki on what's next for the wisdom of crowds (for Assignment Zero)
- Report: Eustace Tilley spruces up for The New Yorker's website redesign (for Print)
- Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands, and an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali (for Print)
- Review: books about various New Yorker cartoonists by Liza Donnelly and Iain Topliss (for Newsday)
- Profile: screenwriter and novelist Joe Keenan (for Newsday)
- Review: The Complete New Yorker (for Print)
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Comments
Hello Emily,
Mr. Franken wishes to express his deepest gratitude for your appreciation of his art and your promotion of his upcoming shows. Please also note that he has recently finished the latest installment of his inventive podcast "Things We Did Before Reality," entitled "BANG!," which can be accessed here.
We look forward to seeing you at future performances. Please do say hello.
Sincerely,
Stealth Johnson
Personal Secretary to Wm. Franken
Well, that's very nice to hear, Stealth! Wait, where did you go?
Note to readers: Will Franken is freakishly gifted.
I'm so jealous that you saw Franken. I've been meaning to see him for about a year, and he played the UCB Theater a month or two ago and I happened to be out of town, drat.
Come back to NYC soon, Will! And bring Stealth with you!
I return with happy tidings as Will Franken will perform an hour show at the Sidewalk Cafe (94 Avenue A, East Village), on Wednesday April 16 at 9pm.
The best part, the show is free!! (We will be "passing the hat" afterwards for voluntary contributions)
Tell all your friends!
-Stealth
P.S. For up-to-date showtime information, please click on the "shows" link at www.willfranken.com