"The 100 Greatest Stools in Stand-up Special History." There are photos — in one case a video — with explanations, e.g.:
The one example is the last-place Joe Rogan. You can go directly to the NSFW video at YouTube, here. That is declared the least-funny thing not just among stools, but in comedy generally.
What ended up at the top?
There's Marc Maron at #4:
Marc Maron explores the fusion of man and stool. Both lead to equally mind-bending results. Maron treats his stool like a performance-enhancing body-mod; when he sits on it, slouched and confessional toward his audience, knees pulled up to his chest like a wise cartoon toad, his neuroses and humor fold in on themselves. The stool closes up his posture and opens him up to the audience. Maron is a philosopher king, and the stool is his throne.
And Paula Poundstone at #3:
Look at Poundstone’s form, straddling this stool! With one foot over the seat and the other sprawled back, she’s a sprinter in suspended motion. Poundstone rides this thing like a Valkyrie, constantly shifting into new and strange configurations. Stand-up comedy is a fine dance, and the stool is her partner in the tango.
That happened in 1989, and I saw it back then and always remembered it. She worked that stool. They only have a still photo at the link, but this one deserves video, so I found it for you:
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13 comments:
"I asked the stage manager to produce a stool, and he just looked at me strangely."
I caught Joe Rogan at the Fox Theater in Detroit last weekend, and he was absolutely hysterical. The whole show, including the opening acts was great. Haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Until I saw the Ricky Gervais special on Netflix last night. Even funnier! Both were incredibly inappropriate, and it was glorious.
I have a sneaking suspicion the Joe Rogan bit was the entire raison d'être for that listicle. And ranking it worst conveniently puts it at the top.
Lacking a decent theory for why someone would compile a list of best stools in stand-up comedy, I'm just going to look up words and see if that leads somewhere...
The literal meaning of a stool pigeon is a decoy bird. In the more common figurative meaning a stool pigeon is a police informer, or criminal's look-out.
It could be that decoy ducks have been called 'stool (or estale) pigeons' since the 1500s but no one wrote the terms down, although that seems rather unlikely. What we do know is that the current meaning of informer came into being in the USA around the middle of the 19th century. The Sheboygan Mercury printed a piece in August 1851 about the prevailing political situation in Italy:
"Everyone fears that his confederate may prove a traitor... and avoided as a Police stool-pigeon and spy."
The most likely explanation of the phrase's origin is that it was coined to describe those police informers who hung around bars (on stools no doubt) in order to pick up underworld gossip but that the name was influenced by the earlier, but as then unamed, hunting decoys. (click for more)
de·coy
[decoy]
NOUN
1. a bird or mammal, or an imitation of one, used by hunters to attract other birds or mammals:
"a decoy duck"
2. a pond from which narrow netted channels lead, into which wild ducks may be enticed for capture.
VERB
lure or entice (a person or animal) away from an intended course, typically into a trap:
"they would try to decoy the enemy toward the hidden group"
I'm going on a limb; the point of the article is to suggest that comedy is outdated. Poundstone was awful.
True story
My best friend from college opened an Amish Furniture store while I was in grad school. We were renting a house together. So, he’d leave for the store in the morning and I’d leave for my grad assistant job.
But his store was new (and not super busy at first) and I was a vastly underworked grad assistant so I had time.
I’d make up characters and call the store. And once day, I made up a fast talking redneck character. So, I call the store and ask if they make bar stools.
Yes sir, we have quite a few bar stools.
You got different styles?
Yessir, we have bar and counter height. We have shaker style, mission style…
What kinda woods you got?
We got oak, cherry, walnut. The oak stools are very sturdy. We’ve been selling a lot of walnut lately.
No pine, right?
No sir, no pine.
Different colors?
Oh yes, we have nine different stain options
Well, I’d like to come see them.
Certainly, well, you can come to the store anytime. Our hours are…
Well, that’s kinda the problem. See, my wife, Darleana, well, she can’t leave the house on account that she got the LoJack.
Oh…
Yeah, she used to date this sheriff’s deputy and he’s been trying to get her back. Anyway, that asshole followed her to the bootlegger - who’s the got-damn Sherrif’s brother-in-law - and picked her up for DUI and she had’t even been drinking that much. Anyway, he was giving her that test where you have to stand on one foot or whatever she hauled off and smacked him. Whole thing.
- it’s on the camera so they got her. Hell, she can’t even leave the house ‘cause of the LoJack and she’s driving me nuts. I mean I’m not supposed to leave the county either but they don’t really care long as I’m back. But she can’t go nowhere. Why am I getting punished for her smacking her ex boyfriend?
Sir, I’m not sure…
Anyhow, I really want her to see what you got before we buy them. She’s particular about the house, you know. Do you have any small one’ I can take to her and show her the different styles?
Small one’s?
Yeah, you know like model size I can show her? Sometimes sales guys have smaller version of stuff they’re selling…
Like a sample?
Yeah, a sample. You got any samples of your different types of stools I can show her?
Stool samples?
Yeah, stool samples. You got any stool samples?!
…
…
Fuck you, Tom.
Poundstone began serving as a foster parent in the 1990s. She has fostered eight children, and eventually adopted two daughters and a son.[12]
In October 2001, Poundstone was charged with felony child endangerment in connection with driving while intoxicated with children in the car. She was also charged with three counts of lewd acts upon a girl younger than 14.[13] The charge involved inappropriate touching of a 12-year-old girl.[14] In a plea bargain, she changed her earlier plea of not guilty, and, in exchange, prosecutors asked for the court records to be sealed, dropped three counts of committing lewd acts against a child, and added a misdemeanor count of inflicting injury upon a child. “
If Shelley Berman isn't #1 then either the fix was in or the writers are idiots.
But of course, the writers are idiots anyway.
Watched Ricky Gervais special last night. It was pretty good. Much of it seemed recycled from his previous stuff but it was still funny. It's great that he's upsetting hypersensitivity humorless asswipes. The libs need to clean up cancel culture if we are ever going to get abortion and voting rights back and stronger gun control. Baby steps.
Elderly neighbor says he mails stool sample to hospital lab once a year. Decorates with grandchildren's happy face and Disney stickers.
Is that normal?
Her jokes about being the "weird aunt" haven't traveled well across the years. She was accused of sexually abusing her foster children.
Best stool I have ever seen in a comedy was Mr Hanke.
https://i.discogs.com/izXtdEODOC1kEPwcitXHa2ULQgBZ2WFqdxTMtjwQ8Gs/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:444/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9BLTY1NjAx/My0xMTk0NDgxNzIz/LmpwZWc.jpeg
Cisgender men or masculinists are politically congruent ("=") to cisgender women.
That said, women and men have four choices: abstention, prevention, adoption (i.e. shared responsibility), and compassion (i.e. personal responsibility), and an equal right to self-defense through reconciliation. The wicked solution a.k.a. planned parent/hood a.k.a. reproductive rites a.k.a. elective abortion is neither a good nor exclusive choice that has been normalized under the Twilight Amendment with the Pro-Choice ethical religion to keep women appointed, available, and taxable, to offer "burden" relief to cisgender men and women, and, generally, for social, redistributive, clinical, and fair weather causes.
"If Shelley Berman isn't #1 then either the fix was in or the writers are idiots."
The list is limited to TV specials — of the HBO and Netflix kind.
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