I’m not a foodie by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I find much about foodie culture to be pretentious, cumbersome and borderline offensive. But I’ll spare you that rant. However, I do find myself reading Daniel Berman’s FUSSYlittleBlog, if only because he can actually write and addresses things like community, sustainability, marketing, and other aspects of food culture beyond typical foodie blog fare (“look what I made/ate!”).

In the last three years, Daniel has embarked on a crusade to improve the results of the Times Union’s annual reader “Best Of” poll*. He calls it the FUSSYlittleBallot: a collection of nominees and write-ins for food categories. The idea is that it will improve upon the typical winners of the Times Union’s poll, which tend to be overrated establishments or, worse and more frequently, national chain restaurants.

Earlier today he posted a response to criticisms that the ballot may be superfluous due to the existence of sites like Yelp. As Daniel notes:

Yes, Yelp and Urbanspoon are out there to help those who know of those resources and trust them. However, that’s still overall a very small section of the population. And even while the local newspaper’s role in public life is diminishing, it still reaches the largest percentage of those who live here. Plus it continues to be an authoritative voice in the community.

In other words (mine, not his), anybody who thinks the TU’s “Best Of” poll doesn’t matter because of Yelp can’t see past their own bubble.

It’s far from rare. To an extent, most of us live in a bubble. Our associations and communications are selective, often despite our best intentions. The internet, with its ability to unfriend, unfollow, and/or block out any information that perturbs or does not interest us, only exacerbates that.

But if we’re conscious and aware of it, the bubble is permeable. Unfortunately, the local arts and culture scenes don’t make enough of an effort or simply don’t know how.  I saw it in local theater, I see it in local online communities, and I even see it now in the comedy scene.

Whether you’re trying to get people to make better dining choices or trying to get them to come to your show, it’s important to get beyond the bubble. Otherwise, you’re going to be preaching to a choir that’s slowly but surely shrinking in size and enthusiasm (using  a cliche that invokes the Catholic Church in this example is no accident).

So if you’re really and truly interested in improving any and all aspects of our local culture, it behooves you to make the effort to get past your own bubble.

* This year’s “Best of the Capital Region” poll from the Times Union is particularly distressing in its ineptness. One of the nominees for “Best Local Concert” was for a Kings of Leon show at SPAC that never happened. “Best Local Tweeter,” a laughably inane category if there ever was one, nominated a person who moved to Chicago over a year ago. Most distressing, though, is the category of “Best Local Journalist,” which snubbed both Jordan Carleo-Evangelist and Jimmy Vielkind, who are the two consistently best and hardest working journalists under their employ. Nominated in their stead? Food critics and fashion bloggers. Shameful.
 

You can’t call me naive, because I expect this sort of thing, even in 2012. Even so, I still find this very distressing.

There are people out there who, under the thin veil of good intentions, continue to wage a war on progress and thought. It’s a war that too many of us try to fight back with politeness. But we can’t and shouldn’t deign respect for this repugnance.

Some years ago a term was coined to describe the brain drain in this country; it was called a “quiet crisis.” The more I see, hear, and read, the more I am convinced that the “quiet crisis” is itself a symptom of the continued advancement of anti-intellectual ideas.

Tagged with:
 

JUST ADDED!

Comedy for a Cause @ The Waterworks Comedy Lounge
FEATURING:
– Shawn Gillie
– Jennifer McMullen
– William Hughes
– Michael Raive
– Kevin Marshall

 

All of the proceeds go towards the Sexual Assault & Crime Victim’s Assistance Program of Rensselaer County.

Must be 18 and up with a valid ID.
Tickets:
$10 advance
$15 at the door
1 drink minimum.

SACVAP provides education, prevention, and crisis care services to victims of crime and their loved ones. Stop by, get a drink, have a laugh, and support the cause!

Tagged with:
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=H4iCfx8YXZE

This and more videos of my stand-up are now online! Visit KevinMarshallOnline.com and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

 

Check them out HERE and subscribe on the YouseTubes.

Quick sample:

There’s, like, eight more? I don’t know, I suck at math. But you’re bound to find something you’ll like.

Tagged with:
 

Look, I try not to be mean when it comes to people and their looks, especially in the type of society we live in now. In no way am I under any pretense that high standards of physical beauty never existed, nor do I labor under the misapprehension that shallow materialism is something that sprung up in the last decade. Thing is, though, we used to at least not revel in it. Some of you reading this remember those days before the internet and social media in all its forms either obliterated some people’s self-awareness or magnified their complete lack of it.

Enter Samantha Brick, who I think might just be our tipping point. Brick, a British television journalist, wrote a diatribe about how hard it is being exceptionally beautiful and all of the attention, both good and bad, it brings. Good in the form of random bottles of champagne ordered for her on airplanes, bad in the form of jealousy from other women. Normally I would just let out a tsk and roll my eyes, except…except there’s pictures, and…and…

Guys, there’s no way to put this lightly. She’s not pretty and her eyes are fucking cock-eyed.

LOOK.

Exhibit A, her eyes are fucking crooked.

Eh?

Er...

 

‘Lest you think I’m being mean, if you click on those images you’ll see that these are the examples she provided. Like, she was all “I am so beautiful, look at this.” Except no, not really.

I mean, God. I hate being this mean. But I hate her more for making me this mean! If it was done with the attitude of “look how pretty I am!” I’d be all “you go, girl!” But it’s done like “I am so much prettier than everyone else that they hate me for it” followed by stories and anecdotes that read like the ramblings of that nine-year-old pathological liar in your playground (who has also seen television shows you’ll never see because his family has a special box on his TV that his millionaire Uncle hooked them up with). What’s worse, though, is that it advances a misogynistic narrative of women as jealous, vile, and ultimately shallow creatures who will hate you for your beauty and success. It’s delusional but somehow also mean, and would be tragic if it weren’t so spiteful.

Samantha, if you’re reading this? …no. Just…just no.

 

 

 

TONIGHT!

Friday, March 30th
KEVIN MARSHALL & FRIENDS
to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

@ Waterworks Comedy Lounge
76 Central Ave., Albany NY
Doors open @ 8:30pm

FEATURING: Kevin Marshall * Jaye McBride* Shawn Gillie * Jennifer McMullen * Doreen Watson * Kristin VanSteemburg

$10 in advance; $15 at the door

PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE

($10 donation to Chris Wessell’s “LLS Man of the Year” campaign; enter “Comedy Show” in “Message to Participant” field)

 

=====================

 

I’m also on the latest episode of Geek Salad. Mike, Andy, and Jim take us on a hilarious romp down memory lane as they run down Wrestlemanias 11 through 20. With special appearances by Big Daddy V (me) and an interview Steve Henel conducted with dead wrestler medium Anthony Rappaport (me again).

 

Tagged with:
 

Good news comes to me today from my oldest sister Davelyn’s Facebook:

Kudos for the girls elementary school for incorporating schoolhouse rock into their social studies curriculum. the girls are having fun watching the videos in school and are walking around singing these songs that we sang along with back in the 70’s.

Oh my God, that’s wonderful.

Also, don’t forget to get your tickets for Friday’s show. If you don’t make your $10 donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and come out to support us, then it means you love cancer. And I know that deep down, you aren’t like that.

Tagged with:
 

Jack McEneny officially declined the Democratic nomination for re-election tonight, signaling his retirement from the State Assembly.

Jack is one of the few elected officials I’ve ever known that I trust unequivocally both personally and as a public servant. His retirement comes at the right time for him, and I hope that he puts at least half as much energy into enjoying it as he did his tireless work for the State of New York.

I won’t wax poetic any further because he’d be embarrassed and his daughters would make fun of me. But way to be, Jack. Way to be.

Tagged with:
 

To the relief of many who will later be crushed to discover that unfollowed them on purpose, Twitter finally admitted that a bug exists that unfollows other tweeters without any action or warning:

The bug is causing Twitter users to randomly unfollow people without account holders’ prior consent or knowledge. Twitter has advised affected people to visit its support page and go to fellow tweeters’ profile pages to check whether they are still following them or not.

And here you thought I unfollowed you because all you did was complain about minor glitches in service at restaurants most people can’t afford or post links to “special deals” or ask people “what should I blog about today?” or were just generally uninteresting or obnoxious and I don’t know you well enough to feel obligated to be your friend on a social networking site. Nope! It’s a bug. Honest.
Wait…would it be a Twug? Ah, who gives a twit.
============
Tagged with: