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[NP] dumbass libral crackhead welfare sucker

I have officially made it, my people. No, I didn't get a spot on Letterman. No, I haven't been invited to perform at the Montreal Comedy Festival. No, I will not be appearing on America's Next Top Survivor Standing and Eating Goat Testicles for a Shot at Fifteen Minutes of Dubious Fame.

I've blown up on YouTube!

A few days ago, a recent standup video I posted was selected as the Pick of the Day. It has been viewed over 15,000 times. But besides the number of video plays and immeasurable dollars I received as a result of such notoriety, the best part are the YouTube comments. My favorite is by "mooospot" who called me a "dumbass libral crackhead welfare sucker...."

That's the best press quote ever, and I've made it part of my official presskit over at http://www.sonicbids.com/baratunde

Check out the screenshot here:

ANOTHER COLUMN

This week's "Weekly Dig" has another one of my columns. It's a high school flashback and gets a bit into how a young radical is created. Consider it a glimpse at "the making of Baratunde." It's a good one.

ARTISTIC PROMOTIONS

As yall know, I love to promote myself, but I also like promoting other great artists. Here are my weekend pics for New York and Boston, starting tonight

TONIGHT, NEW YORK CITY
Zebro, http://www.zebroshow.com

One of my favorite sketch groups. They have great videos online and a hilarious live show featuring super cool standup comics

People's Improv Theatre
930pm
154 W 29th St, Manhattan

FRIDAY, NEW YORK CITY
Long As You're Living, a tribute to Oscar Brown Jr.
http://www.lindakosut.com

I saw this show when I was in NYC last week. It's incredibly good and cool. Oscar Brown Jr. was an artist and activist who reminded me a lot of my mother. Linda does a great job presenting not only his work but his life.

The Triad
9pm
158 West 72 St. (@ B'way)

SATURDAY, BOSTON
Soulfege, http://www.soulfege.com/

I've known many members of this band since we cleaned bathrooms together in college. Now they're off to big things and have a management deal with with multi-platinum record producer and Eurythmics founder, Dave Stewart. This show will also feature another one of my favorite acts IN THE WORLD: The Foundation Movement, a ridiculously talented and TRUE hip-hop act.

I will be at this event, so let's hang together.
Get Tix at http://www.onslaughtentertainment.com/tickets

Bill's Bar
doors @ 8:30pm

5.5 Landsdowne St, Boston

- Baratunde Thurston
a proud dumbass libral crackhead welfare sucker

http://www.baratunde.com
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=2244

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[NP] Barry, Oscar, Apple and Media that Matters

Howdy doody newsphlasherati, I am writing this from the Bryant Park Hotel in New York, and it's a beautiful day. Last night I MC'd an event at HBO Headquarters. I'm off to BookExpo in a few minutes, and tomorrow night I jet back to Boston (ok, TRAIN back) to do perhaps my biggest gig of the summer. Couple of very cool updates for yall. 1. BARRY CRIMMINS' FAREWELL TO STANDUP SHOW IN BOSTON I have a pretty big show tomorrow (sat) night in Boston. A role model and mentor, political satirist Barry Crimmins, is walking away from standup and doing his farewell show at Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway Theatre in Davis Sq, Somerville MA You should come out to see Barry's one-man show and stay for me and other comics he's selected to "carry the torch." EVENT DETAILS or on facebook 2. OSCAR BROWN JR. SHOW IN NYC TONIGHT Last year at the South by Southwest film festival, I saw a great documentary by Donnie Betts about Oscar Brown Jr., a playwright, musician, poet, activist. Tonight I'm hoping to catch another tribute to Oscar Brown Jr. in NYC put on by Linda Kosut EVENT DETAILS "Long As You're Living" the music, life & legacy of Oscar Brown Jr. Fri, June 1 at 7pm Fri, June 8 at 9pm The Triad Theater 158 W 72 St. NYC more @ http://lindakosut.com/calendar.html 3. NEW VIDEO POSTED!!! Any of you remember my run in with Apple superfans who swarmed my blog with negative comments after I dared to criticize the company? I've just released a video documenting that experience in the latest goodCRIMETHINKcast It's about 10 minutes, and I think it's damn funny. Check it and share with friends 4. BIG SHOUT TO MEDIA THAT MATTERS FILM FESTIVAL Finally, I want to give a superbig shoutout to Arts Engine, a non-profit that uses film to educate and empower people, ultimately helping them change the world. Last night I hosted their Media that Matters Film Festival Awards, and it was an incredibly inspiring experience. You need to see these films, and you can, right now, for free online. Do it. The event had some big timers like documentarian Al Masles and NPR's Ira Glass. There was young filmmaker Kiri Davis whose "A Girl Like Me" video got her on Oprah this week (google the movie). I'm just excited that my career is putting me in a position to work with like minded and talented folks. Plus, two people in the audience came up to me after the show and said "You remind me a lot of Chris Rock, but funnier." No lie. Oh, if you're on facebook, check my profile there. I'm diggin the new facebook way more than myspace, so if you're a social networking whore, get at me there. You can see and hear all podcasts, read all blog posts, see my twitters and more MY FBOOK PROFILE That's it for now. No MoJos, but check that Apple smugness video for reelz. peace Baratunde Thurston www.baratunde.com

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[NP] Mother's Day must read, et al

Yo people, This will be short. 1. My Weekly Dig Column ran this week. It's about my mom and Iowa. You should read it here 2. I've posted a new video of my show at The Comedy Studio last weekend. It is very good and very funny. I'm using it for some Comedy Central competition where they pit one artist against another. Bravo 3. Support singer/songwriter Mieka Pauley (www.mieka.com) because I tell you to. A TV station in Boston has nominated her for some award where they pit one artist against another. Bravo. 4. I have no public shows this weekend, but keep tabs on me via this blog and twitter: 5. I am writing a piece for Boston's Weekly Dig on Why Black People Leave Boston. If you have some thoughts, hit me back via email, skype, whatever. the contacts page at www.baratunde.com has all my communications modes. ====== IN THE FUTURE >>>>>> ====== Thursday May 17 The Comedy Studio in Cambridge June Shows - MC for Amnesty International (Boston) - MC for Media that Matters Film Festival (New York) - MC for Campus Progress National Convention (DC)

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[NP] A Harvard Square Weekend

For the past four weekends, I have been doing gigs everywhere but home: New York, DC, Iowa/Chicago and NYC/New Jersey. My plants are filing a wrongful neglect lawsuit against me, and black folks in Boston think I just moved in.

All that changes this weekend because I'm home.

I'll be performing tonight (Fri) and tomorrow at

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

The Comedy Studio

1238 Mass Ave (3rd floor of the Kong)

Cambridge

showtime at 8pm both nights. reserve tix

I'm writing a feature length article for the Weekly Dig

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

Subject: Why Do Black People Leave Boston?

Most of my black friends are amazed that I still live here, eight years after graduating college. Many think I'm the only black person in town. Others fear the racism. If you have thoughts on why black people don't seem to consider Boston a place worth settling, hit me up with thoughts or let's set up an interview. If you think the premise is just wrong, let me know that too.

I've spoken with black business owners, lawyers, college students and more. I'm looking for as many perspectives as possible and want this article to be tight. If there's someone I need to get at, please tell me now.

Email me: baratunde @ baratunde . com

Call: 646-633-4206

Or just reply to this message.

In other news

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

Looking for book recommendations, check out my custom Amazon Store

Photo of Jerry Bruckheimer's real plan for The Transformers

An explanation of why I use the new web service, Twitter

Why I can't stand George Tenet, and what I learned at Princeton

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

==

comedian, author & vigilante pundit

www.baratunde.com

a/k/a "baratunde" on myspace, facebook, skype, twitter and more

brought to you by Kingly Companion Media, LLC

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[NP] Live from the Acela, it's NewsPhlash!

I say Hola Hola Ay! Rollin, rollin, roll with Baratunde!

Free t-shirt to whoever writes back first explaining the reference in the greeting above. What's up my people? It's good to be back in touch with you. I'm writing this from a NYC-bound train, and we've got some cool things to discuss.

First up. My show in New York tonight

Ivy League Comedy Showcase:
Thursday April 26th 7 PM
Gotham Comedy Club
208 West 23rd Street NYC
(212) 367-9000 for reservations
$20 cover charge, two drink minimum

with Shaun Eli (MC), Karen Bergreen, Reece Waters, Me, Luke Cunningham and Dan Naturman

Next, Iowa redux.

My trip to Iowa last week was incredible. I spoke to high school students about the first amendment, sat on a panel about talk radio and American political discourse, received a Champion of the First Amendment Award from Iowa State University, learned about interesting black history in Iowa, performed in front of 2,000 lunatical (pronounced like fanatical) college students and got to hang out with one of my political satire heroes: Barry Crimmins who said the following about me:

Baratunde Thurston is a gracious and humble man. The grace comes naturally but the humility has got to be difficult for someone of his enormous talents. A sharp, insightful and important performer and writer, Baratunde has exactly the kind of curiosity, energy and wit that makes great political satirists.

Wow.

You can get more from my Iowa State experience and hear my show for the 2,000 in the latest episode of goodCRIMETHINKcast which is now even easier to play from my site. I spent the rest of the weekend in Chicago where a story in the Chicago Reader had me in tears and a roundtable discussion on the future of Black America had me inspired (this discussion will be aired in future podcasts. So subscribe).

Last week, you guys were among the first to read my thoughts on the Imus thing. Now read what I wrote in my dig column that came out yesterday in "Are you shocked?" Heads up: it's not about race!

I'm proud to be working with some cool Boston comics as part of A Tribe Called Sketch. We have a show in Cambridge this Sunday night featuring some of my writing and ... (pause for dramatic effect) ... acting.

Finally, some MoJos for ya:

Gunmen shot and killed 27 members of a religious sect in Iraq. The country is blaming America's culture of violence for the massacre.

Turnout in the French presidential elections reached 85 percent. The 15 percent that didn't vote were actually Americans on vacation in France.

DNA evidence has now freed 200 wrongfully-imprisoned Americans. To make sure this doesn't happen again, police will be collecting DNA samples from all citizens to plant at crime scenes.

Critics of Mayor Bloomberg's proposed Manhattan driving tax say it will hurt the working poor. Wrong. Everybody knows the working poor don't commute to Manhattan by car. They take the train from Philly like everybody else.

The White House says Attorney General Alberto Gonzales continues to have the president's full confidence. Let's hope this is the same confidence he had in Don Rumsfeld the week before he fired the man.

The Denver airport will be installing technology to detect deceptive behavior among passengers. This may force candidates attending the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver to travel by train.

AT&T and Microsoft say Google's purchase of online ad giant DoubleClick could violate anti-trust law. It will be hard to find criticism of their arguments online though. It seems they've used their monopoly powers to remove it.

Mexico city officials have legalized abortion within the first trimester. This creates a dilemna for American conservatives. On the one hand, they are upset because they hate abortion. On the other hand they are happy for anything that reduces the number of Mexican immigrants. Que lastima!

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[NP] Free Speech. Iowa. Imus. Public Radio Tonight!!

Wadup folks, Another NewsPhlash update for you. Right now, I'm sitting in a lecture hall on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, IA. I started my day reading the US and Iowa constitutions' first amendments to a group of high school students on the steps of the school of agriculture. Tonight, I'll get to meet the First Lady of Journalism, Helen Thomas. Part of First Amendment Day here focuses on political satire (thanks to the good work of Dave Saldana), and I have the honor of sharing a panel (Speaking Freely: The Future of Talk) and performance stage tomorrow with political comics Tina Dupuy and Barry Crimmins. I'll give a post-event wrap-up in blog and podcast form. Second, I'm making another appearance on Radio Open Source tonight. The subject is basically, "Who's allowed to say what" in light of the Imussy situation. Check out my pre-show thoughts on the blog, and post your comments. I may rep you (or at least your ideas) on the air. Showtime is 7pm Eastern so hurry up! Stagetime magazine, which covers the comedy industry, has posted a feature interview with me. Read it suckas! Returning to NYC for live comedy next week! Make your reservations. I'll have 20 minutes to throw down. Ivy League Comedy Showcase Thursday April 26 Gotham Comedy Club, NYC 7pm --- also, i'm doing twitter updates of the whole weekend. check it at twitter.com/baratunde

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[NP] Spring Cleaning + DC Shows Sat. Night

NewsPhlastonians, It's that time of the year known as spring cleaning, when we get rid of Winter baggage such as old clothes, furniture and has-been "shock jocks." Does America even need "shock jocks" like Don Imus anymore? In the 80s and 90s, I could understand middle aged white male angst which lashed out at women and "the gays" and "the blacks." It can be hard sharing even an itsy bitsy amount of power, but we're in 2007, and that game is just so hack. Try something new. Shock jock? Please. This is an age in which I can watch a presidential beheading or see a horse and a bald-headed midget make sweet love down by the fire while I listen to music that celebrates my genocide, watch a war which liberates people by killing them and eat "chicken nuggets" that must be injected with "chicken flavor" because we grow chickens that don't taste like chicken anymore. And "nappy headed hos" is the best you can do, Mr. Shock Jock? That's my word on Don Imus. Let's get back to me. * I promised a story of my worst night of standup comedy ever. Here it is: > read it and the great comments @ http://urltea.com/33e * I'm performing in DC this Saturday night as part of the DC Comedy Festival in two shows and am especially proud of one called "4 Shades of Black" which includes non-stereotypical black comics like me > details @ http://upcoming.org/event/173639/ * I'll be at Iowa State next week with comedians Bill Burr, Barry Crimmins and Tina Dupuy as part of First Amendment Day. Journalist Helen Thomas is the keynote speaker. This is why I'm hot ;) * After attending podcamp NYC this past weekend, I resurrected my podcast (on Easter no less) for the last time. Meaning, it's on for real now with no more multi-month gaps and will feature a new name starting with the next episode. Goodbye, Front Porch Podcast. Hello, goodCRIMETHINKcast > have a listen to my commitment ceremony @ http://urltea.com/4ba * Several friends and I have been working hard to establish a memorial scholarship fund for two amazing classmates who were killed halfway through college. I'd appreciate it if you all visited the site and spread the word or considered a donation > http://www.deshaun-harvard99.org I'll see you nappy-headed hos later. (see how that's not even funny?)

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[NP] Live from Austin? Audition in Dallas? Yep. It's the Texas Edition

I am here at the biggest musical festival in the country. South by Soutwest, better known as SXSW, is here in Austin, TX.

I got here a week ago for the Interactive and Film festivals and decided to stick around a bit. There are some pretty cool blog posts, photos and even video I've shot from here. I am tired but happy and having my mind blown constantly by inspiring people.

So here are the quick hits since I'm in a rush. Live. Text and Video all coming up.

AUDITION IN ARLINGTON, TEXAS TONIGHT
I'm auditioning for Bill Bellamy's "Who's Got Jokes" show on TV One.
I get to perform for THREE MINUTES, and the winner gets a 30 minute TV special. I assume there's some other qualifications between the three minutes and the 30, but since I'm in Texas, I thought I'd get up there.

Hyena's Comedy Club
2525 E. Arkansas Lane
Arlington, Texas 76010

8:30pm
$17.50 in advance - call 817-226-5233
$20 at the door

tell your Dallas/Ft Worth people to roll out.

MY WEEKLY DIG COLUMN IS LIVE
Headline: Barack Obama Likes Mayonnaise!
and my column now has a name
*drumroll*
*more drumroll*

it's "goodCRIMETHINK" also the name of my blog. I am now a global brand!!

A REVEREND PROTESTING AGAINST THE SHOPOCALYPSE?
One of the most exciting movies to come out of SXSW is "What Would Jesus Buy?"

It's a documentary about real-life performance artist/activist Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir. These folks are out to truly save Christmas and indeed America from overconsumption. I caught their Starbucks protest here in Austin last Saturday, and the video got a YouTube Honor.

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[NP] Three Women; Three Shows; and more!

photo via drp on Flickr Well, howdy hi there NewsPhlashers, We've got four things to cover in this week's issue 1. My triple-header weekend in New York and Boston 2. Recommended books by some talented friends 3. Finally, you can read about my Jetbooo experience 4. What happens when you criticize Apple on your blog? (and other highlights) 1. Triple Header Weekend Thursday March 1, 2007 (NEW YORK CITY) I'll be opening for noted musical political satirist Roy Zimmerman Cornelia Street Cafe, Greenwich Village 29 Cornelia St, near W 4th subway 8:30pm, $10 cover, 1 drink minimum host: John Morrison food and venue: incredible. come early, and eat. Friday & Saturday March 2 & 3 (BOSTON) I'll be doing sets at The Comedy Studio 1238 Mass. Ave, Harvard Sq. 8pm, $12 cover See all my show details on my website. 2. Recommended books by some talented friends (as promised) I really do consider myself fortunate to have some incredible friends and talented ones at that. Within a week, I found out about three new books by some incredible women. In all cases, these are their literary debuts. I've set up a special Amazon store where you can buy all three. I really expect you to spend money. I'm always asking you to give me money, well now give unto others. Below are my short reviews, in order of title length The Golden Road, Notes on My Gentrification by Caille Millner I haven't read a book this fast in a long time. It took me two days to knock this out, and it's still got me thinking. I've known Caille as a writer for a long time, but this memoir is more than I expected. It's a thoughtful, engaging, hilarious and beautifully worded mixture of self-reflection, character portraits and global observations on race, plus a few more things. The words "voice of a new generation" are often prematurely used, but in this case, they perfectly describe Caille's life and storytelling. You won't believe it's all non-fiction. Girl Most Likely To by Poonam Sharma Poonam could be a comedian, and coming from a comedian, you should take my words seriously. This book is damn funny and smart. I suppose it's technically "chic lit," but don't let the genre fool you if your image is one of trite predictability. Girl Most Likely To follows the journey of an on-paper successful, nearly 30, Indian-American, professional woman in New York. There's love and loss and office drama and an ulcer named Fred. Yes, there's an ulcer named Fred. Overture by Yael Goldstein Overture is a beautiful novel. It's a story of mother-daughter relationships. It's a story of music. It's a story of just what it is we mean by art and the duties of those who practice it. I found myself emotionally involved in this book. I was angry at characters. I was cheering for others. Yael paints the life of Tasha Darsky, a world-renowned violinist around whom the story is wrapped, with amazing maturity. I can't wait to read more of her work. 3. Finally, you can read about my Jetbooo experience You got my snippets during the event itself, and last week I promised a complete re-telling. Today, I'm happy to announce the publication of my Weekly Dig column, and it's title: JetBoooooo 4. What happens when you criticize Apple on your blog (and other highlights) I'm basically an Apple fan, but I've long since abandoned the religious fervor with which many Mac users treat the company. After several busted products, crashing systems and other hiccups, the last thing I want to see is one of those smug little "I'm a Mac" commercials which claim that the machines "just work." I said as much in an frustrated 2am post on my blog this weekend, and attracted over 1,000 visitors to my site in two days. That's 10 times my normal traffic. These people were like some kind of Midnight Mac Marauders, raiding my server, leaving ridiculous comments and accusing me of heresy. Example: "Who the hell are you? What makes you qualified to criticize Apple?" Being who I am, and trained in the martial art of email and Internet forum battles, I threw down. Watch me Stomp the Blog in Apple Fans Are Racists and Rapists other notable pieces from the past week include Can I request to be Overbooked The conclusion of podcasts on "How to Celebrate Black History Month for Those Who Aren't Black" and Mitt Romney is Campaigning Against France

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[NP] Back from Cali and Weekend Shows

Hey hey hey literate people!

I have found myself in the strangest of positions. I cannot talk! At least, I have severely limited my speech due to some vocal straining issues. Do you have any idea how hard it has been to live without the sound of my own voice? It started about a month ago but was improving until last week, when I found myself in the middle of JetBlue's greatest failure ever.

I was trapped at JFK overnight and used my powers of speech for good: to entertain other lost souls. It was my longest running, most improvised comedic set ever. It turned out to be an amazing journey, one that you can read about in my column running for the Weekly Dig next week. I don't know how it is that I find myself in the middle of crazy situations like this, but there I was.

Some photos of the ordeal:

Back to the updates.

I was traveling to perform in the Bay Area Black Comedy Competition & Festival. I did not advance to the next round, but I had hella fun. The Bay Area is one of my favorite places on Earth, and I finally got to spend time in Oakland. If you're in the area, head to "Lois the Pie Queen" for a meal. Really.

See photos of my performance:

I met some really amazing comedians including these hilarious clowns named Vanessa Fraction and Keisha Hunt. They could not get enough of my name! Check out the videos I caught of them.

My Name is Baratunde - Ghetto Remix

and

I Wish My Name Was Baratunde

Thanks to all who came out to my showcase at the competition and to the Laughing Liberally San Fran edition. That show was hot!

Despite the voice challenges, I've got three shows this weekend for which I'm saving my instrument. They're all in my current hometown of Somerville MA

@ Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway Theatre

FRIDAY 2/23
- hosting the 7:30pm show feat. headliner Chance Langton
- performing on the 10pm late show hosted by Tim McIntire

SATURDAY 2/24
- performing on the 10pm late show hosted by Jimmy Tingle

SUNDAY 2/25
- check out a sketch group I'm part of do its thing at The Comedy Studio in Harvard Sq. I won't be performing, but you should go because I told you to.

And for those of you not in the Boston area, The Front Porch Podcast has been re-activated. You read that right! I've released a special Black History Month edition at the request of Shelley the Republican where you can find it, or at my own website.

THE FUTURE

- I'm fortunate to have the most talented and amazing friends in the world. Three of them are women who have released books within a month of each other. I'll plug each one as soon as I finish them all, but they are amazing. Much better than that free PDF crap I get away with

- March 9 - 18 I should be in Austin, TX for South by Southwest. Holla if you're around

/ has all the show info, podcast and blogadociousness you need.

check out my latest "book"

www.baratunde.com

a/k/a "baratunde" on myspace, facebook, skype, yelp and more

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