Tag Archives: comedy

Interview: Odd Squad Creators Tim McKeon and Adam Peltzman

When our daughter introduced us to Odd Squad, a math-focused kids’ program that airs on PBS, I was skeptical. A lot of kids programing is tedious and boring, and this can especially be the case with shows that attempt to slip educational messages into their plots. In no time at all, my skepticism turned to admiration […]

Barry Crimmins on comedy, survival, not being a hero, and his friend Bobcat Goldthwait

Barry Crimmins is a legendary comic and activist who will doing standup at Blue on December 28th. The show was organized by Portland Comedy Co-Op, who Crimmins describes as a “good bunch of people doing great things for comedy in Maine.” Content Warning: Rape A pioneer in the early Boston standup scene, he was around for […]

John Hodgman discusses Vacationland, Jon Stewart’s final Daily Show

John Hodgman is a humorist, author and television personality known by many for his standup and appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Hodgman is also the host of Judge John Hodgman, a podcast in which he arbitrates conflicts large and small. He also vacations and lives part time in Brooklin, Maine. I recently […]

15 Instagram photos that show how Mainers celebrated the arrival of 2015

On the eve of the year 2000—the New Year’s Eve everyone thought would usher in one catastrophe or another—I spent the night with a bunch of friends from Westbrook High School. We synched Wizard of Oz with Dark Side of the Moon and awaited the impending doom of Y2K, which never came. It feels like […]

Belinda Woolfson: To the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Beyond!

Belinda Woolfson is a comedian and storyteller who lives right here in Portland, Maine. She came to Portland by way of Chicago, where she performed with Second City. She desperately wants to get hired by The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Her campaign to realize this goal, The Ellen Project, will take her across the country to […]

Rest well, Shaman King: On Robin Williams

I don’t have much to offer about the passing and legacy of Robin Williams outside of what has already been written, Tweeted, shared via status updates, exchanged at kitchen tables, or conveyed in shocked text exchanges. Beginning with the syndicated episodes of Mork and Mindy that aired in the early 80s, Williams has always been […]

I talked with Lee Camp, who will be funny in Portland this Saturday

Lee Camp will be performing his standup live at The Gold Room in Portland on Saturday night. Camp is a NYC-based stand up comedian/social satirist/activist who written for / been featured in Rolling Stone, The Onion and The Huffington Post. To many, he is known for his series of YouTube videos called Moments of Clarity. The […]

Thinking of Boston

Thoughts: We should establish a national holiday for recognizing emergency response teams, Good Samaritans, and all of the other folks who give days like these a strong silver lining. While laughter seems unthinkable for many at present, I want to thank the funny-makers in advance for helping us cope in the days to come. Earlier […]

Here are some ways you can celebrate New Year’s in Portland, Maine, my friends.

Are you looking for ways to ring in 2013 in Portland? Here I present a robust handful of suggestions. At SPACE Gallery, there will be Mexican wrestling (Super Lucha Explosiva), DJ sets (Nan’l Meiklejohn and Gabe FM) and video projections (David Meiklejohn). I usually end up at SPACE Gallery on New Years Eve and I […]