Stripping Cyberbullies of Power

"Rhetoric does not get you anywhere, because Hitler
and Mussolini are just as good at rhetoric.
But if you can bring these people down with comedy,
they stand no chance." ~ Mel Brooks

Lisa Bloom is once again repping a high-profile client, which gets them both in front of news cameras. But what happened to me six years ago was/is infinitely worse than what just happened to Kathy Griffin; she's claiming her career is destroyed. 

Hanks for the Memories

"The truth is that we don't need everyone to like us; 

we need a few people to love us. Because what's better than

being roundly liked is being fully known - an impossibility 

both professionally and personally if you're so busy being likable

that you forget to be yourself." ~ Jessica Valenti

At my therapy session today, I was expressing how I often feel unlikable -- I'll let the source of that neurosis be fodder for another day. Dr. Bob responded that no one is universally liked. Everyone can name people who don't like them. 

I replied, "Yeah, except Tom Hanks. He's probably the only person on the planet who is liked by literally everyone."

Crash Course in Comedy from Jerry Lewis

On December 19, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter (THR) used the Internet to share with the world a brief interview with the legendary Jerry Lewis -- accomplished comedian, actor, singer, writer, director, and producer, who has amassed a body of work spanning 70 years. 

Jerry Lewis is also a generous humanitarian who selflessly shepherded an annual Labor Day Telethon to raise money for children with Muscular Dystrophy that ran from 1966-2014. He hosted it until 2010, a run of 44 years! Quite a legacy.

Although the video is under eight minutes, it feels longer because Jerry methodically commands every moment as captain of his comedy ship, while mopping the deck with an inept and clueless off-camera interviewer who sounds like a high school kid doing a story for his school's paper. (I don't mean to denigrate high school newspapers or the kids who write for them, as I suspect few would fail this dismally.)

Here's the video interview in all its glory. Watch and listen closely as an interviewer is deftly schooled with a crash course in comedy. The post that follows is my take on it.