Posted By Dan Bolles on Tue, Jan 24, 2017 at 2:19 PM

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Courtesy of Greg Proops

Greg Proops

We could have asked Greg Proops about many things. We could have asked about his time on the beloved British improv comedy TV show "Whose Line Is It Anyway? — or its American successor of the same name. We could have talked about lending his voice to Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and various Star Wars projects over the years.

Or we could have pimped his latest standup comedy special, "Live at Musso and Frank's." Or picked his brain about his acclaimed podcast, "The Smartest Man in the World" — which Rolling Stone lauded as "some of the boldest comedy on the podcasting frontier right now." And then there's his latest book, The Smartest Book in the World: A Lexicon of Literacy, A Rancorous Reportage, A Concise Curriculum of Cool. Or we could have shot the shit about baseball, fer chrissakes — dude's a rabid fan.

But when Seven Days spoke to Proops by phone last week, we didn't ask him about any of that stuff.

Tags: Greg Proops , Donald Trump , Women's March , standup comedy , podcast , Image , Video , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Wed, Jan 4, 2017 at 11:46 AM

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Courtesy of Kendall Farrell

Kendall Farrell

With the formal swearing at, er, in of President-elect Donald J. Trump a mere two weeks away, millions across the country and globe are nervously wondering, What the eff do we do now? Also, Do I know any single Canadian citizens?

The uneasiness surrounding the impending inauguration crosses demographic boundaries. No one, even those who voted for him, can say with certainty what will happen next or how it will affect them. (Though the prevailing sentiment seems to be this: Fuuuuck.) That uncertainty is doubly potent for those whose job it is to observe and comment on the current political landscape. No, not journalists or pundits. We mean people with a far more important role: comedians.

Comedy has long been a source of light in the darkness. But is anything really funny about such an unfunny time? Find out tonight, Wednesday, January 4, when a new political comedy series called United We Stand Up debuts at the Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington.

Tags: standup comedy , politics , Annie Russell , Kendall Farrell , David Zuckerman , Image , Web Only

Posted By Pamela Polston, Dan Bolles, Rachel Elizabeth Jones and Sadie Williams on Thu, Dec 29, 2016 at 8:00 AM

Courtesy of Anthill Collective

Anthill Collective's mural behind ArtsRiot in Burlington

Before we take a deep breath and dive into 2017, it seems a good time to look back on the year from which we are about to graduate: 2016. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but a sampling of events, exhibits and happenings in local arts and culture. It gives us one more chance to wax nostalgic  on where we've been and what we wrote about over the past 12 months.

JANUARY
OK, this didn't happen in Vermont, but it's relevant. Remember when Sen. Bernie Sanders ran for president? As a reflection of his popularity, a Sanders-themed art show titled “The Art of a Political Revolution” — which included Vermont artists — launched in Los Angeles.

Vermont Shakespeare Company greeted the year by announcing a name change — to Vermont Shakespeare Festival.  The new moniker symbolized another step toward the nonprofit's dream of presenting a full-blown, well, Shakespeare festival. Meantime, the company went on to present several events throughout the year, including its timely production of Julius Caesar in the summer.

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Posted By Dan Bolles on Mon, Nov 28, 2016 at 11:25 AM

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Posted By Dan Bolles on Mon, Nov 21, 2016 at 9:15 AM

It's Monday, which means it's time for your weekly dose of locavore levity: the Joke of the Week! This week's joke comes from South Montpelier's Sky Sandoval. Take it away, Sky …

So, my name is Sky. I have two half-sisters, and my half-sisters' names are: Star … and Jennifer.

It’s an interesting choice on my dad’s part naming us Sky, Star and Jennifer. It makes me wonder what he’d be like if he were in charge of other things using that logic. I always like to imagine what it’d be like if he booked a music festival.

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Monday, November 14, 2016

Comedy Joke of the Week Whimsy Words

Joke of the Week: Pun Fusion

Posted By Dan Bolles on Mon, Nov 14, 2016 at 12:55 PM

It's Monday, which means it's time for your weekly dose of locavore levity: the Joke of the Week! This week's joke comes from South Burlington's Owen Foley. Take it away, Owen …

I'm thinking about opening a business that serves two separate needs. Maybe a laundromat that's also a bar, or a bookstore that's also a bar, or a restaurant that's also a truck. Even my food truck is going to serve fusion cuisine. I'm thinking Vietnamese and Italian food. Gonna call it Pho-gettaboutit.

About that joke

Says Foley: This joke is simple word play, it is dumb but I love it so much. The smart, sophisticated, and tremendously good looking audiences of Burlington also seem to enjoy it.

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Monday, November 7, 2016

Burlington Comedy Joke of the Week Whimsy Words

Joke of the Week: It's Not Me, It's You

Posted By Dan Bolles on Mon, Nov 7, 2016 at 9:49 AM

It's Monday, which means it's time for your weekly dose of locavore levity: the Joke of the Week! This week's joke comes from Burlington's Tim Bridge. Take it away, Tim …

I was dumped recently. And it sucks being broken up with. It does. It only sucks more when you're sitting on a couch, being broken up with, and multiple times in the conversation you have the thought, That's a good point.

No one wants to be broken up with. I feel like the best case scenario is being able to say, "Screw it, man, that girl was crazy." Or, "Who cares, girl. That guy was an asshole."

No one wants to be like, "Nah, this makes sense for you."

About that joke

Says Bridge: Writing jokes about how sad you feel is a pretty great way to get over how sad you feel.

I was broken up with. It made a comical amount of sense when it was explained why I was being broken up with. So I made it into a joke in order to convince myself that everything was going to be okay, which it totally, definitely, 100%, completely is.

I'm fine.

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Monday, October 31, 2016

Comedy Joke of the Week Whimsy Words

Joke of the Week: A Very Merry Un-Birthday

Posted By Dan Bolles on Mon, Oct 31, 2016 at 9:50 AM

It's Monday, which means it's time for your weekly dose of locavore levity: the Joke of the Week! This week's joke comes from Burlington's Tarzan Jenkins. Take it away, Tarzan …

My eight-year-old son says to me, "Dad, I've been thinking … not all children should have birthdays."

And I'm like, "What?!"

He says," I don't think all kids should have birthdays. Some kids should have C-section days."

And I'm like,"What?!!!"

He says,"It's still a celebration, just the cake comes pre-cut down the middle."

I said,"Cut it out, boy!"

He said,"Exactly dad, exactly."

About that joke

Says Jenkins: "The wisdom of children is precious. The logic of children is hilarious!"

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Friday, October 28, 2016

Comedy Joke of the Week Whimsy Words

Joke of the Week: Come Again?

Posted By Dan Bolles on Fri, Oct 28, 2016 at 8:36 AM

In celebration of the annual Vermont's Funniest Comedian competition, which runs Wednesday through Friday, October 26 through 28, at the Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington, all this week we're posting a daily version of our weekly Joke of the Week feature. Today's dose of local hilarity comes to us from Montpelier's Kathleen Kanz. Take it away, Kathleen …

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Thursday, October 27, 2016

Comedy Joke of the Week Whimsy Words

Joke of the Week: Post-Triscuital Bliss

Posted By Dan Bolles on Thu, Oct 27, 2016 at 12:08 PM

In celebration of the annual Vermont's Funniest Comedian Competition, which runs Wednesday through Friday, October 26 through 28, at the Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington, all this week we're posting a daily version of our weekly Joke of the Week feature. Today's dose of local hilarity comes to us from East Orange's Bitsy Biron. Take it away, Bitsy …

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