Saturday, May 19, 2007

Nerdy Standups

Those who know Plevs' recent attempts in the world of stand-up comedy already have some experience with nerd-comedy.

We are a lucky country, it's been said, and it's true. We've had a pretty peaceful past compared to most countries. But it's funny what people will say. "Yew oughta support the Americans. If it weren't for them we'd all be eating sushi." (shrug) That would in actual fact be awesome. So if the Japanese had rolled into Darwin in 1942, they would have brought us some sushi? What do they say in Turkey these days? "You must support the valiant defenders of Gallipoli! If it weren't for them you'd all be eating Chiko rolls." ~Plevs' raw comedy set 2007.

However, I think this guy defeats even Plevs on all counts. As the self-proclaimed "world's first and only stand-up economist*", Yoram Bauman has tried the world of comedy after many years of study left him the brains, but unfortunately also the body, of Stephen Hawking.

Anyway, check out his take on the core principles of Economics- video and transcript.
This one is amusing because of the very narrow group of people that will get it, but that's what we like about our nerdy comedians. They seem certain that everyone will understand their humour as it is so obvious to them in the first place. If you don't quite get any of it after watching the video, I recommend reading the transcript. Maybe it isn't as much of an instant hit as Generic Wheelchair Guy making jokes about being disabled, or Token Black Guy making jokes about racial sterotypes, or...you know where this goes... but after dissecting his points you just might find it hilarious. Or if not, just laugh at this bit from his site:
"My father says that the real joke is my abandoning nine years of higher education to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. Please help me prove him wrong by hiring me to perform at your holiday parties &etc. "
Here's him again doing something less economicsy about bumper stickers. You can also check out the Freakonomics post from a while back.

2 comments:

Mr DP said...

Something about macroeconomics and INCREASE THE FONT SIZE! Hahahaha! They should make nerdy sitcoms, 'Curb Your Economic Enthusiasm' or something, with all the traditional sitcom noises eg

1. 'woooo' (translation - "It's on!")
2. 'wooooOOOOooo! ("Wow, those two are going to make babies.")
3. 'Awwwww' ("What a cute 8-year-old guest star.")

Maybe I should try this particular comic niche with one of my own interests. Actually, I've already heard one. "Pharmacogenomics is pharmacogenetics with two SNPs." You'll have to believe me, though, that explaining it isn't worth the comic payoff.

Anonymous said...

Best post for a long time. I laughed and laughed. Forward to Alan Kohler and Terry McCrann?