Archive for Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me
Six Degrees: Reminder – Ben Karlin in Madison tomorrow
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If you’re anywhere near Madison, make sure to go to the Ben Karlin reading tomorrow at UW-Madison.
- What: Book editor Ben Karlin, Dan Savage, Todd Hanson, Dan Vebber and Andy Selsberg read their pieces from the anthology “Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me.”
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: Union Theater, 800 Langdon St.
Admission: Free
Also, the Wisconsin State Journal has an interview with Ben Karlin that’s pretty interesting:
UW-Madison grad Karlin draws laughs with new book
TOM ALESIA
FRI., MAR 7, 2008 – 4:40 PM…
Karlin: No, no, no. I wanted to avoid that. The thing that really works about “The Daily Show” is its relevancy. Underneath it is a commentary about news and information and the way it’s delivered to people, but it is well done so it’s funny and not too ham-fisted or anything. That was the same approach I wanted for this book: Can you make it relatable and real but also funny that doesn’t feel sappy?
State Journal: When will we hear what shows you have for HBO?
Karlin: If they like the script, they’ll order the pilot and if they like the pilot they’ll order the series. HBO is very methodical about the way they do things. HBO, to their credit, wants it to conceptually sound. I’m supervising another script. One of the ideas takes place in Wisconsin — not Madison, a fictional town. We’ll present them in a couple of months and we’ll await our fate. Both are half-hour comedic series. One is about a man who attempts to become the richest man in the world. Another is about a UFO alien death cult.
State Journal: You were raised in suburban Boston. How did you choose UW-Madison?
Karlin: I wanted to get out of the East Coast. I was enamored with the University of Michigan. I loved the idea of going to be a big school that’s a college town. Everyone said, ‘If you’re looking at Michigan, you’ve got to look at Madison, too.’
As it turns out, I was not accepted to Michigan and I was accepted to Madison. I came to the school sight unseen. My visit (to Madison) was canceled because I had gone to the Bahamas during my spring break and got sun poisoning and I was unable to fly there.
State Journal: There’s a description of you in New York Magazine that may be the ultimate compliment of your work: “Basically, if you’ve laughed in the last 10 years, Ben Karlin was responsible.” How do you keep your feet on the ground after reading that?
Karlin: It’s a ridiculous thing to write about someone. You have to come up with a new word for hyperbole to describe that statement. It happened at a time when I was leaving the shows (“Daily Show” and “Colbert”). It was nice to read. But, man, I’ve been made fun of more for that than I have felt good about it.
State Journal: Where are your 10 Emmys?
Karlin: I wear one around my neck at all times.
State Journal: If anyone could say, “My career has peaked …”
Karlin: It would be me. (laughs)
(h/t DDags)
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Ben Karlin reading in Boston tonight
Posted by: | CommentsFor those of you in Boston, if you’ve got $5 and some free time tonight, I’d highly recommend this event:
Special Event
Harvard Book Store Presents
Reading: Ben Karlin at 6:00
The Brattle TheaterHarvard Book Store is pleased to present BEN KARLIN, the Emmy Award-winning former executive producer of ‘The Daily Show’ and ‘The Colbert Report’, who in his new book has assembled a lineup of male celebrities, writers, and public figures who have one thing in common: they’ve all been dumped
Tickets for this event are $5 and may be purchased STARTING FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH at Harvard Book Store or over the phone with a credit card (617-661-1515). Please note that your $5 ticket may be redeemed for $5 off a single item at the event or at Harvard Book Store for one month following the event.
h/t Entropy
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Ben Karlin and friends on ‘The Today Show’
Posted by: | CommentsIt really can’t be said enough: Ben Karlin is a funny, funny man. And he has funny, funny friends.
From MSNBC (I’ve pasted the shortest of excerpts here, but there’s a lot more at the link):
So, you’ve been dumped; did you learn anything?
Author says the important part of losing love is what you glean from it
updated 10:48 a.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 6, 2008Ever been dumped? Sure you have. But the important thing is whether you learned anything. Ben Karlin did, and he writes about it in “Things I’ve Learned from Women Who’ve Dumped Me.” An excerpt.
Lesson #18: You Too Will Get Crushed
We didn’t meet cute. She was taking baths on the downlow with a friend of mine while her boyfriend pined away in Ignoramusland, aka Houston. It’s not polite to name names. Hers was Jill.. . .
Mistake #6
This really is the killer and I will say all the others can be dismissed as mistakes only in retrospect. They are situation specific, original, and unprecedented. This, however, is a really stupid thing I did and something I should have known not to do.I introduced her to all my friends and encouraged her to hang out with them on her own. Now, the operative word here is all.
Some is fine. Many is all right. Just about every one would be okay, too. But not all. Not the ones you know are dodgy. Not the ones whose dodginess you have personally witnessed for years. A dodginess legendary amongst his contemporaries. That’s just buying a ticket for an express train to Crushtown.
. . .
For whatever reason, the video of Ben and friends talking about their mistakes (posted on the linked page) isn’t working for me, but I’m assuming it’s the same as the one HuffPo posted here (sorry, I couldn’t embed it). Do enjoy!
ON EDIT: I still can’t get the video at MSNBC to launch, but Jennie tells me that it includes more than what was posted at HuffPo. Just an FYI, in case you haven’t tried the vid at MSNBC yet.
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Six Degrees: Ben Karlin talks to Amazon.com
Posted by: | CommentsAmazon.com has interviewed Ben Karlin in anticipation of his eagerly awaited new book, Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me. I’m excerpting some of the bits I liked about the book, but the full interview includes details on what his days were like before he left The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, what he’s been doing lately and much more, so do check it out below, or go here to listen:
Our Moment with Ben
February 1st, 2008. . .
Amazon.com: First question I have for you… Are you sporting a strike beard?
Karlin: [Laughs] I don’t have the ability to grow a strike beard. I can grow a series of strike patches.
Amazon.com: Have you been tuning in to see how Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are handling their return to the airwaves?
Karlin: You know, I haven’t seen–I saw a little bit. For me, I think what’s far more interesting has been not what they do in week one, but what they’re going to do in week three. [Laughs] Week one you can really talk about, My god, we’re back on the air and we don’t have writers. You have a lot of games probably stored up. But I think the real challenge is probably going to be three or four weeks into this thing how fast they can dance. I guess those two guys probably are as well equipped as anyone on planet Earth to do that.
Amazon.com: So taking us back to December 2006 when you stepped down from your dual role as executive producer on both of those shows. I’m sure your days were filled with humor–
Karlin: I was drunk. I just want you to know that. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have done that.
. . .
Amazon.com: Was putting the collection together sort of like making a mix-tape–a literary mix-tape?
Karlin: It was… I wish it wasn’t so difficult, just the logistics of getting in touch with people and getting them to agree and working with them. Everybody’s all over the place and everyone’s really busy. It’s like putting together a mix-tape if each song was on a different computer in a different state and some were in different countries. You know? So it’s that kind of mix-tape. You have to go to Belgium to get the Led Zeppelin song.
Amazon.com: While we’re shelving this book in Humor rather than Self-Help, do you think there are any life lessons a young man can take away from this volume?
Karlin: Um… Yes. If you find yourself in a foreign prison facing charges you don’t understand, it might be time to change some of your behavior.
Amazon.com: Nothing to do with women–
Karlin: [Laughs] No. I don’t think you should be turning to this book for anything other than joy and laughter and hopefully… Laughter.
Amazon.com: Do you want to keep it away from your girlfriend or do you think, High Fidelity style, it offers a little insight into the male psyche?
Karlin: If it doesn’t then the book is kind of a failure. If people read the book I do think that they will take away either something very specific about a specific type of mind or maybe some general kind of amalgam of, like, wow, I didn’t know people thought that way, or I didn’t know that kind of behavior was interpreted that way. I hope so. I mean, I feel like, for me, the worst kind of book is one that the second you close it it’s like completely gone from your mind. All you did was fill some time, but it didn’t enrich you in any way. I would really hope on some level, besides just providing some laughs, does give someone something. Maybe the clap? Can a book give someone the clap?
. . .
Don’t forget to order yourself a copy of the book and/or audiobook here:
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We have winners!!!
Posted by: | CommentsAnd the winners of the ‘Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me’ contest are ….
- Rose Barger – Evansville, IL
- Erin Hoke – Olympia, WA
- Lisa Mangione – Hillsborough, NJ
- Megan Maguire – Kingston, RI
- Miranda Doerfler – Galloway, OH
Thanks for playing, guys! And don’t worry, we’ve got a few more tricks up our sleeve for this book, including the long-awaited Ben Karlin interview. We’ll keep you posted!
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Mesquite Smoker
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Okay, one last day for entering our contest to win Ben Karlin’s new book “Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me”. So enter. Seriously. I’m loving this book.
And what does this post title mean? You’ll understand … when you’ve read/heard the book.
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Excerpt (and audioclip) from “Things I’ve Learned …” – Ben Karlin
Posted by: | CommentsWe’ve still got that amazing interview with Ben Karlin coming up for the site (I’ve seen it – it’s awesome!), but right now we’d like to feature some audio and an excerpt from Ben Karlin’s new book, “Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me”. Today we’re featuring Ben’s chapter.
Audio:
Lesson 18 – You Too Will Get Crushed
You should know that Reason and Practicality are mean.
Click below for the book excerpt!
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More audio from “Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me” – Andy Richter
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve had a soft spot for Andy Richter since he first graced the stage of Conan O’Brien in 1993, and I think I’ll adore this boy until the day I die. When I got into the Stephen Colbert fandom, I was delighted to find cameos from him in “Strangers With Candy”. And I have to be honest, other than the Stephen Colbert chapter in Ben Karlin’s new book, I was looking forward to Andy’s chapter most of all. And it did not disappoint.
Don’t forget to enter our contest for a copy of the book AND audiobook of Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me!
Lesson 2: ‘Girls Don’t Make Passes at Boys With Fat Asses’ – by Andy Richter
Andy Richter’s childhood was a mess of insecurity, but thank God for college.
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