Stand-Up Comic Makes Science Funny 126
Hugh Pickens writes "The San Fransisco Chronicle is running a story about Brian Malow, a stand-up comedian who has showcased his science-centric stand-up humor for more than a decade in comedy clubs, at conventions and for corporate clients across the country. Fortunately, club patrons don't need a degree in quantum mechanics to appreciate one-liners like 'I used to be an astronomer, but I got stuck on the day shift,' 'I just started reading, "The Origin of Species." Don't tell me how it ends!' or that he 'attended a magnet school for bipolar students.' While his show is very rational and based on hard science, Malow cleverly infuses it with an abstract or surreal comic twist."
Hugh Pickens continues: "Like observing that whenever his mother would lose weight, his father would gain weight, and then linking the two by a fundamental law of nature. 'It was like the Conservation of Mass within our family,' says Malow, adding that 'fat can neither be created nor destroyed.' Last year Malow performed for colleagues at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. 'We found his humor delightfully nerdy, and he fitted right in,' said Kevin Grazier, who is a planetary scientist and author. 'It's one thing to make people laugh when they're sitting in a darkened club room, with a few drinks in them. It takes real talent to be funny in the afternoon, in a work environment.' Malow's interest in science and nature also extends to his passion for insects, with Web site InsectPaparazzi, and he has even discovered a species of fly. 'Of course, I found it in Golden Gate Park,' he says. 'So it may have just been a tourist.'"
I hope the jokes get better... (Score:5, Insightful)
Check the logs (Score:4, Insightful)
I disagree. Slashdotters submit hilarious stuff from "work" most afternoons.
Re:I hope the jokes get better... (Score:3, Insightful)
It does, I agree. It has great scripts and a talented cast. I just wish they could move away from the multi-camera sitcom format to a single camera show on location, without the studio audience. It would be ten times more funny in a drier, less mass-appeal format.
Re:Fitted? (Score:5, Insightful)
'We found his humor delightfully nerdy, and he fitted right in,' said Kevin Grazier, who is a planetary scientist and author. Ugh, really? It's hard to keep feeling superior to the artsies when other scientists are using words like 'fitted' in this context.
In Kevin's defense, he says he was misquoted. Seeing that appalled him, too. So you can still respect scientists.
Re:A neutron walked into a bar and asked (Score:2, Insightful)
I really enjoyed the first few episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" (until they went more mainstream) for the same reason I love Slashdot humor. I tried to show the series to a Comm. Arts major / friend of mine, and he just stared at me while I rolled on the floor laughing.
Check his website (Score:3, Insightful)
If you look carefully that's a Greek theta in his last name, so the correct transliteration is Malthw.
Re:Don't tell me how it ends! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Getting out of a speeding ticket (Score:3, Insightful)
Tell me about it. I once got a ticket for doing the speed of light in a speed of sound zone. I would have stopped, but I didn't hear the siren until the cop had pulled me over.
Re:Hah! (Score:4, Insightful)