The Funny Indian Newsletter, Vol. 204
September 2023: Back to Work
Welcome
Welcome to The Funny Indian Newsletter!
Special shout-out to the many P&G IT people to whom I spoke on 9/13.
Thank you to so many of you for your kind messages on my Hasan Minhaj piece. News from our standup world doesn’t get much bigger than that. I was honored to receive plaudits from writers at The New York Times, MSNBC, and NPR.
I’ll share one musing and then jump into the updates, the biggest of which is that I taped my Cincinnati performances: I did the same set I recorded in Hollywood in July. I’ll keep you posted on what we decide to do with all of this footage. For now, enjoy some of these interviews.
Here goes.
Musings
I’m Dying Up Here
A eerily tragic ending to our Cincinnati trip.
About twenty years ago, at the dawn of my comedy career in Cincinnati, Go Bananas booker John Chung set me up to MC and feature for a comic named Todd Tony. The formula was that you pick up the headliner at his Blue Ash hotel, drive down to Thomas More University in Northern Kentucky, do 20 minutes, watch and learn from the more seasoned comedian, and drop him back at his hotel. My GATT (Girlfriend At The Time) and I followed this pattern, with one final stop at a gas station where Todd got a soda and some snacks, even buying some for us.
The next night, as I was about to take the stage at Go Bananas, the still-manager, Mikee, turned to me and asked if I knew that Todd Tony had died of a cocaine overdose. I shuddered at the thought that I might’ve been the last person to whom he spoke before he passed. I killed.
A few months later, it happened again. Mikee asked me out of the blue if I knew someone outta Dayton named Nadeem. “Yes, he and I used to run into each other at parties and functions. In fact, I’d just gone to Dayton and was shooting baskets on an empty basketball court. Some dude showed up and it was Nadeem. Hadn’t seen him in forever and we caught up. Why?”
“He died. He flew overseas to get married and collapsed from a heart attack in the shower the day of his wedding.” “What? Are you kidding me? How’d you even know him?” I killed.
There’s something about tragedy that forces entertainers to focus, which allows us to take our craft to the next level.
In both cases, immediately afterward and to this day, I mourn the loss of both of these good people.
So imagine my shock on Sunday.
Updates
See
Future:
10/01: Texas Hindu Campsite Fundraiser (Houston, TX)
10/14: Corporate Gig (Phoenix, AZ)
11/04: ICC Diwali Night (Greenwich, CT)
Past:
09/13: P&G NA IT (Cincinnati, OH) (pic)
09/14: Go Bananas (Cincinnati, OH)
09/17: Go Bananas (Cincinnati, OH)
Like
Watch
Click here to watch the interview.
Watch
Click here to watch the interview.
Watch
Click here to watch the interview.
Listen
Click here to listen to the interview.
Listen
Click here to listen to the interview.
Like
Ask
Serious question: if India’s name is changed to Bharat, what do Indians call ourselves in English?
I’m not interested in what I’m called in Hindi. I don’t speak Hindi in my everyday life.
I live in the States. And you’re messing with my identity.
So answer this question, anybody.
Indian Americans are now called…?
Our I AM INDIAN video is renamed to I AM…?
Funny Indian becomes Funny…?
Click here for some great answers on Facebook.
Ask
Name celebrities who became famous in the last or current decade whom both your kid and your Dad would know.
(Maybe not YOUR kid or your Dad. Naveen probably knows Ms. Rachel and that's about it. I don't think my Dad knows who Matt Rife is. Though he would know Hasan Minhaj. Haha... so, again, across ages and across genders, races, etc.)
That's 2011-2023.
The theory is that, around 2010 or so, with the rise of Instagram and TikTok and the explosion of YouTube, almost everyone who became famous did so within a certain demo (demographic)... like this person is known by teens or Moms or football fans or Indians... but so very few movie/TV/music/sports/business stars who are true household names. They're social media hits, not mass media hits.
This would also mean they got their break in 2011 or after. So, they booked their first large TV/film role or dropped their first album or signed their first major deal after this.
For example, I don't think I'd count Taylor Swift since she'd already dropped three albums by 2010 and I believe was already a major country music success. I'd say maybe Justin Bieber since he dropped "Baby" in 2010 and that's close enough. I'm not here to argue technicalities.
My overall point is that most famous people in the world have been famous for 15 years and there are very few being added to those ranks. Elon Musk is a notable exception. He'd already done PayPal and launced SpaceX but I don't think most people had heard of him till later.
Trevor Noah is another.
Thoughts? Who else comes to mind? Oh, just adding this: excluding sports.
[Click here for some good answers on Facebook.]
Laugh
Since this is a FUNNY Indian Newsletter, I present here the 5 funny things that I saw, heard, wrote, or remembered for the last month... otherwise known as FIVE - Funny Indian's V Events.
5. I asked AI to make Mick Jagger a Muppet and it did not disappoint me…
4. Girl Scouts are some serious hustlers.
2. Comedian Michael Blaustein powns a crowdmember in a lovable way. Tough to do.
1. The night comedian Kenny Moore smashed a guitar over a man’s head. Ah, the good ol’ days.
Close
THANK YOU to all of you for your support. You are my true core of fans — I couldn't do this without you.
Love,
- Rajiv
PS - Thanks to Anip Patel for inviting me so I could get dressed-up…
