The Funny Indian Newsletter, Vol. CLXXX

September 2021: Pulling a 180

Rajiv Satyal

Sep 30, 2021

Welcome

Welcome to the Funny Indian Newsletter! This might be the quickest one ever…

Btw, I’m looking for brands that advertise to South Asians in the U.S.

These could be South Asian companies or mainstream companies that target South Asians.

Why? I'm looking for sponsors (with budgets) for our talk show, What Do You Bring to the Table?

We have big guests again this season. You can view all Season One episodes here, including Hasan Minhaj, Deepak Chopra, and more.

Kindly reply or forward this to any potential contacts. Thank you.

Now, the news…

Read

Heroes and Villains

On Novak Djokovic

Though golf may be the more fitting analog, there are so many parallels between standup comedy and tennis, not least of which is the sheer individualism. Sure, you can have a team behind you, but when it’s game time or show time, it’s just you up there. No matter how highly-ranked a player is, he still carries his own bag.

[I sent this out earlier this month; click here to read the rest.]

Listen

Three funny ex-P&G engineers discuss new fatherhood. Click here to listen on Spotify.

Like

Norm Macdonald & I sat in the same row on an LAX/CVG flight a few years ago.

OK, so he was actually on the other side of the aisle. With another comic. But still. The seat number on Norm's airline ticket and mine were the same. That's the point I'm trying to make here.

When we landed in Cincinnati (well, Northern Kentucky), I walked up to him and recounted a tale:

"Hey, Norm. My name's Rajiv. I'm a comic. I just wanted to thank you for something you did a long time ago. I'd just moved to Los Angeles from here — this is my hometown...."

And this is the rest of that story:

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Circa July 2006. I wasn't yet a regular at The Laugh Factory in Hollywood. I walked in off of Sunset Blvd. to hang out at the Tuesday 10 PM show, which was, at the time, by far, the hottest comedy event in LA.

Side-note: Incidentally, it was run by Jay Davis, who at one time lived in Middletown, OH (the setting of Hillbilly Elegy AND where I'd go every Tuesday night for years to play in the Middletown Youth Symphony Orchestra, a decidedly much lower-key event than the Hollywood Laugh Factory). It was Jay who gave me 5 minutes to cold-open his show. That was my start at the majors in LA.

Anyway, I was standing in the balcony, observing the incredible energy of the sold-out show, the random celebrities that would drop in, and the crazy cars streaming in at the valet stand. I can't remember the exact lineup, but it was something like Norm, Russell Peters, Jay Leno, and Dane Cook.

I'm sure I was looking quite bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, because none other than Norm Macdonald himself walked over, put his arm around me, and asked, "Are you new?" Mesmerized, I still managed to come back with, "What gave it away?"

Norm smiled, pointed around the room, and said, "Take this all in. This isn't normal. Enjoy it."

He was right. There was no way to maintain that level forever. Gradually, other shows popped up... attendance dropped... and it was gone. Jay went on to promote other shows... the Laugh Factory of course is as legendary as ever. But I'm forever grateful for this moment in time.

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"....so, Norm, I wanted to thank you for making a kid feel so welcome in that crazy town out there."

We chatted for a while. He went off to do his gig (it might've been Belterra Casino in Indiana) and I went off to do mine.

Rest in Peace, Norm. You weren't just the funniest guy around, you were also a class act.

#normmacdonald

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.

I was watching TV a few days ago and caught this description. Seriously? THAT’S the best English they could come up with to describe what’s happening? Did a third grader write this?