Funny People.

"I write to figure out why I am writing."

Judd Apatow to Chris Hardwick, The Nerdist Podcast, December 2012 

When I was training for our January half-marathon, I realized pretty quickly that podcasts were the way to go for my really long runs.  They had already been C and my go-tos on car trips (as our music tastes do not exactly mesh), and they were the easiest way for me to forget about the distance (and the pain!) and just keep running.  And well, I have fallen in love with comedy podcasts.  I have learned so much more than I ever thought I would know about the stand-up scene in the 70s, 80s and 90s, and what comedy, both stand-up and in tv and movies, is like today.  And my secret is that I am really interested and in awe.  I am so far from funny that learning how funny people think fascinates me.  So what are my favorites?  

• Nerdist (Tom Hanks, Judd Apatow, Jimmy Kimmel, Neil Gaiman and Tina Fey are my favorites so far)
• How Did This Get Made?  (Batman & Robin, Battlefield Earth, and any of the Twilight movies are my favorites so far)
• The Ricky Gervais Podcast (All.  They're all great).

I have also heard really good things about the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, but I haven't gotten to it yet unfortunately.  Have any other suggestions in this area?  Feel free to share in the comments!

Now back to Judd Apatow's quote up there.  In his Nerdist episode, he was discussing how it is only when he reflects back on movies he's made does he understand how he really felt during that period in his life.  He now realizes he may have been a wee-bit depressed during the making of Funny People (which: obviously!).  But even through blog posts and journal entries, I can tell far more about how I felt in that moment when I look back on them now.  If only we understood everything about ourselves in the present, right?     

xo. di.

*image by Rocco Malatesta Design