5Across: Smartphone Etiquette, and Our Lack of Civility

I'm on this show, MediaShift's 5Across, with a panel of experts talking about Smartphone Etiquette. If you can't tell, I was the one trying to be funny. And since I'm not an expert I was speaking for the people... the people like me... who will pull their Smartphones out in the bathroom. I had fun, although I think there were time that made some of the people a little sad, especially Fernando. They were all good people. Me and Nicole (who is on my left) were basically on the same page. She's just smarter than me, so she says it better. :-) I haven't watched the episode yet, since I was there. You know how I am. Thanks to Heather Gold for hooking this up.

If you just want to watch sections of the show go to their website here. It is broken down into subjects.

Guest Biographies

W. Kamau Bell is a comedian that told the very first joke about Barack Obama on Comedy Central's Premium Blend waaaaaaaay back in 2005. Unfortunately, the joke predicted that Barack would never be President. (Oops!) Comedy Central also invited Kamau to perform his critically acclaimed solo show, "The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour," at their theater in Hollywood. "The Curve" enjoyed a long run in San Francisco, had continued success in Oakland and Berkeley, and played to full houses in 2009 at the New York International Fringe Festival. His new CD, Face Full of Flour is now out on iTunes.

Fernando Castrillon earned a masters in sociology from the University of California and a doctorate in clinical psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). He currently serves as core faculty in the Community Mental Health Department at CIIS and is the director of CIIS's "Clinic without Walls." His clinical, teaching, and research interests include, among other things, the impact of hypervelocity technological change on human psychology and intersubjectivity. Currently he is working on a book based on his dissertation research, in which he examines the cultural, psychological and intersubjective consequences of the hyper-digitization of contemporary Western culture.

Nicole Lee is an associate editor for CNET.com. She reviews all manner of mobile devices, from cell phones to Bluetooth headsets. She is a co-host on Dialed In, CNET's cell phone podcast, and she also writes a bi-weekly Q&A column on CNET about cell phones called The 411. She previously worked for Gizmodo, Wired Magazine, and TechTV (now-defunct cable network about technology).

Daniel Scherotter is executive chef and owner of Palio d'Asti, an Italian restaurant in downtown San Francisco. Scherotter brought with him not only an appreciation for the lavish table of Emilia Romagna, where he worked for two years, but also an affinity for the exotic fusion of Sicily, where in 2003 he married his wife, Nina. Now that he's married, he's started working on his first book, "The Bachelor's Guide to Cooking," and serves on the board of directors of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association.

Syndi Seid is an authority on business protocol and etiquette and has appeared on "Good Morning America," CBS' "Eye on America," Fox's "Trading Spouses," HGTV's "Party At Home," and Discovery Channel's "Picture This." Major companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Sprint, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and the Miss Universe Pageant trust her to train their employees to avoid social faux pas that could lead to major business and political blunders. She founded Advanced Etiquette worldwide to help executives and employees overcome their fears and insecurities to find poise, confidence, and authority in any social situation. Her own book, "Etiquette In Minutes is now available at EtiquetteInMinutes.com.

I'll be on C.O.W.S. an Internet Radio show today at 4pm PST.

I'll be on the Internet Radio show C.O.W.S today @ 4pm PST. And for those of you that don't know, an Internet radio show is different than a podcast because YOU can call in. The number is 347 215-6071. Here's the description of what I'm gonna do straight from the website...

"W. Kamau Bell will share his views on the System of White Supremacy. W. Kamau Bell is a stand-up comedian who makes Racism his central theme. He talks/jokes about notorious Moments in Racism - Michael Richardson's nigger eruption, Dr. Henry Louis Gates' incarceration and Kelly Tilghman forecasting the lynching of Tiger Woods. W. Kamau Bell is married to a White woman and heavily integrates his interracial experience into his routine. We'll discuss his latest release - Face Full of Flour - and his perception of the legacy of black comedians such as Richard Pryor, Dave Chappelle and Eddie Murphy."

WHEW! That's kind of A LOT! Luckily the show is two hours long.

Call in and keep me company! 347 215 6071

INCREDIBLE review in The East Bay Express!

W. Kamau Bell

Face Full of Flour

By Rachel Swan

It's hard to do left-wing political humor without devolving into platitudes and homilies, especially when most of your jokes center on race — and most of your race jokes are black and white. W. Kamau Bell is the rare guy who does it really, really well. So well, in fact, that he manages to sustain a huge fan base with a pretty high median IQ. Most of that owes to his writing. A judicious humorist, Bell is extremely charismatic and has a huge personal cache of pop culture references. (The title of his new album, Face Full of Flour, derives from an old-school Rice Krispies commercial in which a mom puts flour on her face to look like she slaved away on a batch of Rice Krispies treats.) Bell even breaks the fourth wall to analyze his own jokes ("The Russian judges gave me a 'ten' for technical difficulty," he says of a bit called "Barack Is Too Smooth — Throw Some Flour on Your Face"). He knows right away which current events will fit into his purview, and what kind of twist to put on them. A single punch line takes him from Rice Krispies to "whiteface."

Such qualities radiate in Face Full of Flour, which opens with Bell describing his complicated knot of feelings about Barack Obama, and ends with anecdotes about his interracial marriage. The stuff in between is topical and thematically cohesive, but delivered in an offbeat and cavalier way. Telling a joke about the recent Henry Louis Gates flap, Bell philosophizes, George Carlin-style, about why Gates would "flip out" when accused of breaking into his own home. A joke about Michelle Obama touching the queen has him free-associating about the relative importance of both women: Michelle is the first African-American First Lady; the queen is a rich figurehead with a precarious grip on power — and given the no-contact rule, she's probably a Gremlin, Bell surmises. A joke about civil liberties gets increasingly weird when Bell starts comparing "dudes who sleep with dudes" to "dudes who sleep with guns." Most of us will get the point about a gun being a sublimated phallus; what's funny is hearing Bell act it out.

Bell's ability to veer from the banal to the bizarre is one of his big selling points. But he's not really an absurdist in the traditional sense — he's more of a political junky who sees everything through a racial lens. He reads online news voraciously, synthesizes information quickly, and tries to comment on it before the pundits weigh in. His Facebook status updates are always worth reading. He'll tweet from the stage. He'll pause midway through a Tyler Perry joke so that white people in the audience can take out their iPhones and look up "Tyler Perry" on Wikipedia. He's just the sort of comedian who should thrive in the age of social networking: fast, pointed, personal without divulging too much, good at impersonating black celebrities, and even better at impersonating their white hecklers. "When I say 'you white people,' I don't mean you white people," he says, addressing the audience in a bit called "This Is Not My Amurica." "I mean your friends and family." That sounds like a put-on, but it always kills. (Rooftop Comedy Productions)

Face Full of Flour OUT NOW on iTunes!

Click here or go to iTunes and download it until your heart's content... which is probably once. And if you can't make that happen do to the current state of your personal economy, then you can still help by giving it a FIVE STAR rating on iTunes whether you buy it or not. It's time to get grassroots here, peoples!

Thanks! You know I luv you.

SF Weekly endorses My Black History Month Event!!!

Blacktastic Black History Month Blacktacular ... Black!

Date/Time:Daily from Thu., February 25 until Fri., February 26

Price: $20-$50 Contact Info: | Event Website

For Whom ...

By Hiya Swanhuyser

"Comedian" is a small term for a person who does standup, but also directs, teaches, and wields PowerPoint like a light saber. W. Kamau Bell is all that and a political commentator at his new show, Blacktastic Black History Month Blacktacular ... Black! And he must be called comedian, since we have no other word for a professionally funny person other than "funnyperson," and we don't like that one. Bell's the first person to have made a joke about Barack Obama, (according to Comedy Central), the star of several recent long-running shows, and a man we recently had the pleasure to describe as "blowing the fuck up." L.A. has noticed him, suffice to say. He's also a profligate reTweeter. A new CD, Face Full of Flour wonders "why black + white = black," among other things. Bell is known for to-the-instant topicality, so expect him to take the piss out of John Mayer and muse on liveblogging Precious, plus commentary on Black History Month, aka "awkward MacDonald’s commercials about Harriet Tubman."

WTF Podcast with Marc Maron featuring me & Dwayne Kennedy. RACE-Y!

WTF Podcast with Marc Maron So a couple weeks ago when I was in LA taping Marc Maron's TV Pilot for Comedy Central, me and Dwayne Kennedy also taped this episode of Marc Maron's WTF podcast. The interview is pretty much 100% focused on racism in alternative comedy... which makes it seem pretty topical considering all the John Mayer nonsense yesterday. This interview was sort of a surreal experience for me. I've been a big fan of Marc's since before I started doing comedy, and I'm a big fan of his podcast. Marc is credited as one of the founders(?) of Alt Comedy, but I've always appreciated him for his honesty, his blistering point of view, and his... I don't know how to put this... his ADULTHOOD. There are very few comics that feel like adults when they are onstage. Most comedians onstage feel like teenagers or college students on a Friday night, but Marc is part of a class of comedians who feel like adults. (including Greg Proops, Jake Johannsen, Bill Burr... and it goes without saying Bill Cosby and Paul Mooney) I've always respected that quality in a comedian and have aspired to be that myself. It doesn't mean they don't talk about or do silly things but they do these things from an adult perspective. It feels like it is a throwback to the 60's and early 70's era of comedy.

The 2nd reason this episode felt surreal is that I was able to tape it with Dwayne Kennedy. Not only is he is one of my best friends but he is also one of my favorite comics of all-time. No exaggeration. He's a comedy legend amongst the people who know these things (Marc sort of goes into this at the beginning --- if they left that part in.) , and there's not enough evidence online for you to know how good Dwayne is. And DEFINITELY getting Dwayne to open up like he did on Marc's podcast AND ON THE RECORD is rare, so enjoy it while it lasts.

I haven't listened yet to this episode, yet --- possibly because I was there. Check it out and let me know what you think. ENjoy this episode of Two Legends and Kamau.

You can get it on Itunes or just click HERE!

My Episode of KQED's SPARK re-airs THIS WEEK!

My episode of Spark airs again THIS WEEK! Apparently, I'm an artist now. I talk racism, Pumpkin Pie, & you get to meet the elusive White Mike Johnson!

Westerhout, Bell, and Blades

See a preview of this Spark episode.

Spark follows photographer Katherine Westerhout inside a forgotten West Oakland landmark -- the 16th Street Train Station. Once the terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, this Beaux Arts gem has been off-limits since 1989, but that might be about to change.

Next, comedian W. Kamau Bell shares his wry observations on race and his personal stories about being black in an Obama-era America.

Then, meet Wil Blades, a virtuoso at playing a soulful instrument from a bygone era, the B3 organ.

[Original air date: Wed, Apr 01, 2009]

Upcoming Broadcasts:

Wed, Feb 10, 2010 -- 7:30pm email reminder email reminder Thu, Feb 11, 2010 -- 1:30am email reminder email reminder Fri, Feb 12, 2010 -- 11:30pm email reminder email reminder more airings»

The East Bay Express RAVES about Laughter Against The Machine

The East Bay Express declares of Laughter Against The Machine, "Theirs might be the brainiest, most literate comedy tour to hit the Bay Area this January. It's smart, it's heady, it gets to the very edge of what's tolerable for a left-wing, politically correct audience."

And I got you cheeeeeep tickets, cuz I love you!

See you in Oakland.

Laughter Against The Machine comes to Oakland Jan 7-9!

If you missed us on New Year's Eve in San Francisco, then check us out across the Bay in Oakland THIS, Thursday thru Friday, January 7, 8, & 9. Plus I know a dude and he can get you cheeeeeep tickets HERE! Here's the Facebook invite if you roll that way.

The venue is called The New Parish and it is the Uptown district's newest hotspot. Dave Chappelle did the 1st comedy show there a few months ago. We're #2. In the immortal words of Jim Morrison, "Pretty cool. Pretty neat."

Laughter Against The Machine on New Year's Eve

FROM THE EAST BAY EXPRESS Seldom do homegrown comedians have as much personal magnetism or shrewd observations as W. Kamau Bell, who is best known for his ever-evolving one-man show, The W. Kamau Bell Curve. Bell and Kevin Avery used to have a weekly radio spot on Live 105 called Siskel and Negro, which they mostly dedicated to film reviews — with some pop-culture miscellany mixed in. At this point, though, Bell has busied himself with an ongoing critique of race politics, integration, sanctimoniousness, silent hypocrisy, and glaring inequity in the so-called Obama Age. Bell constantly recobbles his material to stay on top of the news cycle, so it's a different show from month to month. This New Year's Eve he'll revisit the big stories from 2009, and examine pop culture from a racy angle. Aptly titled "Laughter Against the Machine," Bell's night of "guerilla comedy" also features the equally incisive Hari Kondabolu, and local favorite Nato Green.

Buy Tickets HERE!

A Conversation I Had Last Night Before The Show...

Not the actual guy I'm in the greenroom last night, minutes before the show, and I hear someone say, "Kamau's in there." Now since everybody I know is already IN the green room and I know I don't know anyone in Seattle, I immediately get suspicious of someone wanting to see me before the show. In walks an older white guy with the longest dreadlocks I've seen outside of... well pretty much anywhere. Trailing behind him was a black woman.

Older Dreadlocked White Guy: I used to have a friend named Kamau. Did you ever live in Oregon?

Me: No.

ODWG stares at me quizzically : You never lived way out in the country in Oregon?

Me: No.

ODWG: Really?

Me: No.

ODWG: Kamau was big like you.

Me: OK.

(At this point we go back and forth like this at least three more times, before finally...)

ODWG: You sure you never lived in Oregon? Or the big island in Hawaii?

Me: Yes.

ODWG shakes his head wistfully: I thought you were Kamau.

Me: I AM KAMAU!

1) Why couldn't he wait until after the show when he saw me perform where he could have gathered more information. 2) Why don't some people... (I really want to say white people, but I'm trying to be better about that.) Why don't some people have that thing in there head where they go, "Wait... I should probably hang back and collect more information before I make the mistake of ONCE AGAIN implying that all black people look alike." 3) Why did he make is so difficult for me to justify my existence as a separate Kamau? Can't there be two "Kamaus?" Actually, there are probably thousands and thousands... just not in this country. 4) This was the dreadlocked, liberal, crunchy granola white guy. He is supposed to be on my side, and not make me feel marginalized or even worse not seen as an individual at all. I'm not surprised but I am exhausted.

Are YOU or anyone you know from Seattle? If so...

I'll be headlining at The Comedy Underground December 17-19. And the best part is that my good friend, Hari Kondabolu will be on the shows, too. Here's the press release below in case you want to send this around.

Thanks.

“W. Kamau Bell is the most important guy doing comedy right now. Do yourself a favor and go see him. He’s got the most astute, hilarious and completely righteous material going and he’s going to be a legend in his own lifetime like Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce. Think Bill Hicks but slightly taller.” - Margaret Cho

San Francisco comedian W. Kamau Bell makes his Seattle debut when he headlines at The Comedy Underground, December 17th through 19th. Former local comedian Hari Kondabolu organized the weekend and will be opening for Kamau.

Kamau's politically charged and race-conscious comedy ignites live and TV audiences alike. On TV, he is known for telling the first ever Barrack Obama joke on Comedy Central waaaaaaay back in 2005. He has also appeared on Comics Unleashed, KQED's Spark, G4's Filter and ABC's View from the Bay. He has performed at the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, where he was the only comedian to perform at both the New Faces Show and Best of The Uptown Comics. For the past two years, Kamau has performed his critically acclamimed solo show The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour all over the San Francisco Bay Area, in Los Angeles at The Comedy Central Stage, and this past summer at The New York International Fringe Theater Festival. Kamau also co-hosts a regular Rooftop Comedy podcast as half of the team Siskel & Negro. (Kamau is “Negro.”) As a writer, Kamau has been published in The LA Weekly comedy issue and in the book What Would Bill Hicks Say? In 2008, Kamau was honored as San Francisco's Best Comedian by The SF Weekly.

Seattle favorite Hari Kondabolu returns to the city where he started his comedy career and worked from 2005-2007 as an immigrant rights organizer. Hari has appeared on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham, and the 2007 HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. He will also be appearing on John Oliver of the Daily Show’s new program on Comedy Central John Oliver’s New York Standup Show in January 2010.

Kamau and Hari met in 2008 while doing shows together in San Francisco as part of the Laugh Out The Vote Tour. And since then they have combined with fellow comedian and HuffPo blogger Nato Green to perform shows under the moniker Laughter Against The Machine: Guerilla Comedy for a New World.

The shows will be take place at the legendary Comedy Underground, located at 109 S. Washington St. in Pioneer’s Square. Tickets range from $6 on Thursday (all ages) to $15 in advance and $20 at the door on Friday and Saturday (Ages 21 and over). Tickets and more information are available at http://www.comedyunderground.com

ON W. KAMAU BELL

“Happily, Bell finds comic gold in the wide range of material he mines, offering provocative insights into an ugly reality. FOUR STARS” - Time Out New York

“Smart, stylish, and very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle and Margaret Cho.” - S.F. Weekly

For more info on Kamau: http://www.wkamaubell.com/

ON HARI KONDABOLU

"A young man reaching for the hand-scalding torch of confrontational comics like Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor.” – Seattle Times

“Kondabolu’s work seeks to directly challenge audiences to see their own lives and the world differently.”- India Currents Magazine

“A national comedy treasure.”- The Stranger

For more info on Hari: http://www.harithecomic.com

A forgotten song from The Blindside Soundtrack

Watch this. Revel in it. I can't get enough of it. Send it around. It's from a woman who writes a blog called The Oreo Experience. I wish I knew her. Actually, I wish I knew her when I was in high school. I'd be a different person now.

Agency

William Morris Endeavor Entertainment

TV & Film
Ben Simone
BSimone@wmeagency.com
212.903.1100

Stand-Up & Speaking
Stacy Mark
SM@wmeagency.com
310.859.4108

Management

Brillstein Entertainment Partners

Tim Sarkes
t.sarkes@bep-la.com
310.205.5123

Alex Murray
a.murray@bep-la.com
310.205.5111