Sat, March 20, 2010
Shut down the Internet. Dana Gould wins.—1:48 AM
You know I hate this Twitter bullshit and I always will, but these days I'm down to about two things to read online in situations when I have five minutes to kill before something is about to happen (usually someone feeding me), so I've been giving it a whirl from the passive standpoint only. It's a nice way to mainline some entertainment from my favorite comedians – at least the ones who aren't so selfish as to mix in a bunch of chitchat with their friends (ahem, Paul F. Tompkins).
So far, unexpected heroes like Craig Bierko and Michael McKean have emerged near the top of the must-follow pack, alongside obvious mainstays like Michael Ian Black. Conan O'Brien is new and of course excellent, but one message per day (while admirably restrained) won't exactly fill up my lunch break. The format is a perfect fit for Andy Kindler, naturally. Marc Maron is delightfully fiftyish about it, "retweeting" any message sent to him before he replies to it – which really makes it easier to follow a conversation (which would be one of my key Twitter gripes if the top of the list weren't overcrowded with more important sociological rants), but nothing Maron says is that interesting so, bless his heart, he didn't make my cut after all.
But I really don't need anybody else now that I have Dana Gould. Just the first page of his feed had me laughing aloud multiple times, with barely an interruption for a gig announcement or banter with friends. Then page two contained a few incisive salvos from the final days of the Tonight Show wars. To wit:
People wonder why Conan's farewell was classier than Leno's last year. Kind of like wondering why you're a better typist than your couch.
Ahhhh, delicious. Thank you, Dana Gould. My lunch tables, red lights, and doctor's waiting rooms will never be dull again.
luciag — Mon, 4/5/10 3:42am
Well, what you said is true. I have Jay Leno as my favorite comedianI do not accept Jay Leno and his statement or revelation, whatever you want to call it, that he and Conan O'Brien were screwed by NBC. Leno committed to letting Conan take over, and it isn't as if he needed a small personal loan all of a sudden to keep up his cars. For one, Leno agreed to let Conan take over The Tonight Show – he agreed to it, and it happened. He should have stuck by his word. Second, if his show was struggling, maybe that was due to it being lame. There was an agreement in place so how the very same succession battles wouldn't happen comparable to the Leno/Letterman situation when Carson decided to retire.