69: Creeks, Caves, Community, & Rebecca Trent (#WTFMTA)

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Today I discuss systemic failures whether municipal or biological with Rebecca Trent, the owner/operator of The Creek and the Cave. Check out the Creek's schedule and go see a show there today. 

Also, Rebecca and I discuss the disastrous effect of the MTA's 7 train weeekend shutdown (42% of weekends, 2014 and in years to come) on the business and shows in the LIC nightlife scene, turning a 5 minute ride into grand central into a 40 minute shuttlebus nightmare deeper into Queens just to get into the city. 

If you care about comedy, community, and making New York an ever more vibrant place, help us get a shuttlebus that runs from Grand Central through the Holland Tunnel by contacting the political entities in question. The dramatis personae are:  State Senator Michael Gianaris, Borough President Melinda Katz, State Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, VP Of Gov & Community relations Lois Tendler 

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Here are some things you can do, whether you like to work via email, phone, twitter or Wikipedia.  

On Twitter, with the Hashtag #WTFMTA:

@SenGianaris

@MelindaKatz

Catherine Nolan: Not on twitter. 

@JimmyVanBramer

Lois Tendler: Not on Twitter but use @MTA

By Email:

Email State Senator Mike Gianaris via webform 

Email Melinda Katz at info@melindakatz.com

Email State Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan

Email Jimmy Van Bremmer at jvanbramer@council.nyc.gov or via Webform

Email Lois Tendler: No email but contact her on Linkedin

By phone:

State Senator Michael Gianaris

Albany 518-455-3486

District 718-728-0960

Borough President Melinda Katz

Main: (718) 286-3000 

Constituent Affairs (718) 286-2669

State Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan

Sunnyside: 718-784-3194

Ridgewood: 718-456-9492

Albany: 518-455-4851

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer

Office: (718) 383-9566

VP Of Gov & Community relations Lois Tendler 

Office: (646) 252-2660

Whitepages Listing: 

718-625-4756

And if they don't respond, perhaps their Wikipedia articles should be changed to reflect that: 

Michael Gianaris

Melinda Katz

Jimmy Van Bramer

Catherine Nolan

Lois Tendler at The MTA

And finally, here's Sean Patton talking about the Subway. Kind of. 

MBH68: (#GoFuckYourselfBen) Kronberg

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Listen Now:

Ben Kronberg is an exceptional comedian who you can and or could have seen on Comedy Central (Half Hour, John Oliver), MTV, ABC and NBC.

Recently Rosanne Barr told him to go fuck himself on Last Comic Standing. So that's a thing that's happening now, in hashtag form (#GoFuckYourselfBen).

Check him out at http://benkronberg.com @Benkronberg and on the iTunes and Amazon and wherever your computer lets you type in the letters B-e-n K-r-o-n-b-e-r-g.

MBHumor 67: Myq Kaplan: Small, Dork & Handsome

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Listen Now:

Listen to a track off the new album:

Myq Kaplan returns to the show today, we discuss his new netflix special, Small, Dork and Handsome which does NOT make use of the Oxford comma (I report, you decide). 

We also discuss Myq's place in comedy, using the marvelous Jim Gaffigan as a reference point to discuss stylistic differences over time (and persona). 

Watch it on Netflix, and listen to it on  iTunes and  Amazon.

Check him out at 

myqkaplan.com

and on twitter: @Myqkaplan

MBHumor 66: Fort Tilden, with Sarah-Violet Bliss & Charles Rogers

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Featuring the Co-writers and Directors of Fort Tilden, Winner of the SXSW Grand Jury Prize.

Sarah-Violet Bliss (@SVBliss) 

http://svbliss.com/

and 

Charles Rogers (@GCharlesRogers) 

http://www.charlesrogersfilms.com/

Go see the NY premier of Fort Tilden on May 10th, tickets here: http://vulturefestival.com/events.html?fort_tilden_screening_and_stella_artois_reception#

For more information on the film, check out http://www.forttildenthemovie.com/

Music from this episode is at https://soundcloud.com/mblejer

and new videos, music, and barely disguised requests for money are up at http://mikecomedy.com 

New Showtimes in NY, posted here!

MBH65: Sexual Crimes & Katharine Heller

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Listen Now:

Episode song:

Details: The very talented and insightful Katharine Heller appears on the podcast, and we discuss all kinds of childhood trauma, the ethics of comedy and how we use humor to process or deflect and recreate ourselves over the course of our lives. Hot stuff. 

Check Katharine out at:  http://tellthebartender.com/ 

Specifically, check out my episode of Tell the Bartender, where we discuss abuse in even more of it's hilaaaaaaaarious depth... (for more on this, check out my episode of The Risk Podcast). 

Her next Live Tell the Bartender show is May 8th at Union Hall with Wyatt Cenac and Mara Wilson.

Also: check out Katharine's acting work.

And check her out in this commercial for Cheap Caribbean: 

Thanks folks!