Loved the post, especially having recently listened to an improv comedy podcast based on escape rooms.: http://theseunitedstatesstories.libsyn.com/tuss-ep-34-escape-room-doom

Thank you for this. Like the announcers, I cannot stop laughing. Anyone who has ever played knows anything involving someone getting hit in the cup is pretty much hysterical. Made my day (maybe week....).

Almost 20 years ago I was given a tour of Parliament by an MP and when showing me Westminster Hall he noted that it would be the cite of any funeral ceremony for the Queen Mother, who was still alive. He said that they occasionally had some sort of dress rehearsal for the ceremony, and that the Queen Mother always…

Many thanks for sharing your story. There can never be enough information out there on EDs. My daughter nearly died from anorexia. It was a brutal, 5-year struggle for her, in and out of inpatient facilities in three states, various outpatient programs, and intense therapy. She has been stable and healthy for three…

Don’t know if the “interview” subject had a ponytail, but I thought this podcast caught the spirit of these modern day sword makers.

I have those copies as well, and always loved the covers too.

Don’t worry —the circus tradition continues: http://theseunitedstatesstories.libsyn.com/tuss-ep-12-the-not-so-big-top

i just listened to a pretty funny podcast on the subject yesterday (plainly a put on, but a ring of truth). http://theseunitedstatesstories.libsyn.com/tuss-ep-13-boo

Thank you for posting this — this scene always makes me burst out laughing! (My friends and I like to greet even the slightest bit of adversity with cries of “Oh God, oh man! Oh God, oh man” using our best Ryan O’Neal flat affect.)

I love Rachel Dratch, but this looks excruciating. Completely predictably set ups and punchlines (“I don’t run and hide when kids come in the office anymore --okay, I close my door, but that’s because I have a bowl of candy, and it’s mine!” Women love candy!!! OMG so funny!) --check. Precocious child who knowingly…

“He was fantastic in Moneyball but I don’t see anyone claiming his double life involves secretly managing an MLB team!”

“We were there for less than a half hour before leaving because we didn’t want to waste the rest of the evening escorting one another to the bathroom to ensure that we weren’t followed in” and “Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on whether or not you hoped this story ended with my murder), he stumbled off and did…

I can’t picture him with anyone except Monica.

This is just a terrific piece, insightful and well written. Made my week.

Red Hamburger Relish is the essential topping for a burger, and oddly, almost impossible to find in stores on the west coast, though Bob’s Bigboy puts it on their burgers out here. Back east, it seems almost every market chain has their own brand, but it is tough to find in California. (And no, Chili Sauce is not the…

Quit this online gig right away and just go to Hollywood and rake in the money as a writer/show-runner — you’ve got this stuff nailed down! I’m serious, I’ve seen producers commit to a series where the pitch wasn’t nearly as compelling as what you have. Just awesome.

Porn has bigger problems to address....

I read the book many years ago and I did not find it funny at all. His basic approach is to write everything in an elaborate, overblown style, which got kind of tiresome for me over the course of an entire book. A good example of some humor just not translating beyond a specific period. (In contrast to folks like…

Great subject. I enjoyed Peter Heather’s The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians. Having been raised on Gibbon’s version, with some dabbling in the Durants’ Story of Civilization, it was eye-opening. I look forward to listening to the podcast.

Monty agrees.