OCTOBER 2011: MONSTER

Greetings from Boston.  My NL usually drops the first Tuesday of the month.  I waited till after this particular Tue as the latest iPhone was coming out and didn't want to get lost in the clutter.  (Because I'm sure they create the same level of buzz.)  My intent was to pepper in Halloween allusions and also R.E.M. references as one of my favorite bands disbanded.  Then we all received the very sad and shocking news that Steve Jobs departed us.  It moved me more than I thought possible.  So, in some ways, since Jobs changed our planet forever, It's the End of the World as We Know It.   

BEGIN THE BEGIN

I'M GOING AS THE JOKER:  I'm both proud and humbled to announce that I'm now a regular at the Gotham Comedy Club, thanks to Comedians Sebastian Maniscalco, Orny Adams, the club mgmt, and my not bombing on my guest set a fortnight ago.  I will be featuring all weekend for Sebastian, Dec 1 - 4.  My NY friends, these are the shows to see.  I'll post details soon; mark your calendars.  

SOME THINGS CONSIDERED:  My R.E.M. blog got me a mention on Soundcheck, a show broadcast on NPR.  The hosts joined in mocking me for admitting that I used to get R.E.M. mixed up with REO Speedwagon.  

BRAND IN THE PLACE THAT YOU LIVE:  I hosted the very first Brand Innovators Summit in NY.  I also delivered two 75-minute presentations on Personal Branding in Baltimore.  I'm happy to come speak to your organization on this topic, Life, Diversity, Humor, or Innovation.  Innovation is all about failure and getting up again.  And nobody knows this better than comedians.  

BEAUTY AND THE LEAST:  My oftentimes co-host, Melanie Kannokada, landed a campaign for Bare Escentuals.  And I'm in it for about two seconds.  Hey, it's like my Last Comic Standing appearance.  

NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI

The Month's Top Videos:

• Practical Question - I'm Hungry - I really wanna know.
• Quick Question for Google - What IS Google+? (pic)
• Sometimes - I share a thought.
• Slinkies - I tell a street joke.

DOCUMENT

The Month's Top Blog Posts:

• If That Thing Had 9 Lives, He Just Spent 'Em All - Katt Williams got himself into trouble, telling a Mexican to go back to Mexico. (pic)
• It's The End of R.E.M. As We Know It - My 3rd Fave Band Disbands.
• ... And I Feel Finest Worksong - Ever wanted to hear some good R.E.M. songs but didn't know where to start?  Begin (The Begin) here.
• Weak Daze - What's your fave day of the week?  Month of the year?

SWEETNESS FOLLOWS

The Month's Top Tweets:

• is it bad that anytime ANYTHING starts, i'm looking at my watch and wondering when it'll be over?
• "Alright, let's just get this over with." - Me, re the rest of my life.
• #JayZ claiming "best rapper ALIVE" would be like the Empire State boasting about being NY's tallest building. Yeah, w/ the 2 giants gone.
• Shuttle driver blaring Air Supply. I could do without them. #irony
• Discussions over its relevance are lowering #Klout's Klout Score.
• Staying at Sleep Inn. Can I sue if I have insomnia?
• #Seinfeld est. 4-6% of pop. as good-looking. Fliers MUST over-index. I've flown 1000+ times & have never sat next to a cute girl. Ever. HOW?
• hillary should've won.
• @kevin_nealon And my parents' house is 45 min away. Go get some more Indian food!
• #SimonCowell on #PiersMorgan. "I can't understand you. Go back to your country." #whitepower #chappellesshow
• @PujaMohindra Importance. All widows have no impotence.
• R.I.P., #SteveJobs. Thank you for changing the way we live life. You will always be the Mac. (pic)

AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE

PAST:  Thank you to those who made the following shows...

• 9/15:  GE Aviation Leadership Meeting (Cincinnati, OH)
• 9/23:  Gotham Comedy Club (New York, NY) (pic)
• 9/30:  SASE Conference (Baltimore, MD)
• 10/1:  Two Guys & Some Girl w/ Paul Varghese & Usha Govindarajulu (Boston, MA)
• 10/2:  Saheli's 2nd Annual Gala (Boston, MA) 
• 10/4:  Brand Innovators Summit (New York, NY)
• 10/6:  Boston College (Boston, MA)

FUTURE:  For the entire calendar, please click here:

• 10/13:  SABANY Gala (New York, NY)  (Details)
• 10/28:  India-US CoC, South Florida Annual Gala (Miami, FL)  (Details)
• 10/29:  Diwali Dhamaka (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)  (Details)

MURMUR

I had the following guests on my weekly hour-long podcast, which you can listen to in iTunes or here.  Sometimes, I release them out-of-order due to timeliness:  

• Episode 59:  Comedian PK
• Episode 60:  Comedian Darren Carter
• Episode 61:  Comedians Joey Diaz & Darren Carter
• Episode 63:  UCB Co-Founder/Comedian/Actor Matt Walsh (pic)
• Episode 66:  Cast of A Widow of No Importance (Catch it in LA... details in link)

NO. 5

Since this is a FUNNY Indian Newsletter, I present here the 5 funny things that I saw, heard, wrote, or remembered for the last month... otherwise known as FIVE - Funny Indian's V Events:

5.  My dear friends, Cindy and Ernie (pic), are contestants on The Amazing Race.  She and I worked together at "the Peej," as she calls P&G, in Marketing/Market Research.  She actually asked me for personal branding advice for her segment, but their video is so great I'm not sure they needed it.  Good luck, guys!  

4.  Every comic will tell you the best one in the game right now is Louis CK.  So, it's fitting he gave a great tribute to George Carlin.  Like all things Louis, it's at once funny and dirty and touching and poignant and insightful and scary (though Lenny Bruce is not afraid).

3.  My acting buddy, Amy Schloerb, jumped into standup and already has a cool way of delivering her bits.  

2.  The Roast of Charlie Sheen was pretty weak but here were my favorite lines:  Jon Lovitz didn't do so hot but came thru huge with his closer, "How much blow did Charlie Sheen do?  Enough to kill Two and a Half Men."  However, Jeff Ross remained the best roaster of all time, asking Sheen, "If you’re 'winning,' this must not be a child custody hearing.  The only time your kids get to see you is in re-runs.  Don’t you want to live to see their first 12 steps?” and then, referring to Sheen's awful comedy tour, "Charlie Sheen is to standup what Larry Flynt is to standing up."  

1.  The Onion does it again... Happy Halloween.  (Wonder if Michael Stipe's parents did this with him?  Oh!)

OUT OF TIME

THANK YOU to all of you!  You are my true core of fans - I truly appreciate all the support... I couldn't do this without you.  If you think your friends would enjoy this, please forward it along.  And in the last words of an R.E.M. album, "I'm outta here..."

- Rajiv

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