Deanaland

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Another reason to get out of bed in the morning...

Who wouldn't want to pour some White Chocolate Mudslide into their coffee? Chad brought home a bottle yesterday, and Marshmallow Mocha is on my list to try next.








And now for a book review. Over the holidays, I read Steve Martin's "Born Standing Up." It's an autobiography of his career as a stand-up comic. I've become a fan of his writing over the last couple of years. The book everyone knows about is "Shopgirl" (because of the movie), but it pales in comparison to the brilliant "The Pleasure of My Company." Of course Steve Martin is funny, but his writing can also be deeply moving.

Because I'm such a young'un, I don't remember Martin as a stand-up comic. I was first aware of him when "The Jerk" came out, and then I remember his guest appearance as the rude waiter in "The Muppet Movie." ("Miss Piggy!! Hey, are you Miss Piggy???") So it was interesting to read about that time in his life: the years of barely getting by and then his rise to fame. Like all truly good comedians, Martin takes comedy very seriously. He writes about the different theories and definitions of comedy he had learned from others and formulated himself. I'm still kicking "comedy is simply a distortion of reality" around in my head because I find it intriguing.

Before I read this book, I never really understood what a pioneer Martin was in the comedy realm. He was instrumental in evolving comedy past the old "joke-and-a-rimshot" to the cutting-edge, "humor-without-punchlines" material he ushered in during the 1970s.

This book shows Martin as more than a funny guy. We also see the downside of fame, and his struggles with anxiety, depression and the strained relationship with his father.

Biggest shocker: Years before becoming a Christian author, Stormie O'Martian was starting out in show business the same time Martin was. Their paths crossed, and the two had a passionate love affair. Martin calls Stormie his first real love. Who knew?

There's also a pretty weird observation about American composer Aaron Copland, but I'll let you read that for yourself. :)

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10 Comments:

  • At Tue Jan 15, 11:03:00 AM, Blogger Jared Cramer said…

    Deana,

    I just saw a post I thought you might get a kick out of. I'm an ACU Grad School of Theology graduate who is now preparing to be ordained this year as an Episcopal priest. I've really struggled finding clergy shirts that are cut like modern dress shirt but haven't complained because women clergy shirts are HIDEOUS (see this example).

    I was on another site seeing how I could convert a regular dress shirt into a clergy shirt and found a women who has done this with a shirt from Target that she loves.

    oh happy day! cheap shirts at target. AND, detailed instructions on converting shirts.

    I think Target should just go ahead and start selling them. :-) Anywho, I thought, being such an ardent Target lover, you might find the post fun.

     
  • At Tue Jan 15, 11:39:00 AM, Blogger LET said…

    Have you tried Coffeemate Creme Brulee? Yum!

     
  • At Tue Jan 15, 01:06:00 PM, Blogger Sarah P said…

    Yikes! Stormie and Steve?? I would have NEVER imagined. I wonder what Steve has to do with her negativity towards males. The Power of a Praying Husband seemed a whole lot more about how guys suck as husbands than how they can pray for their wives. I kind of lost my oomph for her writing after reading that one. I don't know about ol' Steve Martin, but my husband rocks. Not my favorite read.

     
  • At Tue Jan 15, 02:31:00 PM, Blogger Kelly said…

    I received that same book for Christmas and am about to start it.

     
  • At Tue Jan 15, 03:38:00 PM, Blogger elizabeth said…

    Do you know that Steve Martin was born in my hometown? Looks like an interesting read!

     
  • At Tue Jan 15, 06:39:00 PM, Blogger SG said…

    Steve martin was born in Abilene? or Waco? Elizabeth? Where is your hometown?

     
  • At Wed Jan 16, 06:09:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Steve Martin was born in Waco and later owned a house in Abilene... in Fairway Oaks to be exact. He has a funny joke about the Alico blg... but it can't be repeated here.
    CP

     
  • At Wed Jan 16, 08:51:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Huge Steve Martin fan here.

    I watched him on SNL as a wee kid in the 70s. Check out "The Man with Two Brains" (a personal favorite.. "You cooked her NINES!") and also "Pennies from Heaven", "The Lonely Guy" and of course The Jerk.

     
  • At Wed Jan 16, 01:47:00 PM, Blogger Winston said…

    I considered myself to be the funniest person alive until Steve Martin came along. He's the funiest and cleanest of my generation(s) ...

    Then I married and we had Deana.

    Now I'm the third funniest living person ...

     
  • At Tue Jan 22, 01:31:00 PM, Blogger KentF said…

    Yeah - me and my church buds spent every Sunday morning in the latter 70's honing our Steve Martin skills - just a great time for comedy. I remember Martin filling in for Johnny one night and his first guest was Richard Pryor. Man, what excitement - this was going to be comedy gold! Pryor comes out (likely) stoned out of his mind and just sits there. Steve cannot coaxe one word out of Richard - seriously - nothing more than a few nods and a yeah. I think Steve was so flabbergasted even he had no comeback. And....we still laughed like fools. And, he's really a great actor, he really is.

     

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