The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi - #202 Naughty Colonist Syndrome with Brittany Carney
Episode Date: April 23, 2024Comedian Brittany Carney shares the downsides of growing up in Japan, love hotels and why they’re necessary, the shocking progressivism of Japanese children’s cartoons, how robbing a CVS is the mo...st American thing you can do, and Russell confesses why everyone in his middle school choir should be canceled. You can watch full video of this episode HERE! Join the Patreon for ad-free episodes, exclusive content, and MORE. Follow Brittany on Instagram, Facebook, & YouTube See Brittany in a city near you: https://brittanycarney.komi.io/ Watch Brittany's new special, That Is My Horse: https://youtu.be/vBkpX4TIi3w?si=AtqjZ2zosRZnAglm Follow The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi on Instagram Get tickets to our live podcast recording in NYC on May 13 https://www.showclix.com/event/the-downside-w-gianmarco-soresi OR come to our live podcast recording in LA at Netflix is a Joke Fest on May 3! https://thecomedystore.com/the-downside-with-gianmarco-soresi/ Follow Gianmarco Soresi on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, & YouTube Subscribe to Gianmarco Soresi's email & texting lists Check out Gianmarco Soresi's bi-monthly show in NYC Get tickets to see Gianmarco Soresi in a city near you Watch Gianmarco Soresi's special "Shelf Life" on Amazon Follow Russell Daniels on Twitter & Instagram E-mail the show at TheDownsideWGS@gmail.com Produced by Paige Asachika & Gianmarco Soresi Video edited by Dave Columbo Technical production by Chris Mueller Special Thanks Tovah Silbermann Original music by Douglas Goodhart Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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We are good? We're not too loud? Yeah, oh, that's perfect. Yeah, all right, Chris, you good?
All right. Okay. Welcome to The Downside. My name is Jamarcus Oresi. I am here with my co-host,
Russell Daniel. Hi.
Just looking over my notes.
I'm looking at your notes trying to guess.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It says penis.
Don't give anything away.
Okay.
Okay.
I know the thing I wanted to tell you the night of,
my guests, we were both at the Todd Berry birthday party.
Oh, right.
Am I allowed to speak?
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah. You're in this. You're here. Yes right. Am I allowed to speak? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
You're in this.
You're here.
Yes.
Well, I'll just do it now.
Brittany Carney's here.
It never works.
I have this fantasy of like, there's your talk, and here's how I want the listener to go,
ooh, what's that third voice?
Who's that person?
Do I recognize that voice?
Oh, my God.
A little intrigue.
I think I've heard that voice on Comedy Central.
I think I was, well, sure.
I understand that fantasy.
And I feel like I, you know, I wasn't sure what your guys' system was.
And then I was happy to, what do you call that?
Like nod.
Like nod presently.
Sure.
And then like come in where it felt appropriate.
But then.
I know, but that's what awkward.
Because it's like we
sometimes we've tried it and the guest
never comes in, never comes in
for the whole episode. Then they leave
at the end.
Wow, what a great episode we just had.
And then remember in the beginning I had the concept
of like the guest would just sit there until we
got to it. Yeah. And then like
sometimes we'd go too long and they would sit
and it was awkward and uncomfortable.
So,
but yes,
you're part of this.
Thank you.
We were both at this party
and what I want to say to-
Oh, the party, right.
And the podcast,
for now.
Yes.
Yes.
And a star-studded event,
Todd Berry birthday party.
And-
I didn't get an invite,
you know?
Yeah.
We had him on that podcast once.
We did.
He doesn't have your new email.
That's so true.
Yeah.
So I'm there and I,
I don't think I'm speaking out of turn cause it's so brief,
but Jim Gaffigan,
who I've talked to once in my life,
love to have him on the pod.
We've tried.
He's busy forever.
Yeah.
It's a calendars book for the rest of my life
and uh he he we saw each other made eye contact we've talked once at gotham we had a nice
conversation we were talking about um gad you know the french comedian gad no he's he's like
he's like the seinfeld of france and then he came oh yeah now is actively performing now in the u.s
or he was he was like doing this whole he had netflix show about he did a whole thing like and He came here. Oh, yeah. Now is actively performing now in the U.S.? He was.
He was doing this whole Netflix show.
Yeah, he did a whole thing.
And then he just was like, never mind, don't like it.
Moved back to France, where he's extremely famous.
Okay.
And there was a lot of videos.
I guess he stole a tremendous amount of full chunks,
not just little lines, but because this is in a different language,
I think this happens more often.
Oh,
where it would be like a whole Jerry Seinfeld bit,
but instead of,
why do you get in the train,
but on the bus,
it'd be like,
okay,
I was going to try all of our French fans.
Yes.
And,
uh,
so we had a conversation and Jim was like,
really still.
And I was like,
you said from who? And I was like, from, from, from you honestly. And he was like, really, he stole it? And I was like, you said from who?
And I was like, from you, honestly
And he was like, oh, I didn't know
And he was like, hot bucket
And
So that's all, and this was like three years ago
And so I see Jim Gaffigan
And we
He's like headed out
And he just grabs me by the shoulders and goes
The anti-Zionist.
And then leaves the party.
And I was like, what?
Oh, my God.
And I just wanted, I called you immediately.
Wait, that is so funny.
And it wasn't angry, per se.
It wasn't, it was just like, there he is, the anti-Zionist.
And you had not spoken since, or you interacted since the French conversation.
Sure.
I sent him, every day I sent him a text that said, from the river to the sea.
But this is The Downside.
One, two, three.
Downside.
You're listening to The Downside The Downside
With Gianmarco Cerezi
That's what's so crazy, that's so funny
Because I don't feel like you're like that
Do you know what I mean?
That's how I feel like the barometer is kind of crazy
He's on Twitter, I think the bottom line is
If you're on my Instagram
You're like, wow you're on my Instagram,
you're like,
wow, he has no political opinions.
If you're on my Twitter,
you're like,
he's a radical.
And if you're on my threads,
yeah.
Yeah.
That's,
I just,
there's a certain degree where whenever something's authentic,
it feels weird to do it across platforms.
Do you know what I mean?
Because it feels like...
Oh, like it's a brand.
Yeah.
It's like, let me just say it in...
Let me just say it...
Yeah, otherwise it feels like you're promoting it.
I understand.
It's like if you wrote like a loving anniversary post
and then you do it on Instagram with all the pictures
and then you recreate it on Twitter
and then you recreate it on threads
and then you recreate it on Facebook. Yeah, that and then you recreate it on Twitter and then you recreate it on threads and then you recreate it on Facebook.
Yeah, that feels bizarre. Then who is it for?
I see. So that's also me just being
a coward and I don't want to get
hate mail every day on Instagram.
Lose followers, etc.
No, I don't care about losing followers.
Never.
Well, we're here with...
What were you about to say?
Well, I have a question
please
but it's not related to that
that's fine
it's more like
material
so
well
you had asked me
if I wanted a drink
and I said water would be great
oh my god
did I not get you a water
well
no no you did
no no
John Marco
first you got a water bottle
or it could be yours
my question is this.
Whenever you just rolled under the couch,
so for maybe like three minutes
I was eyeing this water bottle
and I was like, oh, is that mine?
And then John Marco talking about Gaffigan
rolled it under the couch
and I was like, I don't know what my in is here
or whether this was yours all along.
No, that's yours. I got it for you. Oh, or whether this was yours all along. No, that's yours.
I got it for you.
Oh, thank you.
I'm so sorry.
No, it's okay.
I'm not offended.
I'm really curious and I wanted to clarify that before we moved forward.
No, I think that's an ADD thing.
Oh, sure.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Because I like fixated.
No, no, no, me.
I wasn't saying to you.
I think that's a mental illness that you wanted water after asking for it.
I meant that I think I had the thought to get the water.
Oh, sure.
And then I thought, oh, here's what I'm going to talk about.
And I forgot about it completely.
Oh, trust me.
I understand.
And I know that life.
And I thought you meant that it was an idiot thing and that I I like was hyper focusing on the water bottle and I couldn't like.
You had every right to focus on the water bottle.
I'm humiliated.
I'm embarrassed that Russell didn't say anything.
He just sat here.
I got two water bottles next to me.
I have all the waters.
To your credit, it's like not in your eye line.
It's like nothing you were thinking about.
Right.
No.
To Russell's credit, he never gets to guest anything ever.
Yeah, that's so true.
What a critic.
Yeah.
To my credit, I'm not even in the title of this show.
I love any time there's a thought.
It's the downside with John Marcos Rezzi.
Who the fuck is that guy who's in every episode, too?
And on all the posters.
Yeah.
No, I know.
All the posters and the sticker.
I know, and it's because
we had one conversation years ago,
and I said,
no, leave my name out of it.
But that's fine.
You're the backbone.
That's true.
No, are you?
And I get that a lot
from a lot of guests.
They say that.
Wait a minute.
Is Jim Gaffigan Zionist?
Or is he just like I don't know
Being a little cheeky
I think he's a little cheeky
I don't know what his
I don't know what his
Bottom line views are
But I think
I think anyone
Most people of that age
They're not gonna be quite as
Right I understand
They're gonna take some radicalization.
So again, listen, I think anyone who was really upset with me
would not have come up and said
The anti-Zionist!
That's the anti-Zionist!
You didn't find out either if he
because you had mentioned he sent you a message at one point.
He sent me a message?
Asking if you liked to drink.
He said, do you like alcohol?
You thought he was hacked. You thought he was hacked.
I thought he was hacked.
And then I thought, oh, maybe he has a new brand of something.
And he's going to send, like, I thought he was going to send me something.
Because then he said, what's a good address?
Like a Gaffigan, what's, Gaffigan is an Irish name?
Yeah, I guess so.
Gaffigan whiskey.
You gave him your address, though.
For my new, I have, I started a,
not a P.O. box,
but something like that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So I would give him
my real address though.
I would trust him.
What's not a P.O. box?
Like a,
P.O. box,
there's like certain things
that don't,
it's at a UPS.
Oh, I see.
So it's safer like from,
you know,
you can send it.
So it's like a different channel.
Yeah.
It's, instead of like where you
would put apt it's pmb interesting what does pmb stand for um that's that's producer chris
helping us with with trivia hear those thumbs and after that what's the efficacy of the vaccine for COVID. I know that one.
Do you have ADD?
Oh, yeah.
Diagnosed?
Yeah, since I was little.
Really?
Yeah, like really bad.
What age did they decide to test you?
Well, like four, like three or four.
Wow.
I was at the time, I was at, I'm laughing because basically I was in a Japanese preschool and my mom was, obviously I don't remember this, my mom was telling me that like, the
teacher was telling them that I was having trouble following directions and then my mom
thought they were just being racist.
But actually, and then I, then they put me, ultimately it put me into like an English
language kindergarten and then I was getting the same feedback. Wait, so you you said no this was like preschool pre-k yeah so then they put you
into kindergarten my dad this is like separate but basically ultimately when i was like five
they put me in a english language kindergarten in japan okay but that was more like my dad wanted
me to speak english well so you know or like didn't want me to get
bullied blah blah blah so for different reasons they like put me my parents then moved me from
japanese preschool into english language kindergarten but i was getting the same
feedback about like paying attention and direction i see yeah so i was little yeah so
and you you were born in japan yeah so So were you, like, did you learn Japanese?
Did you truly learn both languages at the same time?
No, I learned Japanese first.
And then I learned, well, my dad, I had a nanny from the Philippines who spoke to me in English.
And my dad spoke to me in English.
And apparently I, like, responded to them, but not in English.
And then in English. And then, um,
and,
and then in,
uh,
I was four.
My mom says that I started to switch.
Really?
Yeah.
But I,
cause I was around or when they put me into that new,
when I put the,
when they put me into the new,
uh,
kindergarten that I started to want to like be like the other kids
sure yeah and kids are weird like that they're like malleable yeah so i mean it that's it's it's
as someone who's never been able to learn a second language not that i've given it a real try since
you know high school i'm so angry that uh my parents didn't take advantage of my brain being
more the sponch
that it was.
I'm like, why wouldn't you
teach someone two languages
at that age?
I'm teaching that kid Russian, even if
it has nothing to do with anything Mandarin.
I mean, I don't know. I think it's like,
yeah, that's like
when you plug it, you upload into their brains.
Do you ever have any other language?
What language did you take in school?
I took Spanish for like, you know, the middle school, high school.
But not.
You can't do any of it.
Yeah.
The main words I can recognize, but not like if someone were to talk for like 30 seconds,
I would, unless it's simple phrases,
I'm not going to get it.
You know,
that's like,
we're right.
I mean,
did your parents speak other languages?
No,
lame.
I think it's like,
I don't know.
It's just,
it doesn't occur to people like naturally.
Yeah.
And I think it only,
it was a part of my life because of my,
the specific context.
Did your parents,
when you,
do you remember at all?
Like,
did they,
do they primarily speak Japanese to each other, to each other did they alternate english because my dad
speaks japanese but like he learned as an adult so it's pretty um you know like it's less natural
to him are you better at it than he is yes that's crazy that's gonna be so crazy to watch your kid
so funny come better than you.
Because they did it when they were four.
Right.
And they were like, I learned this better at four than you did.
There's no other skill that you learn at four that you become better.
Yeah.
Like you're not like a, you don't like, I don't know, play baseball and your four-year-old is better than you?
Yeah.
And then, so they speak English to each other.
And that, I mean And that must be tricky.
So you were taking that class, and your mom... Is your mom Japanese?
Yeah, my mom is.
She's half.
I just grew up there.
Half Japanese, half...
Black.
Okay.
Yeah.
And so she thought that they were being racist.
Yeah, because that is something there in japan people are really
close to america where there's no not a problem yeah yeah we've solved that 50 years ago so um
yeah like you know they like apparently i had one really nice and like supportive preschool teacher
then there was another one who was less patient with me and like was complaining about me or just
giving reports about how i was in the wrong direction.
So then my mom was like, oh, she's just being, she's discriminating.
But actually, yeah.
Were there any other kids when you were in school in Japan that were black at all?
Not to my memory.
I mean, definitely, I mean, not when I was, actually, no, no, no.
When I was in English language school, yeah, there were a few.
But yes. So like when I was little, little, I no, no. When I was in English language school, yeah, there were a few, but yes.
So like when I was little, little, I don't even remember, but definitely not.
Like the pictures of that are just like me and a million Japanese kids.
Sure, yeah, yeah.
And then when I was a little older and I was in the kindergarten that was English language,
I remember this kid.
I don't like – I don't really like – he went by T-Rex, and and he was a his family i don't know why they're japanese name yeah and he um was this like little black kid and
i remember that and you know my mom took me to his like they were like uh hey if you want your
to have your daughter's hair braided we know this
lady because there's like a network of black people even in the late early 90s right so that
that we're like doing that kind of thing like maintenance so uh my mom said that i cried
had cried and cried for hours because i just wasn't used to it so anyway i remember that that's
like my memory about this one kid but i feel like then when I was older at grade school, I don't remember that many black
kids. There are many mixed Japanese kids, but, um, no, I don't think I had any at my, in my grade,
at least when I was older, like first through third grade, I don't think I was friends with
any black kids that were at my school.
They went to other, like there was like another,
there was like the American school in Japan where there were more black kids.
I don't know if this question has any real answer,
but how, is there any difference between the way racism
is expressed in Japan versus America?
Yeah.
Yeah?
Yeah, yeah.
Tell me, Russell.
Russell first.
Oh, no, I was saying that's a good question.
Yeah, that's an interesting question.
Take a guess.
What do you think, just based on what you know about Japanese?
I don't know.
I don't know.
I'm going to take a stab at this.
Five minutes.
We'll set a timer.
You keep talking for five minutes, and then if you guess, it will extend into ten minutes.
I have a lot of feelings about it.
This. One is like, okay. And we'll extend it to 10 minutes. I have a lot of feelings about it. It's this.
One is like, okay, obviously in the United States,
we have anti-discrimination laws because of,
because we had to like out of necessity,
that system or like that didn't exist,
that does not exist in Japan because it's relatively mono,
what's the word I'm thinking of?
Like everybody essentially is similar ethnically, right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mono, I don't know.
You know what I'm talking about?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's like people, like obviously Japan has diversity
in terms of like the indigenous communities and stuff.
But essentially Japan is a small island,
island nation where a lot of people are very similar ethnically.
And,
um,
therefore Japan went through,
obviously some things in the 20th century,
but not like a big social upheaval over race.
Like obviously the U S and like our specific relationship to black
white relations shaped our laws like you so in america obviously you can't be like you can't
come into this bar in japan they bar foreigners from bars and stuff like that typically these
days it's like if it's like a bar you know late night It may be like a strip club Or like a
A small
Kind of mom and pop shop
And they frame it like
Oh we don't
We don't have an English menu
You know
Oh they find like
Kind of like
Excuse passive
Yeah
But that is
Like that's
I don't know
If I'm wrong
Forgive me
But I think that's
Not illegal basically
Sure
So if I'm getting it right
Like because America Was more multiracial, frankly, we had more systemic racist policies that then had to be corrected or adjusted or new laws made.
But in Japan, there was never a need for either side of that.
So it just is kind of like just as you go.
Like, and then I, yeah i yeah exactly so that i have two
thoughts about that one is like i remember um i have a memory of this i was like 10-ish so i was
with my dad and my filipino babysitter and we tried to order these like chicken grilled chicken
sticks from a truck and the woman said no and then served it to somebody else so i have a memory of that and that was like pretty explicit like maybe just i don't think she even
said anything just kind of like waved us off or whatever but when people are they'll say like no
or like um and that's not like that's pretty frowned upon obviously but it just happens and
it definitely happened in the 90s yeah but um and now i think it's like the stories i hear about that are more like let's say like a bunch of like
drunk british guys go try to go into a bar really late and the owner just doesn't want to deal with
it so they're like you know no english no english yeah but um so like have you guys heard of love
hotels no oh yeah i think that's like you know where you put in a quarter and the bed shakes oh yeah yeah okay yeah yeah those you've you've like it's like if you're lucky fuck motel
yeah yeah really common in japan oh they are okay yeah i mean used to see them in like 90s movies
yeah like when they were like it's a joke going to like a cheap motel yeah and i've always wanted
to see one in real life you never brought your wife? I don't know.
I mean,
I'm sure they exist.
They don't seem like
they're that often around here.
I don't know.
Is it?
I don't know if it's
such an American thing.
Have you been to one?
I,
it's in my dreams.
Yeah.
No,
but you have the
heart-shaped hot tub.
Right,
that whole,
yeah,
yeah,
yeah.
Like in the bed,
you know,
shakes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean,
you got the impression
that the shaking
was one of those,
it doesn't really do much. Yeah. it's cool for two seconds yeah and then you're like okay this is yeah it's not like it's just it sounds dizzying honestly but that is yeah you're like
exactly that whole thing where you put it well it's like in japan the whole idea is that people
uh maybe they live in apartments within walls or they live in a
multi-generational home so oh is that part of it that oh wow like hook up with a co-worker or
whomever or whatever or you like meet somebody out it's way more common in cities in japan than
here to my knowledge just a love hotel they're everywhere but my god if you had to go to a hotel
every time you made love oh my god well they must be not that expensive, right? No, yeah, right, and you can get it for a few hours.
My point is that I know that they're, like, Japan's pretty secular, and I would say in
terms of countries, and East Asia is pretty good about LGBT stuff, but the certain ones
don't let in two men or two women, you know?
Oh.
They're just like, no.
But like that, sure, you might see that.
You know what's funny about that is that here in America,
I feel like the people who are anti-LGBTQ are usually Christian
or some kind of religion.
Yes, yeah.
So they would never own a fuck hotel to begin with.
Right, exactly.
Fuck generally here.
If you operate any kind of sex place,
I don't think there's many sex places in America,
and I could be wrong, that are anti-LGBTQ.
Because like sex and religion and religion and homophobia are also tied together.
Yeah.
And I think Japan's relationship to homophobia and like patriarchy, whatever that means, in this context is different.
I just love the idea of a bet like this and they're like, sorry, get that gay shit out of here.
Get that.
Come put that quarter in here.
There's like a Hello Kitty curtain and, you know, a pirate ship.
Like they're all, that's the funny thing is they're all pretty elaborately outfitted or some of them can be.
Also, isn't there like machines with panties?
Yeah.
That's a whole other conversation.
But yeah, in Japan.
Yeah.
I think Japan is pretty like everything's evolving.
japan is pretty like uh everything's evolving but like historically is a society that has to pay a lot of attention to social protocol or like societal protocol like and that to my earlier
point is like it's not about faith it's about like like confusionism like the l we have to
respect the elder or the man or whatever so there's an order to society and uh and that's
it's also like pretty collectivist it's like we all collectively follow the way that society has
to be so then so like sexuality i think in japan is nuts because it kind of is the it's like an
it's like the reason the comedy there is really slapstick and zany it's like people running around
with like butts on their heads. You know what I mean?
Like the game shows, it just embodies
a part of, it represents a part of Japanese
society and culture that's
like, I think it's like a reaction
or something. Rebelling a little bit against
the structure. So the panty stuff and the fact
that there's so many kinds of sex surfaces
and this is separate from love hotels which are
just kind of like, oh, I
have a crush on my coworker.
We went out drinking and we went to this hotel, which is like pretty.
Yeah.
Relatively like ho-hum.
I think the sex services in Japan, like where you can buy panties or like or yeah, like people.
OK, so they covered all this in kindergarten.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right.
This was a Japanese language curriculum before.
Okay, but can I ask, so, because you talk about honoring the elders.
And I think, and again, I feel like in America,
the whole panty vending machine or anything sexual,
I know we were talking about race in Japan,
and Russell said, panties machine.
But, but. I feel like you just
mentioned on a recent episode. That's why I was thinking of it.
No, no. I was thinking about it. I said, save it
for after the racial
conversation.
On the last episode, you mentioned the
vending machines in Japan. So let me just say up front, I'm going
to Japan soon. You are?
Yeah. I'm just going to do shows.
Where? Just Tokyo. I'm going to be in australia yeah comedy bar and i i grew i i was really into uh manga and
anime and at a weird place where like even though it was the boom in america no one at my school
was into it oh really so it was like a very like private like i watched like subtitled dragon ball gt uncensored and like and even that moment you
you got to see uh the way sex was treated differently because i'd be watching what is it
what is a kid's cartoon and um master rishi who i just got a wash up watch of uh i like you know
balma would show boobs and blood would come flying out of his nose he'd go flying backwards
and i was so,
you know,
I was a seventh grade,
eighth grade,
and I had a piece of paper
on my desk
and like every time
Goku said fuck,
I would like make a notch
because I just thought
it was fascinating.
Every time I saw
Bulma's titties
and I just had this sheet
for no one,
like an American censor.
They should have hired me
to censor for the American version.
But I was,
I was,
it was so thrilling
to basically
see a different world that didn't
have the exact same values
and I could enjoy this thing.
Interesting. Well, you'll have a feast.
Yeah.
Animated titties everywhere.
Do you know where
in Tokyo you're staying generally? The neighborhood?
No, not yet. I'll write you before.
It's not until August.
Oh, awesome.
It's going to be hot.
I've heard.
Sweaty.
I've heard it gets hot.
But there's air conditioning.
But the honoring of the elders, is the sexual stuff just not considered dishonoring them?
Because in America they go, your grandma, you're buying these panties in the vending machine.
Your grandma would be ashamed of you.
I think it
does exist. I think it is.
I think
being like a deviant,
sexual deviant or whatever
is
or like
partaking in services
that are also pretty
out in the open fairly like advertisements
for them at least um i think that is disrespecting your elders because but maybe it's like a different
kind of disrespect it's less about like it's more about like decorum i don't know maybe that is also
pretty western but like decorum and like privacy then or something. Isn't,
I don't think it's just the stereotype,
but porn is the blurred,
the candles are blurred.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
You ever click on one of those and go like, no.
I don't click on them.
You don't click on them.
Oh, I'm wasting my time.
But that's like,
you got fuck hotels,
but you got the porn blurred.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's why it's, we got, yeah. There's like a weird, it's like uh you got fuck hotels but you got the porn yeah yeah that's why it's
we got yeah uh there's like a weird it's like uh they these elements conflict like for example
like japan yeah like so the blurring i feel like is because of a certain level uh i know
you know people dress people obviously wear a lot of short skirts in toky and Japan, but in general, people dress a little bit more conservatively.
Like you won't see someone wearing like, like a crop top or like their nipple showing through
a t-shirt in the, like in the West or in America, in an American city, you might pretty like,
you don't really think of it, right?
Yeah.
People like in Japan, it's like, you don't have a bra strap showing cause that's indecent.
But then, but then, and that's like probably what the blurring is about.
Like some idea of like
how to hold yourself and what is appropriate to be out in the open and what is not but then at
the same time like i don't know i'm like uh yeah the most common well people often dry their clothes
instead of put them in a dryer like on on their balconies. People are stealing panties like all the time.
It's just,
that is also like people laugh about it.
People are aware of it.
Right.
I don't know.
Uh,
cause that's like,
I just remember that from,
from the anime or there's a manga I was into called GTO.
And it was just like the main character,
the whole thing is he's like a pervert.
And in a way that,
especially in a post me too world,
it would just be shocking. The things i was his antics yeah right stealing panties and just be like please let me see a peek
of your panties please or like or like the cameras under the skirts was like yeah you rascal right
right you rascal in fact uh that is like okay there this one, maybe it was out, maybe the eighties or it's
a, um, it's one that I've just discovered on YouTube since it's called Obochama-kun
and it's like for kids, I think, but you're like swiper, no swiping, but it's the panties
off the street.
Yeah.
Right.
Right.
Right.
And it's like this, there's an episode, it's like a little rich kid basically, kind of
like a Dennis the Menace, but in this like really, really like cursed and inane like anime context but it's really fun and so the point is that uh this one
kid the main character he like uh his he he loses his penis because he he's sick or something or
his penis he takes something and his penis gets really big. And so all these Chinese medicine doctors come
and they feed him something
and it gets smaller and smaller
but then it disappears.
So then the answer,
and this is all like,
just,
it's like,
you know.
Are you seeing it
or is it just like in the pants coming?
No,
you're seeing it.
His like nude little flesh child body.
When he gets bigger,
does it get like,
pink?
Is it like adult, like it's veins? Oh, I think it's, no, does it get like pink is it like adult
like it's veins
oh I think it's
no
it's just like pinkish
like big balls
and then
then they retreat
they look like
they're receding
into his body
and then everyone's like
oh
and then
and then it just disappears
so that you see nothing
it's just flesh
right
like a Ken
and then
like the matrix
when the mouth closes
yeah like that exactly it And then, and then like the matrix on the mouth closes. Yeah. Like that.
So then,
um,
then the,
the logical,
like what happens in the episode is that everyone's like,
okay,
well from now on we must see him as a girl.
So then his,
his father is like,
well now you're my daughter.
So for the rest of the episode,
he's like essentially in drag.
If you did that in America,
there'd be riots in the streets.
But what is,
how does the kid feel about all this?
He's just,
here's the thing.
It's like not,
it's like,
he's like,
okay,
I'm a girl now.
I'm a girl.
And he's like wearing makeup.
That's,
that's something different.
That's like not very American.
I don't really know what that is.
And Shapiro would shoot himself on film.
Yeah.
I mean,
it would be,
it would be,
you would never hear it.
We would never hear the end of it.
Disney has two girls kiss and they write a documentary about it.
That's what's crazy.
It's such a weird mix of like, we're so weird and conservative in some ways.
And then like, it's funny to have a society that's a little bit more conservative in some ways, but then like.
Right, right, right.
Wild.
Because like, exactly. to have a society that's a little bit more conservative in some ways but then like right right right wild exactly so in this episode
what happens is that
then boys
that he was friends with
start like developing
like crush
like it's one kid
it's like oh I have a crush
on him
still a little heteronormative
yeah
oh true true true
but then like
right now that he's
a girl
anyway at the end
if it wasn't
one of the boys
would be like
oh I miss
I miss that big fat cock
you had two episodes ago.
No, I'm assuming this is all one episode, though.
Yeah, it's one episode.
And it's relatively contained.
At the end, he gets his penis back.
But it's like you see it all.
And he's wearing a big skirt.
And his panties come off because he's coming out of an airplane.
You know, whatever.
Of course.
This is a kid show for sure.
I think.
Or at least it's like 14.
Or it's hentai.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But this stuff is just so out in the open.
That's wild.
And in many ways, Japanese society is very conservative because it's like you have to –
first of all, it's not very tactile.
People don't really – it's not a really big hugging culture.
Couples hold hands and stuff, right?
I think per your point about the people in the Midwest, they'd be having their tits out or their stomach showing.
It's kind of like, well, every society is fucked up around sex and creates like these incredible things that don't make sense together, but it just becomes custom.
The same way that in America, you know, they're super sensitive about certain things.
Right.
And then you go to a football game
and you see cheerleaders
landing with their crotches
in their faces.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like, well, that's crazy too.
Yeah, it is crazy.
It's all just a crazy...
I think it's like,
that's an interesting point.
Society's in different ways
obsessed and trying to navigate
like the body
and how we feel about insects
and I think that.
And looking at it from afar,
you're like,
you guys are insane.
Right.
You could look at America and go like,
this is insane.
Yeah.
Wow.
Wow.
I'm intrigued by this cartoon though.
Yeah.
That is,
that is wild.
I'm like,
just want to know what other episodes are like.
Cause like,
that's just one episode.
They all have nuts.
I just imagine that writer's room. They're nuts. That's just one episode. Nuts. They all have nuts in their eyes.
I just imagine that writer's room.
They're just like, what if this little boy. His butt is always out and you see his penis a lot.
Wow.
Because one of the animes I liked growing up was called, I think it was called Ranma
One Half.
Oh.
And it was like whenever he got water on him, he turned into a girl.
And like a hot girl.
Oh, yeah. he got water on him he turned into a girl and like a hot girl a hot girl
and then we go
water the other way around
and not girl
woman and man
yeah
and
you know the show
was like
filled with
it's just so
it's so crazy
to look back
and be like
well of course
I
never really questioned
if anyone wanted
to be trans
I grew up
just because of
anime and manga
with like very progressive views about gender or just like yeah the matter the water magically
changes it and the whole show was like when he became a woman everyone wanted to fuck her and
then we became a man that he would fight and it was interesting anime and manga we're fluid well
you're gonna have fun yeah How long are you there for?
I feel like it's sadly only like five or six days And one day I'll do like a two week trip
But I just felt I was in Australia
And I've always wanted to go
And you can die any day
And I was just like I'm going to do it
Yeah
Are you like
Is that your layover in Japan?
Or do you have to stop somewhere else on the way to Australia?
No so I go to a couple dates in Australia.
We'll link to all of these in the comments.
And then I go to New Zealand for like two days.
Oh, awesome.
And then I'm going to go to Japan.
It's cool, but it is like this is what I did in Europe last year where I was in one day in each place.
And I'm doing longer this time, like three.
But it's hard on the body.
Sure, it is.
But by the time I get to Japan, I think my clock will have adjusted a little bit.
And I'm just going to eat.
Yeah.
And I'm just going to like, I'm just going to do things.
Isn't there like a really cool like show with robots?
Oh, yeah.
It's a bit.
Yeah.
I don't know if, it's a bit touristy, but it could be really fun.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's in Harajuku, which is a really interesting area to walk around.
I think you'll like it though
yeah I think you might like it
and you should go to a bookstore
it's so far
it's so different
that the touristy stuff
will still feel
cool
yeah and I also
like it's really fun
to lean into that
yeah
and that area
has a lot going on
like you know
street
interesting street fashion
and interesting little places
to explore
was anime and manga
any part of your childhood?
um
honestly just in that the ones that were on TV.
Like, I don't think that I had a particularly, like, expert.
Like, I didn't, like, dive in any way.
It was just what was available to kids in Japan in the 90s.
So, like, you know, like, Doraemon or Doraemon,
the, like, blue cat without ears.
Okay, I've seen i i know that figure like
sheen chun is this other little kid yeah like that it's just like stuff that was on tv um
so when did you move yeah when we finally moved to the u.s in when i was in ninth grade oh wow
that's so jarring what was it how did you feel was bad. Were you sad? Like, when they told you, did you cry? I, like, cried.
That's so, I mean.
Yeah, sorry.
Middle school and, like, you had friends and then to be, like, oh, we're moving to a different, like, so far away.
I was not happy.
Like, also because it was also at a time where a lot of people, obviously kids are becoming more independent.
But because of the timing, and I'm pretty shy, even though I was like very, I had like
a very, I was like loved by my friends at my school in Japan, which is English language,
like small international school in, you know, middle school, early high school, like early
ninth grade.
But then when we moved, I just felt really emotionally dependent on my parents because
like I didn't have, I didn't feel like i felt so thrown out of my comfort zone sure and so i uh yeah i would like yeah i would like cry beg them to did
you beg them to stay was it a work thing it was my mom's work thing i don't think i begged them to
stay but i remember that we were supposed to leave the summer before ninth grade and then for my mom's
work stuff we had to stay another half year so So then I got to like have an awesome,
like first semester of ninth grade in Japan with my friends.
And in Japan,
Tokyo,
you have a lot of independence as a teenager because you can just like take
the train everywhere and people do this all the time.
Sure.
And then I,
we went to get like suburbs of Philly.
It was a big public school.
And I like was really,
um,
like I cried during lunch and I would like sit in the bathroom and like, oh, you know.
Oh, my God.
Did you when you left?
Did you do the thing like we do?
Was there any sort of were you trying to keep in contact with friends at all?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That worked.
Yes.
You know, here people had aim.
Yes.
I feel like aim is like the standard, like the U.IM. Yes. I feel like AIM is like
the standard,
like the US standards.
Like,
MSN Messenger
is the metric system
because everywhere else
had MSN Messenger.
Sure.
Oh, sure.
So yeah, anyway,
I used MSN Messenger.
Got it.
And so I would be up
at weird hours
messaging with my friends
in Japan.
Speaking of MSN Messenger.
I know.
Isn't that sad?
I turned out.
It's matching into
that public school
being like,
where's your panty v in Japan. I know. Isn't that sad? I turned out. It's matching into that public school being like, where's your panty vending machine?
I know.
Oh, man. That new school thing is so jarring.
Did you move?
But I moved like 30 minutes from where I went to middle.
I'm elementary school and then I moved in middle school.
So it was like my first day of middle school.
Oh, yeah.
That's rough.
I have such a vivid, you know, you like don't remember certain things, but I have such a
vivid memory of that first day in a new school and being
middle school and being like, Oh, you don't know anyone.
And it's middle school too. So it's a big deal all of a sudden.
And, and it just is.
Oh, was there anyone there from Japan?
You know what? Yeah. Sophomore year,
there were two like international students. And at that point I was like starting to feel more settled because of theater. So I like, I like my little, you know, that was like probably my saving grace. But anyway, around that time, yeah, there were two Japanese girls that were there.
girls that were there and then um so i like talked to them and hung out with them and there is this one korean student and we really bonded like extremely bonded and then my junior year there
was this uh japanese student from osaka who was doing like an exchange program and we became super
close so at that point i was feeling more settled anyway. But yeah, there was a sprinkling. Were your, would you bring lunch to school?
Yeah.
Were your lunches like Japanese?
Yeah.
And I would make them myself sometimes.
Yeah.
And did the kids go, what is that?
Well, I think they just thought I was, or like, I think it's like they were kind of like, not rude about it, but they were just like puzzled or like, like, oh, the what? Oh, that's so crazy. Wow. Like that kind of like not rude about it but they were just like puzzled or like like oh the what oh
that's so crazy wow like that kind of thing yeah yeah and my closer friends were just kind of like
oh wow you do this i don't know my mom we would go to i think it was called daruma is that is that
a japanese word daruma maybe yeah yeah i wasn't to add the accent, but because I was into,
it's so,
it's so just crazy.
The intersection of,
of the culture where I was so into Pokemon that I was,
I wanted the Japanese cards, like,
cause they were,
they were of Pokemon that were not released in America yet.
Oh,
cool.
So like,
and it was crazy.
I collect them.
I never played this game,
but I collected them,
put them in a sleeve and it was like,
it was cool with a couple of people at school.
And, uh, we would go to these Japanese markets And we would always get raw fish
This is why I got a lot of shit on an episode recently
Because every time I go to a comedy club
My writer, I ask for sashimi
You do?
I do
That's your writer?
That's my writer, it's sashimi
Whoa, but it probably varies in quality
That's what I said
That's what they said
That's what they said
That's what I said, depending on where he's going.
Where you are.
I'm like, you might not want that everywhere.
What about landlocked?
That's what we said.
That's what I said.
Not that the food is bad, but it's a crazy thing to ask for in certain places.
Do you think it's an energizing food for you?
I kind of understand that.
I just feel like, and again, I've always almost purposely, and because I have trouble remembering
it all, avoided thinking about nutrition. I just go, I've always almost purposely and because I have trouble remembering it all, avoided thinking about nutrition.
I just go, I eat healthy.
And for my money, I'm like, raw fish, this is healthy.
And I've never looked into that claim.
I just assume it is.
It's got enough meatiness to feel filling.
And in my head, I do that thing where I go, fish don't feel as much pain as a cow.
This is good.
This feels like something a rapper does.
Yeah?
You know what I mean?
I hope if I saw Eminem and he was like,
sashimi?
Is that sashimi?
Not Eminem necessarily.
He's always the first rapper he goes to.
He's always.
No, like,
you know what I mean?
Uh-oh.
Sorry, that was my headphones No you're good
Oh
I don't know if Eminem
Is the vibe
What rapper were you thinking of
Lil Dicky
I don't know
No
I like every time a rapper comes
That I only list white
White rappers
I don't think white rappers
Are
I mean maybe they're ordering sashimi
I mean like
Actually I wasn't even thinking
About women at first
But like somebody like Megan
No Maybe I can see Meg the Stallion at first, but somebody like Megan. No.
I could see Meg the Stallion.
It feels like it's high to luxury.
If I'm in, why not go bigger of a home?
But I'm curious because, wait, do you eat it before you perform or after?
I usually have some before.
I usually get like, here's my order recently in San Diego.
That's your thing on stage?
Like Chappelle gives out cigarettes.
You have chopsticks.
I got a two-show.
It's a little time sensitive.
So my order, when I have a two-show day, I get like a big order.
I get edamame and miso soup.
I get like two big order I get edamame and miso Nice Soup Oh I get like two rolls
And sashimi
And I usually
Before the first show
I keep it light
I'll do the edamame
I'll do the soup
Okay perfect
And then maybe one roll
And then I come back
Have some sashimi
Sometimes I leave a couple
Pieces of sashimi
For after the show
If I have a little hunger
Put it in the refrigerator
Or you
Leaving it right on out there
Leaving it right on out there
Yeah
Sure
Okay You know It can stand a little bit Sure I have yet to get sick leaving it right on out there. Leaving it right on out there. Yeah. Sure. Okay.
You know,
it can stand a little bit.
Sure.
I have yet to get sick.
I was going to say,
there might be a moment.
Listen,
one day I'll get sick
and I'll go fight.
I'll have the wings
at the fucking club.
Or you'll put them in the,
there's usually a mini fridge.
There's usually a mini fridge.
That's just laziness on my part.
Interesting.
That's really interesting do you are
you able to get your your fix of japanese food do you do you wish there was new york is great for
that because there's so much where we were um like because we moved to the suburbs of philly
out there there's obviously japanese stuff and there's like a whole uh there's like a big japanese
there's like a not big but it's like a beloved and like really well stocked Japanese supermarket near
us that also does a lot of like programming.
And my mom is really involved.
My mom is like on the,
she's like one of the board members.
She's like the,
somebody she's like newly has some kind of directorial role of the board of
the Japanese society of greater Philadelphia.
So there's a lot of stuff where there is like that I've been, I've had to attend where there's
like Japanese food or good Japanese restaurants. But the reality is that there's just more Japanese
people in New York city and also in Jersey. So more Japanese restaurants in New York are owned
and run by Japanese people as opposed to in Philly.
It might be like Koreans run it, you know.
I remember when sushi was, I feel like in the 90s and maybe I'm wrong because I was a kid.
But sushi, the way that a bad comedian would talk about you with your kale and your avocado toast.
Yes, yes.
That's what it was in the 90s.
Let me get some sushi.
Oh, sushi.
Oh, Mr. Fancy Pants City Man.
Jerry Seinfeld going like, the chopsticks.
What's with the chopsticks? Here's a fork.
I always start with the chopsticks.
I always start with the chopsticks.
What do you mean?
I'll eat with the chopsticks and then I go,
this is taking too damn long.
Well, you'll find in Japan. Yeah?
It's like most custom in the elevated ways to eat it with your hands.
Really?
Yeah.
Oh, I fucking love that.
I love eating with my hands.
Me too.
I love eating with my hands. I remember I went to, what's Knights of the Round Table?
Renaissance?
Renaissance.
No, no, no.
Medieval Times.
Medieval Times.
And I went to
a high school in Canada and they
give you that chicken bun.
They don't have any silverware there.
You went to high school
in Canada? No, no. I did a chorus
thing in Canada. And there was medieval times.
There was medieval times there.
I've only gone to the one in Jersey, but I didn't know it was a
global establishment.
I should go see it. I'm getting really back
into wrestling and
entertainment, but in a
meta way.
Not ironic,
but I'm
interested in the spectacle of what this is.
And also, it's role...
So, you know what
kayfabe is? No
So kayfabe, and I'm going to get this definition sort of wrong
But it's kind of like the world of
The fake world that wrestling purports itself to be
Is kayfabe
So the idea that like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin
Hate each other
That's like the kayfabe
And there was like a time where
I have a question
Please
What are you saying?
Kayfabe? Like F-A-B- Please. What are you saying? K-fabe?
Like F-A-B-E.
What does that mean?
Like the K-fabe is
Does it stand for anything?
I don't think so.
Could you look up K-fabe?
K-fabe?
I feel like
Spell it.
When you hear somebody
and you're like having a stroke
Yeah, spell it.
I've never doubted my pronunciation more
than having two people stare at me like
No, but just spell what you're saying.
K-A-Y-F-A-B-E.
Oh, kayfabe.
Yeah, okay.
But that must stand for something, right?
No, it's the concept...
That's the name of the world?
Yeah, let's get the exact definition
from producer Chris over here.
Okay, so Wikipedia.
Although coined in the late 20th century,
the origin story of kayfabe is uncertain.
Some believe it is carny code for be fake,
as mentioned in the above quote,
whereas others consider it an alteration of be fake
that was formed in a way similar to,
but not keeping with piglet.
Great.
Thank you.
So great.
I'm glad you found out the origins of the word.
So here's what it means.
So then what happened with, I read this book about Vince McMahon. Okay. so great I'm glad you found out the origins of the word so here's what it means is so like
so then what happened with
I've been reading this book
about Vince McMahon
okay
and what's so funny
he started WWF
and then WWE
oh got it
I mean he didn't start
he inherited from his father
he's a bad guy right
yeah he's
he's not a good guy
he's out now
he's out
of this plane
or the WWE
of the WWE
of the WWE
he like
he's always had lots of like things,
but,
but he basically,
there was,
I say allegedly since I,
I might get it wrong.
There was like a woman
and she worked for him,
but then he was like kind of passing her around
and like,
do this,
do that.
And very vulgar texts.
I believe it.
Anytime I saw him,
he looked mean.
He looked mean.
Okay.
I trust your judgment.
But so,
so there was a time where, where some people thought wrestling was real.
They're called marks, and then there's smarts.
That's how they label people.
A smart knows it's fake.
A mark actually believes it.
I think you could say the same thing about church, frankly.
Like there's marks and there's smarts.
Or Borat, like satire.
Sure.
Or like I did a prank today.
We're taping this in April Fools.
And like there's some people who think it's real and there's some people who think it's fake.
And they're both on the same world existing.
So what happened is Vince McMahon, he didn't want to pay whatever fees you have to pay when you have athletics.
Like you have to pay a certain amount of money to make sure there's a doctor on site
because it's athletic, it's dangerous.
So he actually, in order to get the rules changed
so he didn't have to pay this fucking cost
or this tax to the state, he said to them,
hey guys, this isn't real athletics,
this is entertainment.
And because of that, it was revealed
and there were like New York Times articles saying,
wrestling is fake.
So suddenly the fake world kind of went away
and the acknowledgement that this was all bullshit came to light.
However, recently, and I think with the advent of social media,
there is this new kind of what I would consider kayfabe
of like the people, it's like reality TV,
where it's like,
is it real or is it not real?
Or is it kind of real?
And The Rock recently,
after he had some troubles with,
they say he wanted Black Adam
to become this big thing
and it didn't succeed,
his movie,
he basically hit kind of a rut.
And now he's going back into wrestling.
I think he's kind of trying to fix
whatever happened with Vince McMahon.
So he suddenly, on his twitter where he promotes his real human life projects and donating to hawaii he like is now writing sometimes in character as the rock and
he's posted a video where you know he's like hitting someone with a belt and it's quits fake
blood and it's it doesn't really hurt and it's it's acting you belt and it's fake blood and it doesn't really hurt
and it's acting.
You can tell it's acting.
But he's pretending it's real for a second
and in the comments you see some people
who think it's real again
and some people who know it's fake
and it's like...
So they're part of the same kayfabe
or no, the people...
Kayfabe is the phenomenon or the community i think kayfabe
if if it like again i i haven't but but my understanding is it's like kayfabe is is the
imaginary world that that person wrestling exists that yeah like that the rock is fighting with
someone in real in that world so people like, so some people are tapping,
they're like tapping into The Rock's kayfabe.
He's also presenting it as if it's real again.
Right, yeah.
But that's mixed in.
It's from his human being Twitter account
where he also, someone commented,
it's so funny to think after he hit this guy with a belt
and was like, fuck you, keep the cameras fucking rolling, that he then went to go record voiceover for Moana 2.
Yeah.
Wait, is The Rock going to fight people again?
Yeah.
How old is he?
He's going to get back in the ring.
Oh, yeah.
He doesn't look any older than he did in 1995 anyway.
That's an interesting...
Sometimes he looks so big where you where you're like he doesn't look
quite as mobile as he once was i don't know what happens when you get that big and you get older
i saw some videos like it was like a world-class uh weightlifter guy and he's he's old and he still
has all this muscle but he's he walks like this like feebly he's yeah feeble but he's huge
interesting i don't know how do you how do you reduce the muscles you get older
so we're a wrestling podcast now yeah um so medieval times well okay
wait so i see so it's like as you're becoming more drawn to like the magic or like the mystique of wrestling, et cetera, something like the medieval times is appealing.
Yeah.
I mean medieval times is like – I think like kayfabe for medieval times would be like if after the match the guy came out and he was like, I really slew that dragon, didn't I?
Right.
But I think it's more interesting because i think social
media which we interact with so much yeah is becoming its own kind of kayfabe in that you
don't know who's telling the truth on social media what's a character what's real is logan
paul really mad at this guy or are they friends outside of it it's an imaginary world we don't
even know and like influencer stuff so there's this expensive chic you know
like cool deodorant that i'm like oh yeah that totally got me right yeah oh yeah yeah i'll be
you know all my problems will go away if i get this like leather scented deodorant so there's
this like leather scented oh yeah like leather a woodsy you know smell like a dead cow yeah yeah
right and it's like um like this girl who's like very attractive and talking to the camera and wearing a matching workout outfit.
She's like, this is so crazy, but I finished my workout at the spinning gym or whatever.
And then this woman tapped me on my shoulder and she was like, oh my God, what are you wearing?
What's your perfume?
And she was like no it's
actually my deodorant and then i was like wow this is so cute that they had these people do
these like little anecdotes and then of course like a week later there's a different there's
like a different girl you're like wow you know and i remember i saw this commercial And I was like Oh my god There was this leprechaun
And he
Right
Everyone wanted his lucky charms
Wow
But that's
But that is
Yeah
And advertisers
Take advantage of that
There was a thing
Where I guess
All these
There was some podcast
Where one of the women
Had slept with Matt Rife
And so they talked about it
And then she does
This live stage show
Where she About the solo show About Kind of where at the end she brings out like six other women who
have slept with matt rife and the crowd is going fucking nuts and it's like wrestling what on earth
this is a pocket of culture and the internet that i don't even know but it's but like what's so
it's like they don't all necessarily
hate Matt Rife
like for all I know
they like
Matt Rife texts them
like hey good work
like you're helping
we're both helping each other out
but it's the drama
and it's a little real
the same way in wrestling
two people might hate each other
but they do the match
okay what do you think
about those restaurants
where the waitress
they're mean to you
you know like
those kind
you like that yeah of course you mean like like those kind of, you like that?
Yeah, of course.
You mean like an Italian kind of restaurant or like a dim sum?
No, but like it's like their thing is like that they're rude.
Not like they're actually rude.
You meant like just rude Italians.
Oh, yeah.
Not like a New York place that's existed for a long time and they're actually rude.
You know when they're rude?
You mean like the Wapkini Dago's where they're always.
It's the point of it.
It's again that thing
where it's like
you go there
it's like medieval times
but it's just
a normal restaurant
but the hook
is that the waitstaff
is mean
and they're like
Oh that just sounds like
They throw their food down
and they're like
yeet at your fat pig.
I mean yeah
people are into that right?
That just sounds like
I want to bring my dad there
and not tell him.
But you can do that. It is my fantasy. That's tell him i feel like you can usually tell it'd be it's more impressive if they were like
actually like making you feel bad i saw a video with an older woman and like
she's like oh is our table ready and she goes yeah she picks up the menus throws them on the
floor follow me oh yeah that's awesome oh my, my God. It's amazing. Oh, my God.
My dad, unfortunately, I'd be like, this is fun.
And then he'd punch someone.
I'd be like, all right, I should have told you up front.
He punches you.
He punches me.
That's interesting.
Well, that sounds lucrative for the servers, depending on.
Yeah, I wonder if it's fun for them or if it's like kind of like sometimes that's a lot of energy.
Yeah. I'd rather just like serve the food and if it's like kind of like sometimes that's a lot of energy. Yeah.
I'd rather just like serve this food and not have to be like put on a performance too, you know?
That's fascinating.
That sounds like something Japanese.
Like it sounds like something really crafted.
The first time I did it, I think it was like in Walt Disney World.
There was a place that had that.
In Walt Disney World?
Yeah.
But it was like they couldn't be crass, but they could kind of like make fun of you can you imagine walt disney made a roller coaster based
on that children's cartoon from earlier and it was just like it's like whoa this gets bigger and
then you get sucked inside i just that's i just think about especially with those entertainment
conglomerates we're like i'm sure disney Disney Plus is in Japan or they want to be in Japan.
And they're like, well, do we add this?
Because then someone chose that cartoon with the Disney Plus logo.
But now it's kind of chaos because when I go to Disney Plus, I get my Hulu through there.
It's kind of like the FX.
So it's all kind of mixed in already.
They're all...
It's like... I don't know. They're all... It's like...
I don't know.
Yeah, they have the combined forces
and ways I don't understand
what to subscribe to.
I just feel like back in the day,
you'd only see those Disney ears off
wholesome, all for the family.
Yeah, but they have Indiana Jones.
They have Star Wars.
I mean, they have everything.
No, is Simpsons on?
Yeah, I think Simpsons is on.
I think that's a little more subversive.
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So you have a master's in history.
Yes.
Do you think growing up in Japan,
and I know you've been here since.
I mean, have there been any longer stints back in Japan?
Or have you pretty much been in America?
Junior year of college, that's it.
Yeah.
I was back, yeah, but basically as an adult.
I've been in the U.S.
Do you think having lived in a wholly different place, you can see how slanted history is towards the people writing it?
Like, do you think you have – I just feel like so much of getting older is realizing how all the history i was taught was light propaganda
right okay okay uh that's an interesting question i don't know if i've ever thought about this
i think that something about so a lot of a lot of when you're studying history at an academic
like graduate level is that you're essentially becoming like a diplomat
of information right you like learn you're trained how to read like a primary source or a letter or
whatever or like a or um an article about a primary source and then kind of analyze that and dissect
that with as little bias with um as possible like that's the work of the historian
and then you like refashion that into some writing and like that is a literal work of the historian
and so i guess you're like you're like considering things from both sides if you write a paper
obviously the best way to write it persuasively and professionally as a historian is whether you
consider both sides so um i don't know i think maybe being in japan
maybe like like you have you're forced to like consider things from different perspectives i
guess when you were studying were you were you studying anything involving japan or like what
was your focus no because when i was in college and this is when i was becoming interested in
going to graduate school for history just senior year year. In college, I studied stuff related to Japan, like East Asian, whatever, like literature and contemporary politics.
But then the classes that got me interested in history as a field, the one specific class, this was really random because I was in Hawaii, which has nothing to do with the French Revolution.
But I mean, I could find six degrees.
But the point is like there was a class that was like really hands on about the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.
And that was making me excited about how programs can like make history come to life and make it relatable and help people connect to something that has nothing to do with their world.
and help people connect to something that has nothing to do with their world.
And so then when I went to graduate school, which was in D.C., what happened was that because of like –
I got really interested in like colonial history in like the 16th and 17th centuries.
And part of that was being in Hawaii, sure.
Sure.
Is that when Hawaii happened?
Well, yeah.
They were British.
So to speak.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like 18th century. 18th Yeah. Hey, 18th century,
18th century,
18th century.
Definitely in the 18th century,
a guy named James Cook,
um,
like brought essentially British subjects.
Like,
yeah,
it was like the,
there was British military presence in the Island of Hawaii.
And ultimately it would obviously join as an American territory after
the revolution. But the point is that in the 17th century, Hawaii was like a British colony
or there was presence there. Sure. So that stuff and like learning about the monarchy
there, even though that was later, like in the 19th century, learning about the Hawaiian monarchy
in relationship to America caught me kind of interested in oh like empire
or whatever so like really interested in so then when i was just so uh uh kamehameha yeah is that
he was part of that right which is goku and dragon ball z the big move is kamehameha really
oh yeah so funny and i and i just always remember seeing that name in school and being like, what the fuck?
Yeah.
There has to be something that –
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's so interesting.
And, like, Japan's obsessed with Hawaii and, like, using – like, yeah.
Like, that makes a lot of sense to me, basically.
Sure.
I would use his name.
So then, anyway, when I was in DC and I was in graduate school,
the focus that I chose
in my program
was US1,
which is early American history,
like the colonial period.
Like,
so like,
like Puritans
through
the Civil War,
like the first half of,
and that's like my shit.
I like,
I get really excited
about early American history.
So the point is to answer your question, like maybe initially in the beginning, but I don't think so. Like maybe like Japan and the Pacific and the histories of those empires are what drew me to history. But my favorite thing to read about and write about and what I like learned to write about in graduate school is like colonial American history.
What's one like general overall thing that a marriage that you would say
specific that you wish or that Americans don't really seem to understand about
our, our founding. Oh yeah. I love this. Okay.
So this is also,
I think part of it Is that it was pretty
Exotic
Relatively like
Like I didn't grow up
Learning about all that
Like necessarily
Sure
You didn't have like
The same base level myths
That we had of like
Like you know
When I was a little kid
It'd be George
George Washington
With the lie and the trade
Yeah
Yeah like
Right
That
All that
Like all that like
Kind of like Sort of Quaint like, kind of, like, sort of quaint, like, lore stuff.
Like, you dress up as Frederick Douglass.
I mean, he was later, but you know what I mean?
Yeah, that was the Halloween costume here.
Except, wait, wait, wait, brief aside.
So when I was in third grade at Tokyo, Sacred Heart Tokyo International School,
there was a black teacher who was a music teacher, Mr. Hendrix.
And he had us for a recital for choir.
He had us sing Wade in the Water, which is like a Negro spiritual.
And we would dress – everybody, everybody, not just me, everybody dressed up as like an enslaved – like a girl.
It was an all-girls school.
English language.
What was the outfit?
Like rags.
Whatever you – yeah, whatever you use.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like bandana.
And this I don't think would fly even there today.
Yeah, sure.
This was.
Not makeup.
No, no.
No.
So just the outfit.
Just the makeup.
And then a bunch of little Japanese girls going.
Mixed white girls.
Uh-huh.
You know, brown ones.
White girls too.
Jesus Christ.
Black, white.
That, you got to get that class photo
or something. That could ruin a lot of careers.
You could blackmail
a lot of people. That's where the term blackmail came from.
They would do that all the time at
music festivals.
Not dress up,
but we'd all the time
be all white choir singing
spirituals
and some of them
the lyrics were referencing
directly
there's one I have memorized because it's so
crazy that I had to sing it
that I can't sing it now
what are the lyrics can you say them
um
uh no
come on say it.
We'll put quotes around it.
I can't think of it now,
but there's too many songs going in my head,
but if I think of it, I'll say them.
But it's literally,
remember having to do it and do the motions?
Like we were working?
It was like they made yeah like shovel like like we
were like you know what i mean like oh like and and there was not one it was upstate new york
there was not there was maybe one or two black people but like that was it it was mainly white
children and just like everyone watching that no one one being like, what? Stop. Stop. Like in the audience, parents should have been raising their hands, being like, stop
doing that right now.
Stop.
Oh my God.
Oh man.
Um, that's so funny.
Yeah.
I don't know.
Do you think of any lyrics?
I will.
I'm going to say for just a minute.
Um, oh wait.
So to answer your question, like also because my dad's from Philadelphia, we went to Philly
every summer.
So I was, like, aware of, you know, like, kind of sort of whimsical Benjamin Franklin stuff, right?
Like, when I was a kid.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like, we'd go to Philly and we'd go to the museum.
The kite and the key.
And then you find out he was, like, he was a real whore.
I love that about's this, there's like a sort of like a knowledge gap.
Because basically when we're studying American history, we learn about like the Mayflower and 1619 when a ship brought Africans to Virginia and, you know, like pilgrims and all that. And then, and like Salem witch trials,
like, and that's in the 17th century.
But then there's this kind of gap between,
and then it's like, oh,
and then the next big thing is the American Revolution,
which is obviously that was like unfolding
in the 17, like the upper 1700s, right?
Like 1770s.
And so the point is that there are all these like interesting forces that are
happening in that gap,
like colonies that were British colonies in North America becoming its own
entity, like Virginia becoming Virginia, Pennsylvania becoming Pennsylvania,
Massachusetts becoming Massachusetts because each colony had a different like crop situation and a different relationship to the crown based on whatever, how much money they were making for the empire, whether it was sugar or tobacco or like cod, like in Rhode Island or whatever, which they didn't get any.
a Quaker colony, which meant that there was more distance between them and the crown.
And they got like no.
So this is kind of funny.
Like when the British Navy started to crack down on the North American colonies, there was like little naval protection in the small colonies like Rhode Island or like North Carolina.
And so anyway, anyway, so all this stuff is really interesting to me because what you see is local governments that would soon become, you know, eventually become individual states as a state of the United States of America.
The local colonial governments kind of like being like, well, they don't know how what's happening here.
Like we want to get free indigo from pirates.
Like they have no say. Sure. They're happening here. Like we want to get free Indigo from pirates. Like they have no say.
Sure.
They're not here.
And you know,
and then like we want to engage.
Yeah.
Like we want to,
we want this cheap shipment of whatever,
like we'll aid and abet pirates.
Yeah.
Like,
so I call it the naughty colonist syndrome.
It's like when,
and that is like how you see the,
the British hold over the American colonies start to unravel.
And this is something like you don't really talk about in sixth grade civics class.
Sure, sure.
No.
It's like my favorite.
And you see this in different ways.
And one avenue is piracy.
And so every place had their own like, they don't fucking understand this.
And then one day they gradually were like, hey, if we all band together.
Right.
I, because what I always loved, like the Boston Tea Party, I tried to make a bit out of it,
but it was one of those where I haven't, Boston Tea Party was taught in schools as like this,
this big moment of, of freedom.
This is one of the big American myths, I think, is that the idea that it was just about like
freedom, like a deep spiritual freedom. This is one of the big American myths, I think, is that the idea that it was just about, like, freedom.
Like, a deep spiritual freedom.
And it was like, no, it's about money, and it's about
wanting to hold onto money, which is fine.
Right. But it's about that.
It's not about, like, the way George Bush said,
they hate us for our freedom. Like, it was,
it's that, like, that, that,
yeah. So, the Boston
Tea Party, at least what I read,
it's taught in schools as, like, this moment of Americans becoming Americans. Yeah. So the Boston Tea Party, at least what I read, it's taught in schools is like this moment of Americans becoming Americans.
Yeah. And when it happened, George Washington called the Boston Tea Party people looters and rioters.
And there's there's some deep degree of like that's so funny.
It's yeah, that's it. There's something so funny about it.
That's so funny.
Is there something so funny about it where I'm like, guys, the literal myth.
With a little, like, when we're removed fully,
we can be like, wow, that's amazing
that people stood up and they said,
fuck that, blah, blah, blah.
Now somebody feels like deodorant at CVS.
No, this is not the time, not the time.
Don't confront the president at his fundraiser.
No, you know what I mean?
Like, fuck off.
Robbing at CVS is the most American thing you could do.
That's funny
yeah there is a parallel there
yeah
are you still doing the bit
no
I
once in a while
I'll throw it in there
like
here's the twist
that was like
so preachy and awful
was
it's just back then
the people in authority
were wearing red
and now they wear blue
and it was
and like
boom
you know
first of all it's preachy yeah it's not that
funny it's just and not everyone remembers that the british wore red coats oh sure yeah and and
the it's just a lot yeah and it used to be the worst version i did was oh i'm embarrassed to
say it but back then the authority wore red and now they wear blue and they only protect the whites. Oh my god.
A full on
just a real
smug you can see me going
as I wrote it down.
Red, white, and blue.
Take that Erica.
Sadly I thought of the lyrics.
I did remember them. Great. I'm so happy.
Okay. I'm going to say them. I'm not going to sing it.
And remind you I I did not.
This was when you were a child
and you were, I was in,
I don't know if middle school,
but it stuck with me because I remember
thinking we should not be singing this.
Okay. Here are the lyrics.
Sun up to sundown, picking that
cotton.
Sun up to sundown,
chains and shackles. Sun up to sundown, work for the master.
No more auction block for me.
No more auction block for me.
No.
There was motion.
There was dancing with it.
There was swang.
And it was maybe, again, maybe one black child in the chorus.
Mainly white kids.
And I just, it was never a conversation.
It was never like, hey, should we, you know, none of us raised our hands.
And also, I'm older. Shouldn't we be singing from the master's perspective?
But crazy But crazy.
Crazy.
Also, you're like that music teacher
in their minds
thought they were doing a good thing.
Yes.
Because in their minds,
they're like,
oh, we should be talking about this
and they're not wrong.
We should be talking about it.
But it's like a crazy,
it's just like that's where
people's heads were then.
Right.
About like how we can, you know.
So it's hard because you're like how we can, you know, so it's hard
because you're like,
I don't know.
Don't you think it's hard to know?
I'm certainly not saying
that was a good thing,
but like you,
in the process of like
getting people to really see things,
do you not have to awkwardly,
clunkily,
looking back embarrassingly?
Yeah.
Engage them.
Maybe that's what happened.
Maybe that is.
I mean,
that's,
it's,
it's just one of those things.
Cause I laugh about it now.
And I remember thinking this is weird,
but I'm also like,
you know,
uh,
that area where I grew up is pretty racist.
And,
and like,
and again, there's not a lot of black people in the area, uh, where I grew up. And, um, so you're like, I don't know, maybe this is like
people there were like, what is this? And I don't know. I don't know, but it is, it is awkward and
it's funny. And you were like, that's so funny. No actual block for me. I think that, yeah,
maybe the, it's like from the teacher's perspective they were like well this is how we honor the different voices in american history
yeah i can see our liberal people at your school being like this is important yeah
to it though oh my god that is where it tips to be really weird you know because i remember i
remember doing this you know i like, we were doing this.
Which, is that how you pick cotton?
I don't know.
You know what I mean?
You're like, why were we digging?
Do you know what I mean?
I don't know.
But I guess that's a more stronger dance move.
Than crouching in the grass.
For the shackles.
You're hurting your hands.
I don't know.
Oh, God.
Oh, man.
Also, I remember no other songs hurting your hands. Oh, God. Oh, man.
Also, I remember no other songs
from like all the kind of
all county area,
all state kind of like things.
That's the only one
that I still remember
the tune and words to
because I was,
I just was like,
this is crazy.
We're going to go
into our next segment.
Chris, just so you know,
if you ever,
if you ever like in that moment,
you're like,
I can download that song
really quick
and play it as the next music.
You have my full permission
to do so.
But this is,
this has got to stop.
This has got to stop.
This has got to stop.
Okay.
Do you want to go first?
Do you have a
this has got to stop?
I have a this has got to stop.
Tell us.
Should I go first?
Sure.
Okay.
And so if I'm, this is, if I'm, uh, if I'm reading the assignment correctly, it's
like essentially a gripe I have.
Yeah.
Essentially.
Okay.
So when, you know, when you, um, let's say you like apologize for something relatively
trivial, like you, you, you like don't notice that you have to hold the door open or something
like that.
Yeah.
And, or whatever.
And then you're like, oh, sorry.
Or even something more involved that you're like, oh, I'm sorry.
I misunderstood.
But then the person's response is, uh, oh, you're good.
That really aggravates me.
The semantics of it.
And it's like, no, I'm, no, I'm good.
I'm not asking for your uh for your blessing i'm
good because i'm apologizing i see i i you know i'd way prefer like uh oh no worries or i understand
you're good is like bitch i that's not really like yeah yeah yeah like that's okay or uh no
worries okay it's describing like a like a
feeling to you where you were just you're they're saying that you're you didn't even need to do that
and like kind of being like but like they're like oh you don't need to be i mean maybe okay so
they're like by saying you're good it's like um no i wasn't asking whether i was good i was saying
oh i acknowledge that i was in your way in the hallway. Yeah. This isn't a matter
of my morality.
Sure.
It's just like a thing I...
Is all good okay?
Is it the your?
If someone said all good...
Because all good is like,
oh, all good.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, you're good
is like...
I don't like when someone
doesn't acknowledge
your apology for something
because I've had that too
i've redacted an apology one time to like a stranger because because because i tried to
apologize twice because well they ran into like i ran into them or something happened on the street
and i was like i'm sorry and they were like and then i was like i'm sorry because they seemed
annoyed and then they didn't accept the second one and said never mind i take it back i'm not
sorry and i because i was like i it just was like so annoyed that I was like, I'm trying to give you two genuine apologies for bumping into you.
And you're being a bitch about it.
So never mind.
I take it back.
That is funny.
I'm redacting that apology from you.
That sounds like a curve.
I know.
But I was like, it made me so mad.
I was like, fine.
Never mind.
Never mind.
We don't get it.
So now that's what I feel like happens a lot in New York.
We were like, it's like, you're also like, I'm, you know, it's, it's, we all get run
into.
You just be like, you're like, oh, no worries.
Or, you know, some kind of acknowledgement of that.
That's interesting.
I like that.
Yeah.
Like a gump.
Well, I'll do, that's my policy now too.
I'll give you two genuine apologies.
And then after that, I'm like, no, never mind.
You don't get it.
When you first brought this up, I was imagining this was like an email back and forth with like a colleague.
No, no, it's strangers.
No, I would.
Three emails in a row.
Sorry, sorry.
I can be much more direct with strangers than like people I know.
Oh, right, right, right.
Yeah.
I'll let them in all over me.
I like that, though. Yeah. Do you have this? Got, right. Yeah. I'll let them run all over me. I like that, though.
Yeah.
Do you have this?
Got to stop.
Yeah.
Okay, on Twitter,
when every so often we reevaluate old TV shows
to the end of time,
and there's nothing that we can enjoy anymore,
ever again,
and it's just this cycle of like...
You're specifically talking about
the Curb Your Enthusiasm tweet.
No.
No? I did see that, too. But just one of those things where it's every show that exists in like the history
of time where in 10 years we're like actually this is why this show is a reflection of this
time you're like yeah everything is a reflection of its time and you can watch it with a thoughtfulness of being like oh wow that was made
in 2011 and represents a lot of the issues in 2011 and still enjoy it on some level it's just
this thing where it feels like what's the end it doesn't uh with the rest of my life we're going
to be re-evaluating things from 10 years ago and being like, that's bad. And being like, okay.
Do you know what I mean?
Russell only watches the 30 Rock blackface episode.
No.
I'm just saying. That's all he watches.
I'm saying.
No, I know what you're saying.
And I'm also saying.
It is pointless.
It's done.
It was made and it's aired
and some people will revisit it.
And I'm like, there are definitely like,
when it first started happening,
you're like oh yeah
oh
oh wow
Friends was
blah blah blah
like oh
initially
and I feel like
we've moved past that now
where it's like
it's just like
it's just a way to be like
this thing you enjoy
it's bad
and you're like
it's just not interesting
because everything
that we're watching now
in 10 years
we'll be able to say
this is bad because of this.
Or like this was performative even.
Yes, yes, yes.
I think it's like, you can remark on it,
but I think it's more like it's bad
as opposed to you can share old clips of friends
and be like, Jesus Christ,
the whole episode was your fat
and that was the plot.
That's crazy. You can go, that's crazy. Isn't that silly? Jesus Christ, the whole episode was you're fat, and that was the plot. Yeah.
That's crazy.
Yeah.
You can go, that's crazy, or isn't that silly?
Yeah.
But to go like, that was bad. That was.
Yeah, that's what everyone did back then.
Yeah.
It's more, look at it like a history piece.
Yeah.
As opposed to like a current moral failing.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
I dig that.
My This Has Got to Stop, I took, I had a SoulCycle class. I'm not going to. My, this has got to stop. I, I took a,
I had a soul cycle class.
I'm not going to go on my soul cycle rant this episode,
but I have something for the next one.
Uh,
uh,
big problem.
Soul cycle.
They should let people take off their shirts,
but they,
they don't,
they don't,
they don't know nipple policy.
Um,
that's,
that's not anywhere on the board.
Listen.
So they did a,
they did happy someone.
It was someone's birthday.
And I feel like we do birthdays sometimes
and you don't know the person.
And we need to make a birthday song
where in that third line,
we're not saying the name.
Because what happens is you do it
and it goes like,
happy birthday to you,
happy birthday to you,
happy birthday, dear.
And then the energy of the room,
it vanishes.
You go... The most important part of the song, happy birthday to you happy birthday dear and then the energy of the room it vanishes you go the most important part of the song happy birthday to you we all need to to adjust where we do the
happy birthday happy birthday happy birthday to you i don't remember the name that you said one
time before i knew we were going to the birthday and it just it's And it's always just like an awkward where the song is deflated and weird.
And it never reaches back to the energy you started out with.
Yeah.
It just peters out.
So that's why this has got to stop.
Yeah.
In general, if it's a public setting and you don't all know each other, we all need to go to the happy birthday, happy birthday version.
Yeah.
Huh.
Right.
That's like a choice.
Happy birthday. It's like a safety net. Yeah. Like a code. Yeah. Huh. Right. That's like a birthday. Happy birthday. It's like a
safety net. Yeah. Like a code. Yeah.
If you just sing that
version, there's no awkwardness.
Does anybody laugh about
the moment? That's the thing. It's
one of those where it's like you look around
and you go, huh? That's so sad.
We don't fully know.
It's just one of those. I mean, there's so many.
I remember in school,
there was a long time and I'm sure I was,
I was doing it too
where you go,
happy birthday to cha-cha-cha.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh God.
I know that.
You've never did the cha-cha-cha?
Where does it come in?
Happy birthday to you.
At the end.
Maybe at the end.
Happy birthday.
No?
I feel like there were different,
there was some version
where people added this thing or then they had a second thing that they added onto the song and then? I feel like there were different, there was some version where people added
this thing
or then they had
a second thing
that they added
onto the song
and then some people
were like,
well,
let's do the other version.
Happy birthday to you.
I don't like
any of the additions.
What is,
in Japan,
what is happy birthday?
What's the song?
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
It sounds like
when you do it
in a Japanese accent
to make people laugh.
Let's go to our
final segment.
You better count
your blessings.
You better
count your blessings.
Russell, you got a
blessing. We had a Debbie Downsider come
to Titanic this weekend. Jolene
from Philly.
So sweet and supportive and kind.
And just a special shout out to Jolene from Philly.
That was very nice.
And I'm glad that you saw the show Titanic.
It was very nice.
Someone came up to me.
My blessing.
Someone came up to me After a show in San Diego
And they said
They had seen me the year before
With a friend of theirs
Who had recently passed away from cancer
And they said that
They said they were like
And you
This my friend was watching
Your videos
You know even in her final days
Really?
It was very
Oh my god
It was very... Oh, my God. It was very...
It's so...
I think what's jarring about it is, like,
it's like it feels...
I wouldn't say good, but you feel like,
oh, wow, that's...
It's one of those things where, like,
I make my art for selfish reasons.
I make it because I want to.
Right, right, right.
And then when you hear someone
retroactively being like,
you saved my life.
You're like, well, to be honest,
if making my art
made you kill yourself,
I'd still make it because
that's why I'm doing it for myself.
So it's this weird feeling of like, this is nice,
but I don't deserve your praise, but it feels good.
Yeah, I was going to talk to you about this
because do you ever, or both of you, do you
I was thinking about this the other day.
I was like, there's no part of me that does
like when I'm on stage
for Titanic, there's no part of me
that gives a shit
about like making someone's
day better.
There's no part of me that's like,
God, that's why I do it.
You know, people say that.
They're like, this is why I do it.
And I'm like, there's no part of me that's in bed
being like, people need me today.
Like, you know what I mean?
Like there's like, they don't need me.
It's fine.
It's a nice thing, but I like their laughs
and that makes me feel good when I hear their laughs
and I need them more than they need
me i think i i think and i'm i think um but like i just don't believe people a lot of times when
they think that they're doing it like as a performer for the people i think it's more it's
i think what happens with like celebrities sometimes is they hear enough times like
you helped me through cancer you helped me okay i kill myself and they start going like wow i am important where it's
like you have to remember they could have found someone else yeah but at the same time it is it
what the the part that i do try to like take in is i'm just like, oh, wow, you, this meant something to you.
Yes.
And this moment where you're sharing this with me,
it means something to you.
And I'm able to, for a moment in this very selfish work world,
like in this moment, make you feel good.
I try to take it in.
I try to take some smidgen without going, I'm important.
Yes.
But still taking it in and still going,
that's so cool. That's amazing.
And I do this thing that, yeah.
But to that
person
who came up after the show, I appreciate you
sharing that with me.
You know, I'm glad.
Well,
the one that I was considering initially does not have as much gravitas that's okay that's
okay we don't need it doesn't need to be that i think i have like one and a half ones okay is
that okay yeah so well this is just like a like basically my half one is that uh I live really close to my train station.
And I won't say which, but I live like so close to it.
And it really is a blessing.
It makes my life so much easier.
If I get home late from spots, I just have to cross the street and go home.
It's like made my experience of New York a lot easier.
And it makes me feel grateful for that happy accident.
And then the other thing that's like more meaningful, well, this is cool.
It's just like a cool thing.
Basically, I was in Idaho.
I was in Idaho for a few days for a festival.
And then by essentially an accident, like one headliner in the festival, I was headlining some small rooms.
And then Marc Maron replaced
whoever was doing it before then.
And then I was asked to open for Marc Maron
and I had never met him
or even seen him live.
And so I got to have a cool experience.
That's amazing.
Where I got to meet him
and see him live in the same night.
And it was so fun.
It was so like exactly how I i guess i imagined and i later
learned that he had picked me actually so yeah yeah so it all felt like such an accident but a
real blessing that made me feel really like energized and like i had been like um like a
few years ago i would not have been ready to would not have been ready for the opportunity
necessarily or as comfortable in a big theater yeah yeah i feel would not have been ready for the opportunity necessarily, or I was comfortable in a big theater.
Yeah.
I feel like I have become so over the past year or so.
And in this moment I felt really ready for it.
And that felt great,
like empowering.
And we talked for about 10 minutes before the show about like migration
patterns to the Midwest.
Really?
Yeah.
And then,
uh,
yeah. And then, yeah, and then,
you know,
and so then he,
he did this cool thing
where I guess he like,
likes to bring on,
he likes to be the voice of God.
So he likes to bring on the opener.
Yeah.
You know,
and he's like,
hey,
it's Mark.
He's going to come.
I don't know.
He's like,
he said,
hey guys,
it's like a huge,
beautiful theater.
He's like,
Mark's going to be out in a second.
Blah, blah, blah. So then he, beautiful theater. He's like, Mark's going to be out in a second, blah, blah, blah.
So then he introduced me.
And then after my set, I've had to like be like whisked off to do,
because I was headlining like a small room somewhere.
So I was like taken to do my own thing.
Oh yeah.
And then I was kind of bummed because I was like, oh, I'd like to shoot.
I wanted to see.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And then the guy, the producer was like, well well he might do like 90 minutes if you want to do
20 minutes instead of 30
that's fine with me
like cause I
that's so cool
oh nice
so I got to do
a shorter set
and then come back
and I thought that
maybe I would see
the last 10 or 5 minutes
I think he did
I think he did 2 hours
damn
not a lot of him
so it was like a cool
you know cool comedy night
that's so cool
and those nights
always feel so cool where it's just like you're like,
man, I'm booked.
I'm so booked that I'm like I'm doing a set and then I'm coming back.
You just feel so artistic.
You feel a lot.
And then the whole next day, like 50-year-old white people in Boise
were just like noticing me around.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah, they were cute.
That's so funny.
Yeah.
So that was a real career. That was very cool.
I think they do that intro thing where they introduce people because, where they do the God Mike introduction.
Because I've heard other times where the audience feels like the opener is blocking me from
seeing the person I came to see.
So they, like, do the voice to be like, hey, guys, this is how I want the show to go.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Yeah.
I think sometimes they go like, fuck, this opener wants to do time.
But that's why I think they do it.
I love it.
I think it works.
It feels cool.
It makes the audience.
Yeah.
Because the hard thing about, you know what it is too, is like when, like I open for other
people where it's like, I can feel that that and you know depending on what the environment is
like they're kind of like okay we want to see like who are you we'll it's harder to get them
immediately because they're like we're excited to see goldman you know yeah and then if the person
if they have a little sliver of the personality that they came for before the opener. It makes
them feel included and they
have control too.
Yeah.
Oh, yay, Mark's here. I've been with this person
for a moment.
So this is coming out
on April
23rd.
This podcast.
This podcast, yes.
You have a special that is out now.
Yes.
Yes.
It will be.
Yes.
Out on YouTube.
It is called.
It's a half hour and it's called That Is My Horse.
Brittany Carney.
That Is My Horse.
Full half hour special.
Please watch it. Check it out. Please. Listeners half hour special please watch it
check it out
please
listeners
please
please watch
any of our guests
watch their specials
I'm sure it's fantastic
where did you film it?
in Raleigh, North Carolina
yeah
oh
yeah
that's
it's
I've done the club there
and it's a great
great audience
this was at King's
which is like a big punk venue
perfect
and the audience was so fun.
And it was such a – speaking of blessings, like, you know,
I don't have an audience there.
It was kind of like an experiment.
And it really – I was really impressed, and the audience was really fun.
I mean, the clips sound great.
Oh, thanks.
Yeah.
Hopefully – yeah, I'm like – yeah, anyway, half hour.
Check it out.
That is my horse.
Link will be in the description
that's my horse
Russell
yes
Instagram
at Russell J. Daniels
and also
Uncle Function
will be in LA
Friday May 3rd
for Netflix is a Joke
and also
the Downside Live
Friday May 3rd
Friday May 3rd
you can do a full
they're gonna sell out
it's not
not huge venues
so Friday May 3rd we got the Down a full, they're going to sell out. It's not, not huge venues. So Friday, May 3rd, we got the downside at seven, seven, seven. And then, uh, if you want to
do a double, double dip, you can go straight from there. You can give us a ride, give us
a ride to the outside, to the function that night. Um, uh, Oh, my headphones went out.
Can you hear me still? Oh, great. Here I am. I got, let me pull it up.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Russell, sing that song real quick.
I got a text from someone saying,
I had a really weird random question for you.
And someone I don't usually get texts from.
And I'm like, what?
I hate that.
And I'm like, just then say it.
Like, whatever it is.
Because now I'm like,
and I hope it's something innocuous,
but just like. Like a favor? If it was something big, they'd say it. They I'm now I'm like, like it could, and it could, I hope it's something innocuous, but it's just like a favor.
It was something big.
They'd say it.
They'd say I'm dead.
No,
but it's just like,
is it really weird?
Or is it like,
do you know what I mean?
Like,
it's just one of those things.
Like,
uh,
I have no idea.
I have no idea.
I said,
yes,
that's annoying.
And now I'm like,
and now I'm like,
let's go.
What is it?
It's like personal.
Like,
like that would be like if you were single and there's some of you hooked up with, it'd'm like, let's go. What is it? That's why it's like personal. That would be like if you were single
and there's someone you hooked up with,
it'd be like, do you have an STD
that you didn't tell me about?
That's like what that thing is.
Guys, join the Patreon.
I forgot to plug it.
Patreon.com slash downside.
You get one bonus episode a month with me and Russell.
You get a live episode, the full episode.
Patreon.com slash downside.
Link in the comments.
And I will be in Boston May 10th and
11th. Gonna be big shows.
And then after that, I'm in Arizona
May 16th, May
17th and 18th.
And then I'm in Denver
May 19th. First show's already sold
out. We added a second. Could be sold out by then.
But get those tickets.
And then Japan! Listen, the tickets, they hit out we added a second could be sold out by then but uh get those tickets and uh and then japan
listen the tickets they hit eight sold and then it stopped i don't know if japan you buy a little
closer to maybe that's the culture you die if you buy the day of and i shouldn't be worried
but please japan if you know anyone in tokyo how many how many tickets it's not a lot but i want
to add shows. Yeah.
So Japan,
please,
if you have a friend in Tokyo,
please, dear God,
tell them and send me Rex.
I'm so excited to go there.
And this is The Downside.
One, two, three.
Downside.
Downside.
You're listening to
The Downside.
The Downside.
With Gianmarco Cerezi.