DELRAY BEACH – Dave Chappelle has a friend in Elon Musk.
A couple days ago in this space the Stand-Up Spotlight led with a story about Chappelle irritating San Franciscans by mentioning that the city is going to hell.
Musk, an entrepreneur who bought Twitter a couple months back, agrees, saying that the city is starting to resemble a zombie apocalypse. That story leads today’s Spotlight.
Maybe the criticism will prompt San Francisco to get its act together. But we doubt it.
Today’s Spotlight also includes young comedian Catherine Yeo’s firsthand tale of her first time performing stand-up comedy. There’s also a link to the story Applause Break posted late yesterday about tonight’s Stand-Up For Hope fundraiser at the Palm Beach Improv.
Finally, Wednesday’s Spotlight noticed the growing influence TikTok is having on the stand-up comedy community. With that in mind today’s Spotlight features a straight news story about Montana banning the use of TikTok within its state boarders. It will be interesting to see how they enforce that ban.
The weekend’s almost here. Get ready to get funny.
STAND-UP SPOTLIGHT – May 18, 2023
Elon Musk backs Dave Chappelle’s scathing review of S.F. as ‘zombie apocalypse’
Elon Musk has backed comedian Dave Chappelle’s assertion that San Francisco has taken on the characteristics of a “zombie” movie.
In a late-night tweet in response to a post by right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong, who attributed San Francisco’s woes to its progressive leadership, the Tesla and Twitter CEO endorsed Chappelle’s scathing criticism of the city during a recent stand-up comedy set in Nob Hill last week.
Time To Stand Up
“Making her debut here, let’s welcome the incredible Catherine Yeo!”
I shuffled to the front of the room, an illuminated open mic “stage” in what felt like the modern-day American dungeon: the dingy gray basement of a fast-food restaurant in downtown Boston. It was a Monday evening in September, yet the sides of the room were already lined with dozens of amateur comics. My heart hammered against my chest; I wondered if I could magically wind back time by 30 seconds and call an Uber home.
Click here to view original web page at Time To Stand Up
Stand-Up For Hope: Comedy Preventing Tragedy
Flip Schultz vividly remembers the last time he saw fellow comic Brody Stevens.
In a rush, Schultz spoke to Stevens only briefly that day.
Stevens died a couple days later.
“To this day I wish I would have said more than a couple of words to him,” Schultz said. “I don’t know if I could have helped him. Probably not. But I could have at least been a friend in that moment.”
Click here to view original web page at Stand-Up For Hope: Comedy Preventing Tragedy
Montana says 1st-in-nation TikTok ban protects people. TikTok says it violates their rights
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana became the first state in the U.S. to enact a complete ban on TikTok on Wednesday when Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a measure that’s more sweeping than any other state’s attempts to curtail the social media app, which is owned by a Chinese tech company.
The measure, scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, is expected to be challenged legally and will serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that many national lawmakers have envisioned. Cybersecurity experts say it could be difficult to enforce the ban.
