Comics and Humor

Everyone has broken up with somebody at some point in their life, as well as been dumped by somebody. It's an inevitable part of growing up and of life: your heart will be broken once or twice by someone that you really care about. This will usually be accompanied by a noticeable amount of pain for the dumped, who most likely didn't see their ultimate rejection coming at all. The pain will go away in a few days with any luck and you'll be right back to business as usual...Unless of course you're one young man from Boise, ID.

Jim Norton is one of the best and most fearless comedic minds in the business, a man who knows little to no boundaries and never fails to take the most drastic risks with his act. His 2003 independent release "Yellow Discipline" proves these facts about Norton, providing a perfect snapshot of his on-stage performance at that time. But like any good comedian, Norton and his act have grown by leaps and bounds since that debut recording hit the market, as well as the man's popularity with audiences nationwide. Luckily, this growth is also captured on album, with the release of Norton's sophomore effort "Trinkets I Own Made From Gorilla Hands."

Okay, folks...I've been away from the column for a few weeks now and a lot has gone on in that time. So rather than try to focus on one specific thing and ignore all the other fodder, I'm just going to run through everything in one handy, easy-to-use column. Everybody ready? Good.

Vos' best work has always been done on the stand-up circuit. This was made perfectly clear when he appeared at the SAC Ballroom this past Thursday night. As a part of this semester's ongoing "Comedy Series," Vos easily proved that he is one of the best comedians working these days. His set was offensive, off-color and relentless...everything a comedy show should be. However, in the cravenly PC days of 2005, those qualities are also everything that most college students are against.

I love to smoke.

In this cravenly PC time and place we all live in, the above declaration might be grossly unpopular. But I don't care. I still love to smoke. If I had two mouths and four lungs, I'd smoke twice as much. The addictive agents within each stick of potentially-lethal goodness have got me willingly in shackles. I am nothing more than a fish swimming for that shiny hook that's about to reel me in.

Lewis Black is one of the greatest comedic minds of the last thirty years. On par with such tremendous names as George Carlin, Bill Hicks and Lenny Bruce, Black has become America's (and, more recently, the world's) premiere voice in political observation and topical humor.

The wind is blowing hard enough to be considered a severe gale force, yet I find myself standing outside the Student Union...I turn to see a girl operating the machine. Just as I begin turning away, the girl concludes her transaction and begins to walk away toward the building. I recognize her from one of my classes and smile, remembering how nice a person she was during the brief pre-class exchanges I had with her over the previous semester.

Sad news struck the entertainment world when it was announced that comedian Mitch Hedberg died of a heart attack while in a New Jersey hotel room. He was 37 years old. A Minnesota native, Hedberg had recently seen a huge rise in popularity and was beginning to garner a great deal of credit for the revival stand-up comedy has seen in the last few years.

By Ian Rice
Arts and Lifestyle Editor


The music industry has been in a definite slump for at least the last five years, if not more. Where at one time true artists gathered to give people beautiful songs to soothe their souls and create good vibes; now all you get are mechanical backbeats, sampled loops and trite, generic lyrics. For the assumed benefit of distracting the public from this mediocrity, you are also treated to big breasts covered by just enough clothing to sneak by the FCC’s increasingly watchful eye.

By Ian Rice
Arts and Lifestyle Editor


Note: The Firing Line is on vacation this week (or to put it another way, our author is milking Spring Break for all its worth). Presented for your enjoyment is a "greatest hits" column for your enjoyment. Check back next Monday for an all-new column!

By Ian Rice
Arts and Lifestyle Editor


In this more personal edition of "The Firing Line," I’m just going to tell the truth: love stinks.

By Ian Rice
Arts and Lifestyle Editor

There were some strong reactions to last week’s edition of “The Firing Line,” in which my intentions were called into question. Apparently, I hurt some people’s feelings by pointing out all the stupid things people do in their daily life. So, in an effort to protect everybody that’s out riding around in their car, blaring an Ashley Simpson CD while talking on their cell phones about how George W. Bush is the greatest leader this country has ever seen, I’m going to do a very politically-correct and non-offensive column this week in an effort to make every reader happy.

By Ian Rice
Arts and Lifestyle Editor

It’s a quarter after three and I’m pacing around my apartment nervously. In fifteen minutes, I’m going to receive a phone call from Colin Mochrie, star of television’s Whose Line Is It Anyway? and a true master of all that is comedy.

Let’s face it, comedy albums are the most ignored CDs on the market. Some deserve to be ignored, as nobody in their right mind needs a sterile act like Ray Romano or Margaret Cho taking up space in their collection. But, some comedy albums are essential buys, perfect showcases of edginess and timing that should be saved from their eventual place in the record store’s cut-out bin.

By Ian Rice
Arts and Lifestyle Editor

Some people go through life never having left the continental United States, yet they profess their homeland to be the best country in the world. Some people continue to operate motor vehicles with a cell phone planted in their ear, despite the fact that there are laws against such actions in many states. Some people continue to purchase records by Ashlee Simpson, even though there has been an abundance of evidence that she is a talentless fraud who only gained her fame through nepotism.