You can be influenced by other writers, but you can't "combine" their ideas unless you get their permission (unless the "ideas" are really generic or topical). I guess you could try to hide the similarities, but why would you want to, anyway? A good author is going to let you see the world through their eyes. They are going to offer their readers a unique perspective on life. Remixes may be hot in hip hop, but not in literature. Just ask Kaavya Viswanathan about that...
Agreed, the Office is freaking awesome, make me look forward to Thursday I can't stand Dane Cook, seen his stand up and can not understand how he became popular, his sets are horrible! Can't believe they keep putting his ugly mug in movie either
Americans seem to gravitate to the comedians who self deprecate, and loathe anyone who exhibits any kind of confidence or (heaven forbid) arrogance. Mitch was a friend of mine who I miss dearly but his character was first done by Steven Wright. Mitch never achieved the commercial success that he truly deserved and if so I'm sure people would have hated him too. A lot of people hate Dane Cook because they can't be Dane Cook. He is a good looking charismatic entertainer who has built a career based on the things that make him laugh. Does he make me laugh? Not really. Do I get it? I absolutely do. The guy sold out Madison Square Garden and people still challenge his merits as a comedian?
I don't know if it's Dane Cook people loathe or the fans his shtick attracts. Maybe it's a balance between both. If you've seen one of his shows, you've seen it all. He does have momentum, I'll give him that.
He is a very good entertainer, but if he was to just stand up and not really move around a whole lot while telling his jokes. It would be the most unfunny thing ever.
Sometimes I think Dane Cook is a douche and other times I think he is hysterical. I don't understand the hate that some people have for him though.
Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock achieved success by reinforcing negative stereotypes about african americans- self deprocation. They're two of the best ever and I have an extreme amount of respect for them both, but it is what it is.
AB, lots of good points, and very objective, but I disagree with the notion that achieving commercial success = merit as a comedian. Gallagher has achieved commercial success for how many years now, but would enough lend him any credence as a decent comedian? Hedberg's "style" was very Wright-ian, but his observations were very keen & original. Maybe he did not achieve commercial success b/c he wasn't a clean cut frat-douche that the media could push. His failure to achieve large-scale success was not b/c he was not a good comedian. Madison Avenue is building the Dane Cook brand, not Dane Cook's great talent. All this aside and back to my original point, WTF does Cook have to do with the MLB playoffs? He has no more of a connection to baseball than South Park Mexican does (just for a random reference). So they get a comedian/actor to shill for the MLB post-season. Why? The fact that these are THE PLAYOFFS is the draw. If you are the kind of person who is sitting on their couch and are somehow convinced to tune in to Yankees-Indians b/c Cook is screaming about it, then you are a raging idiot. There is NO NEED for it. It's the media/marketing jackasses trying to insert some "edginess" to the MLB ads, and it is total and complete bull****. To be fair, even the Cheadle commercials annoyed me to some extent - for that same fact. The NFL really does not need an actor to convince people to watch the playoffs. People will watch b/c, again, IT'S THE PLAYOFFS!
He irritates me but his connection is that he's a huge Red Sox fan who's always at Sox games. What do most actors have to do with the products they are selling?
What comedians aren't a little self-deprecating ? What comedian has an always overconfident or arrogant persona? Andrew Dice Clay? Is George Carlin overly self-deprecating? Robin Williams (I'm aware of his history) ? I just can't buy the argument that people dislike Cook because he is a confident guy that became popular. A lot of people don't like him because they think he has become successful by stealing others' material. The same thing with Carlos Mencia (who, by using Chappelle's and Rock's standards, is self-deprecating since he reinforces negative stereotypes about Hispanics). People question Cook's merits in comedy like people questioned Britney Spears or the Spice Girls' merits in music. They sold out a lot of arenas as well. Taste in music and humor is subjective, I guess... But I think brushing aside Cook's critics as jealous people who don't want to see any confident person become a success is crazy (considering other comedians they have liked who have become really successful or others they hope will be a lot more popular and successful... like me with Patrice Oneal, Bill Burr, Nick Kroll, Aziz Ansari, etc.).
And Tilman Fertitta is a huge Astros fans who is at every game. Should he be the face of the Astros ticket drive next season? No. The guy is the MLB PLAYOFFS SPOKESPERSON, not just the Red Sox marketing ploy. It's ridiculous.
i agree... the draw is that he is a huge fan... he is speaking on behalf of other huge fans... theres a video out there of him and his father in St Louis for the World Series clinching game in '04...its pretty cool to see fans celebrate a title... that being said, I was laughing at his first comedy DVD and HBO special but it got old quick... he became too commercialized and became a marketing tool for HBO. now I hear some saying "so if a comic gets popular he must suck " argument but I dont see Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle or Jerry Seinfeld posting bulletins on their myspace announcing every movie, DVD and comedy tour that comes out... he once announced that one of his movies was number one in the box office...thats all he said, basically that his movie rules... thats when I removed him from my list of friends...I am not a big enough of a fan to sift through his arrogance, and for the record, his acting skills are horrible... a one trick pony
