Friday, February 10, 2012: John Hodgman

[bec_87rb]

As a delayed birthday present, a friend took me out to see Paul & Storm and John Hodgman at the Birchmere on Friday. I wasn't expecting too much, because Mr. Hodgman has the one schtick, a variation on The Confident Idiot. Turns out he's a fine raconteur? It wasn't stand-up per se, but I wasn't bored a minute.

Highlights:He started the set by

Comments

[onesto_hotel]

I saw Hodgman during the summer before his book came out. I imagine I probably got a reduced version of the show you saw. I didn't quite know what to expect, and I wasn't quite sure what I got either--you're right, it's NOT standup, but it is a man standing up and saying funny things. Was a lot of it him standing at a podium, reading? Or has he committed everything to memory by now?

Can't say that I managed to get a glimpse of the real Hodgman though...I envy you! I probably just came off like a total geek when I spoke to him ("I first saw you in Venue Songs!"). I definitely get the sense his distaste for sports is genuine though, because he is an awesome, opinionated fellow. :)

[bec_87rb]

He was walking about and read only one passage from his book; he seemed to be doing bits, and there was a pattern - for instance, listing two reasonable examples of something followed by an absurd one - but he basically held forth on The End of the World with no notes.

He also played ukelele and sang a little song about not going gently into that good night. Made a cute crack while he was setting up: It's like Checkov said, if there is a ukelele on the mantel in the first act, someones gonna get uked. His voice was surprisingly pleasant. I think I'd heard him sing in some footage on the net, but I was still surprised that he didn't sing poorly.

Can't say that I managed to get a glimpse of the real Hodgman though...I envy you!
Oh, well, I can't really say I got to see the real guy, either, if I'm honest. It just felt that way, but my brain might have been fooled. I think it's funny that I has no idea at the time what I was trying to do, why I was bugged

[chhinnamasta]

There should be weirdlights in every report!

[bec_87rb]

Har har! There are always Weirdlights in my experiences, even if not explicit, and I would enjoy it in other people's self-report. It's part of my fondness for John Linnell.

I am reading a book called "Quiet: Life as a Introvert in World That Won't Shut Up" and like the hypochondriac who should never read stories about rare tropical diseases, I am now sure I am have the nervous system of an introvert. I mention this because her hypothesis is that introverts are often watchers and analyzers, and would bother to notice the audience's racial makeup or details about a stranger's face.

[chhinnamasta]

I just scanned a review of "Quiet" over at Amazon, and one sentence caught my attention, in particular "the leadership potential of introverts is often overlooked"

Do you agree that there's a wellspring of leadership potential being overlooked here? I'm skeptical. I also think this introvert/extrovert dichotomy is problematic. I hope the author acknowledges a continuum when it comes to these character traits. Also, the degree and particular mix of any defining traits is probably important to look at too. Not to mention the way that the particulars of environment interact with the degree and mix of those traits. Usually my problem with this sort of literature is that it oversimplifies to the point of meaninglessness. What is your feeling about that with respect to this book?

Are you a quiet person? Do you see a difference between being thoughtful and introspective, and being introverted?

[bec_87rb]

It's a mishmash of science and other ideas, like the books "Bonk" and "Stiff" by Mary Roach were, although this lady has a thesis. She feels America is suffering from a culture of extreme extroversion which denies the fact that a third to a half of everyone skews introvert, and that teams are more effective with a mix because they bring different skills. (It's personal to her since she's introverted lawyer.)

I agree that the automatic association of introversion with shyness or that introversion is a negative trait is pretty silly. I was less convinced when she talked in dictomies, because personality is so complex; but the idea that amygdala activation might mediate a desire for more or less stimulation doesn't seem outrageous. Her observations about how bizarre some extrovert behavior looks sometimes was kinda funny.