You Are Not Funny
Here's what was waiting for me when I checked my e-mail before bedtime~
From : Erick Rawlings < crazyqncleveland@yahoo.com >
Sent : Friday, February 25, 2005 11:39 PM
To : andy@andymartello.com
Subject : You are not funny.
Not in the least. Your comedic attempts are actually quite sad.
An education could lead you to a more successful career.
Now how cool is that? I have no idea if this guy saw my act somewhere, stumbled upon one of my sites, is currently dating one of my ex-girlfriends that can't stop talking about my skillful hands and masterful use of my tongue (all for juggling & comedy, of course - PERVERTS!), read one of my articles and thought it necessary to yell at me, or just wanted to tell someone, "You are not funny."
I don't recall meeting or knowing any Erick Rawlings, though I may know the guy. Thanks to alcohol and the nature of my job there are many people I don't remember meeting. I'm going to assume the guy found an article somewhere or maybe this very blog and decided I wasn't funny.
ANOTHER SATISFIED CUSTOMER!
In case you were curious, my response...
Thinking I'm not funny, strangely, is not all that original a notion. However it is one in the minority and therefore, special to me. Thanks for writing. How did you come to hear of me and discover my total lack of humor?
I may not be funny, but at least I don't live in Cleveland! ;)
If you have anything special you'd like to say to Mr. Rawlings, feel free to e-mail him. Maybe we can make him part of our special dysfunctional family!
7 Comments:
Well I think you're a fuckin' riot, Andy. But this Rawling dude is entitled to his opinion. What he's not entitled to is a cheap shot. If you're like me, you want to hear what it is about your performance that people don't like and you want to weigh that against who they are, what demographic groups they belong to. That's what I'd find to be useful info. It might not change my act but it would keep me from playing to the wrong crowd. So in that light, I may be WAY older than you but I like your sense of the outrageous and your wise ass attitude that usually comes through in yur writing. Even when you're chiding me for being intollorent of cigar smoke. One of these days I'll visit a friend in Chicago and hope to catch your act.
4:03 AM
Oh yeah, I've got no prblem with this guy's opinion of me. I would just have liked more info. Where & how did he come to this conclusion would have been a good start.
We'll see if the guy has the moxy to actually return my response e-mail. I'd love to know how he came to this conclusion. I know I'm not funny, but I have to know how he figured it out so quickly! ;)
Perhaps this guy could have used some of his own higher education to realize that a smart critique doesn't include personal insults as opposed to actual criticism of the work. Just saying, "you suck" isn't enough, especially if you are going to challenge my education when saying so. I just smile at the sweet irony of his lack of intelligent discussion. :)
And just how much older are you when you say "WAY older", Bud? I know you live in the Sarasota area. So that makes you about...dead for maybe three or four years already?
8:48 AM
I don't really care about his complaint. I just want to know what inspired it. If it is a response to one of my articles then I can only be flattered. Not only did he read it, but it moved him to contact me and state an opinion about the thing. That is about all you can ask for with your writing.
I could do without the personal attack, but then again, who couldn't? :)
2:12 PM
Andy, When I say WAY older, let's just say I'm in the legit half of the Boomer generation you so cleverly shit on. And I still thought that was very funny. Yeah, Venice can seem like the Night AND Day of the Living Dead at times but it gives me lots to laugh at.
4:16 AM
Yeah, Venice is not without its charms. I enjoyed my time there very much, even though most of it was sweating my ass off at the Ringling winter quarters.
I knew a musician would like the Mason Williams line. ;)
9:04 AM
Hey Andy,
My friend just google-ed my name and I came across this web-page. This experience is becoming all too hilarious since I can't recall why I sent the aforementioned criticism towards you.
It must have been in response to an article you wrote, since I have never attended one of your "shows" and was unaware that you are a comedian.
Your return e-mail must have been directly inserted into my trash mail (where it belonged)...
Just kidding on that one...
1:56 PM
Now THAT is funny!
Thanks for commenting here Erick. Believe me, I don't have any idea why you sent ehe e-mail to me either, but it did provide me with some amusement, if not some content for a blog post. LOL!
At the time I was regularly writing for TheCheers.org and presumably you read something "offensive" there. Generally when I get bad e-mails from readers it has something to do with one of my stories about my travels in Kentucky, but who knows.
In any event I'm not worried about it as whatever your opinion of me and regardless of how you came to have that opinion, I was just pleased somebody read what I wrote.
I'll e-mail you at the above address and see if I can make it into your actual inbox this time. LOL!
Thanks again.
Andy
2:14 PM
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