The first year I worked at my current job (2010) I baked a double batch of my gingerbread cookies to bring into the office, and it was so many that I had to assemble a coterie of cookie-decorating elves from past and present to help me get it all done. Tante Joan and Angela had started the tradition before I was born and we baked Christmas cookies together every year of my childhood. She and TJ also took me clothes shopping before my first ever business trip, the following year. I still have a necklace from that Woodbury Commons jaunt that always makes me think of her.
It hurts to think about her being gone. From that 2010 cookie party, my mom is gone, Gina is gone, Ange’s beautiful daughter Sable is gone, and now dear Ange, whose name has ever felt more apt as it is comforting to imagine her reunited with Sable, among angels.
Day napping
Happy St Patrick’s Day ☘️
Went to my friend’s third birthday party today and it was super fun
the fact that i haven’t run out of things to say about scott thompson is honestly ridiculous but i need to put on my comedy-analysis-hat bc i just listened to another episode of PTSDIVA to cheer myself up and there was a sketch at the beginning of this episode that i’m fucking fascinated by
ok so basically PTSDIVA is a podcast scott thompson did in 2019 exploring various traumas he went through with humor as well as empathy, and each episode starts with a comedic bit related to the topic at hand. this episode (the finale) was about the trauma of being born as a gay man in the time scott grew up in and having to unlearn a lot of the self-loathing that came with that (fun!)
the opening sketch was scott reading the introduction to the episode (introducing the podcast and explaining the topic like he does every episode) except when he gets to the end he tells his producer he wants to retake it because he thinks he “sounded too gay.” the producer says he didn’t notice anything and lets scott do another take, where he comedically lisps even harder (not doing the buddy voice but same ballpark). he then asks the producer to do it again, the producer says he didn’t think it was a problem but sure whatever, scott then goes on to reread it in a completely monotone “straight” voice but then asks for a retake because he was overcompensating. this dynamic goes on until scott goes to record the intro and ends up accidentally just ranting about how his cishet male producer keeps saying his voice sounds fine and how would he know because he never had to deal with being harassed for sounding gay and this is obviously just a trick to take over the podcast for himself etc etc etc. his producer then goes “uh, scott? i think i just accidentally recorded your inner voice instead,” but both the producer and scott like this take so they’re done for the day
and of course i’m obsessed with this opening sketch bc it is a really great examination of how being seen as an outcast for an inherent part of your identity can lead you to constantly fixating on how obvious these things are about yourself, which must be even more intense for a gay man of scott’s generation, and this kind of resentment towards people who can just go through life without having to think about it
but that’s not the reason this fascinates me. this fascinates me because it is the literal inverse of a kids in the hall sketch scott did decades earlier
this sketch has scott just existing as a gay man in the 90s and not even being able to walk down the street without immediately being clocked as gay for his appearance and harassed over it. he changes his appearance several times, trying on different supposedly-more-masculine identities that only make him more obvious, before eventually just showing up in a bear costume and mauling the homophobe and calling him a fag in return. this sketch itself is one of my favorites, the fact that it’s able to say so much in its simplicity with only one word is so powerful
but it’s fascinating to me comparing this with the 2019 revisiting of this concept. the fact that in the kith sketch the homophobia is coming from an external force but in 2019 the homophobia is an internal conflict with a well-meaning straight ally telling him the problem doesn’t exist. the fact that the endings are equally surreal and somewhat similar - in one scott wears a bear costume and attacks the homophobe getting his revenge, in the other his “inner voice” is recorded with all its anger and resentment on full display and the producer loves it. i could write a whole essay on just these two sketches on their own (and i guess i just did). scott thompson’s comedy speaks to my soul in a way few other comedians can and the fact that he isn’t more recognized for it is honestly criminal
I love this take and I love that young people today are doing deep dives on Scott’s work and how it’s evolved. This is great stuff!
In the diner we had brunch in today I noticed a picture of my childhood home (Roosevelt Island) next to a sign for my current subway station - like this table was meant for me.
Although I am officially authorized to speak for the Kids in the Hall on the internet, this blog reflects my opinions only.
For my official KITH updates, see kidsinthehall.ca or facebook.com/kidsinthehall or twitter.com/kithonline
Contact me at taviep at gmail dot com