NYC ATHEISTS OCTOBER BRUNCH & SPEAKER
- Oct 13, 2013 · 12:00 PM
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PRESS BOX
Paul Herzich, NYC Atheists’ king of comedy, has announced that he will show short Comedy bits on Sunday at the Brunch from George Carlin, Bill Maher, Steve Martin, Louis CK and Stephen Colbert, during his talk.
Also, Herzich reminds us to bring in a joke to tell at the mike during the Q and A period. “It doesn’t have to be good,” he notes. “We’ll laugh anyway.”
SPEAKER: PAUL HERZICH
Fun! Laughs!
Come and Hear Our Comedy Expert Tell
Why Humor Is Important in a Healthy Atheist Life
“So Two Atheists Walk into a Church...”
Worried about the Republicans shutting down the federal government over Obamacare? Forget it! Journalist and author Norman Cousins claimed, when diagnosed with a potentially terminal disease, that he cured himself by watching the Marx Brothers daily on TV (Anatomy of an Illness, 1979, by Norman Cousins). He baffled his doctors by living for 10 years after his diagnosis.
We’re not suggesting that you supplement Obamacare with doses of George Carlin or Ricky Gervais, but it wouldn’t hurt.
What we are suggesting is that you come to our Sunday Brunch on Oct. 13 to hear our comedy expert, Paul Herzich, who, between jokes, will tell you that comedy is essentially Atheist because, he says, “nothing is sacred in comedy.”
Furthermore, Herzich insists, humor is a terrific tool in teaching about Atheism because comedy mostly depends on pointing out the contradictions in widely held societal beliefs.
For example, remember George Carlin’s riff pointing out that God is all-knowing, all-seeing and all-powerful--yet He still needs money? The contradiction exposed in that one comedic riff might have single-handedly opened the eyes of more Catholics than all the boring Pope edicts ever promulgated.
Owner of Comedy U.
Paul Herzich is the former owner of a comedy club on University Place in Greenwich Village, called “Comedy U,” which was a smashing success for five years. Famous comedy artists such Ray Romano, Joy Behar, Rita Rudner and Robin Williams performed at his club. It was the first comedy club in New York to have a female comedians night, he notes proudly.
Though Herzich is a psychotherapist by profession, comedy is his first love, he claims, because he feels that having a sense of humor is essential to mental health. “Laughter relieves stress, and stress makes you sick,” he points out.
Tell Your Jokes at the Mike!
At this Sunday’s brunch, Herzich is asking Atheists to do something a little different during the Q and A period after his talk: He is suggesting that attendees bring in their favorite jokes and share them with us at the mike. “Half the fun of humor is telling a funny story to your friends,” Herzich says. “You get to laugh all over again.”
So come, comedy lovers, to the NYC Atheist Sunday Brunch! Learn how you too can use laughter in your life to lighten your burdens and make life more fulfilling.
Enjoy with us the relaxed, casual, friendly atmosphere of a buffet Brunch (we encourage seconds on the Eggs Benedict) with like-minded people who delight in laughing at the world and religion and at themselves.
EVENT SUMMARY
WHAT: “HOW COMEDY KEEPS US HEALTHY AND
ENRICHES OUR LIVES,” by Paul Herzich,
comedy expert and psychotherapist.
WHEN: SUNDAY. OCTOBER 13, 2013 at 12 noon.
WHERE: THE PRESS BOX PUB & RESTAURANT
932 Second Avenue (bet. 49th & 50th)
Second Floor
COST: BRUNCH is $20, which includes Buffet
entrees and salad, soft drink, coffee, tax
and tip.
New York City Atheists Inc. is a 501C (3) not for profit association dedicated to the separation of church and state and to the advancement of the Atheist lifestyle and values.
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Jane E.
I had a great time and enjoyed Paul's wonderful dissection of why comedy makes us laugh and why it's a valuable tool in promulgating Atheism. I learned that comedians can tell the truth even when no one else can. I learned that comedy can expose and excoriate the contradictions and lies of our society as nothing else can. Sure, it's scary sometimes. It's uncomfortable to have stereotypes attacked and exposed (as one woman pointed out!) There are things we are not "supposed" to talk about--like the N word--but comedians do it anyway! I think comedy is a more incisive tool for changing our society than all the lectures and tomes I've ever been exposed to.
October 13, 2013
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Jane E.
Shar, I feel you totally misunderstood Paul. He was not saying that ALL comedy is based on the oeuvre of secular Jews; he was saying that the history of comedy owes a lot to the Jewish tradition of laughing at the terrible things that happen in life. Furthermore, I think you are mis-using the concept of "stereotypes." Paul himself was NOT stereotyping anyone. He was saying that comedy uses stereotypes and makes fun of stereotypes--the stingy Jew, the drunken Irishman, all stereotypes widely used and flayed in comedy. I think you were having a knee-jerk reaction to Paul's discussion of the famed Jewish comedy tradition and your instinct was to be "politically correct" and rebel against the what you saw as stereotyping Jews (as masters of comedy? That's bad?) You may want to be P.C., but comedy is not politically correct.
October 14, 2013
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Jane E.
Paul was using the construct of Jewish humor to trace the history of comedy, while you were apparently accusing him of being antisemitic. Two Jews in the audience sprang to Paul's defense--Dennis Horvitz and David Orenstein--but you still didn't get it. I think Paul was kind and polite in letting you interrupt him but the rest of us were distracted by your diversion to something not funny and really not relevant and which appeared to be a jejune notion of pointing out to a sophisticated New York audience that not all comedians are Jewish, an interruption that detoured him from his thesis. Sometimes it's good just to listen.
October 14, 2013
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Jane E.
Daniel, I totally agree that the comments and questions that interrupted Paul detoured his wonderfully perceptive discussion of the history and mechanics of comedy. Yes, Paul should have waited until the end for comments. As for the unfunny misogynist--what would you have done? Paul got him off stage as fast as he could and then made a comment about comedy not being easy, that it takes work and practice. NYCA did, after all, invite everybody to tell a joke. This poor guy probably couldn't make it to try out his jokes at the Comic Strip.
October 14, 2013
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Daniel
Paul Herzich is knowledgable on the subject about which he spoke. His presentation was good, and would probably have been better had he remembered to bring his flash drive with the clips he intended to show. The low point of this meetup was the pathetic unfunny clueless misogynist who falsely claimed he does standup. Just because a person stands up and talks does not mean he does standup comedy. If Paul does another presentation, it would be better if comments/questions wait until he is finished.
October 14, 2013
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Jane E.
Audience participation is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you're going to get. We invite everybody to participate at the mike and promise to applaud their effort even if they fall flat. While it's true that the aspiring Stand-up Comic did fall flat (well, his first joke was funny) but let's give him credit for getting up there in front of us and trying.
October 13, 2013
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Jane E.
Larry, Paul Herzich was there as an speaker, not a comedian. His goal was to explain his theory that comedy is Atheist because "nothing is sacred in comedy." I came to hear Paul's very intelligent theories about why comedy makes us laugh. The videos of Carlin were just examples of one comedian's blasting virtually every "sacred" thing in America. You are saying that he should have let the examples dominate his presentation? I don't think so.
October 13, 2013
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Jane E.
We are, of course, expecting our member comedy mavens, like Larry Shaw and Sue Taub, to tell a joke or two.
October 11, 2013
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Jane E.
This promises to be a happy, fun-filled and joyous Brunch meeting, well suited for the new season.
October 11, 2013
34 went
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David o.
Co-Organizer
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A former member
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A former member
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A former member
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A former member
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It was l a fun event to me overall, despite any mild disputes or misunderstandings on what the speaker said or the aspiring comedian's attempt.