My iPhone continues to revolutionise my life, both for good and bad. It's making me far more organised. I have a to do list (Things) which is always with me (when I try to do a written one I always leave the notebook at home), which means I am getting pretty good at typing in a reminder the minute something crops up. Similarly I have a calorie counter (Count It Off) on there which makes keeping track of food consumption much easier. I was annoyed with it to begin with as it doesn't have the capacity to input exercise and add calories back on, but then I realised that I could simply delete entries to the same value of the exercise done, which is oddly satisfying. My gym visit today destroyed the 500 calories of fudge and whisky that I had consumed in the early hours and a smoothie. It's like an archaic video game. My weight isn't shifting too quickly given how good I've been this week (under 2000 calories for 3 days, under 2100 for 2 days and 2185 and 2458 for the other two days), but it's still very useful to have a vaguely accurate running total.
On the down side it gives me constant access to the internet and has a curiously addictive game of solitaire on it, allowing for a lot of procrastination and tweeting, but this can be a great way to pass time in a post office queue or when waiting for a friend.
It's also rather great to have so much entertainment at my finger-tips. Though I have had a couple of iPods, I didn't get in the habit of taking them out with me all the time and so rarely listened to music on the go. But now I have one on my phone it's always there and whenever I am walking anywhere I now have my favourite albums to help me on my way. Or if I am on the tube or waiting in a dressing room I can watch a video. I knocked off another three episodes of Peep Show on the way to and from the gig tonight and whilst waiting to go on.
The bubble has not yet burst.
I am talking about my iPhone and not my stomach there.
The audience at the gig tonight were much better behaved. If anything they were a little too well behaved. I am nothing if not never satisfied. But I was able to relax and enjoy myself and mess around and improvise a five minute routine, which was pretty much just about me deconstructing my own improvisation. It wasn't getting much from the audience (though I thought it was pretty impressive) and I explained that at the very least that proved that this was totally new material, because if I had ever done it before then I would have known it didn't work and never tried it again. Eventually I wore them down and they laughed quite loudly at the idea of me deconstructing my deconstruction and in triumph I declared, "See ultimately it was a funny and worthwhile digression. I knew we'd get there in the end. Because of course I have done the whole thing before and it's completely scripted." It was fun (for me at least and that is, I believe, the point) and it's something that I could not have even begun to attempt with an idiot in the crowd.
I don't anticipate a hangover of the soul tomorrow. But I am off to Cardiff to record a panel show about rugby for BBC Wales, which I think might prove to have been a bad idea, so suspect that my spirit will be bruised and aching on Tuesday morning. And wouldn't be surprised if I have an actual hangover too.
Came home from the gig to find the following email:
"I am really upset about your choice of material involving Maxine Carr that i had the misfortune of watching on Paramount comedy Friday 6th February 2009.(00:01-00:30)
I am not easily offended but thought that this was in very poor taste. God only knows how the parents of the two young girls would have felt if they had have seen the broadcast.
I have made my feelings known to OFCOM as this kind of comedy?? needs to be filtered out before viewing and can only hope that you will reconsider using it again.
Keep on making people laugh but not with this sensitive material. Please."
This was my response,
"Paramount might have edited part of the routine, but it's really about pushing back boundaries and me being an idiot rather than about the actual situation. But I actually agree it was probably a mistake to do it on TV (though that show is meant to be your most offensive material). I don't do the routine any more, but believe that in context it is defensible and about our attitudes to this case rather than mocking the awful thing that happened. It is meant to be about the way the press reacted to Maxine Carr rather than anything else, making her the evil-doer when she was actually hundreds of miles away at the time. But I fully understand your concerns.
As a comedian I have to constantly assess what I am doing and whether
it is acceptable. But sometimes my job is to be unacceptable in order
to make people think about their preconceptions.
Like I say, very sorry to have upset you. And thanks for letting me know your feelings in such a sensible and unhysterical manner. It is more persuasive to be faced with reason rather than unbridled outrage.
All the best to you and sorry for having spoiled your Friday night."
I thought it was rather positive that we both approached this issue in a grown up and reasonable way. The man who sent the email made me think more about the issue (despite complaining to OFCOM) than a more self-righteous person would have done. And in the end I think I agree with him. It's OK to do that material on my DVD where it will be seen by people who understand where I am coming from. But I wish I hadn't done it on TV. Even though it is in a show that a viewer should be aware, is designed to be offensive.
