News

Talking with The Brady Campaign’s Kim Parker Russell about “Fun Lovers Unite! An Evening of Music, Comedy and Gun Sense” … and what we can do everywhere to hurry up some progress

By Teme Ring | April 24, 2016

A harrowing and tragic evening brought Kim Parker Russell to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence where she is now a regional organizing manager. There, Kim has accomplished something heroic. She has forged optimism from trauma. Not cheery, lightweight optimism, but optimism borne of sound strategy and the conviction that change is possible and […]

Talking with Jeanne Darst about comedy, gun sense and truth

By Teme Ring | April 22, 2016

One time a man knocked pamphlets out of my mom’s hands and called her a Communist. In the late ‘60s, “communist” was a pretty bad thing to call a person. Why the epithet? My mom was campaigning on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall for gun reform. It’s one of my earliest memories. It happened just after […]

Talking with Josh Mills about “Fun Lovers Unite! An Evening of Music, Comedy, and Gun Sense”

By Teme Ring | April 18, 2016

In the dim early hours of June 17, 1992, Asher Montandon was the target of a robbery on a Los Angeles street. The robber had a gun. He ended Asher’s life in a moment of violent chaos which would reverberate through time to this day. Asher was 24 years-old and living with his brother Maccabee. […]

Comedy fans should know about these two Kickstarters

By Teme Ring | April 13, 2016

The best Kickstarters aren’t just pleas, they’re opportunities. Best are the ones with perks that match your passions. They are a serendipitous way to be part of a project that is in sync with your dreams. I recently heard about two campaigns that hit these marks for comedy fans. The American Bystander #2 End date: […]

Happy 100th Birthday and thank you, Dear Beverly Cleary … plus my Top 15 Beverly Cleary moments

By Teme Ring | April 12, 2016

My nemesis was clear by first grade. Enemy, thy name is reading. My classmates sped, sprinted and gloated through our color-coded readers. Classmates were done with the Red Reader by recess. Stomped the Blue Reader into submission by lunch. Then they competed to see who would get through Yellow and Green the fastest. “Craig is […]

Ticket Alerts! I predict these Chicago comedy events will sell out!

By Teme Ring | March 16, 2016

March 24-26: Vir Das at The Improv. One of India’s most popular stand-up comics. March 25-26: An Evening With Noel Fielding. From the mighty Mighty Boosh and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Noel Fielding brings his eclectic comic mix of stand-up, animation, music and storytelling to Thalia Hall. March 26: Trevor Noah at The Chicago Theatre. The Daily Show […]