v7n38: Comedy Rules & Posture Lessons from Ricky Gervais (9/18/08)

Cover Story	Comedy Rules & Posture Lessons from Ricky Gervais by M. Faust It’s the first weekend of the Toronto Film Festival, and everything is in full swing. Celebrities are being ushered in and out of rooms, each containing a new handful of caffeine-sated journalists praying that the batteries in their tape recorders will make it through the rest of the afternoon. By the time comedian Ricky Gervais, creator and star of the hit Britcoms The Office and Extras, makes it to my room, everyone is a bit on the giddy side.
News	Burned By The Fire by Bruce Fisher This week’s Wall Street problems look far away. They are not. Around 20 percent of all the tax revenue in New York State is derived from taxes on the salaries and transactions that occur on Wall Street. New Yorkers should brace themselves for a significant change in the way that Governor David Paterson’s staff will prepare the 2008-2009 budget.
The News, Briefly

	Open Up, Says the Court by Buck Quigley
	Talking Through Buffalo's Abandoned Property Crisis by Justin Sondel
	Some Thoughts While Counting the Empty Offices in City Hall by Geoff Kelly
Interview	A Chat With Vincent Gallo by Robyn Conniff Last December, the musical group RRIICCEE rolled into Buffalo to play a show at the downtown club Soundlab. One major point of interest for potential audience members was the approach the group takes to making their music—they compose it on the spot in a sort of super-live performance, unwritten and unrehearsed.
Season Ticket	Move Along, Nothing to See by Dave Staba “Bills attempting to keep 2-0 start in perspective,” read the headline on the Bills Notebook in Tuesday’s Buffalo News.
Getting a Grip	A Pig in Poke by Michael I. Niman Okay. Let’s get something straight. If, for example, you tell me that the Republican ticket will bring “real change” to the Republican-controlled White House, and I respond by saying, “That dog won’t hunt,” I am not calling Sarah Palin a “dog.” I’m simply using a folksy colloquial expression.
News	Wasting Away by Lucy Yau In a town known for hearty food such as wings, beef on weck, and frozen custard, there are many misconceptions about eating disorders. Eating disorders afflict between five and 10 million Americans; approximately one million of those afflicted are male.
Film Feature	Cheep Shack's Creep Show brings horror icons to Buffalo by Greg Lamberson “I started Creep Show, in part, as a way of bringing more exposure to the Western New York area businesses, artists, musicians, filmmakers, and personalities,” says Kowalski. “And I wanted to create a much more interactive atmosphere than your typical horror convention, more of a horror party.”
Music Feature	Heavy on the Lightfoot by Donny Kutzbach It certainly means you accomplished something when you’ve been given the Order of Canada, the highest civilian honor given in the True North. In terms of rock and roll, however, it means even more when Elvis Presley handpicks one of your songs to be a live centerpiece and Bob Dylan considers you one of the greatest songwriters in the world.
Framed	William West by Dean Brownrout Hiding in plain sight at the northern edge of West Seneca is the Charles E. Burchfield Nature & Art Center.
Theater	Stagefright by Javier Movie star Terrence Howard, who made his Broadway debut this past season in the all-black cast revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, has just released his debut album Shine Through It.
Theater	Theaterweek by Anthony Chase The 2008-2009 theater season has barely begun, and already it is one of the most exciting in memory. The first productions to open all have points to recommend them and should excite uncommon interest in the season ahead.
Food for Thought	Tso What? by Joe George I watched as the cook deep-fried the chicken and then quickly stir-fried it with a sweet sauce. How American, I also thought: fried meat tossed in sticky, sweet sauce. While I’ve never been to China, it’s a pretty easy assumption that the food at most Chinese takeout restaurants is a far cry from authentic.
Offbeat News	News of the Weird by Chuck Shepherd The New York Post spotted several Manhattan businesses that tried to appeal to nudists this summer with special events. Among the most challenging were John Ordover’s monthly dinners at selected restaurants (such as the Mercantile Grill), where about 50 diners eat and drink naked (served by the restaurant’s regular, clothed staff), and the Naked Comedy Showcase at People’s Improv Theater in the Chelsea district, where once a month, naked comedians perform (and a section in the audience is reserved for naked patrons).
Events	See You There! Artvoice's weekly round-up of events to watch out for the week, including this week's Editors Pick: the Purgatory fetish expo at Club Diablo on Friday the 19th.
Film Review	Lakeview Terrace by George Sax The nice young couple who stood behind me in the line of people waiting to get into a preview of Lakeview Terrace semi-jokingly suggested they were the ideal audience for this suspenser because they recently sold a house to get away from a hellishly difficult neighbor.
Listings

	Movie Times
	On The Boards Theater Listings
	Film Now Playing
Letters to Artvoice	Our Governor is Better Looking Than Your Governor by Roger Freed This is an open letter to all other citizens of the United States: Our governor is better looking than your governor.
Gaywatch

	AIDS Community Services Big Kahuna bike covers the waterfront this weekend by Bryan Whitley-Grassi
	Gaywatch Events Listing
In The Margins

	Poetry by Colin Scharf
	Literary Buffalo
Horoscopes	Free Will Astrology by Rob Brezsny CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I would love to place an elegant gold crown on your head. I have the urge to declare you monarch of the expanding realm, maker of new laws, and re-shaper of the collective vision. Are you up for wielding that much power? Can you handle an increased level of responsibilities? Or would you prefer to preside over a smaller domain, content merely to keep the daily grind from erupting into chaos now and then?
Advice	Ask Anyone My daughter recently broke up with her boyfriend. She asked me to return some very extravagant gifts he’d given her because she doesn’t feel right keeping them. I thought it might be nice of her to include a little note, but she doesn’t want to. She confessed that a lot of the reason she broke up with him is because he had some personality “quirks”—namely, a penchant for shoplifting, aggressive behavior, and a racist bent.

by M. Faust

by Bruce Fisher

by Buck Quigley

by Justin Sondel

by Geoff Kelly

by Robyn Conniff

by Dave Staba

by Michael I. Niman

by Lucy Yau

by Greg Lamberson

by Donny Kutzbach

by Dean Brownrout

by Javier

by Anthony Chase

by Joe George

by Chuck Shepherd

by George Sax

by Roger Freed

by Bryan Whitley-Grassi

by Colin Scharf

by Rob Brezsny

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