Latest news with #SteveMartin
San Francisco Chronicle
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Book Review: 'Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' shows depth of comedian's talent
Whether you first knew him as one of the 'Two Wild and Crazy Guys' on Saturday Night Live or as one of the investigating podcasters on Hulu's 'Only Murders in the Building,' chances are you've seen Steve Martin's comedic talent in some form on screen. But what younger audiences may not appreciate is Martin's depth as a humor writer, with a canon of written work that stretches back just as many decades. 'Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' is an aptly-named collection and excellent introduction to the comedian's best writings, including some new material. The book showcases Martin's versatility as a writer, especially by including his debut 2000 novella 'Shopgirl." In that book, Martin uses a subdued sense of humor to describe heartbreak and loneliness his characters experience no matter their age. The book also includes previously published selections from his writing for The New Yorker's 'Shouts & Murmurs' column. It's fitting that Martin's best shorter works in this collection focus on writing and the written word, including a piece written from the perspective of words themselves. In another piece, he makes the list of 100 greatest books he read laugh out loud funny with fake titles such as 'Omelet: Olga — Mnemonic Devices for Remembering Waitress' Names" and 'Marijuana! Totally Harmless (can't remember author).' Some of the pieces may not resonate with younger audiences, including a piece titled 'The Y3K Bug' that plays off of the Y2K hysteria that led up to 2000. But the collection as a whole demonstrate a timeliness to Martin's humor that helps explains his enduring success. ___
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Book Review: 'Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' shows depth of comedian's talent
Whether you first knew him as one of the 'Two Wild and Crazy Guys' on Saturday Night Live or as one of the investigating podcasters on Hulu's 'Only Murders in the Building,' chances are you've seen Steve Martin's comedic talent in some form on screen. But what younger audiences may not appreciate is Martin's depth as a humor writer, with a canon of written work that stretches back just as many decades. 'Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' is an aptly-named collection and excellent introduction to the comedian's best writings, including some new material. The book showcases Martin's versatility as a writer, especially by including his debut 2000 novella 'Shopgirl." In that book, Martin uses a subdued sense of humor to describe heartbreak and loneliness his characters experience no matter their age. The book also includes previously published selections from his writing for The New Yorker's 'Shouts & Murmurs' column. It's fitting that Martin's best shorter works in this collection focus on writing and the written word, including a piece written from the perspective of words themselves. In another piece, he makes the list of 100 greatest books he read laugh out loud funny with fake titles such as 'Omelet: Olga — Mnemonic Devices for Remembering Waitress' Names" and 'Marijuana! Totally Harmless (can't remember author).' Some of the pieces may not resonate with younger audiences, including a piece titled 'The Y3K Bug' that plays off of the Y2K hysteria that led up to 2000. But the collection as a whole demonstrate a timeliness to Martin's humor that helps explains his enduring success. ___ AP book reviews: Andrew Demillo, The Associated Press
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Book Review: ‘Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' shows depth of comedian's talent
Whether you first knew him as one of the 'Two Wild and Crazy Guys' on Saturday Night Live or as one of the investigating podcasters on Hulu's 'Only Murders in the Building,' chances are you've seen Steve Martin's comedic talent in some form on screen. But what younger audiences may not appreciate is Martin's depth as a humor writer, with a canon of written work that stretches back just as many decades. 'Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' is an aptly-named collection and excellent introduction to the comedian's best writings, including some new material. The book showcases Martin's versatility as a writer, especially by including his debut 2000 novella 'Shopgirl.' In that book, Martin uses a subdued sense of humor to describe heartbreak and loneliness his characters experience no matter their age. The book also includes previously published selections from his writing for The New Yorker's 'Shouts & Murmurs' column. It's fitting that Martin's best shorter works in this collection focus on writing and the written word, including a piece written from the perspective of words themselves. In another piece, he makes the list of 100 greatest books he read laugh out loud funny with fake titles such as 'Omelet: Olga — Mnemonic Devices for Remembering Waitress' Names' and 'Marijuana! Totally Harmless (can't remember author).' Some of the pieces may not resonate with younger audiences, including a piece titled 'The Y3K Bug' that plays off of the Y2K hysteria that led up to 2000. But the collection as a whole demonstrate a timeliness to Martin's humor that helps explains his enduring success. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. ___ AP book reviews:
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Book Review: 'Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' shows depth of comedian's talent
Whether you first knew him as one of the 'Two Wild and Crazy Guys' on Saturday Night Live or as one of the investigating podcasters on Hulu's 'Only Murders in the Building,' chances are you've seen Steve Martin's comedic talent in some form on screen. But what younger audiences may not appreciate is Martin's depth as a humor writer, with a canon of written work that stretches back just as many decades. 'Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' is an aptly-named collection and excellent introduction to the comedian's best writings, including some new material. The book showcases Martin's versatility as a writer, especially by including his debut 2000 novella 'Shopgirl.' In that book, Martin uses a subdued sense of humor to describe heartbreak and loneliness his characters experience no matter their age. The book also includes previously published selections from his writing for The New Yorker's 'Shouts & Murmurs' column. It's fitting that Martin's best shorter works in this collection focus on writing and the written word, including a piece written from the perspective of words themselves. In another piece, he makes the list of 100 greatest books he read laugh out loud funny with fake titles such as 'Omelet: Olga — Mnemonic Devices for Remembering Waitress' Names' and 'Marijuana! Totally Harmless (can't remember author).' Some of the pieces may not resonate with younger audiences, including a piece titled 'The Y3K Bug' that plays off of the Y2K hysteria that led up to 2000. But the collection as a whole demonstrate a timeliness to Martin's humor that helps explains his enduring success. ___ AP book reviews:
West Australian
21-05-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Thousands slapped with fines for failing to tap SmartRider during free Sunday travel on trains and buses
Almost 7000 people have been stung with $100 fines for using public transport during times when it was supposed to be free. New data revealed under Parliamentary questioning shows 6668 fines — more than 100 a week — were issued for ticketing issues since the start of the free travel in February 2024. The almost $700,000 in fines were doled out because people failed to tag on with their SmartRider to use the train or bus on Sundays — a requirement to travel for free as part of the Government's program. But those stung on Sundays haven't been the only passengers caught out, with more than 1000 students fined for failing to tag on under free travel to and from school. And over the 'free' summer period, more than 1100 people were also slapped with a ticket. The cash-grab comes after the 'fines for travelling free' issue was raised during the State election campaign, with both the Liberals and the Greens calling for the infringements to be waived. The Public Transport Authority's response to shadow transport minister Steve Martin's questions said the Sunday fines were only 0.143 per cent of passengers. 'Passengers always require a valid ticket to travel on Transperth services, unless stated otherwise. The condition for free travel on Sundays is the use of a SmartRider,' the answer said. To access the free travel, passengers must tag on with a SmartRider, which can be purchased for $10, before requiring value added to the card. Mr Martin criticised the fines issued by the Public Transport Authority. 'Labor's free public transport on Sunday obviously isn't free for everyone,' he said. 'Labor are handing out over 100 fines to travellers on public transport every Sunday despite claiming to offer free transport. 'Transport Minister Rita Saffioti is also clearly embarrassed by the amount of fines because she refused to answer questions on how much Western Australians are paying.' Ms Saffioti said she believed the message was getting through to travellers about the need for a SmartRider. 'This is a part of the package — free public transport on Sunday, free public transport for kids going to school and we had the free summer of public transport. 'It's getting through. Most people have SmartRiders. People accept there's rules when you undertake free public transport, and that's one of the rules. 'We've introduced a range of initiatives. It's about getting people mobile, connected to their community, getting people out and about, and using our wonderful public transport system.' Ms Saffioti spoke about the fines at the unveiling of the last diesel-powered Transperth bus, which will roll out of a Malaga factory on Wednesday. Under a Labor election commitment, all future buses made in Western Australia will be electric, with Ms Saffioti saying the diesel fleet would be slowly phased out over the next two decades. The new electric buses will be rolled out once local depots are upgraded with electric vehicle chargers. The first will be Malaga, with Karrinyup following afterwards and then Claisebrook. 'This is a very big initiative for the state. It means there's far less CO2 emissions, and every diesel bus on the network uses around 22,000 litres of diesel fuel each year,' she said. 'That equates to around 40 tonnes of CO2 emissions. 'Electric busses, of course, emit no CO2 emissions, and as we continue to work to decarbonise the entire electricity system, we know that this is going to be cleaner and cleaner through the future.'
