Ty Reads Adam Cayton-Holland's "Tragedy + Time"

I tend to read more books this time of year. It gets darker earlier, it is colder outside and I like to read whenever I get some quiet time while my kids are at school. Recently I just finished the book "Tragedy + Time" by Adam Cayton-Holland. Today I am going to talk about it.

This is one of the better, and sadder, books I have read in my life. I became familiar with Cayton-Holland later in life. In fact, I did not know much about his comedy. In fact I first saw him on one of my favorite shows, that should have gotten a fourth season, "Those Who Can't". After the first season of that, I started to listen to him on many podcast appearances. I then went back and watched most of his standup that I could find on the internet. After that, I learned of his comedy group, the Grawlix. I became pretty well versed in all things Cayton-Holland, at least as far as his comedy went.

When I heard that he was writing a book I was intrigued. I figured it was going to be a comedy book, but it is not. Don't get me wrong, there is some comedic moments in the book, but it is a tragedy. I had no idea that Cayton-Holland was one of three kids in his family. I also did not know much about his upbringing. I did know he had, or has, OCD because it is easy for someone to notice it when you have it yourself. But his book "Tragedy + Plus" reveals so much about his personal life.

Now, before I go further, I am going to spoil a lot of the book. So, if you want to read it first, do that, then come back and read my review. Okay, back to the review.

The book starts off with Cayton-Holland talking about selling his show, and claiming that it was the worst day of his life. He talks about walking down the street sobbing uncontrollably all the way back to his hotel room. I was hooked from that moment on. From there he starts at the beginning, when he was a young kid. This is when we get a more in depth look at his life, his OCD, his family and his upbringing. His life is not uncommon for a middle class person. But, when detailing his OCD, and his little sister's, that was where it was super relatable for me. He would do his "rituals" before bed every night, just like I di as a kid. He and his younger sister kind of had a kinship in their OCD, and their love of "The Simpsons", much like RD and myself. He then went into detail about his screw-ups, his sister's screw ups, his rock bottom, her rock bottom, which was as bottom as it could get, and coming out the other side of all this a better person. Cayton-Holland doesn't sugar coat anything in his book. He is raw and he is real. He does have an older sister too, and she seems like the most put together one of the family. And the way he tells his story, from childhood to getting into comedy to making it in comedy to getting his own TV show and to his youngest sister's suicide, it is all out there in the open.

The tragedy part of the title is his sister's suicide. She had some mental issues. That much was made very clear. But to hear Cayton-Holland talk about the issues, trying to help her, being mad at times for her outbursts and saying he wished he had more time to help her, it was touching. I, at time with my OCD and anxiety issues, have felt like a burden to my friends and family, but nothing like what his sister went through. To know that he, his mom and dad and older sister did all they could to help, and it still didn't matter was eye opening. They took her to doctors, they put her in an institute, they kept watch over her, they tried to get her on the right meds, and in the end, it didn't matter. And the way he found his sister after her suicide, I was in tears reading about it. I tried to put myself in his shoes, but I have never gone through anything as awful as that sounds. It is so, so sad. I don't know how one comes back from that, but try as he might, Cayton-Holland has found a way to recover. Sure, he will never, ever forget what has happened, how could you, but he has found a way to cope.

So while the book is gut wrenchingly sad, it does have a happy ending. Also I need to point out how he described life after his little sister died. Suicide to the person doing it may feel like an out, but all the living relatives and friends that have to deal with the aftermath, that is hard. And again, Cayton-Holland holds nothing back. He describes it all in all its ugliness and horribleness. I appreciate that from him as a writer.

While the book was not what I was expecting, it is one of the most moving, sad and realest books I have ever read. For anyone that has experienced loss, or has a family member or friend they may be worried about, read this book. It will surely help you try and help them. I love "Tragedy + Plus". The book makes me respect Adam Cayton-Holland even more, and I cannot wait to see what he does next. This is a great book, and a must read for fans of his.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Those Who Can't" Season 3

I promised I would do three reviews of new seasons of three shows on Tru TV and today I come to you with the third.

I have been on the "Those Who Can't" bandwagon since season 1. I think this show is hilarious, I love the actors, the writing is superb and the show is just super enjoyable. This Monday they had their season three premiere, and it did not disappoint. This show is good. It is also underrated too. It doesn't get talked about nearly as much as it should. The three creators of the show, Adam Cayton-Holland, Ben Roy and Andrew Overdahl, clearly have some spent some kind of time as a teacher in high school, be it as a full time or sub, and on "Those Who Can't", they tell those stories hilariously. Adam Cayton-Holland, as Spanish teacher Loren Payton, is hilarious as the laid back, doesn't give a damn high school teacher we all had. He would rather be battle rapping, proposing to a stripper or pulling pranks than teaching a class. He is great. Ben Roy, as Billy Shoemaker, is the wannabe badass who is really just a wimp at heart. This season he also has a pony tail, which made for a ton of great pun work in the season three premiere. And Andrew Overdahl, as Coach Principal Fairbell, is the dumb dumb. He is gullible, wants to please his friends and loves to coach volleyball. He also was hilarious in the premiere. When he has to fire someone, it is just a wonderful scene. And the other regulars on the show, be it Maria Thayer as Abbey or Sonya Eddy as Tammy or Susie Essman as art teacher Leslie Bronn or Rich Fulcher as Trebin, they are all great. They are all funny. They all play their roles to perfection. Thayer is a total pushover that doesn't know it. She is a great comedic actress. Eddy is so so so good as the principal's assistant. She is the true badass on the show. Essman is conniving and mean, but also just wants to help some people out. Fulcher is hilarious as the teacher that just wants to be part of the gang. They also added Jerry Minor as the guidance counselor this season, and if the premiere is any indication of his role, he is going to be a great addition. I'm curious to see if Kyle Kinane, the Sklar Brothers and Rory Scovel come back this season. I'm sure they will, but time will tell.

"Those Who Can't" is a great comedic representation of life in high school for the teachers. The show might be the best representation of how teachers really feel about their jobs and their lives. It is a great show, and I want more people to watch it so it gets another season. I'm glad it is back, and I'm stoked to see how season three unfolds. Tru TV has done it again.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is happy the “noble” profession of teaching is getting the take down it deserves. Can we do doctors and lawyers next?

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Comedian Kyle Kinane Tried Out Some New Live Material and it Was Great

The Second most important tool for good stand up comedy.

Last night I saw comedian Kyle Kinane at the Ready Room in Saint Louis and he was great. I've been a fan of his for awhile now and last night was the first time I've seen him live. I've watched his specials, I enjoy his bit role on the highly underrated and very funny television show, "Those Who Can't" and I like his many podcast appearances, so I was predestined to like his stand up.

Kinane controlled the stage for his almost 90 minute set. Headliners usually do about 45 minutes to an hour, for fear of getting stale, but Kinane's 90 minute set never once felt boring or slow. Kinane was working on new material, he has another special coming up, and I love hearing all new material. He says that he didn't want to repeat anything from his last live show in Saint Louis, and talking to some people who saw him last time, it was all, for the most part, new. That's great. His material is always a bit blue, but he wasn't as blue as I was expecting last night. He did make a joke about a guy wearing a shirt with a very dirty saying on it, but that was about as dirty as he got. Kinane looks so comfortable on stage, even though he made many references to how uncomfortable and how weird his job is. He is a comic and he makes money doing that. It's weird, but when you are as good as Kinane, you deserve to make a living doing that. He bounced around a lot during his set, but there was always a through line or segue that made everything make sense. His bit about getting gout and then getting a physical was dynamite. It was thoughtful, reflective and hilarious. When he talks about the doctor being so smooth when doing the physical, I was in tears laughing. His freaky Friday bit was great as well. He imagined what it would be like to switch places with a semi truck driver during rush hour and a Benihana chef. Both were great. I could picture someone freaking out in both scenarios and he brought that to life excellently, especially the Benihana chef. When he talked about flipping the shrimp in his hat, once again, tears from laughing.

His very new material was equally as good, even when he didn't think so. At one point he said a joke, it didn't land great, he acknowledged that and completely saved it with a great tag. When he said he had some weird jokes, I found them more funny than weird. He covered a lot of different topics throughout the night. I mentioned the freaky Friday and the doctor, but he also talked history, self diagnosing, touring the Midwest during tornado season, living in LA, still wearing skater shoes, even though they have orthopedic inserts, among many other things.

Kinane was on stage for an hour and a half, but it never felt long or boring. It was straight up funny. Kyle Kinane is a very good stand up that puts on a very good live show. He's funny, engaging, a good writer and appeals to young and old alike. I went with my father and he laughed as much as I did. This was a very good show. I'm glad I bought the tickets and I now get to check another comedian off my bucket list. Go see Kyle Kinane if he comes to your town. I guarantee you will enjoy yourself and have a very good laugh.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Are you a band that does comedy or a comedian that does music, or the other way around, contact us and Ty will check out your show. Ty has his very own twitter, go follow him @tykulik.