2013 January 16 – Gino's Blog

Jon Stewart Live: What It’s Like and How To Get In

January 16, 2013 By Gino 2 Comments

So, many of you guys who follow or friend me on social media already loathe me for rubbing it in everyone’s faces that I watched The Daily Show with Jon Stewart twice in two days. I’ll walk you through what it’s like seeing this legend live, and keep in mind, that to me, Jon Stewart is a hero and role model. When I write, deep down, I’m dreaming I’m writing my satirical posts and tongue-in-cheek analyses for his show… Or a show like his where I’m the funny pundit…

Scoring Tickets

This is the hardest part. I have been checking in on The Daily Show’s website for almost 13 months, and I have never seen tickets available. BUT, as you all know, Jon took a 3-week vacation over Christmas and New Year’s, and I decided to check in on the website the second week of January. To my luck, there were plenty of ticket slots available and I pinched a few while I still could (they ran out in little over a few hours!).

Now, do not despair. Why? Because after you book the tickets, you need to confirm, and some people forget to open that email and click that link, so new spots are always suddenly popping up. The only thing I can tell you, is check in right after the show comes back from a break, and as often as you can. Good things come to those who wait!

Tickets Don’t Guarantee Entry

So, you found a couple of spots open online and you successfully reserved them. I’m sorry to tell you that those tickets aren’t tickets into the taping, they are just tickets that will allow you to stand in line. Meaning, to be able to stand in line in front of TDS studio, you need that email confirmation.

GO VERY EARLY! They open the doors at 2:30PM but be there at 1:00 or even sooner. Don’t whine, you all have smartphones or books. Just plug something in your ears and waste some time educating yourself while in line. The line swells to over 200 folks at around 2:20PM and they begin issuing yellow and blue tickets (yellow first).

Then, you go kill a couple of hours and come back at 4:30PM where they start letting you into the studio (past metal detectors) according to your ticket number (so you don’t stand in line again with a first-come, first-serve basis). Sometimes, they issue over 200 tickets, but cut-off the line before that. For example, on Monday, they cut it off at 176 and about 30 people were told they’d be given “VIP pass” tickets to a future show if they emailed and did the due process.

So, go there early, it’ll be worth it because, you won’t stand much in line at 4:30PM and you’ll get much better seats inside.

The Show

Perhaps the absolute best part of the show is right before the taping. Jon comes out, takes a microphone and lets the audience ask him questions. This lasts for about 15 minutes, and the improvised, witty and extremely sweethearted back and forth between Jon and the audience, is the true gem of watching the show live.

Sometimes, right after Jon announces his guest at the beginning of a show, he says something that sorta seems out of place. A joke that would make you say “huh? why? idk!” That’s the part where Jon punishes an audience member for a stupid question by turning that into a joke somehow. So, that’s another cool perk of being there live.

The taping of the show is basically hiccup-free and what you see live is the show you see later that night on TV. Jon and everyone involved work like clockwork and they rarely ever do a second take. Last night, they had to redo the opening, but not for lack of professionalism or experience, but because Assef’s whipped cream skit proved to delicious and Jon had to taste it and take up more than the 21 minutes and 30 seconds the show needs to be. Man, I love their jobs!

Also, you’d think the audience is given cues like “applause” or “laughter” on some screen. They’re not! The laughing is natural and organic, although probably a little louder than your laughs at home… After all, you are in the presence of Mr. Stewart and you bet your ass I was gonna laugh a hearty HAHAHAHA!

Conclusion

Go watch it. Empty up and afternoon if you score those tickets. If you’re a fan like me, the waiting will fly by and you’ll forget everything when your face muscles ache from too much laughing. Jon’s an extremely nice, courteous and hilarious comedy genius. It was perhaps one of my favorite parts of moving to New York!

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Filed Under: How To, USA Tagged With: entertainment, jon stewart, jon stewart live, jon stewart tickets how to, the daily show

TourTwist: Lebanon Beyond Beirut

January 16, 2013 By Gino 3 Comments

I found out about TourTwist during my Leo Burnett days and I immediately fell in love with the idea. Of course, I also knew how challenging it was going to be for Pierre Daher, its founder and my good friend.

The idea is basically scouting out locals from Lebanon’s 1600 villages and towns that are willing and knowledgeable enough to show tourists, both local and foreign, around their hometowns. It’s all about giving them an authentic experience, a real feel of what that particular town has to offer away from the often trodden path of pullmans, loud tourists and cheap restaurants.

Personally, I travel a lot, whenever I get the chance to. In my travels, I absolutely despise going to the touristy stuff, and often make a point to finish them all off in one day or less, just so I can say “yeah I went to the Golden Gate Bridge” for example. What I truly adore, is living like a local. This means eating like one, getting around like one, going to the events a local would probably fancy, etc.

That, is exactly what TourTwist is all about. It’s about you going to a village, being welcomed by one of its sons or daughters, and shown a hella good time be it when it comes to cultural significance, heritage, archeology, natural wonders, gastronomy, art, etc.

I for one signed up to be a guide of my beloved hometown of Zgharta-Ehden. It’s a true pleasure for me to have guests over, and show them what is, in my completely honest opinion, the best place this Earth has ever seen. The food, the history, the religiously significant sites, the archeological discoveries, the UN World-Heritage natural wonders, the Reserve, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg of what I’d want to show my tourists.

Of course, I won’t be able to do that much seeing how I have relocated abroad. But, think of the people who still live in your town, who have no means to make a decent living except by venturing into cities at least a few days a week. TourTwist grants the opportunity for locals and local businesses to make some money and bring that village back to life. It’s also amazing because I’ve lived in Lebanon for 17 years of my life, and I doubt I’ve even begun crossing off all 1600 Lebanese villages from my to-do list (although I’ve been around thanks to spontaneous roadtrips and scouts!)

Everyone’s a winner here, and this idea is one I believe in deeply and am rooting for like crazy. So, sign up as a guide if you think your town’s cool enough, if not, refer that business your aunt has, a restaurant or artisanal shop. If not, at least share a bit of information few other people might know thanks to your unique insight into a town or village in Lebanon. Plus, let’s get folks out of Beirut a little (at least we’ll have less traffic!)

Check it out here.

Here’s how you sign up and some examples of the stuff you’ll be doing and places you’ll be seeing!

: Main page

: Main page

: Sign up

: Sign up

Filed Under: Endorsements Tagged With: lebanon, startups, toruism

Presella: The Event Kickstarter

January 16, 2013 By Gino 3 Comments

So, crowd-funding is awesome. If you’re an aspiring writer, video game producer, musician, have a charitable goal and pretty much anything else you need some money for that you don’t quite have, you can pitch it to the rest of the Internet. With 5USD from here, 30USD tom there and sometimes in the 1000s of USDs, you can reach your goal and make your plans or creations come to life.

This has proven extremely effective. Folks with amazing ideas that would have never seen light of day because they weren’t financially backed by big sponsors or investors, are able to make their dreams come true.

Presella is a Lebanese-born startup still in its BETA phase that is bringing all the awesomeness of crowd-funding to event planning. Who amongst us hasn’t thought of an event theme or plan, but was dogged with “Would people come? Would people like my idea? Will it be profitable? Would I lose money?…”

With Presella, your whacky ideas or obscure, yet talented artists and musicians, can securely guarantee an event that at least breaks even, if not rake in the fame and fortune. So, you pitch your plan, set your price, venue, date, time and how many tickets you need to be able to meet the costs of whatever you’re planning. As soon as you hit your self-assigned goal, ticket holders will receive their tickets and voila, your event has materialized without the risk of failing (financially at least, the rest is on you =P).

Below is a step-by-step process I tested out for you guys, and as you see, setting up the event takes 2-3 minutes if you have the artwork and description ready. It does need up to 3 business days to be reviewed by the guys at Presella, which I hope will be shortened in the near future, and you’re all set.

Payment is cash upon delivery for now, but when they launch fully, I expect online payment will be the preferred method. Check them out here and tinker with it for yourself.