Will COVID kill Silicon Valley’s standup comedy scene? Don’t make us laugh.

It’s not all Zoom and gloom, but it can feel that way as comics adjust to the harsh realities of virtual crowds Menlo Park-based comic Sedric Drake performs at the Dragon Theatre in Redwood City. (Photo courtesy Sedric Drake) “I’d kill for a room with 40 people in it.” Phil Griffiths longs for the crowds, for the chance to work the room and get that up-close response. As a Half Moon Bay-based comedian ...

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A Silicon Valley Thanksgiving

The titans of tech talk around the turkey. Let’s hope they don’t consume all the privacy. Illustration by Kaz Palladino Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon all sit together at Thanksgiving dinner. Per annual tradition, they traveled away from Silicon Valley and rented out a cozy Airbnb near a quaint and air-conditioned server farm. INTERIOR: DINING ROOM (APPLE walks in, carrying a giant turkey) APPLE: Dinner’s ready! AMAZON: That looks amazing! (FACEBOOK snaps a photo and updates its status) FACEBOOK: Mind if I tag you guys? (They ignore ...

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Citizen Zuckerberg: The Rise and Fall of An Internet Tycoon

Pondering (or perhaps just pandering) the legacy of a legend The year is 2115. Everyone on earth has access to the Internet, Amazon Prime, and their own Etsy store as humanity continues to prosper in a brave new world. At the moment, everyone’s looking forward to the upcoming summer blockbuster, The Fast and the Furious 97: Very Fast But Not That Furious. However, the excitement is drowned out by the unexpected death ...

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Strangers with Candy: Reverse trick-or-treating in Silicon Valley

What happens when you go to Redwood City’s scariest Halloween houses to give THEM candy? You make some very interesting new friends… Stay off my lawn! Scary skeletors menace one and all on this Redwood City street. (Photo by Justin Smith) Traipsing down the dark cul-de-sac, I hear a frictious screech that resembles a haunted version of my favorite childhood playground structure. Sure enough, drawing near, I see a nightmarish seesaw with demented, bloody riders ...

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Dear Bay Area Parents: Your Toddler Is Falling Behind In the Following Ways

We noted several areas for improvement that we think will help Emma reach the board-recommended goal of self-actualization by age seven. Illustration by Shannon Corey/The Six Fifty Dear Mr. and Mrs. Veron, Printed on this Etsy-sourced eggshell stationery is your child’s progress report for today. Overall, Emma Gladstone-Fitzgerald Veron was well-behaved, but we noted several areas for improvement that we think will help Emma reach the board-recommended goal of self-actualization by age seven. Here at Los ...

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Improv your life: getting on stage at Silicon Valley’s top improv schools

Photo courtesy of Clara Morgan. “Don’t worry about my pet martian,” I said. “It’s potty-trained.” “From the looks of it, you certainly aren’t,” my scene partner responded. If standing on stage to deliver jokes like this off the cuff sounds like a horrifying experience, then consider improv. Get outside your comfort zone, say whatever comes to mind and meet new friends in the process. You’re guaranteed to make a fool of yourself and remember ...

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The thoughts you have while sitting in traffic on 101 North

101 Traffic via IG: feo83 Why did I think it would be better today? Let’s play count the Priuses. Or maybe Teslas. Or Google Buses. I bet I could run faster than this. I need to start running again. I wonder what Usain Bolt’s training regimen is. Also, how cool is it that his last name is Bolt like seriously??? Oh good, we’ve moved an inch. We need a new plague. Where are those models of the cars wiTHOUT A TURN SIGNAL I should start taking 280. At least ...

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Let your inner star shine: 4 open mics south of SF

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from living in Palo Alto for 19 years, it’s that there’s no shortage of talent. Engineers are also jazz singers, programmers play the electric bass, law students moonlight as standup comedians. Here are four open mics south of San Francisco that cater to the casual performer.

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