Our guest this time is a treat. A treat you can find in a fancy boutique and your favorite mom & pop shop (that probably doesn’t exist anymore). Something sweet with Minnesota nice on the inside and a quick-witted, comedic-genius-in-the-making coating. While yes, it’s heresy ‘round these parts to wear Timberwolves gear, Sam is someone we should make an exception for; so please welcome to Top Shelf, a stand-up comedian who you’ll be excited to see rise the ranks, Sam Ellefson!Watch his new special: ‘Bones of Steel’ on YouTube! https://youtu.be/H2aI_S3vIEM?si=TmmLuTt_yUuBav61

Follow him on Instagram @SamEllefson & see where he’s performing stand-up next at his website: SamEllefson.com

We discussed how it’s never been cheaper to make a high-quality stand-up comedy special, Sam’s travels to Europe with his wife and how he learned all about the origins of Switzerland & the Swiss guard, subconscious bias at the crowd and individual levels, and why Sam is downright frustrated that his awesome ‘Settlers of Catan’ joke can’t get more traction from the algorithm on social media. If anyone has an “in” with the techno-oligarchs, tell them that their AI is a D-average open-mic comic. Stick around to the end to see us watch & give praise to one of the greatest late-night appearances ever: Gary Gulman’s ‘State Abbreviations’ bit.

Grateful that Sam shared his time & some wings with us. I look forward to cheering him on as he continues to climb the ladder to the top!Join us for EATIN’ with Sam — Patreon.com/InTALLerable

Only $2/month lifetime access & now some brand new merch will be sent to you!Just saying.. Might want to join the fun while it’s still cool & unknown. You’ll be an early-adopter.

FO & BW

References to videos watched during after-hours portion:

Gary Gulman’s $20 to Bill Gates Joke — https://youtu.be/kigCJccCnU0?si=H_Tv3djAHShVmqMvGary Gulman’s State Abbreviations Joke — https://youtu.be/dLECCmKnrys?si=OLuPeIgH99IVOdlo

0:00 — Guest Intro

2:00 — Making of Sam’s new Special at Bob’s Java Jive in Tacoma, WA

5:30 — 2-man Team

8:30 — Video Village v. 2-man Team

9:30 — ‘Where’s Waldo?’ of Comedy Specials

10:30 — Wing Flip & Station Identification

11:30 — Perspective on people’s feedback

12:30 — People shouldn’t be this big..

14:00 — Height is fake past a point..

16:00 — Sam breaks down ‘Height’ & subconscious bias

18:00 — Sam Miller Storytime

20:00 — RedBull & Gas Station Eggs: RedBullRunny

26:00 — Advice for new comics

27:00 — Using AI or robbing yourself??

29:00 — AI will make attempts

31:00 — No AI without ‘Sociologist’ line of code

32:00 — Techno-Oligarchs

33:30 — Sam’s Clip about ‘Settlers of Catan’

37:00 — Ray Lau’s Advice for Sam

38:45 — Asking Sam about ‘Zero-Sum’ perspective for Comedy?

40:00 — Get better.

41:00 — What maniac goes Bulbusar?!

42:00 — Shoutout Sam Krason

43:00 — EATIN’

43:30 — After-Hours & Wing Review!

45:00 — Proud Minnesotan

45:30 — ICE in Twin Cities 

46:30 — MN citizen’s accounts of ICE presence across the city

48:00 — Community keeps people going

50:00 — Sam training for a marathon

51:30 — Soccer is cross-country with extra steps

52:30 — Colorado Comedy Volleyball Squad

54:00 — Hurt Hammy during Volleyball

56:00 — Comics play Basketball for Charity

56:45 — Really proud of Travel to Europe

58:30 — Confusion over a French History Podcast

1:00:00 — Deaths around Notre Dame?

1:01:00 — Sainte-Chapelle

1:03:00 — A famous person died in Paris?

1:05:00 — Origin story of Switzerland

1:08:00 — Swiss Guard Story

1:10:30 — Catholic Church connections to banking & wealth

1:11:30 — Vatican Vault

1:14:00 — Sam’s fun fact on ‘Wealth-Hoarding’ 

1:15:30 — Buy Gold like Smog

1:16:30 — Gary Gulman’s finding $5 joke

1:20:00 — “They do a great quarter”

1:21:00 — The Best Joke Ever Written

1:21:30 — Gary Gulman: State Abbreviations

1:30:00 — Not Slobbing Sam off, but.. (unhinged compliment)

1:31:00 — Heard of England before??

1:33:00 — ‘Heighting’

1:34:00 — Plugs

1:34:45 — FO & BW