I attended the Journalism course in NTU this semester because it is very interesting, but I am not getting any school credits for it. Shortly after our last issue was published, my classmates wanted to know whether I would write another article. Here is an extract from my Facebook conversation with one of our dearest classmates: Jamin Lin. Jamin : Darling will you be writing this time? 8:52pm Antonia : Dear I am not a fan of pop culture, but I can write if you guys want. 11:05pm Jamin : I will ask (thumb up, two hearts and three diamonds). You can write about photography. Antonia : That’s true… or about chocolate :) … 11:07pm Jamin : Chocolate is popular. 11:08pm Go do it! Antonia : Or about you :), you are a stand-up comedian right? 11:12pm Jamin : OMG interview me! That’s it! 11:13pm Awesome idea! (thumb up, many hugs and Hey, Jamin. So nice to see you! Are you nervous about the interview? No, as long as you don’t heckle me. :) You agreed to this interview pretty fast and I know you are very busy. Why are you willing to do this? As a stand-up comedian it is important for me to have more audience. I don’t want my jokes to be heard by two people only and get paid one dollar. So you basically want some free advertising? So right. How would you describe your looks with one word? Better looking than most comedians. Wait that’s five words! Hmm… then good… No! Cool! Alright, how would you describe your personality with one word? Screwed up! How so? I think I am cool because I don’t simply wear baggy pants, I put on many accessories, necklaces, and earrings. I love nice designs and hairstyles. As for screwed-up, I have to say that I constantly have lots of crazy thoughts and I constantly do crazy things. However, what’s good about it is that I am in control of my screwedipity. Can you give me an example of a crazy thought? For instance, whenever I go to the bathroom I think that someone is going to rape me. Oh (my eyebrow going up)? And then I think why someone hasn’t done that to me already (laughter). How did this all happen? I mean you are only 19 and you have performed in New York, Taipei, and Detroit. Tell me how everything started. Hehe, I just turned twenty. When I was a child, I watched a lot of television… so much television that I can’t even tell! At the age of five I was already smart enough to get what I wanted. I would complain to my nanny that at home I was never allowed to watch TV, so she would always turn on Disney for me. However, to my parents I would say that at the nanny’s I spent the whole day playing and didn’t watch any movies, so my parents would let me turn on the television, too. So would you say television inspired you? Is there a particular show or personality that became your comedy muse? I remember in junior high school, I was infatuated with Everybody Hates Chris, narrated by comedian Chris Rock. I simply fell in love with the way he related things. I googled him to learn more about stand-up comedy and the skills of storytelling, and I had the crazy thought that maybe one day I could earn money doing that. What do your parents think of this? I remember a couple of years ago I was vegetating my ass on the couch watching television and my dad came in and said: “Son, all you do every day is watch TV. What the hell are you going to do in the future?” I told him I wanted to become Wendy Williams(you must know about Wendy Williams that she is a super tall black woman with big breasts), and he got mad and said, “Aren’t you proud of being Asian?” Then I answered, “Dad, can I become Margaret Cho?” to which he gladly said yes. And here I am, an Asian comedian, who tell lots of gay jokes.
So your father was more concerned about losing your Asian identity than becoming a woman! Tell me Jamin, have your parents seen any of your shows? Not yet, but if they come I will make sure to order a bottle of whiskey for each of them. How did you start performing in Taiwan? Last semester I saw a comedy advertisement in Taipei about a Friday evening show. I searched for them on Facebook and I messaged them that I would love to perform a little bit, but that I was not a professional and whether that would be fine. That was my very first performance. Where you nervous? Hell yeah! It was like having sex for the first time. I was crazy nervous before and during the show, but after it was over I was super happy. Why do you think you will be a successful stand-up comedian? Because I can’t stop telling jokes, and because there is no famous Asian gay stand -up comedian, yet. Jamin is a stand-up comedian who performs regularly in Taipei. He is going to Detroit and New York in November on a comedy tour. For his schedule and for more videos you can check out: Instagram: Jaminjamming; Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=161qvZ4jg-E Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JammingWithJamin. a
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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