Author: Brad Hartland

With the news full of images and videos from protests across the country, I can’t help but wonder what my place in all this is. I know it’s important to make my voice heard, and I definitely think that Nazis had the wrong idea… but am I Antifa? I’ve never been part of an organization like this before and I don’t want to get canceled for being too extreme. Or not extreme enough. Or not picking a side. Or any other eggshell I might have stepped on. I mean, I’ve got a black bandana, which definitely seems to be a…

I made every effort to avoid any and all spoilers to Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I haven’t watched a trailer since April. I stopped going to my favorite movie blogs earlier this summer. And I’ve been swiftly unfriending anyone who posts anything even remotely related to outer space. Yet there I was, reading the entire plot on my ticket stub. Who lives. Who dies. What color lightsabers they use. In spite of my best efforts, I had forgotten to avoid the one place I should’ve known would have every single spoiler – the movie theater. And I couldn’t stop…

The BIG3 basketball league kicks off this weekend at the Barclays Center in New York. You may have many questions about this: What is the BIG3 League? Is it just in one city? Have we gotten to the bottom of how to pronounce Barclays yet? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. If you’re wondering what happened to all your favorite players (or guys you vaguely remember) from a decade ago, well, they’ve all been rescued from impending bankruptcy and given a second shot at fame and glory marginal recognizability the occasional free Subway sandwich. Ice Cube and “entertainment industry executive” Jeff Kwatinetz…

Brooke Van Poppelen has been doing stand-up comedy long enough to know what she’s doing, and the best version of her comedy is when it doesn’t feel like comedy at all. Her Friday and Saturday night performances at Washington, DC’s Big Hunt showed that watching Brooke perform feels less like watching a show and more like catching up with an old friend. A friend who just happens to have hilarious stories. After living in Brooklyn for ten years, one might think Brooke’s set would be too “New York-y” to have any mass appeal. And sure, she might have a couple stories from her…

Based out of New York City, Brooke Van Poppelen has made a name for herself through her stand-up comedy and television work. In addition to her many guest appearances, her writing has also been featured on numerous MTV shows. Check Brooke out on Twitter and her website, and be sure to catch her headlining at the Big Hunt in Washington, D.C. this Friday and Saturday night. How much of your stand-up set is scripted versus just a loose structure put together? Brooke: When it’s a shorter bit my material is word for word, but a lot of my favorite jokes are the…