#clowning

#clowning

Ever feel like a LOSER? Beaten down by capitalism, the housing crisis, and little hope of getting ahead? "brilliant, well-observed character comedy" - Stage Whispers (Australia) Meet one Aussie bloke who can relate... He's crass, chain-smokes, blows his paycheck on KFC and Marvel tatts and stumbles into knife fights. This is Big Mike - a wiry, heart-on-his-sleeve barista with big plans, good intentions and a magnetism for tragedy.

As it turns out, one of the billionaire's key legal strategists isn't just an attorney but a professionally trained - and currently practicing - clown. We wish we were kidding. But new reporting by Business Insider tells the tale of Jaymie Parkkinen, an intellectual property lawyer representing Musk by day while working as an actual clown by night.

In 2010, Kolinda and I met at a clown convention, where we were introduced to each other while wearing full clown makeup. I had been a clown since 1988, when I enrolled at clown college. Upon graduation, I was hired to perform with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus and then went on to perform at Circus Circus in Las Vegas and as the clown for McDonald's corporation in North Carolina.

"I mean, I feel like we need laughter so badly. This is a style that blends a lot of different comedic techniques that you might recognize in whatever comedy, whether it's standup or sketch or improv."