HN Explorer

I’m Paul Graham (southwaterfront.com)

52 points by neddotcom ↗ HN
Wow, see you in Portland Paul...

An invitation from Paul Graham: I’m Paul Graham. I made it rich several years ago selling a company to Yahoo! I now spend my days thinking about problems, and publishing solutions to those problems. I have been on stage many times but I have never been portrayed by an actor on stage. At first, I had reservations, but I was pleased to find that an attractive, strapping man has been cast for my role. So come on November 11th to hear him, oh..ah me, give a lecture on constructive disagreement requiring the evacuation of the theatre and cake for all.

Stay for the Cake is an all-original work written, directed, designed and performed by The Montgomery Street Players, Portland Actors Conservatory’s new alumni performance group. Each of the three slices skewer the creative process with sardonic hilarity and cake for all! PAC will present one slice of the Cake at South Waterfront: “I Am Paul Graham.” We’ve heard it’s delicious!

Portland Actors Conservatory has been providing quality stage productions to the greater Portland community for 24 years. The Conservatory gives student actors the opportunity to put acting theory into practice in weekly performance labs, public showcases and the Conservatory Season of Plays.

Shows run Friday through Sunday October 30 through November 15

22 comments

[ 11.6 ms ] story [ 229 ms ] thread
rms
Congrats PG. Reminds me of http://www.sl4.org/archive/0707/16399.html. Though Eliezer as a mad genius sounds more entertaining than you as a guy giving monologues.

Alternative title is How to Have an Argument. "A presentation from philanthropist and technologist Paul Graham on engaging in constructive disagreement results in an existential crisis, an exploration of the creative process, gratuitous accents and cake." From the director's blog: http://boegle.blogspot.com/2009/10/stay-for-cake.html

MikeCapone
Wow, thanks for linking to that. First I hear of it. Absolutely hilarious.
iamwil
That's a bit weird, though I do want to chuckle. I didn't think pg was known at all outside of tech circles, even outside of SF.
_pius
Congrats PG.

Crossing the chasm from startup famous to community theater famous is always something to celebrate. :)

pretz
I am so confused.
jrockway
Me too. This is one case where some "blogspam" commentary would have been very helpful.
fjabre
yeah this is awkward and confusing.

EDIT: Anybody have any clarification on this they'd care to share?

Mongoose
I'm not sure you can mimic pg's ability to inspire, even in a theatrical setting. That being said, I'm sure it's an enjoyable show, for those who know who he is.
jrockway
Not sure why this is downmodded, as the parent has a good point. PG is definitely known for an ability to sell people their own ideas with good arguments. A person thinks, "I like programming and I program" and PG writes "Hackers and Painters" which obviously helps the original person feel good about his decision and gives him something to use to help explain his life to others. A reader of PG's essays will end up better understanding themselves because the ideas are in a context that the reader already somewhat understands.

(I think I did this for my "Why I Stick With Perl" conference talk. Instead of trying to sell Perl to people that have no liking of Perl, I tried to sell it more strongly to people that already like it a little bit. The result is a sense of well-being and a strong community.)

I was going to say, "I think this is rare", but I guess everything is like this. Fox News spins their articles to the right to make their viewers happy. The New York Times is a bit on the liberal side, which appeals to its liberal readers in a way that pure neutrality wouldn't. "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down."?

_pius
I'm not sure the purpose of this is to inspire.
ajborley
No! I'm Paul Graham and so is my wife!
malkia
(defun you-and-your-wife () (you-and-your-wife))
j_b_f
Extremely weird. Of course I would jump at the opportunity for another person to play me, if only to get a better sense of what others really think of my mannerisms, speech, actions, etc...
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hristov
Is that actually endorsed by the actual Paul Graham?
pg
Are you kidding? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=926922
hristov
Well I don't know how you feel about this, but you probably can stop it if you want. Just fyi.

This may seem inconsequential but sometimes it spirals out of control. Just ask poor Kurt Vonnegut. Well you can't but you get my point.

jsean
Front page. Top of the list. Really?

(edit: oh and no, I'm not implying anything. Merely expressing my confusion)

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aaronsw
I'm almost tempted to go to Portland to see this. Is there anyone there who can see it and report back?

More: "Wrapping up the evening, a character based on philanthropist Paul Graham instructs the audience on constructive disagreement in How to Have an Argument. The existential crisis that interrupts him brings about an exploration of the creative process, gratuitous accents and cake for all." (http://portlandactorsconservatory.blogspot.com/2009/10/stay-...)

gonzo
Crap, I fly into Portland on the 11th, but don't arrive until just after 9pm.