Press

January 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Press about Jennifer Dziura:

Press about The Williamsburg Spelling Bee (of which singer bobbyblue and Jennifer are the organizers):

Reviews:

“Pop Intellectual” – The Apiary

“Dziura seems completely sincere in her defense of precise word usage. She…has the hipster-smarty-pants credential of hosting the Williamsburg Spelling Bee.” – Williamsburg/Greenpoint Arts + News

“After three years of running “Monday Night Stand-Up,” a live comedy show at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg, she’s reaching even more neighborhoods through television.” – The Brooklyn Paper

“This actor/comedian takes lazy lexicographers to task. Better spell-check that love letter.” – Time Out New York

“Thanks for making smart and pedantic both cool & hot.”- Jordan Auslander

“This is either proof that you are not famous or that you are:I once ate at a bar next to Daryl Hannah and John John Kennedy. Chatted with them, and when they left someone asked me if they were nice. I said sure. Then they asked if I knew who they were. I had to be informed. I was at a New Years party and hit on Winona Ryder for about 20 minutes until her boyfriend shooed me away. Again, I had no idea who she was until my friends told me. thought it was funny that I recognized you on the subway right away the other day. So, it either proves you are more noticeable than those other people or that I only recognize people who are not yet famous.” – David (guy from 6 train Monday)

“[Boyfriend] made me go to [name of comedy club] last night and I feel like I’ve been gang-raped by lepers. [Semi-famous comedian] was there and he sucked twelve degrees. Saying ‘c*nt’ isn’t a substitute for wit. What you’re doing at Pete’s is so much better than that dank, sp*rm-reeking, sad, pauncy ex-frat boy shit. You should take over [name of comedy club], knock some windows into the wall, put booze into the drinks and make it a home for smart funny pople. Okay, just had to say you rock and they suck.”- Jen’s totally biased best friend Molly Crabapple

“Witty Jennifer Dziura is a stand-up comedian, writer, spoken-word performer, model and Web designer working out of New York. She will eventually implode, ripping a hole through time and space.”- Joe of Reodorant.com

“I FINALLY got your CD. ‘I’m Minneapolis and You’re St. Paul’ … I was literally in tears with that one. I think I almost died. ‘You always sucked at Scrabble.’ Dear god, you’re funny. 9 to 5 is fucking brilliant. I don’t really know WHY, but my favorite part of MILK is ‘It’s 2 percent!’. Thanks for the laughs, Jen, and please, please, please for the love of God, come to Denver!” – Jasen Candelaria

“Jen is awesome. As Jen says, pigeons should not be sold at a pet store. Okay, you need to see her perform her punchline…it’s worth it. We need to get her on a Mintyfresh show!” – Shawn Hollenbach, Comedian

“Jen’s tongue is a Tommy Gun of intelligence and wit. Her shows will leave you numb… in your pants.” – Joshua Grosvent, Comedian

“Jen Dziura is a gifted author, a commanding performer and a total dish.” -Schaffer the Darklord

“Jen’s professionalism makes her a reliable asset to any project. Plus she’s got the fiercest walk this side of the river!”- Alessandra Genovese, The Girdle Factory

“I just discovered your blog site on a random name google search and I am wicked excited to see a ‘Dziura’ in the public eye. My name is David Dziura, and to see the name pronunciation spelled out on your contacts page definitely hit home for me…. I am glad to have a name ally who is making it in the world. In addition to having the same name as me, I was reading your blogs and you are one funny girl. High five to that. Between your sense of humor and having the same extremely remote last name as me, I would say you rank way up there in the coolest people on earth, uh, ranking. This may or may not be enough to get on the ‘people who dig Jen’ list, but either way, I do. So keep it up and dont get married or you’ll lose a lot of status.” – Dave Dziura

“Hey there Jennifer, I used to read your columns back when you were the teen columnist for the Virginian-Pilot. I write for the Daily Press in Newport News (you probably already figured that out from my e-mail address) and my wife writes for the Pilot. She’s a sportswriter, but back when you were writing your columns she was a features copyeditor. I remember once reading one of your columns (I think it was the one when you went to a medium or a palm reader or a Tarot card reader, whoever it was who told you that you were involved in a love triangle) and telling my wife that you wrote a really good column, and my wife told me, “The amazing thing is, her columns are so well-written and so clean that they hardly need any editing.” I was impressed. A lot of newspapers employ “teen columnists,” but the work that appears in the paper is so heavily edited and reworked that it bears little resemblance to what the columnist actually turned in. Vicki assured me that your columns were, indeed, your columns.At some point, I made a mental note that I wanted to keep up with your writing career. I remember a story in the Pilot several years ago about how you had started up some sort of internet business. Anyway, the other day, for whatever reason, I got to wondering if you were still writing for newspapers and I punched your name into Google and ran across jenniferdziura.com. I was so happy to see that you’re still involved in writing, and reading the blogs was great. Having enjoyed your wit and your sensibilities for a long time, I am sure that your live comedy work is fantastic. (And, OK, lest this observation be conspicuous for its absence, the photos are great.) Hope life and the Big Apple are treating you well. Keep up the great work!” – Mike Holtzclaw, Newport News, Va.

Fans of Dziura’s popular live quiz shows could enjoy her trademark wit and enthusiasm for epistemology. Through the teachings of over a dozen famous philosophers (whose ponderings were illustrated via slides of pop culture icons), Dziura shared the key stages of her life that define her today…. Dziura’s topic is relatable to most floundering twenty-somethings, especially those of us who decided not to be brokers. Her show has substance, heart, and rapid-fire laughs. It’s a gripping college lecture without a windbag professor. – Abbi Crutchfield for The Apiary

Posted by jen | Filed Under Jen says 

Spelling Bee

January 30, 2008 | 1 Comment

“A mix of irony seekers and hardcore spelling nerds.”
- TimeOut New York -

“…the bar game of choice for self-proclaimed geeks and well-groomed lovers of logorrhea.”
- The Village Voice -

“…go for the cold drinks and the inevitable laughs derived from
watching a person who is tipsy try to spell trichotillomania.”
- The New York Times -

About The Bee

The Williamsburg Spelling Bee is a real, cabaret-style, adults-only spelling bee that takes place every other Monday at Pete’s Candy Store in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. Founded in September 2004, the bee has passed its fifth birthday, and over one hundred and fifty bees have been held.

The bee has received some good press, and has its own blog, located at http://www.williamsburgspellingbee.com.

As co-emcee, I have been reading the words at the bee and generally publicizing things since September 2004. Singer bobbyblue is the better half of this duo; he founded the bee in 2004, sings our original theme song, and has done an amazing job securing prizes for our Finals.  (By the way, any company who wants to donate appropriate prizes is welcome to contact us!  Previous and current sponsors have included the Oxford English Dictionary, Bananagrams, the Brooklyn Museum, Neighborhoodies, and many more).

Jen and bobby are also for hire for private spelling-related events; Jen also hosts trivia, vocabulary, math, geography events.  For more information, please visit SpellingforAdults.com.

The Schedule

Season 12  (2010) – every other Monday, minus occasional holidays:

Aug 16 & 30
Sept 13 & 27
Oct 11 & 25
Nov 8 & 22
F-I-N-A-L-S: Dec 6

Signup at 7pm, compete at 7:30
Free.  Bar tab and prizes for winners.
petescandystore.com / williamsburgspellingbee.com

Directions to Pete’s: Take the L train to the second stop in Brooklyn, Lorimer. Exit at the head of the train, and walk along Lorimer in the direction of the BQE. Pete’s is 1.5 blocks past the BQE, on your left. 709 Lorimer Street, between Frost and Richardson Streets. (718) 302-3770. (map)

The Rules

1. Signup starts at 7pm and we take the first 18 people.

2. Open to everyone who’s legally allowed to be in a bar.

3. Three-strikes-you’re-out — you get two “freebies”!

4. Beer is encouraged.

5. Everyone is welcome to participate in every spelling bee up to the Finals, when the winners of the season’s previous bees will square off for the championship!

6. You don’t actually have to say the word before and after spelling it, but it’s a nice idea.  If you start spelling a word and you lose your place, you can start over without changing anything, but once a letter comes out of your mouth, it’s set in stone.

7. If you’re Canadian (or even if you aren’t), you can say “zed” for “z” and “double-l” instead of “l, l”; however, all spellings must be American-style.

8. You can’t bring pen and paper up to the mic, but you can pretend to write on your hand if you want.

Multimedia:

fivestars.gif

Press:

………

Posted by jen | Filed Under Jen says 

The Williamsburg Spelling Bee is FAMOUS IN JAPAN

August 11, 2007 | 1 Comment

Click to enlarge
Tokyo Shimbun (which has a New York bureau) sent a reporter to see us about a month ago, and I conducted an interview with a Japanese reporter in the hall outside the bee.

And now, here we are … famous in Japan! I am extending my arm in … glory!

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Jenisfamous news items

August 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment

I just did an interview about the spelling bee for the New York Post. Watch out for an article about us!

We appeared some weeks ago in Tokyo Shimbun, and I’m waiting to receive a copy of that to share on the blog.

I leave next week for Iraq! (Seriously, did I mention Iraq?)

Posted by jen | Filed Under Jen says