Monday, September 29, 2008

I, XXXIII

Hey there 'Redheads... Long time, no type. I've been suffering from low blog motivation for some reason. Luckily, another stunt month is quickly approaching...Blogtober. Try to contain yourselves, really. Some time has passed since the last installment, and a metric shit-ton of blog worthy stuff has happened. Most notably, I recently became divisible by eleven. I turned 33 last week and have just recently finished the whirlwind celebration. Unlike previous birthdays in my thirties, I don't feel much older this time around. For 31 and 32 I expected to look in the mirror and see Lance Henrikson staring back at me. Not this time...it was just another day with cake. By the way, there needs to be some kind of federal regulation on the sugar content of birthday cake frosting. I nearly went into a diabetic coma from a single whiff of the stuff. The cake should've come with an epi-pen. I'm just saying, I'd like to enjoy my 33rd without risking my shot at the 34th, to stick a fork in it without having to stick one in me, to have my cake and not eat it too...ok, I'm done (it's been a couple weeks...making sense is not a high priority). Speaking of super sweet, I got a call from my impossibly cute nephew, Mo, and he sang his nearly two-year-old version of Happy Birthday to me. That pretty much turned me into pudding for the rest of the day. So, I'm older. And so is this blog, by the way. The official blog-iversary was the 15th. I usually break out the digital confetti and break down how many of you very patient people give this rambling mess a looksee, but this time I'll just say thank you for reading and hope you stick around for another year of poorly crafted procrastination. Onward and upward.

I have been busy these last couple of weeks in the comedy department, travelling to Harrisburg, Greensboro, Baltimore, and most recently, Youngstown. Big thanks to Dave, Tony, Crystal, and the rest of the fine staff at the Funny Farm. This was my third time working for them in their third different location. The previous two were located in hotels, but this new one is a more permanent comedy compound that is a converted Damon's Steakhouse. Nice place. When I pulled into the parking lot, I didn't know what my accommodations were going to be. The lovely Crystal informed me that the club rented a nearby apartment for the comics to stay. Groovy. I got the following directions to get there: Go around the building and turn left. Go past the trailer park and look for the house with the Winnebago in front and turn right. You'll see a four-unit apartment building on your left. I say again, ga-roovy. I got there and met the headliner, Bill Scott. He informed me that the cable was out, so there wasn't a functioning TV. Upon further inspection of the apartment, we also found that all of the towels left for up were damp and moldy. And there was a persistent funk coming from...somewhere. My first guess was the crawlspace that I found in my room. It appears we were stuck in the renter's sequel to The Shining. Luckily, I had decided to bring my PS2 with me to use as a DVD player, so we weren't completely lost. The only other source of entertainment was a wooden cabinet that slid open to reveal an 8-track/record player/stereo. The knob for volume was labelled "loudness". We found a selection of polka cassettes for the 8-track and an Up With People record, which we immediately attempted to play backward to summon a denizen of the netherworld who could appreciate this place. After the show was done on Thursday night, Bill and I went to the all-night K-Mart to grab some supplies for the rest of the weekend...they were out of holy water, unfortunately. I did pick up a fresh towel and a cheap deck of cards and poker chips. Luckily, Bill was a fellow degenerate gambler, so we spent a large chunk of time playing heads up poker. We figured we had nothing to lose.
On Friday, Bill and I went to the local mall to kill some time. While were chowing down on some mediocre pizza from the off-brand Sbarro clone in the food court, Bill dropped some knowledge on me. He was enjoying a grape Fanta with his cheesy shingle and he asked, "Do you know the story behind Fanta?" I did not. Apparently, Fanta is the brand that Coca-cola came up with so they could continue selling soda to Germany during WWII. They didn't want pictures of Nazis drinking all-American Coke, so Fanta was born. Our sick minds wondered what the ad campaigns must've been like. I came up with Fanta: The final solution for your thirst.
On Saturday, emboldened by my success playing poker against Bill, I tried to raise the stakes of my disappointment, by driving 45 minutes to nearby Chester, WV to check out the Mountaineer Casino. Unfortunately, the one tournament they had running in the poker room was a $235 buy-in, which was a smidge too rich for my blood. So, since I had come to play cards and lose money, I bought in for $100 in chips and sat down at a $1-$2 no limit table. I won one hand as was feeling pretty good, then I was dealt King-Jack and the flop came Ace-King-Jack...two pair. The turn was a five. Then the river was a Queen. So there was a potential straight on the board that I didn't have and the guy to my left raises to $40. I had already called previous bets on the flop and turn, but he didn't seem like he had the ten. I called. I turn over my King-Jack. He turns over Ace-Queen. I begin muttering to myself. I think I spent more time driving to the fucking casino than I did at the table. That was worth it. Luckily, I sold enough CD's to offset that lapse in judgement. Fun bunch of shows in Youngstown and Bill was great to work with.

This week, Oct. 1st - 5th, I'll be hosting the slate of shows at my favorite club, the DC Improv. After four weeks on the road, it'll be nice to play roughly 20 minutes from Stately Stern Manor. I'll be working with Jim Florentine for the second time in three weeks. He was fun to work with up in Baltimore, so this should be a good week. Come check us out.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the current political and financial climate that is currently swirling around us like the ghosts that seeped out of the ark at the end of Raiders (don't look at it). Sarah Palin looks like she won a reality show to get on the Republican ticket. I caught part of her interview with Katie Couric. The phrase "moose in headlights" comes to mind. I do, however, think that John McCain is the best candidate to lead us through the impending depression...because he lived through the last one. I don't understand the bailout. I have no head for money. I had all of my assets converted into skee ball tickets. I just want someone to put it in terms that I can understand...


Happy New-Jew Year to everybody. It's 5769 and still no flying cars...come on people.

To be continued...

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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Bloggy Blog Blog...Shabba-doo

That's the worst title I've ever heard... If you get that reference, we should start a secret society...with a handshake and stuff. Hey there, 'Redheads... It occurred to me after I posted the last installment that I completely forgot to mention my gig in Harrisburg. So, this one will be a tale of two cities. More like a blurb of two cities.

Thanks to Corey and the great staff at the Harrisburg Comedy Zone for a great bunch of shows. I ended up going up there a day early to fill in for my comedy buddy, Sonya King, and host the open mic on Thursday night. The open mic isn't held in the main club. They put it in the adjacent bar. We had a couple guys popping their comedy cherries that night. The crowd met and exceeded my expectations for attentiveness and responsiveness...especially considering the Eagles game was left on the TVs. Overall it was a fun weekend. I have family that live in the Lancaster area, so I got a chance to hang out with them for a bit. Luckily, Harrisburg is a short drive. So, when I was sitting in my hotel room after Saturday night's show and noticed the floor was moving, it was an easy decision to pack up my crap and head home.

This past weekend in NC was pretty nifty. Big ups to the staff at the Greensboro Comedy Zone. Easily the nicest club I've been to on the road. And the waitresses are sa-mokin'. We had a packed house for all four shows and the Greensborans were downright friendly...drunk, but friendly.

On Sunday, I had a minor religious experience. I found the local Hooters, sat myself down in front of five flat screen TVs and mainlined football and wings. And it was good. By the way, if you wanted to know how many Hooters wings it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of regret, it's somewhere around 30. Speaking of football, Tom Brady's shredded patella has pretty much quashed the hopes of two of my four fantasy teams. Can't wait for week two.

Oh, by the way...
FREE BOOZE IN BALTIMORE


For those of you itching to see me locally, here's some ointment for ya. Come check me out at the Baltimore Comedy Factory this weekend (Thu-Sat) with headliner, Jim Florentine. Seven shows for your viewing pleasure. And if you print out this coupon...

Your drinks are free, thus making me funnier...and blurrier. See you in Charm City. Whether you remember seeing me is another issue.

To be continued...

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Thursday, September 04, 2008

Blog Life

Hey there, 'Redheads... Blogust is over. No more stunt blogging until, you guessed it, Blogtober. In the meantime, try to enjoy the no-frills offerings of September. Ok, pretend to try. Here's something else to pretend to care about. I am goateed. Much like my short-lived moustache announcement, I have no pictures to back this up. I'm an eye patch away from being evil parallel universe Jared. This attempt at non-sideburn facial hair has lasted about a week longer than previous attempts. Glad we had this little talk.
Oh, by the way, thanks for doing your part and not giving a jumping flying twisting screaming fuck about Disaster Movie. I believe it came in 7th at the box office and was seen mostly by friends and family of the cast.

And now, in lieu of blog content, some shameless (read: less shameful) self-promotion...

NEXT WEEKEND
SEPT. 11th-13th
BALTIMORE COMEDY FACTORY
7 SHOWS
with JIM FLORENTINE

Not sold..? What if I tell you that...
DRINKS ARE ON ME


Just print out this handy dandy coupon and drink 'til I'm funny...er...


I'm off to Greensboro, NC for a weekend of fun and thrills at the Comedy Zone. I'm told nothing could be finer. We shall see.

To be continued...

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