Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Inbloguration

Hey there 'Redheads... It's cold outside. The kind of cold that makes people deny global warming because they're personally freezing. Remember kids: Think Globally, Bitch Locally. I don't even need to step outside to know it's cold, because everyone on Facebook is instagramming pictures of their thermostats with captions like, "Wow, that's cold!" Kind of an Ansel Adams by way of Topper Shutt. C'mon, people, show me, don't tell me. Snap me a picture of a bobsled on the beltway or a penguin migration down Pennsylvania Ave. Your numbers are not interesting. Snow is in the forecast for Friday, which will no doubt send people screaming frantically to loot grocery stores for necessities, lest they never see the sun again. A word of advice for those of you who plan to ransack your local Harris Teeter for bread, milk, and toilet paper. If they're out of toilet paper, just buy more bread. I'm not easily fazed by the idea of snow, since my gal left town for a business trip, I've been playing a ton of Skyrim, so 3 to 5 inches isn't terribly impressive unless I'm absorbing the soul from a dragon husk.

This past weekend, I took my first comedy road gig of 2013 up to scenic Harrisburg for a slate of shows at the 2nd St. Comedy Club. I had the privilege of working with Caroline Rhea, who could not have been nicer. It's rare when a big name headliner takes a genuine interest in the feature's set and offers advice in a non-condescending (nondescending?) way. She was also very gracious to the 4 sold out crowds that came to see her, taking pictures with half the population of downtown Harrisburg... and me...


I also had another unexpected brush with celebrity. Apparently, Caroline met up with a friend who she hadn't seen in 10 years who now lives in Harrisburg. That friend was none other than Terry Farrell, who played Dax on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine...

This sent a Trill down my spine...

While I was sitting in the downstairs lounge between shows, I took a moment to check out the pictures of some of the comedy greats they had adorning the walls. There was Steve Martin, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Cosby, and there was this curious picture...

 
At first glance, it didn't seem out of place. That's Richard Pry...oh, wait. Yeah, whoever decorated their lounge thinks Smokey Robinson was hilarious. They probably think he was the star of Smokey and the Bandit. He did sing Tears of a Clown, so maybe that's the connection. Either way, I'm sure none of the drunk Harrisburgers noticed.
 
Before I sign off, I'd like to call your attention to a couple things that are very me-centric. First, please VOTE FOR ME FOR BEST COMEDIAN IN DC in the CityPaper's Best of DC 2013 Reader's Poll. It was an honor just to nominate myself, really. Please feed my ego. It hungers.
 
Also, I've got a very cool show coming up on Feb. 2nd in the DC Improv Comedy Lounge with three hilarious friends of mine, Tim Miller, Rob Maher, and Jon Mumma. Do yourself a favor and get your tickets now. 

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Tuesday, January 08, 2013

One Way

Hey there, 'Redheads... As you can see, the resolution to resurrect the blog is 1080p. As for content, a babbling stream of consciousness will do for now.

Andrea and I are looking at potential caterers online for our impending nuptials. As much as I enjoy eating food, reading about it is a bit tedious. To make things more interesting, I started reading fancy menu items out loud in the shrill Monty Python Old British Woman voice. BURMA!

I've got the 1960 version of Ocean's Eleven on in the background while I'm typing. Despite having the Rat Pack in it, it's not quite as slick as the remake. A bit more musical too. Also, I noticed that Mr. Roper from Three's Company is in it. And Cesar Romero a.k.a. The Joker from the old Batman TV show too. He's taller than I remember.

Spotted this walking through DC...


Better than seeing a Dead End sign in front of a funeral home, I guess...

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Sunday, January 06, 2013

The Blog Rises

Hello, 'Redheads... It's been too long. I apologize for my dormancy and I can only hope that you can find your way to pretend to care about my musings again. I realize those muscles have atrophied in the year and change of my negligence. It's 2013, and with a brand new year I figured why not resolve to bring back the blog and give my imaginary fan base a chance to once again splash around in the refreshing waters of Lake Me. I'm going to be taking baby steps, so this installment will be to serve the main purpose of rehashing some of my pithier Facebook statuses as a half-assed year in review. I promise to provide fresher blog innards as we move forward... If we move forward.

Before I get to that, how about that 'Skins/Seahawks game? The story of that game was downright Shakespearean. Two rookies carrying their teams to the playoffs. The 'Skins started off quickly, gutting the vaunted Seahawks defense for two quick scores. Then the Seahawks managed to hobble RG3 and they began to creep back into the game. By halftime, the score was nearly even, with the momentum in Seattle's corner. The legendary sports surgeon, Dr. James Andrews was on the Redskins sideline and I was hoping he'd be able to clap his hands together and pull a Mr. Miyagi on RG3's knee. The final turd in the Redskins' playoff punch bowl came when RG3 fumbled when he twisted his knee on a muffed snap. The Seahawks picked up the ball and scored on the ensuing possession. Kirk Cousins came in, but he just didn't have the juice to bring Washington back. Fittingly, Seattle took a knee to end the game. I'll be rooting for Seattle to beat Atlanta in the next round, so the NFC Championship game will hopefully be a rematch of the replacement ref debacle with the Green Bay Packers. If I can't have Peyton Manning vs. the Colts, please let me have this.

Ok, as half-heartedly promised, the best of me (as judged by me) from 2012:

I'm trying to make more adult decisions, like going to the gym, but it's hard to feel like an adult when I see Bullwinkle Moose in the sweat stain on my shirt post-workout...

Just had lunch at Five Guys... On my soda cup, one of the accolades reads, "Voted Best New Restaurant in Cincinnati"... I think that says more about Cincinnati...

I'm confused by Paula Deen's Diabetes diagnosis because I thought she WAS Diabetes, the buttery 5th horseman...

Irony: Getting trapped inside your Ford Escape...

Irony: Filling up your TiVo with episodes of Hoarders...

I have a friend who's a mystery writer, but to pay the bills, he works for a pharmaceutical company... He wrote a twist ending to the side effects on a bottle of Tylenol... "Wow... Violent diarrhea... I did not see that coming..."

Someone asked me why there's no Russia-themed casino in Vegas... I'm guessing the roulette...

Here's my idea for Fajardo, Puerto Rico's new tourism slogan: Hey, who Fajardo?

Encyclopedia Britannica has announced they will cease production of hard copies... Someone should update their Wikipedia page...

Today, I'll be getting a Spaceman Spiff t-shirt and a Muppets lunchbox... Age is relative and, right now, that relative just happens to be my 5-year old nephew...

Someone at my show last weekend commented that my comedy was "top drawer"... I keep my underpants in the top drawer, so that's a fairly accurate description...

Now that Andrea and I are engaged, there are some serious decisions to make... I've been giving it a lot of thought... I think we're going to register at SkyMall...

A friend of mine said he saw Kathleen Turner on Californication and that she "looked terrible"... I told him, she didn't look terrible, she was just drawn that way...

I wish I figured this out before I ordered my current batch of comedy business cards, but I know what I want on the next batch: Jared Stern, Antidepressant...

Just got done with a Mother's Day mini-bbq on the roof deck... As my parents were leaving, my mom said, "Thanks for having us." No, Mom... Thanks for having me...

A headline in the Washington Times reads "Woman Killed in Love Quadrangle"... So, that's four people involved... I think I would've gone with "Love Rhombus" or "Para-love-ogram"... Maybe if two of the people were in a long distance relationship, it could be a "Love Rectangle"...

North Carolina has voted to further amend their constitution to redefine Words With Friends as Words Between a Man and a Woman...

Robin and Maurice Gibb are gone and Barry is living with the irony of the group's biggest hit...

The Department of Education has announced that all History textbooks will now contain the phrase, "Spoiler Alert"...

Toyota has announced a recall for all Highlanders... Except one...

I've run into so much road construction lately, it feels like Orange Cone Pride Week... I saw a big orange "END ROAD WORK" sign and assumed it was a protest sign...

There's a place in Bethesda called Stop Aging Now that offers "natural solutions" to halt the aging process... I can think of one natural way to stop aging and I'll only charge half of what they're asking, but I'm gonna need that money up front...

Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise are getting a divorce... That's what happens when your storybook marriage is written by a crappy sci-fi author...

So, we're packing up the tent and the sleeping bags and other equipment, and I remarked to Andrea, "That's a lot of stuff, honey"... She replied, "Well, we want to be comfortable"... THEN WHY ARE WE GOING CAMPING?

Harrison Ford is 70 today... HE BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!

When I get really bored, I like to go to the Hirshhorn museum, put an empty McDonald's cup against the wall, then sit back and count how many people try to interpret it...

I read a study that said mothers can pass on neuroses to their children... I have a friend who's pregnant that's claustrophobic... That kid must be going nuts...

Man, it's hot outside... I walked past the outdoor display over at Madame Tussauds... Abe Lincoln looked like he opened the Ark of the Covenant...

Kids are growing up too fast these days... The other day, I saw a little girl doodling in a coloring book called 50 Shades of Crayola...

It's getting late and cut and paste carpal tunnel is starting to set in, so I'll leave you with an audition video that my buddy Joe and I made for a food challenge show last year. Bon appetit...

 
 

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