I don't know, but I can tell you that I've been busy, busy, busy. With this and that. Work. Home. Social. Financial. Lotsa activity in the world of Q'ner.
My biggest frustration: Waiting for my money to wire from my old bank account to my new one. I have cash, my cash, floating around in the ether, waiting to show up in my new account. My money, dammit!
Money is important. It allows you to purchase goods and services and is a key component to paying bills. I can't wait until mine is transferred. Today, I hope!
Monday, May 01, 2006
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
What I thought about on the subway this morning
Reasons J. Mascis can't decide whether he has egomania or low self esteem. (Relevant in 1994)
1) He plays huge, crashing guitar solos, but sings like he's afraid someone will hear him.
2) He named his band Dinosaur (Wow!) Jr. (Oh.)
3) It's not "Jay," but simply "J." Is that affected, humble or simply his name?
4) I swear I had another one.
Spare the whip and spoil the child.
My parents never whipped me. Perhaps if they had, I wouldn't be so damned spoiled. Sure, I was spanked occasionally. I was shaken, yelled at, jerked out of my chair and even punched in the face. But never whipped. Some parents whip. Some parents whip so much that call it whoop, because it's easier to say. Those are the one's that make their kids go and fetch a switch from the yard so they can whoop 'em with it. Imagine that task: Finding the weapon that will used on you. And you know those kids couldn't just bring back any old twig. It had to be young and green and springy and strong. I don't want somethin' that's gonna break on you halfway through the whooping. Get on out there at get me a damn switch that'll last! Somethin' from the maple family or a pricker bush. If it slices through this melon, it's good enough. If it don't, well then that's 20 more whoopin's.
Bet those kids weren't spoiled like me, though. Oh, and I was never punched in the face. OK, once, but I deserved it.
1) He plays huge, crashing guitar solos, but sings like he's afraid someone will hear him.
2) He named his band Dinosaur (Wow!) Jr. (Oh.)
3) It's not "Jay," but simply "J." Is that affected, humble or simply his name?
4) I swear I had another one.
Spare the whip and spoil the child.
My parents never whipped me. Perhaps if they had, I wouldn't be so damned spoiled. Sure, I was spanked occasionally. I was shaken, yelled at, jerked out of my chair and even punched in the face. But never whipped. Some parents whip. Some parents whip so much that call it whoop, because it's easier to say. Those are the one's that make their kids go and fetch a switch from the yard so they can whoop 'em with it. Imagine that task: Finding the weapon that will used on you. And you know those kids couldn't just bring back any old twig. It had to be young and green and springy and strong. I don't want somethin' that's gonna break on you halfway through the whooping. Get on out there at get me a damn switch that'll last! Somethin' from the maple family or a pricker bush. If it slices through this melon, it's good enough. If it don't, well then that's 20 more whoopin's.
Bet those kids weren't spoiled like me, though. Oh, and I was never punched in the face. OK, once, but I deserved it.
8:27 and Sugarfree RB
8:28
My second sugarfree Red Bull. I have to pick up my laundary, shower and get to work by 10. Have to get comments back on a campaign for the Wednesday presentation. I'm listening to "Quick Sand" on iTunes. Wish I could play guitar like J., or even play at all beyond a handful of chords.
8:30
Wow, took me two minutes to write the paragraph above. Time moves along in the morning. It's 47 degrees out. I have to walk to the laundomat, come home with laundry, shower, put on clothes and depart by 9am.
8:31
One more song. "Feel the Pain" came on. Their commercial breakthrough, skyrocketing them to a video in the early 90s. That was a cool video, with the golf ball flying all over. Love the way the tempo seems to pickup, then just drop back. That's the way I live: inertia followed by a burst, followed by inertia.
8:34
All that profundity took 3 minutes, but the song is still on, so no leaving yet. Great part: wait. The ending guitar. Here it is.
8:35
Now I'm energized. A little Dinosaur Jr. and two Red Bulls. Shit. the next song just came on. "Goin Home." I used to listen to this on my way to Shelly Lake in Raleigh, before my runs around the lake. I waited tables back then. Those were good days.
8:37
No more mucking about. Must leave. Must leave now. I love his mumbling voice, like he can't muster the energy to sing. I can't be late. Promised I'd be in by 10. Cool part here. His songs build. Not all songs do that.
8:39
Song's over.
My second sugarfree Red Bull. I have to pick up my laundary, shower and get to work by 10. Have to get comments back on a campaign for the Wednesday presentation. I'm listening to "Quick Sand" on iTunes. Wish I could play guitar like J., or even play at all beyond a handful of chords.
8:30
Wow, took me two minutes to write the paragraph above. Time moves along in the morning. It's 47 degrees out. I have to walk to the laundomat, come home with laundry, shower, put on clothes and depart by 9am.
8:31
One more song. "Feel the Pain" came on. Their commercial breakthrough, skyrocketing them to a video in the early 90s. That was a cool video, with the golf ball flying all over. Love the way the tempo seems to pickup, then just drop back. That's the way I live: inertia followed by a burst, followed by inertia.
8:34
All that profundity took 3 minutes, but the song is still on, so no leaving yet. Great part: wait. The ending guitar. Here it is.
8:35
Now I'm energized. A little Dinosaur Jr. and two Red Bulls. Shit. the next song just came on. "Goin Home." I used to listen to this on my way to Shelly Lake in Raleigh, before my runs around the lake. I waited tables back then. Those were good days.
8:37
No more mucking about. Must leave. Must leave now. I love his mumbling voice, like he can't muster the energy to sing. I can't be late. Promised I'd be in by 10. Cool part here. His songs build. Not all songs do that.
8:39
Song's over.
What am I listening to right THIS second on iTunes?
You know, I don't see why I should be the criminal.
How can something with no recorded fatalities be illegal?
And how many deaths are there per year from alcohol?
I just completed Gran Turismo on the hardest setting;
We pose no threat on my settee.
Ooh, the pizza's here. Will someone let him in please?
We didn't order chicken. Not a problem, we'll pick it out.
I doubt they meant to mess us about.
After all, we're all adults, not louts.
How can something with no recorded fatalities be illegal?
And how many deaths are there per year from alcohol?
I just completed Gran Turismo on the hardest setting;
We pose no threat on my settee.
Ooh, the pizza's here. Will someone let him in please?
We didn't order chicken. Not a problem, we'll pick it out.
I doubt they meant to mess us about.
After all, we're all adults, not louts.
What am I listening to right THIS second on iTunes?
We had no wooden legs
Or steel hooks.
We had no black eye patches
Or a starving cook.
We were just killers with the cold eyes of a sailor.
Or steel hooks.
We had no black eye patches
Or a starving cook.
We were just killers with the cold eyes of a sailor.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
I've stepped into 1998
Friends,
Things are about to change around the Kunath shanty. Today I received a special package from Verizon. It was a box and the box contained a shiny new cellular telephone. I am now able to make and receive calls from almost anywhere!
Except from my apartment. That's a dead space.
Soon, you'll be able to contact me on my cellular telephone simply by dialing my home number. I am porting that over to my cellular telephone for convenience. Until then, I have a different number, which I shall not disclose here for fear I will soon receive a call from a Nigerian asking me to send money to his beleaguered kingdom. The porting will take 5-7 business days. Until then, don't call me; I'll call you.
Look at me!
Things are about to change around the Kunath shanty. Today I received a special package from Verizon. It was a box and the box contained a shiny new cellular telephone. I am now able to make and receive calls from almost anywhere!
Except from my apartment. That's a dead space.
Soon, you'll be able to contact me on my cellular telephone simply by dialing my home number. I am porting that over to my cellular telephone for convenience. Until then, I have a different number, which I shall not disclose here for fear I will soon receive a call from a Nigerian asking me to send money to his beleaguered kingdom. The porting will take 5-7 business days. Until then, don't call me; I'll call you.
Look at me!
Sunday, April 02, 2006
My kind of comedy - Bob Odenkirk
I'm going to write a few posts about the people who inspire me most in my comedy writing. Was that sentence awkward? Wow, the first sentence in a post about writing and it's a bad one. I'll try to improve.
Here's the first in my series of comedy influences:
Bob Odenkirk
There was a lot of smart, innovative comedy in the 1990s, and Bob Odenkirk was involved in just about all of it.
Psychotic rambling at its funniest.
In 1990, he was a writer on the great, unheralded FOX show "Get a Life." He did a brief stint (late 80s-early 90s) on "SNL," where he created some classic sketches, including two of my favorites, "Bad Idea Jeans" and "Matt Foley: Motivational Speaker." In 1992 he wrote and acted on "The Ben Stiller Show" and was one of the original writers for "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." Then in 1995 Bob paired with David Cross to create "Mr. Show," one of the sharpest, funniest sketch comedy shows ever.
Take look at the work cited above and you'll notice two things. The first is that, with a couple exceptions, Bob got involved with shows that didn't last very long. "Get a Life" made it about a season-and-a-half, despite a writing team that included David Mirkin, Adam Resnick, Chris Elliott, Charlie Kaufman and Bob. "The Ben Stiller Show" was canceled after just thirteen episodes. "Mr. Show" faired better, lasting four seasons. These shows, while largely unnoticed during their runs, have nonetheless spawned rabid cult followings. Which brings me to my next point about Bob's work. It doesn't really care what you think about it.
A lot of comedians and comedy writers are desperate for your laugh. Desperation in comedy annoys me. It's the leading cause of obvious humor, excessive mugging, applause signs and flop sweat. It caters to everyone, because it's petrified that somebody might not laugh. Robin Wiliams comes to mind. So does Mike Myers.
Odenkirk's comedy is subtler. It rewards those who pay attention. A lot of the humor happens behind the action of the scene or just before the cut. He doesn't announce the punchline; you have to find it. Like in this Mr. Show sketch. Check out Bob's disapproving facial expression during the interview, when words suddenly fail him. It's right on the money but easy to miss.
Three Time One Minus One
It takes guts to write this kind of comedy. Lots of people don't understand it, or won't spend the time to appreciate it. After all, there are plenty of louder and more obvious TV shows out there that provide easy laughs for the lazy and, let's face it, stupid. The fact that Bob doesn't care about these people has probably curbed his mass appeal, but it makes his work all the more special for people who get it.
Since the 90s, Odenkirk has produced plenty of work, some of it great, some just OK. I wasn't a big fan of the indie film "Melvin Goes to Dinner," but I thought the 2003 comedy sketch pilot "Next!" showed huge promise. Unfortunately, nobody in network development seemed to agree, which is why the unaired pilot is stuck flying around the Internet. Here's hoping he gets the recognition he deserves. But not so much that he sells out or something.
And that's the first in a series of posts on my comic influences. Next week: The subtextual subversive humor of Bruce Vilanch.
Here's the first in my series of comedy influences:
Bob Odenkirk
There was a lot of smart, innovative comedy in the 1990s, and Bob Odenkirk was involved in just about all of it.
Psychotic rambling at its funniest.
In 1990, he was a writer on the great, unheralded FOX show "Get a Life." He did a brief stint (late 80s-early 90s) on "SNL," where he created some classic sketches, including two of my favorites, "Bad Idea Jeans" and "Matt Foley: Motivational Speaker." In 1992 he wrote and acted on "The Ben Stiller Show" and was one of the original writers for "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." Then in 1995 Bob paired with David Cross to create "Mr. Show," one of the sharpest, funniest sketch comedy shows ever.
Take look at the work cited above and you'll notice two things. The first is that, with a couple exceptions, Bob got involved with shows that didn't last very long. "Get a Life" made it about a season-and-a-half, despite a writing team that included David Mirkin, Adam Resnick, Chris Elliott, Charlie Kaufman and Bob. "The Ben Stiller Show" was canceled after just thirteen episodes. "Mr. Show" faired better, lasting four seasons. These shows, while largely unnoticed during their runs, have nonetheless spawned rabid cult followings. Which brings me to my next point about Bob's work. It doesn't really care what you think about it.
A lot of comedians and comedy writers are desperate for your laugh. Desperation in comedy annoys me. It's the leading cause of obvious humor, excessive mugging, applause signs and flop sweat. It caters to everyone, because it's petrified that somebody might not laugh. Robin Wiliams comes to mind. So does Mike Myers.
Odenkirk's comedy is subtler. It rewards those who pay attention. A lot of the humor happens behind the action of the scene or just before the cut. He doesn't announce the punchline; you have to find it. Like in this Mr. Show sketch. Check out Bob's disapproving facial expression during the interview, when words suddenly fail him. It's right on the money but easy to miss.
Three Time One Minus One
It takes guts to write this kind of comedy. Lots of people don't understand it, or won't spend the time to appreciate it. After all, there are plenty of louder and more obvious TV shows out there that provide easy laughs for the lazy and, let's face it, stupid. The fact that Bob doesn't care about these people has probably curbed his mass appeal, but it makes his work all the more special for people who get it.
Since the 90s, Odenkirk has produced plenty of work, some of it great, some just OK. I wasn't a big fan of the indie film "Melvin Goes to Dinner," but I thought the 2003 comedy sketch pilot "Next!" showed huge promise. Unfortunately, nobody in network development seemed to agree, which is why the unaired pilot is stuck flying around the Internet. Here's hoping he gets the recognition he deserves. But not so much that he sells out or something.
And that's the first in a series of posts on my comic influences. Next week: The subtextual subversive humor of Bruce Vilanch.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Heat Vision and Jack
Here's a great pilot that never took off. Directed by and guest-starring Ben Stiller and featuring Jack Black and Owen Wilson, "Heat Vision and Jack" is both a tribute to and parody of 70s and 80s shows like "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "Knight Rider." Well, exactly those two shows. Right down to the cheap electronic closing music.
A bit about the premise. Jack Black plays Jack Austin, an astronaut who developed super intelligence when his space capsule traveled too close to the sun. (The brain is not unlike cookie dough, he explains. It expands under heat.) NASA naturally wanted to study his brain further by removing it. He escapes, but not before his unemployed roommate (Owen Wilson) is shot by an experimental ray gun that merges him with his motorcycle. Now the two are on the run from NASA, which has sent out ex-astronaut, mercenary and actor Ron Silver to capture them. There.
The pilot also features Stiller's now wife, Christine Taylor (hotsie totsie!) and "introduces" Ron Silver as Ron Silver -- a good comic actor, but not so good political thinker. Whatever.
Check it out. Enjoy. It's Heat Vision and Jack!
What am I listening to right THIS second on iTunes?
When they kick at your front door,
How you gonna come:
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun?
Version: Nouvelle Vague
Nothing like a sexy French chick singing these lines.
How you gonna come:
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun?
Version: Nouvelle Vague
Nothing like a sexy French chick singing these lines.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
What am I listening to right this second on iTunes?
And there's blood on my teeth
When I bite my tongue to speak.
Zip me down, kiss me there.
I can smile now.
You won't find out.
Ever.
(punctuation mine)
When I bite my tongue to speak.
Zip me down, kiss me there.
I can smile now.
You won't find out.
Ever.
(punctuation mine)
My next purchase.
I can never decide if I'm a first person shooter (FPS) kinda guy or a fella who prefers the top-down view of a real-time strategy (RTS) game. If you don't know what the hell I'm talking about, you're not a video game nerd like me. Stop pulling up my underwear.
Age of Empires III would be great if it worked.
I love games that put you in the management of a castle or city, as long as that at some point you either attack other castles or cities, or defend against invading forces. The Age of Empires series is perhaps the best example of a great RTS game. Except the latest one, which never loaded right on my computer. That one, and everyone involved in making it, sucks.
Car jacking: One of the joys of the GTA series.
On the other hand, I love the immersiveness of first person strategy/shooter games, like Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Hitman, Max Payne and Grand Theft Auto. The last two on the list are from Rockstar Games, a maker of controversial titles that are among the most expansive, nonlinear and just plain fucking cool FPS games out there.
Anyway, I go back and forth between the RTS and FPS genres. In my last post I talked about Spore, a first-person game that evolves into an RTS. Really, though, I think of it as an RTS. It has all the hallmarks: a top-down view, large scale planning and management tasks and sprawling environments. I'll definately be buying that.
But my next purchase will be an FPS. A few days ago, EA released "The Godfather," a stunningly faithful-looking FPS/strategy video game version of the film. Lest you smell the stink of past VG/Film failures (ie, Doom), remember that typically it is Hollywood, in its ever cynical and robotic quest for content, that cribs from video games. The result is almost always bad -- with all the complex problem-solving, freedom and originality of the game replaced by a Write-Your-First-Screenplay-In-30-Days-style script, dull actors, blatant attempts at "brand synergy" and represhensible CGI.
This is why I'm buying this game.
But a video game version of a great movie? I'll bite. Especially after seeing this video clip.
I love games that put you in the management of a castle or city, as long as that at some point you either attack other castles or cities, or defend against invading forces. The Age of Empires series is perhaps the best example of a great RTS game. Except the latest one, which never loaded right on my computer. That one, and everyone involved in making it, sucks.
On the other hand, I love the immersiveness of first person strategy/shooter games, like Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Hitman, Max Payne and Grand Theft Auto. The last two on the list are from Rockstar Games, a maker of controversial titles that are among the most expansive, nonlinear and just plain fucking cool FPS games out there.
Anyway, I go back and forth between the RTS and FPS genres. In my last post I talked about Spore, a first-person game that evolves into an RTS. Really, though, I think of it as an RTS. It has all the hallmarks: a top-down view, large scale planning and management tasks and sprawling environments. I'll definately be buying that.
But my next purchase will be an FPS. A few days ago, EA released "The Godfather," a stunningly faithful-looking FPS/strategy video game version of the film. Lest you smell the stink of past VG/Film failures (ie, Doom), remember that typically it is Hollywood, in its ever cynical and robotic quest for content, that cribs from video games. The result is almost always bad -- with all the complex problem-solving, freedom and originality of the game replaced by a Write-Your-First-Screenplay-In-30-Days-style script, dull actors, blatant attempts at "brand synergy" and represhensible CGI.
But a video game version of a great movie? I'll bite. Especially after seeing this video clip.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
What hath God wrought?
Actually, it's up to you in Spore, an unbelievably great-looking game coming out this fall. Designed by "Sims" guru and overall genius Will Wright, the game puts you in control of a single cell organism that you propel around a microscopic world in search of food pellets while avoiding becoming a food pellet to other predators. And if that were all there was to it, the game would be kinda cool. But that's not all there is to it. Not by a money shot.
That's because you get to reproduce, at first asexually, by laying an egg. Click on the egg and up comes a design interface. You get to choose which evolutionary improvements your little character gets. Swap out flagellum for fins for better hunting and faster fleeing. Slap a needle-like horn over your proboscis to increase the food you can access and the predators you can defend against.
As you evolve, your universe will grow around you -- from a dab of primordial goo, to a tidal pool, to an ocean and eventually to land. In all cases, your world is populated by other players' creations, which are carefully selected from a database by the game's logic engine to achieve ecological balance.
Pretty soon, your critter will be complex enough to crudely communicate, create music and use simple weapons. That's when the game switches from a single-player control to an RTS, allowing you to select groups of your creatures to hunt, dance and defend against other attacking villages.
As evolution continues, you will advance technologically. Sticks and spears make way for guns and lasers and all sorts of cool shit. Soon, you're traveling around the globe and even throughout the galaxy. You can visit another planet and battle the indigenous life forms (Created by other players) or terraform an uninhabited planet (watch flora spread, moss-like, from your view far above the planet) and drop off some of your creatures there to evolve anew.
What's so cool about this game is that it is built by players in a logical, tactical way. It's evolution that you have a hand in designing, or at least guiding.
I had a friend years back who was writing a book that detailed an alternate evolution. The premise was complex, but went essentially like this: Someone goes back in time to the primordial ooze and removes several organisms that were ultimately responsible for life forms as we today know them. Without these alpha critters, other organisms that would otherwise have lost the race evolved -- bizarre-looking creatures that nonetheless had to be biologically viable and logically formed. His book was to include pictures of the creatures and stats about them. This game is basically that, but you're the designer, author and, to an extent, the creature.
Check out the video walkthrough!
That's because you get to reproduce, at first asexually, by laying an egg. Click on the egg and up comes a design interface. You get to choose which evolutionary improvements your little character gets. Swap out flagellum for fins for better hunting and faster fleeing. Slap a needle-like horn over your proboscis to increase the food you can access and the predators you can defend against.
As you evolve, your universe will grow around you -- from a dab of primordial goo, to a tidal pool, to an ocean and eventually to land. In all cases, your world is populated by other players' creations, which are carefully selected from a database by the game's logic engine to achieve ecological balance.
Pretty soon, your critter will be complex enough to crudely communicate, create music and use simple weapons. That's when the game switches from a single-player control to an RTS, allowing you to select groups of your creatures to hunt, dance and defend against other attacking villages.
As evolution continues, you will advance technologically. Sticks and spears make way for guns and lasers and all sorts of cool shit. Soon, you're traveling around the globe and even throughout the galaxy. You can visit another planet and battle the indigenous life forms (Created by other players) or terraform an uninhabited planet (watch flora spread, moss-like, from your view far above the planet) and drop off some of your creatures there to evolve anew.
What's so cool about this game is that it is built by players in a logical, tactical way. It's evolution that you have a hand in designing, or at least guiding.
I had a friend years back who was writing a book that detailed an alternate evolution. The premise was complex, but went essentially like this: Someone goes back in time to the primordial ooze and removes several organisms that were ultimately responsible for life forms as we today know them. Without these alpha critters, other organisms that would otherwise have lost the race evolved -- bizarre-looking creatures that nonetheless had to be biologically viable and logically formed. His book was to include pictures of the creatures and stats about them. This game is basically that, but you're the designer, author and, to an extent, the creature.
Check out the video walkthrough!
Friday, March 24, 2006
Thank You!
Brian, Jon, Hector and Andrew
Picture by Rebecca Lloyd.
We had our second annual Play Cole screening at the "Den of Cin" last night. The turnout was fantastic and I want to thank everyone for coming and supporting us. It's a lot of fun to make these videos, and for friends to take time out on a Thursday night to watch them with us is really great. From all of us at Play Cole: Thank you!
It's been a fun year making these films. Jon, Andrew, Bill and Nick are all incredibly talented and I'm lucky to be working with them. I'm always amazed at the energy, commitment and skill they each bring to our endeavor. You guys are the best. I'd also like to thank Jon and Andrew's friends from New York Comedy Club for coming out and entertaining everyone with their standup. It added a lot to the evening, particularly Hector's masterful job as MC.
The Lazarris
Stay tuned for more from Play Cole. We're going to keep on writing and filming, and we hope to get some other talented people involved -- like Bryan "Danger" Murphy, some members of the comedy writing class Jon and I took, the guys from NY Comedy Club and more! We really plan on raising the bar this year, so keep watching us at Play Cole.
Finally, I want to give a special thanks to Renee Clarke for really helping to make our screening happen. We're comedy writers, which means we're easily distracted. So thanks, Renee for keeping us on track.
Picture by Rebecca Lloyd.
We had our second annual Play Cole screening at the "Den of Cin" last night. The turnout was fantastic and I want to thank everyone for coming and supporting us. It's a lot of fun to make these videos, and for friends to take time out on a Thursday night to watch them with us is really great. From all of us at Play Cole: Thank you!
It's been a fun year making these films. Jon, Andrew, Bill and Nick are all incredibly talented and I'm lucky to be working with them. I'm always amazed at the energy, commitment and skill they each bring to our endeavor. You guys are the best. I'd also like to thank Jon and Andrew's friends from New York Comedy Club for coming out and entertaining everyone with their standup. It added a lot to the evening, particularly Hector's masterful job as MC.
The Lazarris
Stay tuned for more from Play Cole. We're going to keep on writing and filming, and we hope to get some other talented people involved -- like Bryan "Danger" Murphy, some members of the comedy writing class Jon and I took, the guys from NY Comedy Club and more! We really plan on raising the bar this year, so keep watching us at Play Cole.
Finally, I want to give a special thanks to Renee Clarke for really helping to make our screening happen. We're comedy writers, which means we're easily distracted. So thanks, Renee for keeping us on track.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Amazing juggler
I'm a pretty good juggler. I can do the behind-the-back and under-the-leg tricks and can sometimes catch a ball on the back of my neck. But check out this routine by Chris Bliss. This link takes you to his video page. Just click on the "Big Finale" to watch the juggling.
In the video, Bliss juggles to Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight, keeping in time with the music while effortlessly pulling of a huge range of tricks. It's pretty amazing. I take that back. It's really amazing.
UPDATE: The video seems to be down temporarily. Not to worry, you can catch it at iFilm.
In the video, Bliss juggles to Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight, keeping in time with the music while effortlessly pulling of a huge range of tricks. It's pretty amazing. I take that back. It's really amazing.
UPDATE: The video seems to be down temporarily. Not to worry, you can catch it at iFilm.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Play Cole is online!
It's official! The video sketch comic troupe Play Cole is up on the World Wide Web -- the information superhighway. Visit our Web site to learn about our group, keep up on the latest Play Cole news and even watch streaming videos. Simply type in the url "http://www.playcole.com" (leave out the "quotes") and use your left mouse button to select "go," which you will find just to the right of the "url window."
Or you can simply "click" here and I'll do all the work for you. So what are you waiting for? "Click" here!
You must have a computer and a modem with an active Internet connection to visit Play Cole. If you do not, you're not reading this. Or someone printed this "web page" out for you and you're reading a hard copy. If that is the case, we don't care about you.
PS: Big ups to fellow Play Cole-ian Bill Monroe for getting us on the Internet. Be sure to send him an electronic mail and let him know how great the home page looks!
Or you can simply "click" here and I'll do all the work for you. So what are you waiting for? "Click" here!
You must have a computer and a modem with an active Internet connection to visit Play Cole. If you do not, you're not reading this. Or someone printed this "web page" out for you and you're reading a hard copy. If that is the case, we don't care about you.
PS: Big ups to fellow Play Cole-ian Bill Monroe for getting us on the Internet. Be sure to send him an electronic mail and let him know how great the home page looks!
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Larry David Links - Updated
I'm a big fan of Larry David. If he were writing this, he'd have something funny to say. But he isn't. I am and I don't have anything funny to say. So just enjoy.
Video of David giving a hilarious speech at a global warming comedy special
Earth to America Global Warming Comedy Special
Newsweek story
Happy Go Larry
Interview with David on CBS. Also includes video.
Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm
Very funny interview from around 1994
Laugh Factory Interview
Funny essay he wrote for the NY Times
Cowboys are my weakness
A two-year old New Yorker article on David
New Yorker: Angry, middle-aged man
An audio inteview with Larry
NPR interview
Video of David giving a hilarious speech at a global warming comedy special
Earth to America Global Warming Comedy Special
Newsweek story
Happy Go Larry
Interview with David on CBS. Also includes video.
Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm
Very funny interview from around 1994
Laugh Factory Interview
Funny essay he wrote for the NY Times
Cowboys are my weakness
A two-year old New Yorker article on David
New Yorker: Angry, middle-aged man
An audio inteview with Larry
NPR interview
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
A gentle shot in the face
Harry Whittington, the 78-year old lawyer who was shot by Cheney, has suffered what doctors are calling a "mild heart attack" after an embedded pellet entered his heart.
Let's see if I have the official account straight. After "failing to signal Cheney" as he entered his "blind spot," Whittington was "peppered by pellet spray" when his face intruded on the area between the vice president's shotgun and the "covey" upon which he was firing. While authorities weren't notified of the accident for several hours, Cheney expressed "deep concern" for his friend. Friends said the lawyer was "jolted pretty good," but soon was "sitting up" and "joking and laughing" about the incident at the hospital. Then he had some "mild heart trouble" when a stray pellet found it's way to his heart.
Let's replay the account, but this time swap out the word "Cheney" for "Tyrone."
While tracking a covey with his shotgun, respected lawyer Harry Whittington was brutally shot in the face by Tyrone. Whittington went down from the unprovoked attack, and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Authorities say that Tyrone failed to notify police of the attack for 14 hours--which is about the amount of time it takes for malt liquor or crack cocaine to leave the body. Hours later, a brave Whittington was sitting up and preparing to file criminal charges at the hospital. Then he had a major heart attack when one of the bullets fired by the assailant viciously entered his heart.
Let's see if I have the official account straight. After "failing to signal Cheney" as he entered his "blind spot," Whittington was "peppered by pellet spray" when his face intruded on the area between the vice president's shotgun and the "covey" upon which he was firing. While authorities weren't notified of the accident for several hours, Cheney expressed "deep concern" for his friend. Friends said the lawyer was "jolted pretty good," but soon was "sitting up" and "joking and laughing" about the incident at the hospital. Then he had some "mild heart trouble" when a stray pellet found it's way to his heart.
Let's replay the account, but this time swap out the word "Cheney" for "Tyrone."
While tracking a covey with his shotgun, respected lawyer Harry Whittington was brutally shot in the face by Tyrone. Whittington went down from the unprovoked attack, and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Authorities say that Tyrone failed to notify police of the attack for 14 hours--which is about the amount of time it takes for malt liquor or crack cocaine to leave the body. Hours later, a brave Whittington was sitting up and preparing to file criminal charges at the hospital. Then he had a major heart attack when one of the bullets fired by the assailant viciously entered his heart.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Way to go Jon!
Went to see my friend Jon Clarke perform his first featured standup at New York Comedy Club last night. He killed! There were about nine other comics up there -- some veterans, many new -- and Jon's performance was among the most consistent, energetic and funny.
He and Andrew Torres are really taking off with their standup. Great job, both of youse!
He and Andrew Torres are really taking off with their standup. Great job, both of youse!
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