Just Let Me Blog!

I've tried 4 times to post up a blog concerning my activities. However, whenever I touch on the first subject below, my computer crashes ! I think some Harponian Goddess has cast a spell on my PC, thus, keeping me from espousing my beliefs!

Men Are From Mars, Women Are For Oprah.
I got to go to Oprah a couple of weeks ago for the taping of Chris Rock's appearance to promote his new flick I Think I Love My Wife. Oprah treated us to a free prescreening with free popcorn and drinks. Then we got fed lunch prior to the taping all the while taking charter buses to and from the theatre and Harpo Studios. We saw Chris Rock, Fantasia, and some Discovery Channel Earth guys for the hour and a half. As we left the taping, we received The Color Purple coffee books and a complimentary issue of Vibe. Thanks Oprah! That beats getting a free house or car!

Here are some quick observations I had while at the taping:

Oprah Can Do No Wrong Women treat Oprah like a rockstar. I heard conversations about her age, weight, longevity, charitable works, ruthlessness, wardrobe, and make-up. These ladies gossiped about it as if they lived with the woman, made her breakfast daily, and played psychiatrist to her every need. No matter what they said, they were there at that taping so it couldn't have been all that bad. Women Love Oprah...But Don't Know Why As a man, I knew that my viewpoint on Oprahdom was already biased/skewed. I asked women why they love Oprah while in the waiting room. Not one could give me a more definitive answer as to what they love about Oprah other than "She's just sooooo great" or "CUZ SHE'S OPRAH!". My theory is that they love the fact she is rich, therefore, powerful and can do just about anything she wants to. They aspire to be in a position like her, but not necessarily be her. They love what she represents. If anyone has a better explaination, please let me know Oprah is a Brand Name The entire time I was there, I felt I was being marketed to. "Watch my ABC special on my new school for children! I did the voiceover for blah blah blah. I am sick but I've never missed a day! In my latest issue of O Magazine..." I like the cool things Oprah has done for herself and for others and that is good. I just feel that it's self-ingratiating at times. Does she have to show she opened up her school in Africa and revel in the fact celebrities from the US were there to support it? I just felt it was a little bit pompous in presentation. I had fun overall and am grateful I got to go. I've learned that there is still so much about women I need to learn about. My Warped Recording Session and Photo Shoot. MWR hit the studio last week and we churned out a new recording of a song called Dust on our MySpace. Go check it out and if you like it, add it to your page. We also did a band photo shoot where you can check out pictures of me looking a bit goofy at Union Station. Shows, Shows, and More Shows! I am in a new musical called Faceplant with my good friend Greg Landgraff and my musical ensemble Recapitulation. I'm also doing a musical staged reading tonight at SC. I had an excellent SCTC Level 3 Conservatory show which did get taped and will be posted up on MySpace/YouTube over the weekend. I have a show coming up with Recapitulation on March 11th. And finally, my show for Brazilian Wax Museum starts Friday March 16th! Technological Social Retardation. I listened to a bit of the Hugh Hewitt Show where they had two experts discussing how technology has either hurt us socially or improved us socially. I side with the guys arguing it's hurt us. I am dealing with folks in general who don't know how to act or work together as a cohesive unit but yet are masters of IMing, texting, and email to communicate. Your thoughts folks? I know this is a pretty terse rendition from my normal blogs. I am just trying to get something up before the PC crashes and I get a stop-and-desist letter from Harpo, Inc. Currently listening : The Colour and the Shape By Foo Fighters Release date: 07 October, 2003

A Carrot Even Bugs Won't Bite Into...

Holy sh*t! When did this happen?! Carrot Top took a whole lot of WeightGain 2000, trained with Beefcake, and got all buff! It doesn't make me like his act much more but he's now got a body the ladies can get onto

Beefcake! BEEFCAKE!!!

Currently listening : MACHINA/The Machines of God By The Smashing Pumpkins Release date: 29 February, 2000

Say It Ain't So, Carlos (Menstealia)!

I'm a big Carlos Mencia fan. I've seen Carlos numerous times and have paid good money to see him. I saw his last performance at Zanies in Chicago prior to him getting his Mind of Mencia show (which for the first two seasons has been a rehash of his standup material, thus, has been a bit of let down for me since I've heard 90% of it already) and it was awesome. I know a lot of his material by heart and respect a lot of what he's accomplished. Then I see this:

Joe Rogan VS Carlos Mencia ON STAGE!

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My friend Raj, who's also a standup comic, has been talking to me over the last couple of years about how Carlos steals material from other comics. Now, I have to admit, it IS hard to write original material due to the fact that there is so much of it out there already and you may have heard it, forgot about it, then turn around and write a joke thinking it was original. I've heard this same issue come up from comedians like Eddie Murphy, Eddie Griffin, Rosie O'Donnel, George Lopez, Mark White, and Dave Atell. There is a little unspoken leeway given between comics because of that. However, in the case of Carlos, it seems that people are saying he's taking bits word for word almost and claiming it as his own. Now, that fawkin' sucks!

Like the Joe Rogan blog on this, I once saw a comedian steal another comedians material word for word myself, and was 1)appalled by the fact someone did this, and 2)shocked that someone would actually try to pawn off jokes as his own wittingly. I had gone to Austin to hang out with my best friend, and due to his weird pharmacists hours (he's a legit pharmacist, folks! ), I had a Tuesday night to go check out some of Austin's nightlife. I decided to go to Capitol City Comedy Club and check out their open mic. I saw a lot of funny people go up and a lot of not so funny people. In the crowd, I saw a guy wearing a Martin Lawrence t-shirt with a picture of him and a caption that read "You So Crazy". I had just rented this film of one night of standup and that it was pretty funny. So, eventually, the dude goes up there and is telling jokes and is completely bombing. I saw this shift in his face and then saw him perform the "That's What Friends Are For Bit" from "You So Crazy"!!!

Immediately I stopped and thought, "WTF?! Are you serious." I sat there and shook my head right in front of the guy while he did the bit with a very smug, pissed look on my face. After the show, I went around greeting each of the comics still hanging around and thanking them for making my $3 worthwhile. When it came to him, I totally skipped the dude.

Now, I've seen one comic pull off another persons material in an acceptable manner. I was at an open mic in Schaumburg and this older guy comes up, does 7 minutes of his own material and then says, "Now, if you bear with me, I'd like to pay tribute to the great, late Rodney Dangerfield". He then rats off a boatload of Rodney jokes, complete with actions, inflections, and timing. Fantastic fawkin' job!

As for Carlos, I have to see how this plays out. Like Joe said, he is a fantastic performer and at least until now, I've always felt he was a great comic. Carlos, if you are stealing sh*t, you need to stop it. Drop all the stolen stuff from your act, Carlos, and get to work on new stuff that's even better than those items heavily inspired/stolen. If you haven't stolen a thing, then you still need to drop anything under question and come back with new, original stuff. The jury is still out on this for me so I'd like to see some new stuff come out and squash the rumours once and for all.

In general, one can steal a joke as long as that person gives credit to the originator. I remember hanging out with my friends in high school and that same best friend of mine would use my jokes. Everytime he would, I'd yell "GIVE ME CREDIT!". Holy shizzle! That just came to me to. I guess I've always been this way about the craft of comedy.

Currently listening : Friends By Dionne Warwick Release date: 25 October, 1990

Note: This was originally posted on MySpace with comments at:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=16074757&blogID=231230837&Mytoken=500D9A24-4E22-4BA0-8092A0A295E4FF9A60752154

Slavery Is Over

One of the best supergroups of the last 10 years is over (for now). Audioslave has broken up. Dang it. Well, it comes just in time for me to gear up for the Pumpkins reunion shows and new record. Such a shame considering they made such awesome music and three excellent albums in a row.

Currently watching : Invincible Iron Man Release date: 23 January, 2007

Kings of Pain

I'm super psyched about The Police reuniting and going on tour since I've never had the chance to see them and they're one of the greatest rock bands in history. I've actually imagined what it would be like for years to see "Every Breath You Take" live as Sting croons "I'll be watchin' you".

However, the ticket prices really suck! This is definitely going to be a sold out tour. So, if I want tickets, I've got to participate in a pre-sale. OK, no problem. I go to their tour website and see that I have to join their fan club. OK, no problem. I click on "join now" and then *bam* - a request for $100! OK, big problem! And what do I get for $100?

• Priority ticketing before the general public - Early Access to Concert Tickets - up to four tickets for any one show per membership.
  
  OK. So, I paid $100 for the chance to maybe get some tickets? Ticket prices are expected to run $50 to $225 dollars a pop to bring them to a total of $150-$325 each?! I know...I get to pay for the priviledge of seeing them, right?!
  
  
• Access to Message Boards including the Members-only sections
  
  Uhm, unless I get the members to talk to me directly, who cares?!
  
  
• Exclusive Police photos and videos
  
  I've been on Cops before so this ain't new to me (I was the unidentified brown male high off eating gold paint and running away with his shirt off ). But really...who cares?! Maybe if they provide a full length video of each concert for free download to burn at your own leisure, that'd be cool.
  
  
• Members-only discount to Police Online store
  
  A discount?! That's it? I'm going to pay a bunch of money just for a ticket or two. I'd rather have free parking for the show, some food, and drink tickets for the price!
  
  
• Membership Premium: Commemorative Lithograph with band replica signatures*



*Lithographs with band's actual signatures will be randomly given out to new members

Oh, wow. A LITHOGRAPH! Well, maybe I can recoup my out-of-pocket cost by putting my authentically/nonauthentically signed lithograph on e-Bay or craigslist.org.

It's funny how much of a fan I am until it hits me right in the pocketbook. Maybe I'll get an early Christmas present . Looks like"I'll be...wrapped around Sting's finger..."

Currently listening : Every Breath You Take: The Classics By The Police Release date: 11 January, 2005