On being a smartass...

I've been asked why I don't do comedy before. I'm a smartass, and due to my generally quiet nature, can floor people with a quiet comment from nowhere. I'm quirky anyway, and generally like to make people laugh.

I salute those that can come up with enough stuff to do a 45-minute (or however long) show. I've got a particular niche for comedians (a la MicroSerfs, Comedians & Their Routines would certainly be one of my Jeopardy categories) in my brain, but I couldn't do it myself.

There's different types of comedians- prop/ventriloquist, angry/grizzled, redneck, etc.- all sorts of different types. My only drawback (okay, well two) are my geekish nature, and the problem that mine comes in sarcasm... especially reflective sarcasm. I know it's not impossible- I think Bill Engvall pulls it off well w/ his Here's Your Sign bit... but I just can't seem to muster it up.

Why is it even an issue? I don't know. It's yet another creative outlet that I don't think I'll be able to master. It'd be nice to find that niche, somewhere... be it in writing, comedy, or some other as-of-yet undiscovered talent. Call it Hiro Syndrome, or something... but who doesn't want to be someone larger than life?

(And damn Steve for getting me hooked on that show.)

"I like snow! It's so pretty!"

Anyone who utters these words can quickly be identified as someone from the South or a different part of the world altogether. Certainly not someone from the Midwest.

If you like it, feel free to deal with it yourself. You can take all the snow we have here. Grab a shovel and have at it. Don't mind the rain coming down on top of it, making it even heavier, along with the water underneath from the other stuff melting from last night.

Or maybe you'd rather shovel in -30F temps, like the last time it snowed. (Okay, only -10, but wind chill made if teel like -30.)

There's a large Wisconsinite population in Phoenix, according to a Suns basketball announcer a week or few ago. Larger turnouts at Green Bay football games. We've even met someone buying $60+ of Usinger's sausage to bring back on their flight home to Phoenix.

So, our plan to move to the Phoenix area ain't the most original. I've got two words for anyone that bitches about it: Eighty fucking degrees.

Threes.

Three seems to be a big deal for me. Big 'bigger' relationships have lasted threeish years... or t least that's what I remember, since it's been a while for a few of them. Whether it's one stint (lie w/ Jami or Jess) or in a few tries (3 different tries w/ Kritter), that seems to be the extent of it. Three live-in relationships, too- substitute Kritter with Christine.

What happens? Three comes into play there too- a third person involved in some fashion or another. (Beyond just 'meddling'... on my end, the other end, or both.) When I think about it more, it does suck... for both sides in all cases/ Whatever doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger, I suppose... but that doesn't mean there can be no regrets, either.


Hopefully three changes its stance in my life. It's my third time outta the house, and things are going well, other than financial woes. My third try at college is nearing completion, though I've had three major issues with the school.

So, here's to hoping. Maybe my third app at different companies will yield some positive results. We'll three how things go....

Jay Johnson

I finally found his website, and, more importantly to me, a clip of him & Darwin. I love his bit with Darwin ("Hand off heiney!"), and he's a great ventriloquist. I don't think he moves his mouth as much as Jeff Dunham does, for example.

Either way, it's great to find video of him; I last remember seeing him way back when Comedy Central was still The Comedy Channel. Too bad I couldn't make it out to see his show.

More info on him is available here.

Movies & me

Not sure how coherent this'll be... screaming headache after sleeping for crap last night. Anyhoo...

Picked up Clerks 2 Saturday. Had watched it a week or few ago through Blockbuster Online, and had some Reward Zone certificates I wanted to use up, so that and a Skype phone were my two purchases.

Clerks was funny because it hit home, espec for anyone in a shit job. It wasn't quite like the pain of Napoleon Dynamite (knowing, or being, someone like him in school), but it had a special connection.

This time it was different. I find it kinda sad that so much of one's life can be reflected in a comedy, and moreso that I even think about it when watching it, as much as enjoying the film. But, it makes me think about my place in life. I'm certainly not trying to follow the status quo, but life overall is just a bland misadventure. (I can say thank the gods for no donkey show yet, though.)

Watching the documentary got to me, too; especially the part about the Cannes film festival and the 7- or 8-minute standing ovation after the screening of the movie. I think everyone deserves to feel that good at some point in their life... and far too few people get it. I've come ... close, or closer than some, but definitely nothing like that... and I wish I could.

Of course, like any other time I've comented on it, I don't do anything about it. This blog is my creative outlet, so it's something... but there's still a long way to go. Maybe one day I'll get those 15 minutes of fame....


For now, though, I just get to suck up this headache and go outside and shovel. Whee! Think it'll be back to bed after that.