Molly Ivins

Molly Ivins died today. She was a collumnist for the Dallas Times Herald and Fort Worth Star-Telegram. I became aware of her during college as a journalism student. Back then, her best collected works were "Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?" and "You Got To Dance With Them What Brung You." She skewered the Texas Legislature and right-wingers and sometimes the lefties. Her folksy style was that of a redneck H.L. Menken. She was one of those collumnists who bashed people who deserved bashing - corporate whores, political hacks and idiots of every stripe. When I read a Molly Ivins collumn, I was reading a sassy Texas lady who told it like it was.
Her work on Bush, "Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush" was a revealing look at Bush when he ran for president in 2000. Molly Ivins' book exposed Bush as the inept bungler and yes-man he was, a daddy's boy who sought approval and lived in the shadow of his famous father. It was that book that drove me to vote for Gore in 2000. Too bad more Americans didn't read it, as that book chronicled the kind of person Bush was - connected, wealthy and clueless.
Molly Ivins was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999 and suffered a recurrence over the past few years. She'd undergone chemotherapy at the time of her death.
So Molly, I'll raise a tall longneck Lone Star beer for you. You deserve it, ol' gal.

TRES in Production!

Just found out my RPG, the one I wrote and designed, was sent to Talisman Studios for layout. This means the manuscript will be turned into a beautifully pagenated masterpiece! It's taken two full years of my life to realize this vision. The Ravaged Earth Society is the greatest thing I've ever been involved with. Double G Press bought the property from me and kept me on as head designer and lead writer. My contract stipulates not only do I have control over the content of the storyline but I get first crack at writing anything related to TRES! To sweeten the deal, I get a percentage of profits from total sales of the game.
I see big things for TRES in the future. Double G Press, especially Bill and Peter, have been great to work with. We're looking at a March release for the game. After two years of developing, writing, reading and re-reading the same chapters, it's good the project is in the home stretch. The next month and a half will be especially tense as I await the final product!
But the time for TRES is soon...

Party Animal

Went to House of Blues in Atlantic City last night for a social with the New Jersey Young Professionals. It's free to join, and you get to partake in social events all throughout the state with other young professionals. And by professionals I don't mean prostitutes. I mean other young-ish people in professional careers. Me being a journalist, I mingled with teachers and accountants and psychologists. We all met in the Foundation Room, an exotic club reminiscent of an Indian brothel: statues Ganesha, Kali and Buddha abounded, as well as Oriental carpets, Eastern art and candles. Even though I wanted a hookah, opium or absinthe, I just setled for the hor's doerves and free bar. After talking to an English teacher from Somerset County named Peg for an hour about the New York Rangers and The Great Gatsby, I needed a breather.
Met my friend Kat and her friend Susie and we all went to see comedian Craig Ferguson for free with complementary tickets. Seriously, I can't escape comedy! Craig was funny and his whole set consisted of his Scottishness and coming to America.
Afterwards, we went to Club Worship and lounged around. Despite its kinky name, Club Worship is not an S&M club. It's a regular dance club featuring some of the worst dance music on the planet. If this is what the kids are dancing to, I'm building the time machine and heading back to 1988. We danced to this horrible music, then lounged around amid the Turkish decor on the third floor of the club, watching an amateur rap group perform live. Listening to an amateur rap group made me want to take a pneumatic drill to my skull. Sorry, but I love music, just not that much I guess. I got in at 2 a.m. I haven't done that scene in years and with good reason. But you know what? I actually had a good time. I actually enjoyed being out with friends and meeting new people and seeing new things. And if listening to a bad rap group and awful dance music is the price you pay, then I'd do it again in a minute.

Last Night at Catch

Tonight was the last night at Catch A Rising Star in Atlantic City. Big Rick and I performed at our last open mike here. The turnout was small, but three people I know from Ocean City came out to support me, which is always good. Both me and Big Rick executed flawless sets and got laughs.
We also saw comic Susan Prekel, who's a very funny lady, and got to hang out with her in the green room where we talked about comedy.
Being a standup comic is very hard work. Sometimes you go out there and fail, other times you do your set and get some laughs and other times you kill. You constantly work on new material, try it out and see how it fares in front of an audience of strangers. Catch A Rising Star was a really good venue for us and it will be missed. Oh, well. Looks like I have to find another way to spend my Wednesday nights!

Emcee Me

Last night Big Rick and I performed standup at a benefit at Cosmo's Lounge in Glassboro. The owner, the very talented and funny Jimmy Graham, asked if I'd emcee the show, which I did. It was my first time as an emcee and I had fun. The crowd was very large, which was good, and I felt at ease on stage, but that place has a bar and people did tend to get a little drunk and noisy. Oh, and the place is in a bowling alley, too.
Also, the proliferation of old people in the first two tables right in front of the stage made me and Big Rick tame down our material, but Jimmy's stuff was really blue and those oldies loved it! I guess we're so worried about offending grandma and grandpa that we edit our stuff and water it down. Fuck it! Next time, those silver-haired old ladies will hear the full wrath of my midget shitting fetish bit!
The night was a fun one and consisted of myself, Big Rick, a high school student Jimmy knows and Jimmy himself. At the end of the show, Jimmy's family had me announce Jimmy's birthday and his family gave him a cake while the audience sang "Happy Birthday Roundboy." Good clean family fun.

Comedy Night

Hoo boy! What a night tonight! The gang went out to Catch in Atlantic City. Each of us got three minutes to perform. I can't get out my opener in three minutes, but I ploughed through it anyway. The audience was really, really old. It was like the Shady Acres Twilight Retirement Home had a bus tour. Just a bunch of silver-haired pensioners drinking their Ensure daiquiris. Everybody kept it clean and I have to say I got the most laughs. It was a victory. The old people love me.
Afterwards, we got a photo with the headliner, Sherry Davey. We couldn't stay long because it was time to head out to The Comedy Stop at the Tropicana. Chris got everybody into the show because he's well connected. Being a wrestler has its advantages! We saw two really hilarious guys, Jim Lauletta and Tim Walkoe. I haven't laughed so hard in months! Both of these comics were utterly, screamingly funny.
Afterwards we took Jim and Tim to Hooters for a late night snack and hung out. All in all, a great night of pee-in-your-pants comedy!

Library Lovin'

You should have sex at the library You are somewhat voyeuristic, and are the intellectual type. The library offers some seclusion (at least in the periodical section) and you never know what hottie is there with the same idea as you. Take this quiz at QuizUniverse.com

Doctor Who

You scored as The Ninth Doctor (Christoper Eccleston). You liked the Ninth Doctor the most. You may be new to Dr Who, but you like what you've seen so far. Hoorah for Russell T Davies! The Ninth Doctor (Christoper Eccleston) 94% The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) 63% The Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) 50% The Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) 50% The Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) 38% The Fifth Doctor (Peter Davidson) 38% The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) 31% The First Doctor (William Hartnell) 25% The Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) 19% Which Doctor Who are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Yes, Mistress Nancy!

Nancy Pelosi. Representing California's Eighth Congressional District and soon-to-be Speaker of the House.
All she needs now is a strap-on. Her facial expression looks like the buttplug's wedged in there a little too deep.
Seriously, I hope she does really well, even if she looks like some burnt-out domanatrix. Those naughty boys in Congress need some discipline.
"Lick the high stiletto heels of Mistress Nancy, you bloated, plutocratic, warmongering Republican worm!"

Happy 2007, biatches!

Recovering from my New Year's party last night. A lot of good food, friends and excellent conversations. Saw fireworks from the rooftop of an Ocean City bayfront home. Was able to see the Atlantic City skyline, lit up like a pimp's house at Christmas. I caught a few minutes of Dick Clark's Rocking New Years. I've watched Dick Clark throughout the years and his presence on TV at this time of the year in Times Square is crucial, but I couldn't believe how bad he looked. I know he had a stroke and everything, but Skeletor looked better than he did. And who the hell matched him with Ryan Seacrest?
I'm not much for making New Year's resolutions. I think they're a waste of time and nobody really sticks to them. People say they're not going to eat as much, that they're going to get more exercise, that they're going to quit smoking, whatever.
I see a resolution as something better, something more spiritual. I resolve to be better tomorrow than I am today, to not take people for granted and to laugh more and to really enjoy life despite how shitty things get.