My Pix of the Feb 4 Young Chicago Authors' Encyclopedia Show at Chopin Theater

(All pix by me, full set here.)

My Chicago Underground Comedy co-producer Dan Telfer (who's opening for Maria Bamford at the Lakeshore Theater this weekend, holy crap!) has a little brother named Robbie Q. Telfer. Robbie is a big-deal slam poet and writer and works with Young Chicago Authors. Last night was the third installation of his and Shanny Jean Maney's monthly Encyclopedia Show, which is a great fun. Each show has a theme -- this one was the visual spectrum -- and each performer has written five minutes of material on the theme. (Except for hyper-achiever Dan, who writes, designs, and publishes an original book on each theme!)

Performers include kids associated with the YCA who have already cut their teeth at competitive poetry slams, and Chicago creative notables including writers, poets, visual artists and musicians. The show was really fun, and funny, and there were lots of hilarious and poignant moments throughout the night. If you're looking for a night of invigorating creativity and lots of laughs, I highly recommend heading to the Chopin Theater for the next show.

Robbie Q. Telfer and Shanny Jean Maney


Dan Telfer


Shadell Jamison


Jilted Emily Rose


Leena Trevedi-Grenier


Robbie Q. Telfer and Shanny Jean Maney


Joel Chmara


Annalissia-Kiana "KeeKey" Itson


Cameron McGill


Robbie Q. Telfer


Jonathan Messinger


Alex Petruszak


slam poetry legend Marc Smith




Final bow

Another ChUC Podcast: Nerd Passion Becomes Rage

From Tuesday night. This is also up on Vocalo, and I spent enough time editing out all the f*bombs that it should be eligible for radio play.

"Post-comedy show chatter is a always a mishmash, but at Chicago Underground Comedy, there are always a lot of passionate nerdy discussions. In this segment: "Lost" theories -- the little-explored "WWII doom scientists" backstory, the "accelerated psychic abilities" theory, who cares who kisses Kate? Jared Logan, Ricky Carmona, and Elizabeth McQuern love Star Trek, but Dan Telfer thinks the hot Borg chick is called "7, 8, 9," and can't get into things his parents were nerds about -- but was still scared by Dr. Who "garbage bags with lizard masks." Jared thinks Star Trek beats Star Wars by a mile. All agree that the final three Star Wars movies ruined the first three. Jared describes George Lucas as a "P.T. Barnum, Henry Ford, anti-semitic piece of crap." And no, the recording isn't skipping, there were lots of f*bombs that needed to be edited out. These are comedians, people."
(6 minutes, 43 seconds - click here to listen.)

Brantastic

Brandi recently sat down on a chair at Ikea and almost disappeared altogether. By some bizarre coincidence, the pattern on her skirt and the one on the chair were nearly identical. Shall we call this "skirtoflage?" Or is she sitting on a "camochair?" Either way, I love the puzzled and concerned look on her face. Hilarious.

Brandi's Mike Birbiglia photo is now available in skateboard form. Personally, I think Brandi's photos should be available on all manner of consumer goods. Imagine one of her cute baby photos on the hood of your Mercedes, for example. Or one of her Chicago pictures overlaying the city of Jackson Hole. Why not?

Things Are Good. Just Try To Stop Me!

I'm taking Chicago by storm! My videoblog of Critical Mass is posted on Metroblogging Chicago. (Thanks, Fuzzy!)

I'm making my showcase debut at Chicago Underground Comedy tomorrow night, yes indeed. I'm bringing extra candy (I take care of my audiences, yo), and 30-40 friends and family are slated to be there to cheer loud enough to drown out any boos. I've been walking around like a crazy person, playing a recording of my set on my computer, in my earphones, and reciting my jokes out loud while riding my bike.

BFF, PR genius, and megaproducer K-Rock and the girls invited me to fill in for Hattie Snyder (who, sadly, will be at her friend Nailah Franklin's memorial) at the Spitfire showcase at the Apollo the following night, so my first two showcases are wham bang one after the other.

Speaking of K-Rock, check out Buscemi and Delahoyde's "Angelina," starring K-Rock (at left)! Well, not "starring," in the literal sense. But look how cute!

What else is exciting? Well, I just talked a nice lady at Comcast into hacking my monthly bill in half. HALF. Just goes to show you how much you can get in life by asking nicely. (And if that doesn't work, then raise hell.)

Great Caribbean Basin End of Summer Party

My brother threw his increasingly larger-scale End of Summer party despite the inclement weather. Lots of my friends were MIA. Didn't show up because you thought a little thing like a thunderstorm would stop us from celebrating? Wrong. My brother directs events on an Olympic scale, people. It was an amazing outdoor party under tents, with a live DJ, an unbelievable assortment of food and drink, little kids splashing through puddles, and fire-eaters as entertainment. Real Cuban mojitos, New Orleans jambalaya, Filipino wedding cake, and more.

Here's a two minute video I made. I wrote the music, too - it's a little mish-mashy but fun, sort of like the mix of cultures and food and music at the party. Sort of like my family, which we sometimes say is like one big living Benetton billboard -- except our sweaters aren't that nice.

My New Role at Chicago Underground Comedy: Producer!

Well, the big news can be officially broken now. For those of you outside of the Chicago comedy scene, there are two long-running alternative stand-up showcases in the city. One is called Chicago Underground Comedy. ("Alternative" means an artist-produced show, not Chicago's only "real" comedy club, the very old school "take your grandma" Zanies.)

ChUC, as it's often called, has been called "...the hippest stand-up showcase to emerge in years." (Chicago Magazine), "One of the hottest shows in town" (Chicago Tribune), "...High-integrity, Chicago style stand-up." "Don't Miss!" (TimeOut Chicago), and lots of other great stuff.

ChUC's founder, producer and stand-up Tony Sam, is moving to L.A. in November. Stepping in for him as producers, PR whizzes, and performers are a very good guy named Dan Telfer, and...Elizabeth McQuern! Ta da!

So, yeah, you might see a whole lot less blogging from me here in the near future, because I have a lot to learn in the next few weeks. I have a lot of people to talk to, lots of phone calls to make, and some small town shyness to finally stuff into a box and tape up airtight. In the meantime, some of my favorite clips of Tony. Check out the awesome ChUC animated logo at the beginning of the first one. I love it!


Tony Sam at ChUC, talkin' bout old souls and bike signals.


Tony Sam at Caroline's on Broadway in NYC.

Ethnicity-Specific Lip Enhancers

One of my new LipSmackers (yes, hi, I'm 12!) is called "Aztec Punch."

It's a little weird that there is mention of a specific ethnicity in a lip gloss flavor description, isn't it?

If Bonne Bell is looking to expand this product line, some suggestions:

"Caucasian Creme Brulee."

"Pan-African Pomegrate Twist."

"Celtic Cranberry Blast."

"Andalusian Apple Pucker."

"Bakongo Berry."

"Inuit Iceypop."

"Kazakh Kookyfruit."

"Onondaga Oatmeal Pie."

Mmmmmm.

Emily Kennerk's "Suburban Nation"

My hometown BFF Emily is kicking ass and taking names in the art world. Her big show at the IMA has opened and she's getting all kinds of attention. Here's a Nuvo article about her show, courtesy of our mutual friend Nora. Yay Emily!

Kennerk is fascinated with what she calls collisions: areas where land meets sky to form the horizon or where cultural structures impact natural orders. Suburbia becomes its own landscape in her four meticulous installations, three inside and one outdoors...Kennerk collaborated with installers to create three room-size gallery works to her exacting specifications. Viewers seemed amused yet puzzled by Kennerk’s art materials, such as pre-fab white vinyl siding, gutters and screen doors that might be found on their Hamilton County condos.