Chicago Underground Comedy and the Lincoln Lodge Under One Roof

...so four months after moving to Chicago, my roommate Nellie is one of the new producers of the Lincoln Lodge, which means the two biggest alternative stand-up showcases in Chicago are centered around a household full of girls who cry watching Animal Planet and believe in the healing power of pot roast dinners and cupcakes. This can only be a good thing.

Kumail on Saturday Night Live!

Our sweet Emily Gordon has informed us that KUMAIL IS GOING TO BE ON SNL TONIGHT!

I’m not kidding! They called him in two days ago to play an Indian reporter, and he’s been in rehearsals all day. Tune in tomorrow night to watch the sketch about reporters, and bampsh! There he’ll be!

Holy flipping shnit!!

Brantastic

Brandi continues to be an utterly magical human being. She took the amazing photo at left -- just one of countless truly beautiful photos on her flick account -- and recently wrote another new song: "This Christmas Day." Check it. It's so sweet and real and true (and I've known her during the year span that the song covers) that it makes me cry with a mixture of awe, and admiration, and just squishy girl emotion. And I'm not a big cry-er.

Halloween Post #4

I'm beat. Work is going great.

Last night's Halloween show at Chicago Underground Comedy was AWESOME. And, Vocalo, the new offshoot of Chicago Public Radio, wants me to contribute content. Here's what I've done so far. It's a six minute audio clip about last night's show. It includes stage performances, interviews, that darned catchy jingle I wrote for ChUC, and it's a lot of fun. ChUC is taking over the radio, one joke at a time!

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?

Brandi Ediss!!!

I will brag more on her in more detail shortly, but in the meantime, oh my GOD, am I ever proud of Brandi. She's trying to get a children's photography and music business off the ground, and look at what she's got up so far on her new website. How beautiful and astonishing are these sample photos? She's brilliant. So, so talented and special.

That's the same Brandi who writes music like "The Dinosaur," which can be heard here (again and again, I warn you...).

Gotta ride my bike downtown for dinner with another brilliant friend now, Emily Kennerk. A friend and I zipped down to Indianapolis to see her show at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

More soon. But for now, BRANDI!!!!