Such a Wicked Game

Sitting at work today listening to my Yahoo Music Jukebox 90s station, Chris Isaak's Wicked Game began to play. Wow, hearing that song induced some weird-ass childhood memories.



I grew up in a with a fairly conservative upbringing. My mother decided that the video for Chris Isaak's Wicked Game was too racy for a young man that'd only lived on this Earth for a total of 12 years. MTV wasn't banned, but If she was in the room and that video came on, she'd switch the station.







I had a TV up in my room on the 2nd floor and I could watch the video all I wanted whilst inside. I had to keep the volume down fairly low so Mom wouldn't hear it, but it was all good. Nah'm Sayin' ?



Once, while sitting in my den and watching the local information channel, during the weather, they played a quick snippet of Wicked Game. Mom rushed in from the kitchen and accused me of switching the channel really quickly when I heard her running. I may not have gotten grounded, but I did receive a firm talking to about how I wasn't supposed to be watching that video at all and my TV priviledges would be taken away if she caught me watching that video ever again.

This also sparked my memories of all the crap I watched late night up in my room with the volume really low. Here's a quick list:


- Real Sex (HBO)
- Dream On (HBO)
- Zalman King's Red Shoe Diaries (Showtime)

This sucks balls!!!

So I'm going through financial records on Sunday... I realize that the DMV never sent me a renewal notice for this year.

I call them a few minutes ago and, after spending almost 20 minutes on hold, it turned out that I owe $290 dollars due to a late emissions inspection from 2006. Hmmmm... That's good to know.

So I have to pay $290.00 just to get this crap taken care of and then $30 bucks for the emissions test for 2007. I got my car's emissions test done last year, but it was a couple of months late and I don't mind paying some kind of fee for it being late, but $250 + late fees is a bit extreme!!!

This is money I don't technically have so I'm borrowing against my 401k to take care of it. The minimum amount of a 401k loan is $1,000. I'm doing that for a 2 year loan term. The interest is only like $97.00 so that isn't too bad.

I am going to pay that $290 crap off... then get my emissions/inspection done. I hate procrastinating so I am taking Wednesday off and get all this crap taken care of.


In related news...

SummerSlam Sucked!!!

Word on the street is that The Great Khali botched the ending to his match. Batista was supposed to win the title.

The Great Khali grabbed a chair and was probably supposed to let Batista catch it when he tried to hit him, but instead the ref saw Khali hit Batista with the chair. The Great Kahli was promptly disqualified, thus retaining the title.

I bet Vince is pissed!

John Cena has held his strap for way too long also. It was reported all over the internet that Randy Orton was scheduled to win the belt from Cena last night. I have a feeling the WWE intentionally changed the outcome of the match to keep spoiler sites guessing. It worked!

Rey Mysterio and Triple H both made their returns to the ring last night. Both have been out of wrestling to recover from injuries/surgery.

Triple H looked like he dropped some muscle mass, but he looked really great. Little Rey Rey on the other hand...yikes!

Mysterio looks like he probably gained 20 pounds. He still put on a great match against Chavo Guerrero.

You can really tell that the new WWE wellness program (IE zero steroid tolerance policy) has set in. Bigger, more muscular guys keep getting smaller and smaller.

RAW ought to be interesting tonight.


Okay, I'm done nerding it up for today, but never fear! I'll blog again soon.

Nub,
Tommy

Superbad and other stuff

I went to see Superbad last night with several members of the DSI contingent. Such a good movie. I haven't laughed that hard at a movie since knocked up. As much as I hate to admit this...I agree with Jeremy Griffin... "Superbad > Knocked Up."

ComedySportz went really well this past weekend. This was the first time I had an opportunity to play Five Things with Joe Stanton. He was phenominal as guesser!

Most people won't find this funny at all but if you've ever seen a ComedySportz show, you just might... Ryan "The Anvil" Blackledge, fresh out of LASIK surgery, asked for the usual suggestion of something "bigger than a breadbox." The audience member said, "Um, a bread factory." Maybe not Comedy Gold, but at least Comedy Silver. It kinda became our theme for the night. Fun Fun!!!

The last time some of the newer cast members played "Da Doo Run" it was apparent that they didn't know how to play the game properly. I ran a quick review of the game in the green room prior to the show and that game ran smoothly during the show.

We played "My Movie" for the second time during a live show. The audience seems to really like the game and I think it will become a permanent part of our games arsenal.


Ummm...I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but I got a groaner foul before the show technically started. I know what you're thinking, "No. Tommy never gets groaner fouls. I call shenanigans!" Well, a member of the audience actually had "a favorite piece of legislation from the Taft administration:" Anti-Trust. I began to giggle a bit on stage and Ryan turned and asked if I was okay. I said that "Anti-Trust was a great movie." The audience groaned. HA! Ryan Phillipe was amazing in Anti-Trust!

I am almost through with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It is soooooooo good. I hope it ends well. I should be finished by the time I got to bed tonight...I'm on page 605 now I think. I went homw to read during lunch today... Me = Nerd!

Wow!!! Thanks Dr. Jones!!!

Here is an excerpt from a recent post on the DSI Message boards, ah fuck it...

It meant so much to me I think I'll go ahead and post the whole thing:

Hey guys,Just wanted to throw my insights in, as well. The show was great! I had a blast facilitating your hilarity. I didn’t give notes after the show because, I’m still getting used to ref-ing, but they will be coming soon. Nevertheless, I think it’s worth pointing out a couple of the great things that happen we should be trying to repeat.

1.) Tommy and Kit showed us the importance of putting in the work to learn the science of funny!This show was lead by two great captains, smart/fun teams, and an amazing voice. In particular, Tommy B. (I believe possibly more than anyone else at the theatre) displays how successful students imbibe the lessons learned from awesome coaches, shows they’ve played in, and watched - and then applies those lessons. He consistantly creates solid scenes and hilarious bits. If you’re looking for a role model for how to become a great comedian, look to this guy. But note, none of his antics are accidental. He doesn’t just happen to get groaners every show or luckily grab Edward for help with his groaner apology. Tommy has studied funny. He knows what the audience, loves and he does it. It’s his investment in the science of comedy, pays out dividends of the feeling of spontaneity.

Kit is the same way, but from a different side. What I love about Kit is, he is as funny as Mr. Voice as any of us are on stage. His expertise in the box is the only thing that can make this possible. Kit’s also not funny by happen stance. The basics of the booth come so easy at this point, he is able to add the extras we appreciate so much.

2.) We say that Topical humor matters. (Even if Jeremy G. wasn’t there?)

This show was fun because we were connected to subject matter the audience was already thinking about. Harry Potter and George Bush are things our audiences see on TV five minutes before they leave the house. What makes DSI better that TV? How about the fact we can offer an interactive form of entertainment that is equally up to date with current events? I can’t stress enough take 5 mins. to read a News paper/ check the Drudge report before you come to the theatre. I GARUNTEE the best scenes you will ever do are the ones the offer a commentary on the world around us.

“Anyone can do funny, that doesn’t impress me. Say something about the world, give me an emotion, and also make me laugh. That is impressive” – Charna Halpern

3.) You Trusted your Ref/Coach! The reason I give themes for the night is because Zack gives so many great notes it’s possible for us to end up not ever actually applying any of them. I trusted Zack’s leadership, and we all won. You trusted my leadership on Sat, and that allowed me to guide the show where it needed to go - and the audience won. Continue to have the discipline to allow being funny to be guided by people who know what they are doing. THIS DOES NOT MEAN LOSE YOUR OWN STYLE!!! Still find your own voice, but truly trust that your coaches know the fundamentals, and then venture out.

All in all, great work. There were definitely some places we need to improve, but I really want to enjoy what we did right.

My last word is this, burn our theme for the night: “never be the person least committed” in your mind. Each the aforesaid points reflects that same theme in a different way. The funniest person on stage is rarely the person most gifted in comedy, more often it’s the person who is most committed to the learning and enjoying the Art of Comedy. And, this idiom is as true of stage as it is on.

You guys should be proud,
Joe

I can't express how much I respect Joe Jones. He's a classy guy and just happens to be one of the funniest people I know. To get a compliment like that from him, WOW, just WOW!

I read that post at work and had to hold back all the happy tears.


Joe's right about Kit FitzSimons too. Kit is effin amazing at voicing. He's actually amazing at everything he does at the theater.



Again, Joe... Thanks a bunch. I appreciate you!


Nub,
Tommy