I had Speech class in 10th grade. Throughout the course of a semester, students had to prepare and perform a series of standard lectures. Styles included (but were not limited to) informative, narrative, and persuasive. I have no clue how I ended up on the topic of my persuasive speech, [...]
When I moved to Los Angeles, I met a comedian named Mike. He was a nice and funny fellow, and told me a story about his first experience with Hollywood. “I got cast in a movie,” he began, naming a big-budget sports comedy I had seen and enjoyed. “I was [...]
When we were about five weeks from her due date, my wife had the thought: “We should probably know what to do in case of an emergency.” As soon-to-be first time parents, we were clueless when it came to caring for infants. Or so we thought. An Infant CPR [...]
I take my children to the library every Monday. We return our stack of books from the previous week, and then my daughter—age four—runs around grabbing new tomes for me to soothe her to sleep with. Being four, she chooses according to what’s on the cover. When we head to [...]
Recently, an article—Why I’ll Never Date a Feminist—went mini-viral. It wasn’t viral, viral, with all America talking about it like it does football players sitting through the national anthem, but it did make waves. The title alone made all the right people outraged. (So much so, I have to wonder [...]
“Nothin’ ever doesn’t change, but nothin’ changes much.” ~OK Go, White Knuckles When I discovered Colin Kaepernick—Kaep, for the sake of brevity—sat through the National Anthem, I giggled. I knew he’d receive flack, and I made a quick Facebook post in support of said flack. I’ve never been a fan, [...]
I have two friends who have never met one another. Jake lives in New York City, and Brad lives in Los Angeles. Both are stand-up comedians. Within a week of one another, each said the exact same thing. Responding to my question—“How are things going?”—the reaction was bitter from one, [...]
As a comedian, I have a rare job. I stand on stage under a spotlight, and hold a microphone that amplifies my words. It is, in some sorts, a position of power. Not actual power, like that of a sitting president or drug lord, more… bartender power. A customer can [...]
I was in Minnesota when it happened. I don’t remember the joke I told, I just remember the response. In a sold out room of 200, 199 people laughed and applauded. When the din receded, however, one lone woman shouted out her disapproval: “That wasn’t funny!” I rolled my eyes. You can’t [...]
I’m often asked two questions: what’s your favorite show; what’s your least favorite show? While I may not have a “favorite” show, per se, I acknowledged my most memorable one here. That got me thinking about the polar opposite; which show would I like to forget the most? Well, it’s actually [...]
