I went to see Mel&EL at Comix last night and it was amazing.  They are an incredibly funny comic duo, with a deliciously bawdy sense of humor and since Mel& El have been friends since childhood there is a very endearing emotional center to their hilarious lifeshare.  Last night they performed one of my favorite songs.  If only I was 30 when I was 20.

Fav line: I could have spent 10 more years knowing I was friggin’ hot.

I have known the El of Mel& El since I was in college and watching her perform in front of this huge audience in a New York city comedy club, all I could think was, “Look at us! living in the future”

I can’t take credit for that line, it actually came from a childhood friend of mine who I knew only in first through third grade at a Catholic school in GA. She recently tracked me down via Facebook.  I moved around a lot growing up and was shocked that this childhood pal found me.  My biggest memory of that muggy Southern time was that the shriveled Nun who ‘taught’ art forced us to use only the yellow crayon to color people’s skin in our ALL SAINTS coloring book.  So even if you owned a peach or flesh crayon, you ended up with a book of jaundiced Saints.  To this day my sister won’t watch the Simpsons because they are Yellow.  I was pleasantly surprised when this long ago classmate and Catholic school survivor wrote me and electronically extolled,  Look at us! living in the future.

Watching El on stage last night, I flashed back to a time in college when I was frustrated by not getting cast in our theater department.  My boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend? I can’t remember we flipped back and forth a lot, tried to make me feel better by pointing out that El and I were the only girls called back for all three shows that semester.  I should be encouraged by the fact that I was even in the same category as her.   I laughed to myself over the memory and couldn’t help but think, look at El! living in the future.

Maybe I’m overusing the phrase but I’m on a sleep deficiency right now.  Thank you to everyone that came to the MEL& EL outing!

For those of you that didn’t CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT MEL & EL!

Pirates vs Hobos

Arrrgggghhh tomorrow be International Talk Like  a Pirate Day.

Since I can’t be bloggin in this swarthy fashion for long, I be sharin with you a right mighty way to celebrate the day. All ye landlubbers who be miserable in yur wee cubes, need to be takin a break and watch yurself me favorite new webseries

Fav line:  “Some aren’t worth the bindles on their shoulders.”

Good day!

In the continued effort to maintain a life balance, I have a negative tale and a joyful promotion to share with you my lovely readers.  And because I am my Father’s daughter, I will lead with the negative. This true account of my street interaction with a sleazy stranger is dedicated to my good friend Daphne.  I shall title this brief life play, YOU KNOW YOU ARE JADED WHEN…

Walking out of a bodega in my  neighborhood this weekend, a very unsavory fellow sidled up beside me on the street and our conversation went a little something like this:

Him:  Oh, beautiful lady. Beautiful lady,  so beautiful.

Me:  Yeah, fucking lot of good it’s done me.

And scene.  **Insert Emoticon Bow Here**

On the flip side, here is a really fun way that you can support Arts for All, a great non-profit arts organization that serves in-need children ages 4-19, by drinking shiny happy Jamba Juice!!

Help bring the arts to in-need children by making a purchase at Jamba Juice THIS FRIDAY, August 21st. Just mention us at the register!

Jamba Juice, in New York City, will be sponsoring Arts for All, Inc. in a special promotion on Friday, August 21st. Simply mention Arts for All at the register anytime on August 21st, and 20% of your purchase will go to serving in-need children through the arts! Arts for All will also have a free children’s arts and craft station from 1-5pm at all participating locations (with the exception of the Union Square location), so bring your children!

Participating Locations:

*Jamba Juice located in Tribeca at 88 West Broadway, between Warren and Chambers

*Jamba Juice located at Houston and Mercer

*Jamba Juice located at 23rd Street and 5th Avenue

*Jamba Juice located at Union Square South on University Place

*Jamba Juice located at 24th Street and 7th Avenue

*Jamba Juice located at 13th Street and 6th Avenue

For more information, visit www.arts-for-all.org

Note: This is the first time I have used the ‘f word’ in my blog.  Not counting Frak.  This was unavoidable in order to depict my brief life play as accurately as possible.  Thank you.

The other night I had the chance to hear an amazing writer, and storyteller speak.  And do what it appears he does best, tell ridiculously funny, well-timed stories.  By the end of the night, I was drooling with envy at his charm, mastering of wordplay, and career accomplishments.

To name a small few the speaker, Alan Zweibel, use to carpool to comedy clubs with Billy Crystal, was an original writer on SNL, brought 700 Sundays and Martin Short’s one man show Fame Becomes Me (which I had the awesome pleasure of seeing ) to Broadway.  Had an amazing writing partnership with Gilda Radner and was a writer for one of my favorite shows growing up, The Gary Shandling Show.  Even as I type this the theme song is resurfacing and looping in my mind.

As he spoke, oohs of acknowledgment rose from the audience when different pop culture firecrackers went off in their brains as they listened in awe to the man who had helped create these golden moments.  I found it oddly charming that for me the firecracker that sparkled the brightest was when he spoke of writing the novel and then the screenplay for the movie NORTH.

When I was in high school, I worked at a movie theater.  I also had a passionate admiration for the director Rob Reiner.  When I discovered that two of what I considered to be the greatest movies of all time, The Princess Bride and A Few Good Men, had come from the same man,  I proclaimed Meathead my movie God.  I was very excited for the opening weekend of NORTH.  I had snagged a copy of the poster when they came in, and fought for the NORTH button to wear proudly on my uniform lapel.  This was going to be a great movie.

I worked a twelve hour shift, the highlight being a small child standing in the long concessions’ line chanting incessantly for what seemed like hours

Lion King, Lion King, Lion King, Lion King, lion king mommmy, lion king, Lion King

Until I was almost fired for proclaiming a tad too loudly

Somebody Kill it!

When I was done, I took my grease-splattered, butter-weary bones to see NORTH.  I walked out in the same manner as I imagined many Star Wars fans must have after the premier of Episode I.  Utterly disappointed and angry as if I had been personally wronged.  Cut to – I really don’t want to calculate how many years later – and here I am laughing my ass off listening to this man speak.   Lately, I have had similar feelings about how the course of my life has turned out

Disappointed and angry as if I had been personally wronged

Listening to this fascinating man talk and share his life stories, including the beautifully whimsical first meeting of Gilda Radner while hiding behind a plant at his first SNL writer’s meeting, I felt privileged that the course of my life had lead me to this moment.

When the moderator asked Mr. Zweibel if he had any words for a room of aspiring writers, he encouraged us to never give up, never let anyone tell you that you don’t have talent.  He then did the most wonderful thing ever.  He pulled a well rumpled review of NORTH out of his wallet and then read the first few lines of Roger Ebert’s review that has now become infamous and starts

I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it.

So infamous that it was used as the title for Roger Ebert’s 2000 book which collected up reviews of thumbs way down movies.  Why he carries this review around in his wallet, I’m not sure. Then again, wouldn’t you? But the very real idea of not being afraid of Failure and following the beat of your heart, murmurs and all, poured forth.  I wanted to jump up and shout to this brilliantly quirky fellow, “You Failed!” and finally celebrate my long ago anticipated movie NORTH.

Alan Zweibel’s take on the now google-able  Hated, Hated review was like, I string words together and hope that people will like them.  Sometimes they do.  Sometimes they don’t.  Hey, it’s not like I committed a war crime.

As the rejections for my latest script have started rolling in. And I struggle with my weight, and emotional eating to cope, along with finding the courage to start the daunting process of writing a new script, who would have ever thought I’d find so much inspiration in the movie NORTH?  Just please don’t ask me to watch it again.

Thank you to Mr. Zweibel, an author who has also written the books Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner – A Sort of Love Story, The Other Shulman, and Clothing Optional: And Other Ways to Read These Stories