Category: Comedy

Seattle 2010 And Bumbershoot Part 1

September 8, 2010
ArtBumbershootComedyMoviesMusicMy LifeSeattleTravel
2 Comments

We just got back from our annual trek to Seattle for the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival (and more). I’ll post some pictures soon, but in the meantime here is a short synopsis of what we did. Enjoy, and maybe we’ll see you there next year…

Tuesday August 31

We took the Super Shuttle to the airport, and you know, once you are on the shuttle then you are on vacation. It was a quick flight to the Seattle Airport (SEA-TAC). The city of Seattle recently built a light rail line from downtown to the airport (they are way ahead of us) so we tried it. It was much better than a bus and only $2.50. We checked into our hotel, The Camlin, and even thought we were a little early our room was ready. Nice. First stop for us hungry travelers was nearby Cyber-Dogs. This is a great place, all vegetarian, with awesome and filling dogs with lots of toppings and combinations. Suitably stuffed, we went to the grocery store and bought a few supplies to keep with us back at the hotel for quick breakfasts and snacks. Then we

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It’s Almost Bumbershoot – See You There!

July 26, 2010
ArtBumbershootComedyMoviesMusicMy LifeSeattle

It’s only 40 days until this year’s Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival (Sept. 4-6) !!

Any thoughts about it so far? Who are you going to see? Who do you think we should see? Almost every act has been announced by now, so I won’t list them all. It’s all on the web site. Here are some helpful links:

Main web site:
http://www.bumbershoot.org

Printable PDF artist lineup, schedules, and map, which includes the new venue that is replacing “the pit” (aka the Exhibition Hall)
http://bumbershoot.org/info/pdf/

Online lineup and scheduling tool:
http://sched.bumbershoot.org/

Miscellaneous info:
http://bumbershoot.org/info/about-bumbershoot/

Info about the free 40-years-of-Bumbershoot poster show (thru Sept. 7):
http://bumbershoot.org/40/umbrella-for-the-arts-40-years-of-bumbershoot-artwork/

Downloadable icons, wallpaper, and cellphone stuff:
http://bumbershoot.org/bumberfan/downloads.htm

Platinum/Gold Pass info:
http://bumbershoot.org/tickets/platinum-gold/

Buy tickets and ticket info:
http://bumbershoot.org/tickets/

That’s all for now…

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Have You Read This Book? – Take 9

May 11, 2010
BooksComedyMy Life

This book is clever, funny, fast-paced, outrageous, ingeniuous, and just plain fun. Moore has written a slew of books but this is the first one I’ve read. It won’t be the last.

In the book, our beta-male hero Charlie Asher all of a sudden finds himself to be, well, Death. Or at least a “merchant of death”. Hey it’s a dirty job but someone’s gotta do it. There’s a wild cast of characters and the story takes you on a  ride. I can’t really do the book justice, so I’ll post this mini-review from Publisher’s Weekly:

“Cult-hero Moore (The Stupidest Angel) tackles death—make that Death—in his latest wonderful, whacked-out yarn. For beta male Charlie Asher, proprietor of a shop in San Francisco, life and death meet in a maternity ward recovery room where his wife, Rachel, dies shortly after giving birth. Though security cameras catch nothing, Charlie swears he saw an impossibly tall black man in a mint green suit standing beside Rachel as she died. When objects in his store begin glowing, strangers drop dead before him and man-sized ravens start attacking him, Charlie figures something’s up. Along comes Minty Fresh—the man in green—to enlighten him: turns out Charlie and Minty are Death Merchants, whose job (outlined in the Great Big Book of Death) is to gather up souls before the Forces of Darkness get to them. While Charlie’s employees, Lily the Goth girl and Ray the ex-cop, mind the shop, and two enormous hellhounds babysit, Charlie attends to his dangerous soul-collecting duties, building toward a showdown with Death in a Gold Rush–era ship buried beneath San Francisco’s financial district. If it sounds over the top, that’s because it is—but Moore’s enthusiasm and skill make it convincing, and his affection for the cast of weirdos gives the book an unexpected poignancy. “

So yeah, what’s not to like? The book is Christopher Moore’s “A Dirty Job”. It was a very enjoyable read and now I need to pick up another book by Moore. If anyone has any suggestions let me know…

Other “have you read this book” posts

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A Day In The Life – Take 7

April 30, 2010
ComedyFamilyFoodFriendsMoviesMy LifeSports
2 Comments

OK, it’s not really a day. It’s the last week or so. But it’s time to catch up a little bit on what the heck stevenology has been doing!

Well, to start off, I’m full and happy after a lunch at Curry Corner. It’s a great Indian Food lunch buffet here in the Natomas area. All you can eat and all gooooood.

Last night we saw an advance screening of a new movie, City Island (web site, more info, even more info). It’s a very funny comedy with heart. We were laughing out loud and so was everyone else in the theater. Great writing, brisk pace, and funny! Go see it!

And let’s be sure to add some April birthday wishes for my sister Steph, my ex-sister-in-law Connie, and our friend Jared (the big 30).

And talking about Jared, he just started up a food-related blog over at JaredEatsWorld. Go visit and tell him stevenology sent you!

Last Friday night we went to see the Sacramento Rivercats baseball game. It was fun, always is, but they lost. They choked at the end. Oh well, you can’t win them all.

OK, faithful readers, what do you think of all THAT?

Have You Read This Book – Take 8

April 16, 2010
BooksComedyMy Life

The book is “Hello, I Must Be Going” by Charlotte Chandler, and it is subtitled “Groucho and his Friends”. It’s a biography of the legendary comedian Groucho Marx (learn more about him). This lengthy book contains a world of insight into his life and a very generous helping of memories, quotes, and comments from the funniest Marx Brother.

There are lots interviews with his friends, usually with him present to wisecrack and look back fondly. The book presents Groucho in his later years and he knows he is old and doesn’t have a lot of time. He gets a little down here and there, as would be expected. So he looks back on his long, celebrated life, and tells us all about it. There are also guest interviewers, who have great discussions with Groucho. These include Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, George Burns, and many more.

It was a little sad in that Groucho was near the end of his life. But his mind was sharp and he was clever and smart. In short, I liked the book and it just reinforced what I already knew, that Groucho was one of the funniest people ever.

Have you read it? Do you have an opinion?

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Living In 2010

March 16, 2010
Comedy

A friend sent this to me and it made me laugh. Maybe it will do the same for you. Maybe not. But you’ve already read this far, so you might as well find out.

You know you are living in 2010 when…

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 12 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don’t have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn’t have the first 15 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile.  : )

12.. You’re reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually looked back up to check that there wasn’t a #9 on this list

AND NOW YOU ARE LAUGHING at yourself!

What do you think? You can always leave me a comment…

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I Saw Three Movies. Did You?

January 6, 2010
ComedyMoviesMy Life
1 Comment

Over the extended holiday period, I managed to see three new movies in the theater. That’s a lot for me, although I love going. Here’s what I saw: Sherlock Holmes, Up In The Air, and Youth In Revolt. Did you see any of these? If so, leave me a comment and let me know what you thought. Here’s what I thought:

Sherlock Holmes – Robert Downey Jr is just so charismatic. I love him. The rest of the cast was good but he is the star. This version of the venerable tale is a big budget effort and it shows. But there is still attention to the Holmes character. It’s fast-paced and very entertaining.

Up In The Air – The smartest movie of the three for sure. It’s from the director of the wonderful Juno, and like that film has great dialog and sharp, interesting characters. George Clooney is the lead and does a very good job, but both of the main female characters are very good too. It’s very funny at times and moving at other times. This one is for the brain and the heart.

Youth In Revolt – It’s an indie-feeling teen comedy but a little raunchier and more “out there”. The characters are wild stereotypes and the situations are hilariously outrageous but the main thing is that I was laughing out loud over and over during this film. It’s really funny unless you are easily offended. Even then, you will probably laugh a lot.

In short, I would recommend all three movies. If you’ve seen any of them or even if not, let me know what you think!

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Well, The Video Store Had A Big Sale

December 29, 2009
ComedyMoviesMy Life
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That’s what happened. I didn’t plan it but these things happen. There we were enjoying the all-you-can-eat Indian food buffet lunch at Curry Corner. Harmless enough, and tasty too. But then we waddled out the door and [poof] there was the video store nearby with a big ole “Five DVDs For $20” sign. We were powerless. So here’s what we bought, did we do good? Did you like or not like any of these?

“Ghost Town”, “He’s Just Not That Into You”, “Rachel Getting Married”, “Revolutionary Road”, and “New In Town”.

Meanwhile, within a few days of that I won a free copy of “Bruno” and Petra bought “Free Willy”. Yes, really.

Leave me a comment below. Tell me what you think.

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Pictures! Now! 2009 Seattle And Bumbershoot

November 28, 2009
ArtBumbershootComedyFoodFriendsMusicMy LifeSeattleTravel

It’s true! After only a couple months, I finally posted some pictures from our 2009 Seattle trip! We attended the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival, of course, and did some other fun stuff around our second-favorite city too. Larry and Robin (friends) were with us most of the trip and Mama O and her friends we there part of the time too. A great time was had by all!

We didn’t get pictures of every music act we watched at the festival, but you can read about it here (part one) and here (part two) if you want the play-by-play. It’s a gripping read, and one you might not soon forget. Or I could be wrong. In any event the pictures from the trip (three pages worth) are here on the photo page. Click on the first small photo to see the larger image and then you can either click through them or watch the slide show. Have fun and leave me a comment afterwards!!

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Leave me a comment below. I’m waiting and waiting and waiting!

Wanda’s Wisdom Explains A Few Things

November 22, 2009
ComedyPolitics
1 Comment

If you like George W. Bush, if you are politically conservative, or if you are easily offended stop reading now. Really, I mean it. If you are progressive, if you like our current president, and if you have a good sense of humor keep reading now. If you don’t fit in one of those categories, only read every other word. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Below is a quote from comedian Wanda Sykes from her new talk show. I found it really funny but sad too.

“I went to sleep, and when I woke up people were mad at Obama. And I thought, ‘Did I miss something? Did Obama start an illegal war? Did he fly over a flood zone and just wave? Did he torture detainees in a secret prison? Did he start illegally tapping phones? Did he alienate the world and squander a surplus?  Because if he did any of that, we need to impeach that jackass.’ …

I can’t believe people are blaming Obama for the mess Bush left. I mean, Bush just pees all over everything and leaves it soaking wet, and people are looking at Obama like he just zipped up HIS fly. That’s Bush pee!”

Haha! You go girl!!

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Leave me a comment below. Hurry, before your shoes get all wet!

Have You Read This Book? – Take 7

November 4, 2009
BooksComedy

woody_anarchyIf you have not read any of Woody’s books, you might be surprised. He’s very smart and very literate, especially so within this latest effort. Yes, you have to pay attention and he uses big words. But don’t panic! He uses them for good. Actually, he uses them for humor, which is pretty much the same as good.

This book compiles eighteen or so short pieces, many of which published in various places but gathered together for the first time. From “Tandoori Ransom” to “Sam You Made The Pants Too Fragrant” to “On A Bad Day You Can See Forever” to “Above The Law, Below The Box Springs” to, well, maybe you get the idea. His stories are off-beat and unusual and not (as you might expect) full of easy jokes. Oh, but they are funny. Clever and funny, which is even better. 

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It’s A Gift From W.C. Fields

October 29, 2009
ComedyMoviesMy Life

wcfieldsAs I mentioned earlier today, I had a tooth pulled yesterday, so today is a “sit around and relax to feel better” day. And what better way to feel better than with some classic comedy. This one streches w-a-y back to 1934, long before I was born. But a classic is a classic.

W.C.Fields made a series of comedies in the 30s and 40s. He frequently frustrated the movie censors of the day, who questioned his sarcastic grumpy mean-spririted funny banter and smartass asides and also found his drinking, dislike for children, and comic meanness as, well, less than appropriate material for a leading man in a comedy. But Fields was Fields and trying to make him more likable would have just dimished his character. Luckily, he still kept his crankiness and is remembered so many years later for his classics “The Bank Dick”, You Can’t Cheat An Honest Man:, My Little Chickadee (the censor-pushing comedy with Mae West, and others, including this film.

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Go, The Movie. Have You Seen It?

October 29, 2009
ComedyMoviesMy Life
6 Comments

goI had a tooth pulled yesterday. This has nothing to do with the movie “Go”. Well, a little maybe. After the oral surgery yesterday I thought I might be a little under the weather for a while, so I took today off. Oh, I’m doing ok, thanks.

A friend had given us a copy of the DVD for “Go” quite a while back but we had never found the free time to watch it. Well, I finally watched it today and I wish I had watched it sooner. I really enjoyed it! “Go” is a fast-paced, wild ride of a comedy, edgy and fun and full of surprises. It’s from 1999 and features a great cast, with Sarah Polley, Katie Holmes, Taye Diggs, Jay Mohr, Scott Wolf, and many more. Everyone does a good job, the script is tight and funny in a darkishly wild way. And I mean that in the best sense.

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Seattle 2009 And Bumbershoot – Part 2

September 30, 2009
AlcoholArtBumbershootComedyFoodFriendsMusicMy LifeSeattleTravel
2 Comments

bshoot09_logoThe tale of how we spent out Seattle vacation continues. The saga of the first four days can be found here. For the rest of the trip in all it’s glory, continue on, oh my humble and dear readers…

Saturday September 5
After a year of waiting, today was finally the first real day of the 2009 Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. Yeah! We monorailed it over to the festival grounds, and headed for the hospitality room. Included with our Gold Passes was three day access to this room, an oasis with free snacks, drinks, tables and chairs, and indoor clean restrooms. That last item become more important later in the day since the restrooms on the festival grounds can get a little funky. But we don’t worry about that. Anyway, we perused the day’s schedule for the 15 or so different stages and decided to first see a band called Everest.

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Seattle 2009 And Bumbershoot – Part 1

September 25, 2009
AlcoholArtBumbershootCoffeeComedyFoodFriendsMoviesMusicMy LifeSeattle
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Space NeedleWhat we did on a summer vacation, the first four days anyway…

We recently went to Seattle for a week, as we have done over Labor Day for the last nine or so years. The big attraction is the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. It’s a three day festival with entertainment on about 15 stages, plus a variety of other stuff going on too. You can find out more at www.bumbershoot.org. Anyway, between that and some side events, most of the week in Seattle is taken up, and in a great way. But we managed to fit in some other fun things too. Here’s what we did…

Tuesday September 1
We caught the plane to Seattle in the morning. A nice quick flight. Then we took the Seattle city bus from the airport to the hotel. Lucky us, the bus stops right across the street from our hotel, The Camlin. It was before check-in time but the hotel stashed our luggage so we could explore the city for a while. We walked a bit and then took the monorail to the Seattle Center area. Ninety seconds of zipping above the traffic, nice concept! We walked through the center, looking at the preparations for the upcomong Bumbershoot Festival, and walked over to Kidd Valley burgers for a lunch of gardenburgers and onion rings dipped in tartar sauce. Next stop was down the street to Easy Street Records, a nice new-and-used music store where we always find things we need want.

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It’s Almost Bumbershoot!

August 30, 2009
ArtBumbershootComedyMusicMy LifeSeattleTravel

bshoot09_logoIt’s almost here! The 2009 Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival in Seattle. Three full days (and more) of music, art, comedy, film, literature, dance, theater, food, spectacle, more music, and lots of other stuff too!

View the massive schedule of all the Bumbershoot performers.

If you want to make a suggestion for me, put it in the comments below. Now, now, keep it nice.

To view the Bumbershoot web site, go here.

This year, Petra and I will be up in Seattle for a week, friends Larry and Robin (their web site) will be there most of the time, and Mama O and her posse will be there from 3-5 days or so. Big fun for everyone. Recently, I wrote more about who to see at this year’s event in my earlier posts Bumbershoot – You’re Telling Me and Who Should I See At Bumbershoot.

Yah-hoo! I am SO READY!!!!!

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Bumbershoot – You’re Telling Me!

August 12, 2009
ArtBumbershootComedyMusicMy LifeSeattleTravel

Earlier this month I asked for input about which artists (music and otherwise) I should see at this year’s Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. I also listed some of the artists that I am thinking of seeing. Well, Mama O posted her suggestions online on the blog, but millions of you a bunch of you wrote me via email. So, here are the suggestions I have received so far (after the jump):

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Who Should I See At Bumbershoot?

August 8, 2009
ArtBumbershootComedyMusicMy LifeSeattleTravel
3 Comments

Here’s your chance to tell me where to go! Take a look at the schedule for the Bumbershoot Festival coming up and let me know what acts you think are worth seeing. I’ll be there and I might need help! The schedule is here:

http://sched.bumbershoot.org/

Any thoughts? Leave me a comment, click on the comment link below!

Bumbershoot Festival main web site 

Thanks…

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