Friday, December 18, 2009

3D Girl, Ho!

First 3D Girl Adventures cartoon on the new 3D Girl Adventures YouTube channel!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Theories on standup comedy

I am not nor have I ever been a standup comedian. But since I've worked with a number of comediennes over the years, I've been forced to endure more standup than I would have liked to. There are two basic approaches among the many that I would like to single out for criticism here in this blog. Now the point of both of my blogs is to write about stuff I really LIKE, so this entry doesn't fit either one. That also explains why there are so few entries in either blog, I have a hard time not being judgmental. I listen to Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra mp3's telling me not to be judgmental every single day, yet still find it hard to be an artist without theories, or to have theories without separating the wheat from the chaff and making a definitive decision on what works and doesn't work for me.

Okay, the two approaches to standup I have the hardest time with are sort of inverse versions of each other.

The first is the kind most used by hosts of shows. I get the sense these are all guys who think they should be more successful than they are, and they're angry at everyone because of it. If they could draw, they'd have become cartoonists so they could sit at home and make fun of everybody in private, but since they have no talent whatsoever, they decide instead to go into standup "comedy." They come unprepared for their own gigs, walk out and grab the mike like an alpha male chimp, then glare around the room looking for people who are different to make fun of. This guy will come up with cute nicknames for each of the people in the crowd. The idea is to hope that the tourists in the audience are too stupid or drunk to realize that he really means the insult and he actually does despise you and only want your beer money and for you to tip the bartenders.

The other approach I have zero respect for is the ass-kissing inverse of this-- the guy who comes unprepared, stares around the audience, tries to read the minds of the audience, and tries to tell jokes that would appeal to that "type" of person. This inevitably reveals more about the "comedian"'s personal prejudices than anything else. Oh it's a mostly female crowd! I'll do tampon jokes. Black people on the side there, I'm gonna talk about how great Obama is! At one show, a guy saw a Chinese friend of mine in the audience and asked her, "Hey where are you from? Japan? Korea?" Then was surprised when she seemed unhappy at the prospects of playing along with him any further. To me, these guys think they're chameleons, they think they're David Bowie falling to earth from another planet and they will be all things to all people. But instead, we get to see each of their prejudices MAGNIFIED 100X and we have to wipe their slobber off our asses, which does not endear them to us.

Then they'll leave the stage cursing at us and calling us a tough crowd, but JEEBUS.

In a vague pathetic attempt to put something positive into this theory rant, I will say that two approaches I like in standup are the experimental approach like Andy Kaufman or Angel Yau, and the visionary messiah approach like George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Bill Hicks, Sam Kinnison, etc. and so on.

In general though I have to say I think improv is a superior comedy medium, even though improv comedians look and act more like each other than gay men. And they're all equally as funny as each other hahaha just kidding. The girls are almost always funnier than the boys but the boys get all the good writing jobs on TV shows.

OK I've refused to do standup or improv EVER and my theories and comments should be taken with that in mind-- I'm criticizing from the audience, not from on stage.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Angel is Spooky!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mermaid will make a special appearance tomorrow (Saturday) so that Angel can premiere her spook-a-riffic entry TODAY!!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Hunting the Silencers with Mr. Creepo!

John A. Keel coined the term "Men In Black" but Will Smith got a job out of it. Timothy Green Beckley (a/k/a Mr. Creepo) is the only person to ever take a photograph of a MIB, and he aims to cash in on it himself on the UFO Hunters show on the History Channel in a few days.

Read more:
http://www.ufodigest.com/news/1009/ufo-hunters.php

Monday, September 28, 2009

Vote for Angel Yau!

Wonderful Angel Yau. Now you guys owe me a favor for showing this to you.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Halloween Festival

The Peter's Choice Awards blog will be celebrating Halloween with any luck, and here is the info from Liam Leprechaun himself:

Sunday, August 23, 2009

3D Girl Battle Cry

3D Girl Battle Cry by Rachel Cleary & Checker Phil in Windows Media:

Checker Phil calls Angel Yau

The viewers always ask why Angel doesn't call them back when they ask her out. Checker Phil decided to stage a demonstration in order to instruct the late night audience in reality, using the illusion of improv.
Checker Phil calls Angel Yau on the imaginary improv phone.
Luckily, Angel remembered to bring her's with her today.
"Hello?"
"Angel Yau! Yo yo yo! What's up? Checker Phil representing!"
"Oh, hang on, let me change hands."
"OK Phil, what were you saying?"
Phil daringly invites Angel out for a dinner of lobster brains.

Angel gives her carefully considered answer.
It's not looking good for Phil.
"Hey-- it is what it is!"

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

3D Girl HO!


I'm so stoked! Rachel Cleary and I are meeting at Checker Phil's place tomorrow to record lines for 5 new 3D Girl Adventures cartoons!
This is the project I currently enjoy doing the most, and I find my mind wandering to it when I'm supposed to be doing other things. I've loved 3D since I was a kid. One of the only things from my childhood I still have is my older sister's View-Master reel collection, which I still look at. I'd probably still make 3D movies even if I lost my binocular vision-- the first 3D feature was made by Arch Obeler, who only had one working eye!

Henrey Cat's Gardening Tips

Sunday, August 9, 2009

The Mighty B reviewed by Peter Bernard


The Mighty B (above) is about Amy Poehler doing her girl scout character from the UCB, imagining that she can be a superhero with a man's body.

This show has actually I guess been on the air since last year but I've never seen it before, so I'm just writing about it now.

I was over helping Horus Cat pack (he's moving into a luxury Trump building soon), and Horus' 4-year-old human sister Cait was watching tv. Suddenly The Mighty B came on, co-created by Amy Poehler. Cait started bouncing up and down, saying, "THIS show is on! I love THIS show!" She didn't react like that to any other program all day.

Basically, this is a female Ren and Stimpy meets Dexter's Laboratory. One of the stories I saw was storyboarded by Lynne Naylor from Ren and Stimpy and Bill Wray from Ren and Stimpy is one of the background artists. They do everything in tribute to R&S or Dexter on the show in terms of the visuals and the timing and the sight gags. The voices are good-- besides Amy, The Tonight Show's Andy Richter is in it playing Amy's brother (perhaps a tribute to when Amy would play Andy's sister on the old Conan O'Brien show?) and Matt Besser from the UCB is on hand to play a myriad of supporting roles. I don't immediately recognize the other cast members, maybe Angel knows who they are if they're UCB people.

I think it's kind of sick that all these shows hire John K's assistants but none of them just freaking hire John K!!! But this one is better than Spongebob, at least. And since the main demo for the show is 4-year-old girls like Cait, it's her review that matters more than mine. Cait LOVES this show!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

A story about Keel

I remember Keel used to always insist to me that he wasn't just about UFOs. He wanted me to see him as the renaissance man he saw himself as.

"I was on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson multiple times, for crying out loud!" he once proclaimed in an exasperated manner.

"Really?" I asked, "What did he have you on to talk about?"

WAH-waaaaahhhh...

Sunday, April 5, 2009

New Lisa Putrid Video


Jane Pear is the funniest, prettiest, and most talented Canadian all at the same time.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Hey I have an idea

How about if I take down all the Lisa Putrid videos and replace them with videos of me reading aloud Lisa's MANY MANY emails and IMs in which she swore up and down that if she ever got signed she would take me with her.

Everybody I ever helped get their start has always done so much to return the favor, show business is like Disneyland and everybody loves each other and is so well-adjusted.

Lisa's all mad at me and thinks she's going to get me upset if she becomes famous. She never heard Shel Silverstein's "Boy Named Sue." I kept TELLING her to listen to it. I'm the son of a bitch that named her Sue.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

jnsdfjisdfjosdfjkl

How does one un-follow blogs one is following? All rather annoying.

Tonight Jason asked me why I was afraid to go on Facebook. I told him I had to unfriend a girl I love who hates me, a friend of his wife.

He laughed and said, "Love is a multi-pronged utensil."

I haven't written here since my Kitka died. I went home from taping the first Jessica's Chest and she died within hours suddenly at the age of 4. Lisa Peters wrote me an email, telling me that now Kitka was in Heaven watching over me and protecting me.

Today Lisa told youtube to take down my films that she is in, claiming copyright of my films that she appeared in eagerly and cooperated with promoting on youtube. Jason said oh that's just big business, I said it wasn't the record company doing it, it was Lisa.

Say it again:
"Love is a multi-pronged utensil."

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Thursday Cat Blogging

The Ro-Man
ABOVE: Jubilee is helping her mother act for me.
ABOVE: Catnip fiend!
ABOVE: My friends like being on camera, which is good because I hate it, haha.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

City Hall part 2: Rachel Sings her Horse Song!

City Hall yesterday (part 1 of 2)

Trademarked airspace


According to Tina, this blonde lady is famous or successful or something, I forget what she said exactly. But we were not able to get clear pictures of her because her management has trademarked the airspace within which she moves, and clear shots may only be gotten with written prior permission. It's fascinating new technology.

Pic by Dave Monroy using my weird camera (not Dave's fault).

New Jason video

Lobbyist Dandruff


This lobbyist for the carriage drivers kept standing right in front of me blocking my shot and he smelled really really bad. I'm not kidding. Here is a close up of his dandruff, which I had to look at for long periods, my back to the wall and this dude in front.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

2 new Jason videos in the works


Today we shot two Jason videos, one a solo composition and one he wrote with Kate Nash.
Only Jason would want to shoot a music video in a library, and the security guard was instructed to make us stop. But I told the security guard that we were shooting home movies and Jason was making this video as a surprise for his daughter on her birthday. I said it would really make his daughter happy on her birthday if we could just shoot the video. So the security guard went back and got permission from his boss for us to make Rachel a surprise video. Only Rachel's birthday is past, so we shot the Kate Nash video instead (sorry Rachel).

Saturday, January 10, 2009