Seinfeld Documentary Clip

This scene from Jerry Seinfeld's documentary "Comedian" (2002) is perfect. I have used this story myself when explaining to others what it's like to be a comedian. While it is something that no one can fully understand or appreciate unless they are also a comedian, this story really sums it up well.

Fireman Convention

I spent this weekend at the FDIC (Fire Department Instructors Conference) Convention in Indianapolis, somewhere in the middle of 340,000 square feet of convention space with over 900 vendors. It was pretty overwhelming to say the least.

Why was I there? Because Black Diamond has an excellent marketing campaign for their X-Boot. The idea is that fire boots by themselves are not exciting, so Black Diamond decided to make their booth a little more interesting. What would attract more than 35,000 firefighters and EMTs, most of which are male? Models. It was my job to let everyone know who the models were and talk to people as they passed by.

The models were Aubrie Lemon (Deal or No Deal Case 23) and Carrie Stroup (Maxim). They were both very fun to work with. I believe my favorite line was, "Aubrie's been on TV and Carrie... owns a TV, so come say hi." It was amazing to me how these firefighters would run into a burning building but were reluctant to talk to Aubrie or Carrie.

Aubrie and Carrie thought it'd be funny to get my camera and take some candid pictures on the last day.

I think those two signs pretty much say it all:
Training in Progress and Emergency Scene Ahead.

One of the many self-portraits the girls took. It reminded me of the Ashton Kutcher Nikon Coolpix commercial, except I'm not Ashton Kutcher and none of those girls stuck their tongue out.

The last of the self-portraits was of Carrie's right eye. On the flight to Indianapolis, she accidentally put nail glue in her eye instead of eye drops. I am still not quite sure exactly how that can happen but it cleared up by the end of the weekend for our group picture.

Memphis, TN

Mayor Willie Herenton was recently elected again using the campaign slogan "Shake The Haters Off". I really wish I was making this up, but I am not. See here, here, here and here for proof. If you look closely at his bio, you might notice that he actually has earned a Ph.D. -- in Education -- from Southern Illinois University. Wow.

The shows at Comedy, TN were a lot of fun. It was nice working with Jeff Caldwell, too. You may have seen Jeff on The Late Show with David Letterman or The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Michael McCommon is a local photographer that was at one of the shows so he took a few pictures.

It was a good thing the University of Memphis basketball team won their Final Four game because people Saturday night were in a good mood. That makes doing comedy a little easier. What doesn't make doing comedy easier is knowing the University of Memphis has a Men's and Women's Rifle Squad. I guess nothing can surprise me in Memphis anymore.

Garfield Thinks I'm Funny

Jim Davis, creator of Garfield, is a fan of my comedy. He invited me to be a part of the launch event for ProfessorGarfield.org, a website designed to help kids learn to read.

He was such a nice guy and told me stories about his days at Ball State University with David Letterman.

I thought I would take the time to find one of my favorite Garfield strips.