WYMBM...Beauty and The Beast (at Zilker Park)

So maybe you're tired of downtown. Tired of paying cover charges. Tired of overpriced drinks and just want to get away. Do something different.
Well, got somethin' for ya. Zilker Park is putting on Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

Yeah, sure maybe it's been a while since you've seen a play and you're not sold on paying for something that isn't good.
No worries. This one's F-R-E-E.


Yeah, but what about the weather? It's triple digits!!!
The show doesn't start until the sun goes down (about 8:30). Really, I went in jeans and long sleeves and it was just fine.


The cast does a really good job and the costumes are great and some border on scandalous (look for the diamond; you'll know it when you see it).


What I found surprising was how much I enjoyed it because the kids enjoyed it. Hearing the collective, Ewwww's and Ahhhh's, and seeing how excited they get when they get to meet the cast...you can't help but smile. Maybe even laugh (just a little).


And yes, you can bring beer (in cans) and wine. Though Beauty and the Beast may not be the best place to get plowed???


Shows are Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night.


A word of advice, don't show up at 8:30 expecting to get seats up close. The kids will all have grabbed them by then. Plan ahead, bring a blanket (if you've got a mini lawn chair even bettah), and try to drop it by 7:00 then just kick back and relax because if you miss it then you're missing out.

6:45 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

WYMBM...Austin Stand Up Comedy

So the weekend is nearly upon us and this one promises to be a good one because this weekend there are two great stand up shows! If the last memory you have of stand up is holding a large piece of plastic to protect yourself from flying chunks of watermelon then yes...it's been a while. Not to worry, you've got a few options this weekend...
If you're a North Austinite, Cap City Comedy Club has an amazing show. Through a mix-and-match of this-and-that Eddie Gosling is performing this weekend. If you've never seen Eddie, you will be doing yourself a huge favor. His material is sharp and witty and he's one of the favorites for many comics here in town. Add on Doug Mellard and Eric Krug and really the cover charge doesn't matter.

Maybe you're a Southie. No worries. Jimmie Roulette's at The Velveeta Room on 6th St. this weekend. Truly, one of the best comics to come out of Austin. Jimmie's been on Comedy Central, opened for Dave Chapelle, and has a list of credits that goes on and on. He's one of those guys that when you see him perform you can't help but have a good time. His material is solid, but more than that he truly enjoys being on stage. He walks out with a certain energy that's so contagious the audience ends up having as much fun watching Jimmie as he has performing.

It's rare when there are two different shows in this town as good as these so get out and see one-See them both if you can because if you miss it then you're missing out.

~Mike

8:27 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Things to Come

Friday nights in Austin there are several questions usually asked:
What's the wait for a table at Trudy's? Is Rick Perry really gay? and, What is Mike doing this weekend? Well, the jury's still out on the governor, and I can't do much in the way of getting you a table (though those blue pagers they hand out make great drink coasters), I can however answer one of the other questions.


What to do with the weekend is always tough for me. Some of my friends play in bands, some are stand up comics, some write plays, act, etc. and I usually bounce back and forth between checking out each of these which got me to thinking, "Wouldn't it be great to do some cross pollination?" So I'll be putting in a weekly blog I'm calling, "What You May Be Missing..."
My goal is for these to be short and sweet promotions for something going on around town. A band, a comic, a play, a reading, maybe even a road trip. You get the point. Mostly this is to get the word out to my friends about things going on around town that are worth checking out.

There are a couple of other things stewing around that I'm working on, but we'll save that for another time. For now, keep an eye out for these weekly snipits.

~Mike

11:00 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Brief Lives

"I like the stars. It's the illusion of permanence, I think. I mean, they're ALWAYS flaring up and caving in and going out.

But from here I can pretend...

I can pretend that things LAST. I can pretend that lives last longer than moments.

Gods come, and Gods go. Mortals flicker and flash and fade.

Worlds don't last; and stars and galaxies are transient, fleeting things that twinkle like fireflies and vanish into cold and dust.

But I can pretend."

-Excerpt from Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman

7:54 PM - 3 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Bill Cosby vs. Carlos Mencia

Yet another example of the performer known as Carlos Mencia stealing from another comic.
My advice: Do Not Piss Off Bill (Fucking) Cosby.

Cut and paste and make your own decision...

http://break.com/index/carlos_mencia_stealing_jokes_from_cosby.html

Thanks Dr. Juan for sending me the link.

6:17 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Mencia and Plagiarism

Most of you know about this, but for those that don't:

Joe Rogan recently went toe-to-toe with Carlos Mencia (Ned Hollness) at the Comedy Store in LA. Rogan confronted Mencia for stealing other stand up comedian's material. I won't go into the details as I wasn't there and JoeRogan.net does a much better job of the play by play and the video is a paramount moment in Stand Up Comedy. All I can offer are my thoughts on this so here it is:

It's known-and now been largely proven-that the Performer known as Carlos Mencia steals other comic's material. Unlike other forms of writing Stand Up Comedy offers little in the way of copyright protection. A number of Performers have knowingly taken material that was written and developed by someone else and passed it off as their own without giving any type of credit or compensation. It's one thing if you're a hired writer for TV show (Letterman, Leno, Conan O'Brien...) and are being paid for your efforts. It's a whole different ball game if you're busting your ass to get a few road gigs and move up the comedy club booking list. In addition to the phone calls, the production efforts (burning and mailing out DVD's, etc.), and a list of other prep items that go into getting booked there's the center piece: The Material. The stuff that says who you are as a comic. It takes months and sometimes years to develop a single joke to the point where it's worthy of people's time and attention, but once a joke reaches that point it's a very cool thing. You always have it and can always use it. You can drop it in as your clutch card if things aren't going well. You can use it to change up the rhythm of the set. So to have someone take that away is infuriating.

Stand up comedians are all writers that happen to chose stand up as a form of presentation for their material. If they had written their material in manuscript format and submitted it to a publishing house they would have the reassurance that comes with the copyright protection. As of right now there's very little true legal protection offered in this area for stand up comedians.

In addition, when a Hollywood Goliath like the Performer known as Carlos Mencia steals from a comic there's little comics can do about it. Confronting the individual could get you dropped from a club-or in Joe's case-an entire agency. It would have taken someone like Joe Rogan to bring the public's attention to this issue as Rogan has had a great deal of success from News Radio and Fear Factor and has also established a name for himself in the stand up community. Had this been someone of lesser fame they likely would have been bounced from the club and likely black balled altogether and no one ever would have heard a word about it.

I hope that this marks a shift where hacks and thieves are confronted and clubs back the true writers. If a similar situation had happened in the book community it would be the death of the writer. Hollywood...well things are a little different there.

And by the way, Dennis Leary we haven't forgotten about you.

5:32 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

There's nothing hotter...

Than a chick at a typewriter.

Unless she's confused and asking, "What does this do?"

6:23 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Why I LOVE the Internet...

No, it's not the porn. Or the amazing viruses you can catch...hmmm...
I recently had absolutely nothing to do at my evil-evil office job and decided to take a shot at tracking down the first book I fell in love with.
It was a black and silver copy with some of Edgar Allan Poe's works. What made this first one so special were the paintings inside, amazing detail and fantastic color work.
All I could remember was the cover and that it was by Poe.
Knowing there would be somewhere around a bazillion Amazon hits for the inquiry "Poe" I went the Google route and searched through a couple hundred images with little to show for it.
Until around page twelve when I found it.
Turns out it was illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt. Now, I know this guy is obviously German, but if you can look past that the art is amazing.
Even more amazing was that I got the book in the mail within a week of my search. What would have taken me years of hunting through old book shops and 1/2 Price sidewalk carts took me only hours and while I'm sure I'll still search the isles of old book stores, it's nice to have those paintings now to look at and think back to years and years ago when all I wanted to know was what poem went with the drawing of a black cat and find out just who the girl named Lenore...

6:50 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

All Things to All People

The next time you think something you've created/written/painted is totally crap and that people will think it's terrible, just before you totally trash it, think of one painter, or movie, or book that everyone loved and no one had anything bad to say about it.
Stumped? So am I.

If you think of one let me know.

11:32 AM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Girl with WebCam

I don't know if you know this, but you're accidentally leaving your webcam on. I know you're in a rush to get out the door and want to check to see if that email you're waiting on finally came in, but next time double check to make sure it's off. And tell your boyfriend to chill out. He always seems to be rushing you and breaking your concentration.
Jerk.
I'd meant to say something sooner, but, unfortunately, I don't have Internet at my house and I'm usually in a rush so I haven't had the chance to send you an email yet. (That and I don't know who the hell you are.) I'm sure it's costing a FORTUNE in electricity, but just wanted to give you a heads up.

6:48 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment