Our George
Current mood: bummed

I can remember like it was yesterday the hippie dippie wheather man or my brothers and I sneaking down to the basement of our home and going back to the food storage area and plugging in the record player and placing our Carlin album very carefully on it and giggling and making sure the volume was just so.  My mother later admitted that she heard us listening to him while she was in the upstairs kitchen and she may have gotten embarrassed a time ot two but she thought he was very funny.  It is that, that presents itself to me as a historical reminder of what it is we are so amazed by. The utter consistancy and quality of what he said over the years.  Later on in life when I discoverd Carlin at Carnegie anytime my brothers or I would eat tomatos he was quoted.  My brothers and I were at a baseball banquet for all of our teams and they were serving "frog leggs" WOW!

I should say that I have become more familiar with death than I would like, five years ago my Sister-n-law (My wife's baby sister) passed unexpectedly, then not too long afer my Father died very abruptly and my Father-n-law was sick and he passed soon after, then my Mother-n-law and just two weeks ago we lost my wife's Aunt who was raised with my mother-n-law as a sister but they were cousins.

What any of this has tought me is to slow down and enjoy each and every relationship and each and every person in my life.  I aspire to make kindness an every day thing, I don't always succeed but I try. I love what I do and I don't think there is any turning back for me on August 14, 2008 I will celebrate 20 years of doing comedy and I am really looking forward to the next 20 years

I will always be greatful to Carlin for his ability to call bullshit when he saw it and always be weary of people trying to sell you something.  On a personal note, I will miss George Carlin very much and I will revere him on a level of a true legend of his craft.

He was truly "Our George"

Try to love one another

Mike Diesel

4:27 AM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

The Clips for the Gas Pump?
Current mood: aggravated
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Okay, so based on what you have seen and read so far you know that I am a comic and comic's travel and maybe it does not mean much to you but time, and timing is everything!

I don't want to go to the gas station, (I don't mind not talking to anyone and just pumping the gas, thats fine) pull the handle on the pump that activiates the gas and find that it will not stay in place because some dumbass crushed it broke it or stole the clip that is suppose to hold the lever in place so that I may go do other things? I think maybe that was the clips purpose? WTF?

If you do steal this, what do you do with it? Is it an attack against "Big Oil"? If so, I think you might not be hitting the right people. Can a clip for a gas pump be used for other things? Am I missing something, is this magical wonderful device used by anything other than its intended purpose?

Call me crazy, but I like to clean my windshield and throw trash away and maybe even clean out my cooler while the gas is pumping. I don't clean the windshiled with the dirty water the station provides, I bring my own stuff. thats how you know someone travels for a living, I guess now I am going to have to bring my own Gas Pump Clips.

3:40 AM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

My Pops
Current mood: crushed

To My Pops

Thomas J. Cuccherini

1938 to 2006

When I think of my father so many things go through my mind.  I know that I will miss him, my brothers Dan, Tom and Jim and especially my sister, Robin, who is the only girl and the oldest, we will all miss him so badly.  When I think of straightforwardness, toughness and fairness, these are all words that describe my dad.  He was a hard man to get to know, but once you knew him he was a friend for life.  He believed in hard work. He was always happy to be working on a project, despite how frustrated or angry he might get. Many people I know could not keep up with him.  He had a taste for cheap beer, but could also laugh at and certainly appreciate Monty Python.  When I was a boy, he was larger than life.  He was tough on us, but he was a great coach, in basketball, football and baseball. 

I remember when I was 15 years old and a freshman in high school, I went out on a Friday night with my older brother Tom. The only thing my brother Tom did was tell my parents he was going to be at the high school dance but really went to his girlfriends house on the other side of town (which was fine with me because I was a much better dancer than him). I did not have any alcohol or drugs, but I was so sick when I got home, I remember getting home and feeling awful and throwing up all night long and into the morning and my parents were just grilling Tom to beat the band. Are you sure you guys were not drinking? I felt so bad about being that sick. Finally, my dad said thats it, we are going to the emergency room. 

Two hours later they took out my appendix. While I was under, I had a few choice expletives for the nurses and the doctors and everyone in between.  Rather than be embarrassed or anything like that, when I woke up my father was holding my hand and I could smell Old Spice.  It was a moment I will never forget, the rest of my life.  I know that all my siblings have similar stories about Pops.  He was not all touchy feely, but he was always there for you when you needed him. 

My father taught me how to paint houses.  He taught me how to throw a baseball and how to catch one.  He taught me how to fish, despite the fact that I hate fishing and he still loved it.  He loved the woods and the mountains; he did not care much for snow.  He loved his wife and my mother; they were still high school sweethearts despite almost 50 years together.  He told me that his favorite holiday was Thanksgiving, because it is also mine.  We were on a paint job together and I forget where, I know my brother Dan painted with him much more than any of us, because my brother Dan could paint. I happened to be on this job and I spilled a 5-gallon bucket of brand new exterior paint on the clients driveway. This did not make him smile. I was so scared that I cried and thought he would never take me on another paint job again.  In the moments where I started to calm down and try to clean up the mess, he came to me and knelt down beside me while I was cleaning and looked up, and then looked back down at me.  I asked, What are you looking at? He said, I just wanted to see if the black cloud that follows me around when I screw up, maybe got caught over your head for a while.

Three years ago now, before he retired again, he was working on the design for his new home and his new life after his second retirement, I would imagine.  Maybe not all the details but laying the ground work.  I got a chance to go to his house, the one I grew up in, and have a beer with him.  The beer was not doing it for him on this day; he wanted a shot and that was rare.  He asked me to join him. 

You see, years prior to this, I went from a secure business that made a great deal of money to one where you do not make squat and he was very scared for me. I got into, of all things, stand-up comedy.  That was a long time ago and I never asked how he felt about it, but I poured the shots that day and before we drank, he took a little look over at me and smiled, the way only my father could smile, genuinely and with real glee, and he said, Michael, you are one funny sumbitch I said cheers and thank you. 

I used to think that all we ever talked about is football and now I would give anything if I could just talk to him one more time how the Skins are going to do this year.  I will always love you, Pops, and I am so proud to be your son.

7:12 AM - 5 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

Geat to see a comic you have not seen in a long time!
Current mood: peaceful

I had the good fortune of booking The Fabulous Fat Doctor, a Washington DC Comedy LEGEND! The show was a Weds night comedy I book at The Bentz St Sports Bar in Frederick MD recently, and DAM! It was so good to see him and watch him work and know that after 26 years in this business this guy still BRINGS IT!

He was professional and gracious, but the funny part happened when we actually had to evacuate the premises and Doc thought that he had said or done something wrong on stage, which he simply could not that night! They actually had a small fire and had to get the folks out of the building for a little bit (Thank God they have a big garage door in the back) We calmly got the folks out and then about 15 minutes later they came back in and watched Doc's set without missing a beat! They were a great crowd and Doc introduced me to Daimo (MSP?) a new comic out of his comedy classes and the kid was great, he hosted the show and did a fantastic job.

It has been way too long since I have seen Doc work his magic and I can tell you it will not be that long the next time I see him work! I am not one to Blog or for that matter post anything on myspace or anywhere else.  Doc was one of the first comics in this business to tell me over 17 years ago that I was funny and I should stick with it and eventually I ended up working with him on the road and I will never forget that and I just wanted a space some where to give the guy his PROPS! MAJOR PROPS!

I dont want it to seem as if I am just talking about Doc, because Adam Jacobs was the feature on the show and as always Adam kicked ass like he always does, if you see Adam you will notice he is very light headed these days!

Fat Doctor, I cannot thank you enough and we will be see much more of each other in town and on the road.

4:30 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Newbies & Open-Micers
Current mood: content
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Hello Everyone,

    I have been in the stone ages in WV with my little AOL Dial Up.  We can't seem to get DSL to come out this way because they would not make enough money?  I have never posted on this before, so take it easy while I get to the point.  The point of this blog is for me to say "Hello" to everyone, and mostly to people in the Stand Up Comedy World, because I have been in the business for over 17 years now.  I help run a small Comedy Club in Northern Virginia and have been for about 8 years now.  We have developed a great deal of local talent and helped turn them into working pro comics.  We now have a very new group of comics performing on a regular basis at the "Open-Mic" nights and I would be telling a lie if I did not say I was concerned for them.  I like there talent, however, I have not seen the work ethic that I have seen so many times with other new groups of comics.  Maybe we will be able to work some of them, but some of them think they are entitled to work after they have hit the "OMN" stage 3 times.  You have to have an act before you get paid.  OK, now go ahead and beat the crap out of me now.  MIKE DIESEL

5:47 AM - 0 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment