The Comedy Bible

This book is really good. I've been a student of comedy my whole life, and I found this to be very clear, and very insightful. It does a great job at outlining exactly what you need to do if you are serious about being a stand-up comedian, and then later gets into other types of comedy writing as well. I've been involved with a lot of comedy writing lately, and I found this to be a huge help -- and it is a fast, engaging read, too! Thank you Judy Carter!

The New Sins

I found a copy of this at The Boring Store, and that's pretty appropriate, I think. Really, I was pretty disappointed. I expected more from David Byrne. The fundamental idea of the book is to show that virtues can easily be masks for unhealthy or sinful behavior. But I found the whole thing shallow, adolescent, and boring. I probably would have thought it was cool when I was in ninth grade, though. It does have some nice photographic work, though.

Bakugan

This game is SO totally fun to play! It's like a combination of Pokemon cards, Transformers, and marbles! I really, really wish it had been around when I was a kid! I was gushing about it to someone, and they said, "you know Aldric invented that, right?" And I had no idea! Aldric Saucier was a student at the ETC a few years back, and he always talked about a toy he invented that he was trying to license, and he always said, "I think it might be big." I guess he was right! You can see his TAGIE award for it, here! Go, Aldric!

Toontown Parties

These were totally fun to develop, and also really fun to be at! www.toontown.com.

Dominion

This game is very interesting -- it's kind of like playing war in reverse. Based on what is in your hand, you can buy more cards to add to your discard pile, which will be useful next time you get to the bottom of your deck. It's simple, customizable, and fun.

Adaptation

Oh, good lord. Somehow, this movie escaped my notice when it came out. I feel like it was made expressly for me! A reality-bending story about a frustrated writer who is terrible in social situations? Who else could this be for? It's deep and wonderful and fun. There are layers of meaning that I am sure escaped me, too. It definitely goes on my non-existent list of top ten favorite movies.

Comic Book Heroes

I found this weird album at D&J Records in Carnegie. I expected it to be a comedy album, from all the nonsense on the jacket, maybe something like Chickenman, but really it is just a "concept" album, with a lot of fifties type music evocative of superheroes (it mostly sounds like the soundtrack of Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse).