I’m really not so sure that all these glowing rectangles are so super after all.
Last night I did a version of Andy Christie’s Liar Show at the Web 2.0 conference along with Ophira Eisenberg, Jim O’Grady, and Steve Zimmer. The point was simple: each of us tells a technology-themed story (fitting for the conference), then the audience grills us with questions at the end. After the Q&A period is up, the crowd votes for the person they think is lying.
It’s a fun game, and nobody takes it too seriously. I told a story about that ridiculous espresso incident a few years ago, a story I used to win a Moth Slam the night before last. I’ve already had as much fun with that thing as I’m going to, and I just kind of did the show in the spirit of fun and camaraderie, and it’s always an honor performing with storytellers you admire.
At tech conferences, it is perfectly acceptable to have a glowing screen positioned in front of your face the entire time. It’s asinine, to say the least, but it’s kind of to be expected. You’ve got people who are maybe not super-socially skilled in the first place that gravitate towards the Web — an environment where introverts really shine — and then attending a conference about the Web. So you can hardly be surprised when people stand in crowds pecking at their handhelds instead of talking.
My coworker went to send a fax this morning, and a funny thing happened when it connected to the number that she dialed: She got Rickrolled.
I just had to grab the camera and hit redial…
(See “Rickroll” on Know Your Meme, for those of you who were nowhere near the internet for the past 2 or 3 years.)
I saw this “Barack Obama Type” incense in the bodega across the street from my house the other night. I’m wondering: does it make your house smell Presidential? Or like a beleaguered leader who’s being abandoned by fair-weather fans?
Getting a book deal pays money. Shopping a book around does not. Neither does looking at sketchy internet sites while waiting for something to happen with said book. So, I, like so many others in these desperate time, am spending more of my life than is healthy on the Craigslist Jobs board. This is how I have come to realize that a ridiculous number of your resumes go out to Nigerian and British email scammers. Some of them will even send you fake Moneygram checks by UPS, no matter how many times you tell them to stop contacting you and that you are shredding said checks. If I was as clever as this guy I would be getting hilarious revenge.
In the absence of such brilliance, I take my comfort in the world of live storytelling. Which is essentially letting someone else’s cleverness do all the work. Thanks guys! In this case, the person doing the heavy lifting is Greg Leitman. Greg is the kind of man who will fight for the woman he loves. Its like a Telenovela played out in a suburban Jersey rec room.
Before we get to Greg, two shows to plug. 1. I will be performing the first chapter of my book in the works at Under Saint Marks theater tonight at 8 o’clock. and 2. The next Standard Issues, where this video was shot is on Tuesday the 28th. And it is a free show. So, if you, like me, are wasting your life on Craigslist waiting for the economy to make you employable again, come on down for a free night of entertainment.
Just a quick note here — I’ll be performing in Blaise Allysen Kearsley’s “How I Learned” at Happy Ending tomorrow evening. The show starts at 8, but the last time I did it, the place filled up FAST. Get there early.
The How I Learned Series presents:
HOW I LEARNED TO INHALE: STORIES ABOUT DRUGS
Featuring:
TONY O’NEILL
(Sick City; Down and Out on Murder Mile)
JEFF SIMMERMON
(The Moth; This American Life)
ROYAL YOUNG
(Fame Shark; Interview)
EDITH ZIMMERMAN
(The Awl; New York Magazine’s Vulture)
Created, Produced + Hosted by:
Blaise Allysen Kearsley
Wednesday, September 22nd
8:00pm (Doors open at 7:00)
HAPPY ENDING
302 Broome Street
between Forsyth + Eldridge
(Look for the pink awning that says “XIE HE Health Club”)
F, J, M, Z to Delancey
B, D to Grand
As many of you know, we (me and my husband Brad) did a Doctor Who burlesque show on the 17th of last month at Hotsy Totsy Burlesque. We posted here about the show a couple of days before it went up and then BoingBoing picked up the post and BAM! Who Fans. Everywhere, Who fans, Who web sites, Who forums, Who smoke signals! Even in New Zealand.
Who fans made a tremendous turnout at the show and they all showed up with their sonic screwdrivers in pocket. We usually get a pretty decent crowd, but this was crazy. Here we are going to show you some of the pics Jeff took of the show and talk about them. Plus some video shot by Hotsy Totsy co-producer, Joe The Shark.
Brad: First thing you need to know is that we love Doctor Who and we love Burlesque. Both have this DIY sincerity and wit that completely overcome their budget constraints. But, while we are always around people who love burlesque, we aren’t convention people, no particular reason, we just aren’t. That is why this evening was such a rush. Suddenly there was a new group of enthusiasts mingling with our usual group of enthusiasts and it was standing room only. I remember seeing that and not being able to process it. I opened a side door to make one of my entrances and was confronted with a solid wall of bodies. I felt giddy.
Remember Kimba the White Lion? It was on at 1pm, and every day when I got home from kindergarten my friends and I would watch it. The episodes were full of hard lessons for Kimba and his animal pals.
Hard lessons that often dented my poor little 5 year old brain.
In one episode that I simply was never able to forget, a herd of antelope have gone crazy with some kind of brain fever. They are running wild and if they did not stop they would plunge into the sea and die. Kimba and his friends try to stop them every way they can, but in the end they fail and most of the antelope jump to their deaths in the sea. Kimba and friends do manage to save a few, and that in the end is the moral: Even if you can only save a few wild crazed suicidal antelope , it’s better then not trying at all.
As an adult I do not quite know what to do with that information. But if I ever meet a methed out antelope at least I’ll have food for thought. If you want to see the episode, some kind soul has uploaded it to YouTube!
Another fun tidbit — the show was created by the Godfather of anime Osamu Tezuka. And I found an awesome fan site with English translation covering his massive body of work!
I don’t know about you all, but I spent MY last Saturday biking around Red Hook, getting selectively sunburnt and looking for weird scenes that I could make a little weirder. Mid-afternoon (after a stop for some amazing pulled pork and root beer on tap at Brooklyn Ice House), I happened upon an abandoned baby stroller between a couple of warehouses and went to work with the colored tape. Here is the result:
