My 2012 centered around watching my little girl race through her twos, bounding, leaping, spinning, singing and talking, talking, talking, lord how that kid can talk.
Maxine just blows me away with how bright she is, almost freakishly so. It feels like a huge responsibility having such a gifted kid. Her third birthday party went off perfectly. We had the Crest Theater all to ourselves for a screening of The Wizard of Oz for friends and family. Kids were up in front of the screen dancing and singing along. The best way to watch her favorite movie.
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| We celebrate towel day. |
Bryna, my wife, is still putting up with me. We just barely survived living together in a VW Bus for two months when we started this relationship back in another millennium. I think it was good practice for living with a kid and three or four careers between us. I get the incredible privilege of being able to chase my dreams thanks to her support, both emotional and practical. I love her so.
Career wise this year was the best yet. I am traveling which is my favorite thing, even though I miss my family. I visited Ohio, Missouri, Kansas, Nevada, Oregon, British Columbia, Tennessee, Texas, and I was all over California like a cheap suit. Had the amazing experience of someone in the airport asking me where I was going and answering honestly, "I don't know."
Performed at Skepticon, Reasonfest, Imagine No Religion II, Free Thought Day, The San Francisco Sketch Fest, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, The SHITS and Giggles Festival in Humboldt.
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| Hanging with Stanhope in San Jose |
I got to perform with Doug Stanhope at The Improv in San Jose for a packed house, had one of the best sets of my life and sold out of merchandise in the lobby afterward. That felt real good. Doug told me as I came off stage that he laughed more at my set than he had at any comic in a long time. That was the best part of all.
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| Cuddling with Robin Williams |
I also got to work with Robin Williams a couple of more times which is still a huge thrill. This awesomeness courtesy of The Throckmorton theatre in Mill Valley. Robin is warm, friendly, and every bit as wonderful as my younger self wished Mork would be. When I walked into a restaurant and Robin stood and called me over to tell me that he really liked one of my jokes he'd seen on youtube, holy shit! Coolest thing ever.
I have had a friendly/mentoring correspondence with Dan Schlissel of Stand Up! Records for most of the past decade which finally culminated in our working together. Dan agreeing to release my third album on Stand Up! Records filled me with glee but the biggest thrill came when I sent a video of me performing the story that gives the album its title, Elf Orgy, to Wendy and Richard Pini, creators of Elf Quest, my favorite comic book. They loved the bit and have now designed the cover for the album. Yeah, this has been some amazing year.
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| Watch for this to drop in early 2013 |
But wait, there is more! The Coexist Comedy Tour documentary, at long last is finished and... well some stuff is happening. Stuff that will be huge news in my 2013 recap but that I'm not at liberty to discuss in detail quite yet. It'll suffice to say, you'll have plenty of opportunities to see the film in the coming year and it's fantastic.
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| SMOSH! Assassin's Creed video. |
I also got to appear on How The States Got Their Shapes on the History Channel, and with far less reverence for history, I got to appear as a red coat in a SMOSH video which let me shoot an old lady and get shot by George Washington. This made me a hero of more than one of my nephews.
The News and Review treated me well as did their readers who voted me "Best Person to Make You Laugh". I was the N&R cover model for their Christmas issue.
Luna's Comedy Night, my local weekly show in Sacramento continues to give me a great place to workshop and hang out with the great batch of comics and friends. I love this room and the people in it.
My sure thing joke this year, the one just killing every time and seeing me off stage with huge applause when I use it as my closer is a bit about a Catholic Priest coming to my door. I didn't write it. I almost never accept jokes from other people, but my little brother James wrote this one and it just kills too hard not to do it.
I tweeted "Dear Taliban, When you shoot a kid in the head and she doesn't die, how can you be so sure that God is on YOUR side." in response to the infuriating shooting of my young hero Malala in Pakistan, the girl who refuses to stop seeking an education. The tweet trended in India and was popular in Pakistan as well. I found myself with the rare opportunity to correspond with Pakistanis who are pro-Taliban and who are understandably distrustful of the US. Intimidating and amazing place to be.
I've got a cool new youtube project in the works being produced by Danielle Mandella, who you see pointing the camera at me and Doug Stanhope in the pic above. And watch for more collaborations with comic book artists because I do so love comics! Also looking forward to collaborating in the coming year with Johnny Taylor
who I'll be touring with, and with Greta and Robin of Well Hung Heart
who I'm working on a secret project with.
There were many other thrills, and too many great experiences with too many wonderful people to fit in one blog post. I love being a comedian. Here is hoping that in 2013 I do more comedy and less work that isn't comedy. Best wishes to you all. BIG thanks to the growing number of people showing love and enthusiasm for my work. Coming out to to shows, buying CDs and DVDs, sharing my posts on FB and my youtube videos, especially the super fans (Laura Kimball in the lead) who go above and beyond to help me make this thing happen. Quite honestly could NOT do it without you.
