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Morning Debriefing 3/14/11

1) One Two Punch, really an in-home live comedy experience, is one of those events that sounds amazing on paper, then absolutely exceeds expectations thanks to the one and only Barbara Gray. Here’s a fraction of a slice of a bit of how awesome a comedy show in your living room can be in the form of a few pictures by liezlwashere.

2) Though there’s plenty happening in town, A Reggie Watts Interview w/BajillionHits.biz’s Alex Blagg at SXSW would have sure been nice to be a part of…

3) If you happened to catch the vastly under publicized special “Mash-Up” on Comedy Central featuring stand-up, re-enactments of jokes, sketches, etc. this past Friday, here’s the story of how came to be from the formerly Chicago based comedy tank, The Blerds. [via Connected Comedy]

4) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL
Are You F*#king Kidding Me? @ Puka Bar 7:30PM FREE
What’s Up Tiger Lily? @ Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill 8PM FREE
Stand Up Saloon: Bowser’s Birthday Edition @ Old Towne Pub 8PM FREE
Keep It Clean Comedy @ 1739 Public House 10PM FREE
Stand Up Spotlight: TJ Miller @ UCB Theatre 11PM $5

5) OPEN MIC RUN-check back here as this is updated throughout the day
RED ROCK 8782 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA/Starts 7PM/multiple sets allowed/$5 min.
CLUB 705 705 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA/Starts 7PM-ish
JAKE’S 38 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 7:30PM/Starts 8PM
D’AMORE’S 8369 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 8PM/Purchase required

6) I’m so entrenched in comedy that I had no idea that St. Patrick’s Day was happening until someone cracked a joke about it.

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Morning Debriefing 3/8/11

1) Of course you’ve had that dream of seeing Patton Oswalt for free… Well, now it’s here. This Thursday on the Comedy Palace @ The Palace, Patton will be making on the line-up. So plan accordingly.

2) A few days ago, I said the closest Doug Stanhope would come to Los Angeles, is Santa Barbara, but, I am wrong. Doug Stanhope @ The Comedy Store May 26th-27th 8:30PM

3) The SCOOMIES, awards for and by open mic comedians in Southern California, are closing in fast (Mar. 29th) as the first round of voting is this week at Westwood Brewco. Keep tabs, like we are, to see who wins any number of bitterness filled awards covered in a thin veil of irony.

4) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL
The Eddie Pepitone Bloodbath @ Hollywood Improv Lab 8:30PM $5
Comedy Death Ray @ UCB Theatre 8:30PM $5 (stand by only)
Tag Team @ Palms Bar 8:30PM
The Public School Show: Cringe @ M-Bar 9PM FREE/$10 min.
Blamblamblam! @ R-Bar 9PM FREE

5) OPEN MIC RUN
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE TOKYO @ SEÑOR FISH 422 E. 1st, Los Angeles, CA (downtown)/Sign-up 6:30PM/Starts 7PM
COFFEE GALLERY 2029 Lake Ave., Altadena, CA/Starts 8PM
WESTWOOD BREWCO 1097 Glendon Ave., Westwood, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 7:30PM/Starts 8PM

6) Stand Up Comedy on TV will never beat attending a live show. Never. Reasons why to follow above this post very soon.

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Morning Debriefing 2/4/11

February 4, 2011

Uncategorized

comedy, comedy crawl, eddie pepitone, egypt, jake's, kenneth cole, la, meltdown, morning debriefing, open mic run, pasadena, set list, ultimate free and cheap la comedy list, wisepix

1) If you’re reading the Comedy Bureau on a regular basis, odds are that you’ve probably watched the spotlight video of “Meltdown” on Last Call w/Caron Daly, but you should probably just watch it again because it’s important.

2) SET LIST-not yours and not really someone else’s either. In fact, it’s a whole stand up show of random topics listed for comedians to do “on the spot”. I’ve personally done one of these and it was a blast and now producer/host Troy Conrad is having a Comedy Central Pilot taping down at the Comedy Central Stages for free on Feb. 15th, which could be “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” for stand up comedy.

3) Open mics fall and rise and this Monday there will be a new one: JAKE’S, 38 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA. Feb. 21st. Sign-up 7:30PM. Thanks to Steve Hernandez for putting up another spot.

4) The Ultimate Free & Cheap LA Comedy List 2/6-2/12. Thanks Wisepix.

5) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL–
Dead Authors @ UCB Theatre 6:30PM $5
Dan Cummins @ Hollywood Improv 8PM $18/2 item min.
Garfunkel & Oates Hour @ UCB Theatre 8PM $10 (stand by only)
Baron Vaughn @ Flappers-Claremont 8PM/10PM $15/2 item min.
Stood Up Friday Night: If I Ruled the World @ Moving Arts Theatre 10PM $5
Christina Pazitsky @ Flappers YooHoo Room 11PM $10/2 item min.

6) OPEN MIC RUN 2/4/11-
iCANDY 1708 E. Broadway, Long Beach, CA/Sign-up 6PM/Starts 7PM/$3 min. SILVERLAKE LOUNGE 2906 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA (Silverlake)/Sign-up (lottery) 6:30PM/Starts 7PM
MAX BLOOM’S 200 N. Malden Ave., Fullerton, CA/Starts 7PM
TRINITY CHURCH 1015 California Ave., Santa Monica, CA (in the basement), 8PM
GLENDALE DAYS INN 450 N. Pioneer Dr., Glendale, CA/Starts 8PM

7) Recently: Kenneth Cole made quite the ripple on the Internet with an insensitive tweet promoting their clothes at the expense of cheapening the mass violence in Egypt. Maybe they watched Eddie Pepitone’s Commercial Auditions and didn’t take the joke quite the right way….

8) Following people on Twitter has become a stressful decision. I forgot, is the world over yet?

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Morning Debriefing 1/4/11

1) Within the realm of the open mics, I’ve found the “mixed mic” to be the best type to actually try out material. Speakeasy Open Mic @ Harlem Place Cafe on Mondays is a perfect example of that as their “mixed mic” brings all sorts of poets, musicians, and comedians such as myself all to one place to share. Instead of falling victim to being a horrid doldrum to be “subjected to’, as many open mics have come to be, the "mixed mic” in general has enough variety in forms of artistic expression that the audience’s attention doesn’t tire out. At Harlem Place Cafe, there were over 40 people comprised of several spoken word poets (some were actually pretty good, a rare thing at open mics), musicians, and the one comedian for the evening, myself. Though transitioning from heavy-handed intended-to-be-life-affirming spoken word poetry to comedy can be quite tricky, people, for the most part, were willing listeners and as a result I had a pretty good set and more importantly, fun, as opposed to the typical obsessing over the response of group of self-centered comics on a weekday night. Thus, Speakeasy Open Mic is another “Bureau Approved” open mic. Speakeasy Open Mic takes place every Mon. at 8PM at the Harlem Place Cafe 124 W. 4th St. in Downtown Los Angeles (in alley between Spring and Main St.). To guarantee a spot (it does get pretty crowded), sign up in advance via e-mail at speakeasyopenmic@gmail.com.

2) What a COMEDY CRAWL for tonight that you shouldn’t miss with some of the best shows in time at what is for me affordable (FREE) and for others a ridiculously great deal: Comedy Death Ray @ UCB Theatre 8:30PM $5 (stand by only), Holy Fuck @ Downtown Independent Theater 9PM FREE, Chatroulette LIVE! @ UCB Theatre 11PM $5, Dog & Pony Show @ Bar Lubitsch 8PM FREE, Amuse and Abuse @ Esquire Bar & Lounge 1 Year Anniversary 8:30PM FREE.

3) OPEN MIC RUN: PALMS 8572 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA/Sign-up 4:30PM/Starts 5PM, BACK HOME IN LAHAINA (call 310 835 4014 before going) 519 E. Carson St., Carson, CA #A/Sign-up 6PM/Starts 7PM/must work clean, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE TOKYO @ SEÑOR FISH 422 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA (little tokyo, near downtown)/Sign-up 6:30PM/Starts 7PM, WESTWOOD BREWCO 1097 Glendon Ave., Westwood, CA/Sign-up lottery 7:30PM/Starts 8PM, COFFEE GALLERY 2029 Lake Ave., Altadena, CA/Starts 8PM/mixed mic, MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel past Big Mama’s and Papa’s)/5PM to 11PM/$5/multiple sets allowed.

4) Comedy Central is now having their annual “Stand Up Showdown” for 2011, which puts the power of what Comedy Central Presents Special are the best, and, hopefully, which ones will be aired more frequently. You can vote here. I’m going to watch clips from every comedian and give you my recommendations tomorrow, but, in the meantime, don’t waste your vote impulsively. Pick someone who featured on the Comedy Bureau frequently.

5) Patton Oswalt takes a foray into the literary by making “Zombie Spaceship Wasteland” available for purchase today. Judd Apatow claims, “Further proof that Patton Oswalt is way funnier than I am, which is either high praise or an insult. Your call.” and award winning writer Dave Eggers says, “Fans of Patton Oswalt’s standup comedy have always known he was a born writer at heart, and now here’s the proof. This is a surprisingly affecting, sincere and daresay vulnerable collection of essays, all keenly observed, always very funny.” Maybe, at the very least, you should go to Barnes & Noble and sit for a few hours and check it out, like I plan to do.

6) The Comedy Bureau “Tips Its Hat” today to WENDY LIEBMAN "@WendyLiebman I want to watch OWN but a) I can’t find it and b) I’m too busy texting in my car.“ Over 20 years in comedy, Wendy has built up nearly hit all the milestones that many of us in the "aspiring” category dream to achieve: touring constantly, having a special on HBO, actually making money at comedy, etc. Being one of the quickest, wittiest, and most clever comics I’ve ever heard is what has gotten her well-deserved success. Website, Twitter, and check back at the Comedy Bureau for any of Wendy’s upcoming LA tour dates.

7) From the You Should Have Been There Lagoon: (to show you what I’m talkin’ bout) Wendy Liebman Pt. 1 & Pt. 2

8) Donate to the Comedy Bureau. Thanks to Jerry Brandt for being a continued supporter of the Comedy Bureau. Join him in being a good, decent person.

9) Can’t wait for all the people who have a New Year’s Resolution of trying their hand stand up comedy. I JUST CAN’T WAIT.

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Morning Debriefing 1/4/11

7) From the You Should Have Been There Lagoon: (to show you what I’m talkin’ bout) Wendy Liebman Pt. 1 & Pt. 2

8) Donate to the Comedy Bureau. Thanks to Jerry Brandt for being a continued supporter of the Comedy Bureau. Join him in being a good, decent person.

9) Can’t wait for all the people who have a New Year’s Resolution of trying their hand stand up comedy. I JUST CAN’T WAIT.

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Morning Debriefing 12/21/10

1) TO THE COMEDY COMMUNITY AT LARGE: Steve Landesberg has unfortunately joined the company of Robert Schimmel, Leslie Nielsen, Blake Edwards, and Greg Giraldo with his untimely death yesterday Dec. 20th, 2010. Though death is still more of a tangential concept to me, such events make me wonder what I have done is comedian and what I plan to do in the “bigger picture”, that is, if I can even get to a point to be able to have a “bigger picture” in my sights. Trailing their journey through the road-less world of comedy through the pinnacles and low-points of their career, I don’t feel necessarily more driven than I already am, but I feel more encouraged towards that word that too many Hollywood types consider “dirty”: hope. I have hope, specifically in myself, that there is somewhere to go in this horribly cutthroat industry of ours, that its not just trudging through a horrible cancerous fog of doubt and uncertainty, that there’s a point to doing open mics. Some might call me naive and some might call me insane, (well, most people think I’m insane) but if you don’t have any faith or hope in yourself, then what are you doing telling jokes? May all the aforementioned dead rest in peace, but instead of a moment of silence, let’s all continue what they started in striving to better ourselves in whatever comedic pursuits we’re engaged in, which subsequently will make everyone else better. This is the overall mission of the Comedy Bureau. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming….

2) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL, as you can see, has a couple of shows that are regularly featured here as well as Bobcat Goldthwait. Before you start your possible instantenous judging of my taste, let me remind everyone that since his stint in stand-up, Bobcat has directed sketches for Dave Chapelle as well as World’s Greatest Dad, one of the best films of 2009. So I urge you, be open, be curious and, most importantly of all, ready to laugh when going to Mrs. Ballgame’s Laugh Lounge (for a good cause) @ Red Rock Bar & Eatery 8PM FREE, Bobcat Goldthwait @ Ice House 8PM $15/2 drink min., Holy Fuck! @ Downtown Independent Theater 9PM FREE, and The Ebeneezer Scrooge Telethon @ UCB Theatre 10PM $5.

3) OPEN MIC RUN: BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE TOKYO @ SEÑOR FISH 422 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA (near downtown/Little Tokyo)/Sign-up 6:30PM/Starts 7PM, WESTWOOD BREWCO 1097 Glendon Ave., Westwood, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 7:30PM/Starts 8PM, COFFEE GALLERY 2029 Lake Ave., Altadena, CA/Starts 8PM, SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA/Starts 6PM/one item min., MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel past Big Mama’s and Papa’s)/5PM to 11PM/$5/multiple sets allowed.

4) Big Trouble in Little Tokyo BACK IN ACTION for PART 7: NO CHRISTMAS FOR DAVID LO PAN is TONIGHT! Jokes, raffles, fish tacos, potato tacos, cheap beer, as well as wine, women, and song are in fully supply for this evening, not to mention MARIANNE SIERK!!! Señor Fish. 422 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA. Sign-up 6:30PM. Starts 7PM. *Supply of wine, women, and song subject to change without notice.

5) The Comedy Bureau “Tips Its Hat” today to RUSSELL CORONA-“@RCoronaJokes It’s the thought that counts, that’s why you’re an afterthought.” Knowing Russell on a personal basis, I can tell all of you, he is a joke writing machine as he literally spends entire days writing one-liners and, occasionally, he has a good one (is this where I would put the smiley face emoticon?). He’ll be joining me tonight in hosting duties down at Señor Fish for the Big Trouble in Little Tokyo Open Mic and definitely follow him on Twitter.

6) From the “You Should Have Been There” Lagoon: World’s Greatest Dad Trailer (in reference to point about Bobcat Goldthwait above)

7) If I could afford to stand around all day and ask for donations, I really wouldn’t need donations. Please give to the Comedy Bureau if you can (picture me without the beard a la Oliver Twist in the LA rain)

8) If someone says to me again, “The first rule of the Comedy Bureau is don’t talk about the Comedy Bureau”, I’m going to institute the second rule of the Comedy Bureau: “Any person or persons making a Fight Club reference in a metaphor and/or simile to this blog can go shut the hell up for eternity and the eternity after.” Obviously, I get this a lot…

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Morning Debriefing 12/4/10

1) ON THE SUBJECT OF HECKLERS (part 1), the Comedy Bureau would like to educate the general public that heckling is not a behavior that is in ANY way acceptable no matter what your set of circumstances you happen to be coming from. It’s not a way to make the show more fun or as some “brilliant” people I’ve overheard say, “I’m helping them.” At a comedy show, as an audience member, you are meant to sit and keep quiet and listen OR if you’re not into what’s being said, have enough respect for the person on stage trying to perform their act in what is (surprise surprise people that don’t think so) one of the hardest art forms ever conceived. There is a discrepancy when the show is at a venue where the audience did not come for the show, but simply to hang out at a bar with their friends and are subsequently being “subjected” to comedy. Even in this case, you always have the option of not listening. With that all being said, if you are a person who came to see the show WITH THE INTENTION of heckling, you are UNDENIABLE PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING. In last night’s case, I had to deal with one of these “I am Heckler” types and realized that there’s a sadistic nature about the whole exchange. This person wants me to fail, to see me unravel as a performer, as if that is the way he will feel good about himself (sidenote: I don’t unravel. I deal with it and if you push me far enough, I’ll verbally rip you into enough shreds for confetti at New Year’s; ask Bobby Kern). As the show was at an “AA room”, I had reasoned that the guy felt like he earned the “privilege” to heckle as he was in AA and had as a common phrase among that crowd “been through a lot of shit”. Especially since the show was formatted to follow the AA meeting and we, the comedians, were not holding anyone “hostage”, I don’t care if you just came from a funeral; If you came to see the show, then simply don’t heckle. As comedians, whether we do this for a living or not, this is “work” for us and I will never go to the business where you are currently employed and say, “Did they warn you about us?” This concludes Part 1 of ON THE SUBJECT OF HECKLERS.

2) Steve-O is still headlining the Irvine Improv this weekend for whatever reason. For those of you that like to retain brain cells/your soul, go on tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL Two Milk Minimum @ Flappers YooHoo 12:30PM $10/2 item min., then Battleship Pretension @ Meltdown Comics 8PM $5, then The Thrilling Adventure Hour @ Largo 8PM $25, then The Twelve Shiny Nickels Show @ The Fake Gallery 11PM $5/21 and over, The Midnight Show @ UCB Theatre MIDNIGHT $5 (stand by only), then Tomorrow!!! w/Ron Lynch presents Crapshoot! @ Steve Allen Theater MIDNIGHT $8, and finish the night with your fist raised in the air a la John Carlos for supporting comedy that actually comedy, then actually good.

3) OPEN MIC RUN: ICE HOUSE OPEN AUDITIONS 24 N. Mentor Ave./Starts 4PM, WESTSIDE COMEDY THEATRE 1323-A 3rd St. Promenade, Santa Monica (in alley between 3rd St. and 4th St.)/Sign-up (lottery) 6PM/Starts 6:30PM./3-5 min., SUNSET GRILL 7439 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA/Starts 7PM, MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel past Big Mama’s and Papa’s)/5PM to 11PM/$5/multiple sets allowed.

4) Good news for all decent people around the world that aren’t the aforementioned “I am Heckler” types: Matt Braunger along with Brent Forrester (writer/producer on The Office) has just gotten a pilot order from Comedy Central!!! Check out more details here and the Comedy Bureau will keep you updated on its progress in development.

5) The wonderful duo of Garfunkel and Oates are both amazing and delightful. However, I think they would be amazing, delightful, and life-changing if they performed in my living room. I can’t afford that, but maybe you can by auctioning for a private show from Garfunkel and Oates right here. This is life-changing because it’s Garfunkel and Oates in the privacy of your own home AND all proceeds go to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

6) The Comedy Bureau “Tips Its Hat” today to JIM HAMILTON-“@Jim_Hamilton With the stage covered in blood and lady halves, Boris realized why there aren’t more open mics for magicians.” Jim Hamilton gets the distinction of being the first person to get a second “Tip of the Hat” and with all of the beyond clever one-liners he has, Jim definitely deserves it. You can see him perform live and for FREE at one of the best shows in town this Tuesday, Dec. 7th at Holy Fuck! in the Downtown Independent Theatre (251 S. Main St., Los Angeles, CA) 9PM. I’ll probably say this several times throughout the course of the life of the Comedy Bureau: follow Jim Hamilton on Twitter here.

7) From the “You Should Have Been There” Lagoon-Bill Hicks’ Worst Gig Ever

8) If you missed the tweeting storm the Comedy Bureau had last night, check it out “open mic genius” quotes, etc. here and then donate because I drove from Long Beach to East LA to Fullerton to Garden Grove to Hollywood and back to Long Beach for comedy meaning all of you.

9) So in just over a month, 104 people like The Comedy Bureau on Facebook, 64 people follow The Comedy Bureau on Twitter, and 43 people follow us/really just me on Tumblr. Thanks everyone for reading and all the support because it’s only going to get better (especially if I make any money at this).

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Morning Debriefing 11/8/10

1) Tales of the Black Freighter @ R-Bar is what people should think of a LA comedy show, as opposed to what they might see at the Comedy Store and the Hollywood Improv on a given night. Located in the heart of K-town on 8th St., as opposed to the gentrified glitz of Wilshire Blvd., with several Mexican hole-in-the-walls and Korean BBQs, one walks into R-bar and is immediately transported into yet another state of mind with there being a password (that they will just give you) to enter the extremely intimate bar, an entirely dark wooded interior, and offerings of the Sazerac from the friendly, neighborly staff AND THEN, there’s a great comedy show. With Last Comic Standing Finalist James Adomian hosting and telling his version of Russian joke families, Eddie Pepitone, Karl Hess, Jimmy Dore, and Eric Andre gave the audience the complete fantastically opposite experience of a Hollywood comedy show. Details of the Tales of the Black Frieghter will come as the Comedy Bureau receives them, but there is another regularly scheduled, one-Tuesday-a-month live comedy show at R-bar (3331 W. 8th St., Los Angeles, CA) called Blamblamblam hosted by Matt Peters. Don’t miss the next one on this Tues. Nov. 9th at 9PM for FREE.

2) We still haven’t hit a night without a fantastic “Comedy Crawl” and tonight is certainly no exception. In fact, it’s going to one damn good night of comedy, that’s almost entirely free, on a daylight savings Monday that certainly needs it. Start off with some What’s Up Tiger Lily? @ Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill 8PM FREE, The Happy Tiki Comedy Show @ The Puka Bar 8:30PM FREE, Stand Up Comedy Night @ Old Towne Pub (66 N. Fair Oaks, Pasadena, CA) 10PM FREE, Keep It Clean @ 1739 Public House 10:30PM FREE, and finish it off with The Incubator @ UCB Theatre 11PM $5.

3) If anyone actually followed the live tweet of last night’s sojourn to Sushi King for the supposed midnight open mic, you would have found that they moved it to Tuesday. Personal sidenote: I don’t know how receptive Sushi King is to comedy if they ACTUALLY THOUGHT I was going to have sushi delivered from Hollywood to Long Beach after I showed up for a comedy open mic at midnight. Live tweeting tonight from Marty’s/The Open Mic at 5PM. Follow here.

4) If you are opting to stay at home tonight, you better be watching the return of Conan O’Brien on TV/the world having hope or at least having some great fun before it goes down in flames. 11PM on TBS.

5) RT @ Braunger LA comics! @sarahtiana is collecting merch for the troops. Drop off your CDs, records, etc at the Improv, Comedy Store, and the Icehouse.

6) I’ll say it again: Greater LA Open Mic Map. Greater LA Comedy Landscape. Both now with buttons and will be updated regularly. I wish paying my overdue parking ticket was this easy.

7) DON’T HAVE FEAR even though there will be some Big Trouble in Little Tokyo with the Big Trouble in Little Tokyo Open Mic kicking off and kicking hard tomorrow night Tues. Nov. 9th at 6:30PM. Please don’t be square/no show. Come to Señor Fish, 422 E. 1st. St., Los Angeles, CA (I apologize. You can be square, but please come down because it will be “that” much greater if you do)

8) I could give you a million very depressing reasons that no one really needs to hear about what I go through to run the Comedy Bureau, but, instead, I’m just going to say, if you are able and willing, please donate here.

9) Walking for 2 hours around Koreatown, horribly alone, might just be a great way to get material, though I’m pretty sure writing, “You ever been so alone that you wished you’ve been mugged just to remind you of your existence?” isn’t really all that funny. It sounds “forced”, but I’ll find that out for sure at an open mic tonight.

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