Lew's Halloween Party

To say it was "Lew's" Halloween party really doesn't describe the event. It was Kris's show, which was originally scheduled to happen on Saturday, Oct 28 but got re-scheduled to tonight. And, of course, after all is said and done, the event happened on Friday night and Kris could have done last night after all. . . . . Kris doesn' t get any respect.
Kris had sent us all e-mails asking us to confirm and wear a costume. I no longer enjoy going to parties. After spending all day, maybe a couple of days, talking to strangers and trying to appear cheerful and interested, the last activity I want to be involved with , in my free time, is talking to strangers and appearing to be interested and cheerful . I am not. I have yet to meet anyone who surpasses my enjoyment at my own self . I shot back an e-mail confirming and offering to wear something that makes me look like I'm someone who cares. Then , on my way home from work today, I remembered my skeleton suit and VOILA! I had a costume ! I also had black eye make-up and purple lipgloss. Couldn't define it, I just said I was Karen Carpenter and left it at that. Ellen Moschetto,(costume contest winner-Oompa Loompa), suggested I introduce my self as Nicole Ritchie, I did , it worked. I did do some new stuff, more on the Information booth, forgot the new thing I wanted to try ( I brought my notebook onstage with me. I didn't look at it , but it was there). I started talking about a premise that I should have developed just a little more before I did it in front of an audience. They seemed interested but they deserved a payoff.
There were some really good new stuff. Ellen Moschetto and Matt Winninger had new stuff I hadn't seen and Doug Chagnon always has good material. However, I thought the set of the night went to Tony Moschetto. He did his whole set in character and it was really funny. His sister also did her whole set as an Oompa-Loompa comic.
Lew put out a tray of buffalo chicken strips and chicken wings. That was a nice gesture. My fork was sticky , before I used it.
I was really tired , after working all day again today , and wasn't really looking forward to going out tonight. I was glad I went. It was a nice time. The show started at 8:10 and we were done at 10 on the nose. I was home by 11 PM.
And that's what I did tonight .

Dead for Pay

Oh Dear God. I don't know why today was so difficult ! . .. . . . actually, I do know why. Today, I worked a job that I only work a couple of times a year, as I am needed. There is a protocal , and I follow it. If everything isn't where it's supposed to be, I'm fucked. There is no one to call. That didn't stop me from making a lot of calls, but they were, for the most part, fruitless and I think annoying to a couple of the recipients. "Uh, sorry to bother you but there are no supplies at the desk and I don't have a chair". I had to share the booth with a couple of old ladies who work for a sub-contractor and , since their company doesn't provide any supplies, except convention information, and mine, if I can get into the supply closet, does-they take all our pamplets and maps and pass them off as theirs. I know it sounds petty, but they don't really help me do the job. I try not to engage them in conversation lest I end up having to listen to them all day. Unless I do something really wrong, I'm never going to have to see them again. They pretty much got the message and left me alone. I prefer to be courteous, but I don't need to be friendly. I got enough friends. . . and I know what they're like already. I don't feel the lack of love that only you can provide. You're just another mouth breather sucking as much of my soul as you can manage. I have to go back tomorrow. Pray for me.
Speaking of Soul Suckers. . ...
After work ,I took a class on Paranormal Investigation at the Boston Center for the Arts. It was taught by Mike Dion who was a featured investigator this week on Ghost Hunters on the Sci-Fi channel. He did a really good job. The type of entity that sucks a soul is referred to as a "Parasidic Entity" . I also learned about "Residual Hauntings" and he played some real "EVPS"-the voices of the dead that show up on tapes and digital recordings. Unfortunately, there was a ball room dancing class next door that was playing Nora Jones really loudly over, and over again. It was distracting to Mike and the class. It was hard to distinguish who was dead and who was Norah Jones . . . . Thank Goodness I had this to look forward to all day. It was the only thing that kept me going .
On my way back to the train, I passed through the Public Garden. There were people walking their dogs and I saw a couple of people looking at a statue that was lit up and there were a couple of people having sex right near the exit to Beacon Street across from Cheers. At least , that's what I overheard the guy who was walking his dog and calling the police was saying into his cellphone. I couldn' t see any body parts or nothing but , it definitely looked like they could have been having sex. Only crazy people have sex in the park that early in the evening ! Dudes! Wait until after midnight !!!!
I need a day off. . .

Boynton Beach Club

Kiki and I went to see the Boynton Beach Club tonight. We had wanted to see it since we saw the preview. It stars Brenda Vacarro, Joseph Bologna, Dyan Cannon, Sally Kellerman and Michael Nouri. The story is about a couple of widows and widowers at a senior community in Florida. I don't think Dyan Cannon or Sally Kerman has had any "work" done. It was a cute enough story. I thought is was poorly acted. They just didn't seem consistently natural for my taste. I thought Michael Nouri still looks good. Though Brenda Vaccaro was the largest of the bunch , I thought she looked the most natural. We both liked it but we thought there would more laughs.
Before the movie , we went to Comella's again. I can't believe I ate the whole thing !

Comedy Studio Tonight !

I did a spot on the show tonight at the Comedy Studio. I had worked at the record store today and had to drive the boss home. He was in a car accident yesterday and he doesn't have his car. I didn't have much time to get ready after work for the show. The Charles Regatta is in town, so I was worried about getting a parking space. I couldn't believe my good luck to get a space on a nearby street. All the other spaces had "No Parking" signs on them but for some reason, 5 spaces did not. I would assume that some enterprising young Harvard Undergrad just ripped the signs down on that part of the block. It was definitely to my benefit. I broke approximately 3 traffic laws trying to make it on time. What is it about rowing fans that make them such slow drivers ?
Rick let me do the opening announcement and bring up the stage lights. I did the lights fine , but I wished the music fade was a little smoother. Still, they could hear what I was saying. I hope I wasn't too strident, but no cell phones went off during the show ! SO, Rick Jenkins hosted. He had a really nice gray/beige suit. He looked very nice. The audience wasn't giving it up for him. His biggest laugh was Republican sex joke. He did a couple of new jokes that I really thought were funny. Then he brought Comic in Residence this month , Renata Tutko. I really like her writing and stage presence. Plus , she's just a nice kid. She did great material. still, the audience was stingey with the Ha-Ha's. Then the great Ellen Moschetto, Tony's sister. She had some good new jokes. They liked her, but not as much as they should have ( as far as I was concerned).
Then , the return of Dan Sulman. He mixed some of it up and then he did the old tried and true. I thought he did a good job and it was good to see him performing again. Then Pat Boccuzzi had the unenviable task of following Sulman. Audiences like Pat. I thought he did a fine job, but that audience was being very picky. After that was Maggie MacDonald. Her writing is really good and , at first , they really liked her and then they turned on her material because she really looks too "Cute" to be talking about that stuff. But ,seriously, her writing is awesome.
I was next. I started off with telling the audience that I was there to have a good time, I looked forward to this all week and too bad if they didn't like it. I kinda free-balled it at the beginning. There was a bachelorette party in the audience and I talked about being a Maid of Honor again, the second time for the same bride. The girls liked it, but I think it could be way funnier than I am doing it now. Meaning, I think it's a good premise (it's true) but it's not a joke. Then I switched up some of my usual material , I think it's an easier order, but I didn't get to all the stuff I had planned on ... . . because. . .. .I forgot. I did the booth sutff, which has been pretty consistent. Tim McIntire gave me a tag to the Liberty Bell bit. I hope I remember it(I'll write it down.) Then I did the suicide bit and my time was done. Though I felt like I was doing a good job at the time, and the laughs sounded like they were there, I felt shakey. Not nervous shakey, hypoglycemic shakey, I didn't have dinner. Probably not the best excuse for lack of focus, but it's true.
After me, was Bob Hagaerty doing his politician bit from his one man show. I thought it was really good and the audience bought the character. I really admire Bob for doing that character bit. I wish I could figure out a character bit to do. Then , Tim McIntire brought it all home. He is such a good writer and I don't feel worthy to share a stage with him. I wish I could get him Rock Star gigs, because that 's what he is . He is just a joy to watch. He told me he only did one new bit, but I thought he was great.
At the end of the show, we folded the chairs up and put them away. The audience was a good size and they were slow to leave. I had to leave and go home. I have worked every day this week. It 's past my bed time now and I have to work tomorrow. I got called to possibly work on the Game Plan again on Monday , so , I need my beauty rest !!!

A Sad State of Affairs. . .

I attended a fun raising event tonight. There were a lot of musicians on stage and in the audience. It was a kick ass show with a lot of talent (on and off the stage !!!!) . That's not the sad part. The sad part is that I wasn't excited by any of them . I was appreciative of the talent, but I didn't check a single guy out . Not a one. I just wanted it to get done so I could go home and go to bed. I worked all day today and I'm working tomorrow -day and night.
I think it's a sad state of affairs for me that I wasn't attracted , or thinking about, any one.
I don't like this. I don't like it one little bit.

That's "Art"

I am a substitute gallery attendant at the List Visual Arts Center. This is a part time job that I have had for almost 10 years. It was , in many ways , an answer to a prayer at a difficult time in my life. I work only every once in a while. When there are pregnancies, I get a lot of work ! I like working there, when I can. I like sitting in a chair in the middle of an art installation. I have seen some amazing shows over the years, including the Yoko Ono exhibit, I was in the gallery when she called (twice). The working phone was a part of the art, and she would call every once in a while.
Tonight, I worked the opening reception for a showing by a French artist-Mathieu Briand. It was packed !!!! It's very modern, including a wall that is drenched in perspiration. The room is dark and lined with spongey -sound proofey material. By the end of the party, I could really smell it. I was mostly monitoring the video helmet traffic flow. It is a helmet set up to a camera and it distorts the image. They need to be used 4 at a time and they take about 10 minutes to re-charge. We had to make people sign up to take a turn. The turn around was quite slow. Attached to the helmet and visor is a device that has a button you can press and you can see what the other 3 people are looking at -also distorted. Since I wasn't there for the orientation , I was freaked when people would touch the equipment unsupervised. I think the opportunity is ripe for some sort of terrible art accident . A slaughter of meterials that I hope doesn't happen during my shift. I had to keep yelling at people to not touch the thing. The piece itself invites tactile interaction, but it's going to be a real bitch to make sure people don't abuse the art.
Though it's been a long week, and I still have to make it through to next weekend, I was glad I could be there tonight. It's great to be around so many creative people. The energy at those types of events is really good.

Cormier's Comedy Madness

Tonight was the show at the All Asia in Cambridge. It was the first night of the new date/time. Also , it was raining. This was not a good time or place for people to go tonight. I liked the time. It was actually quite convenient for me. However, no audience, for a comedy show. . . . tough. So, making the best of a difficult situation, we had a "Workshop".It was Janet, Nicolette, Chris Nesmith, me and a late arriving Korte Yeo.
Janet started with new material. I thought she had some good stuff, but I think some of the set-ups were too long. Still , enjoyable. Then Nicolette, she is a poet and I like the way she writes. She presented two poems -one titled "Summer" about waiting at a bus stop with her husband and the other about autumn, also ,essentially, centered around her relationship. Then , me. I didn't really do much material . The "workshop" suggested a different country of origin for a new joke I'm tagging into the "booth" material. Japan IS funnier than Australia. And then I rambled for a bit about two premises I have been kicking around for the last year. They both have to do with people sort of floating through environments like they've never been there before -I'm talking supermarkets & subway trains. I spent a lot of time trying to describe the behaviour and Nicolette yelled out that I need to come up for a word for this behavior. Like a sniglet. After I got done with the 'workshop' portion of my stage time, Nicolette yelled out to do the "walking" bit . .. so , I did it.
Chris Nesmith was next, he was also trying to workshop. I started raising my hand after each bit. I don't want to talk about his material, but he had a lot of callbacks he could add. I enjoyed his set and I hope I didn't offend him with my interjections. He seemed fine with it after the show.
Korte got there in the middle of Chris's stuff. He did like 20 minutes. God Bless him ! He kept plugging like a pro ! There were 3 "Civilians" in the bar waiting for the open mike after our little show. I can't remember his new bits, but I thouhgt he did a great job ! Considering ... .
Then Janet re-worked the jokes from the opening. It's her show, she can do that !
I think she was every disappointed at the lack of turnout. I had a good time . I thought it was a constructive use of my time.

The Departed

We went to see "The Departed" tonight. It was a holiday today and we didn't feel like being at work -AT ALL!!! Kiki is the boss, so. . . we closed the store early. We were both pretty giddy all day. I really felt like a kid looking forward to Christmas.I don't think a "good" man could have made me as happy as I was today looking forward to seeing this film !
We decided to go to the 6:15 show. We went to a restaurant in Davis Square named "Antonia's" . It was really good. For appetizers , we had steamed mussels in garlic sauce and proscuitto stuffed mushrooms covered in Alfredo sauce. I had Ziti Boscaiola. I can recommend it . Delicious. We'll return.
From the beginning, this film grabbed me. It was nice to have actors who really knew the accent. I felt bad for Mark Wahlberg, because I know how hard he's worked to drop his Boston accent. Well, he hasn't lost it completely. Matt Damon's character is a smarmy social climber and Leonardo is very earnest and serious. No one is who they seem to be. Jack Nicholson is just great . I thought the story had plenty of turns. I didn't really know what was going to happen next and I never really figured it out.
Just great.
SO. . .. the insider stufff . . . . First off. . . there's a scene where Matt Damon's character goes to speak to a dead guy's mother. She's played by a local actress, Peg Holzemer, who really deserves the break. She was in a movie with me from a few summers ago, unreleased, titled "The Sandpiper". In that same scene, as Matt Damon is walking toward his car, you can see my SAAB in the background. You can also see my car, when Jack Nicholson's character drives by. No, you don't actually see me. I'm actually out of range, in a specific area, so I can move the SAAB, when they need it moved. My car is brown, Chocolate brown. I got 30 extra dollars for it. I need to point out, my car is not in the union.
Also, one of my friends was the stand in for the character of "Gwen" who plays Frank Costello's girlfriend. In realy life , that was Jack' s girlfriend. My friend Steve was on set to be used, but he never was. He did get fed a good meal.
In conclusion, great film. I'll see it again , soon. I felt the same as I did the first time I saw "Goodfellas". On a Monday, at 6:15, it was a packed house. It was good. Go see it. If you like movies, go see it.

Comedy Studio Tonight

I did the Comedy Studio tonight. The show that was the intended object of my well-intentioned preperation. Though it was initially a small crowd, it ended up being a really great show. Rick, the host, looked awesome in a black suit/black shirt/red tie combo. He started the show with some new jokes and then he brought this month's Comic in Residence-Renata Tutko. I really like her writing and performance style. The first time I saw her, I could hear Mitch Hedberg's cadence, and the same intelligence behind her material. I think this first time I saw her perform , was actually her second time performing ever. Anyhow, she did new stuff AND she told me a new joke that she's working on, after her set.. I can't wait to see it in front of an audience. Then , it was Debra Farrar-Parkman, she also did new stuff. She 's also looking great. Then Peter Bowers, He's always working on something new. He did a good job.
Brian Gordon was next, also some new material. He's so high energy and very likeable, he really got the audience going. Then JJ Leslie. .. .ALSO did new material. Then Mike Dorval did a guest set. Mike does such a great job-the jokes are well written and well performed. He brings all his acting skills to bare. He's just funny and likeable.
Then Me. . . SO, I think I'm the only one that wasn't really doing new material. I was mostly trying not to talk too fast. I did remember one of the new jokes and found something else new onstage. I think I had a good enough rapport with the audience. I told the Coffee can bit and , when I got to the end, I went to say the punch line that I needed to have a set up for earlier. I told it anyway, and then I explained to the audience that I had forgotten the original set-up. They seemed to like that. I closed with my traditional Studio closing "well, I guess that's good enough. Back to Rick." Though I felt good about the set , 30 seconds after I left the stage I remembered the two other things I had wanted to try. See, I think a little preperation would go a long way with me. . .. .
Then it was Micah Sherman, a solid job. Then , it was James Patterson. Also a great writer and performer. I had seen him when he had just moved to LA and he blew the doors off the other comics. I don't think it was all new material , but it seemed like there was a lot of new stuff. Then the Walsh Brothers closed. I can't quite explain what it is that they do or why I think it is so good. They tell stories. They don't know how they're going to tell the story, they just know where they want to end up. I thought it was wonderful. I briefly got to talk with Chris after the show, just to say hi.
It was a great show. I really enjoyed it without worrying about how I was going to perform. I hung out afterward and it was just nice conversation, slightly political , but it remained friendly. We may have solved the world's problems. ..
It was a beautiful evening for me.

Lovely Lew's Place

I made the trip up to Tewksbury tonight. I had arranged to pick up my friend Heather and we drove together. Most of the comics were there already when we arrived. . . except for Kris. Kris has to bring the sound system and set it up , otherwise, it ain't much of a show. Rick Cormier had heard from Kris and told everyone he was on the way. Again , it was mostly comics and a couple of comics girlfriends, but not a bad size crowd. Kris handed me the list and I brought it around for people to choose their spots. I picked number 4. Tonya Dalhaus picked #3, Ellen Moschetto picked #2 and my friend Heather picked #1. Some guy whose girlfriend asked if he could go first because they had a 2 hour drive back to where they live. I suggested he could trade with somebody. I might have been a little snotty, but COME ON!!!!! We all have to get back somewhere. You had to know where you were going to end up when you heard 2 words "Tewksbury" and "Skating Rink". If the precious Poo was really any good , he wouldn't have made the deal to drive 2 hours in the first place. But I digress, in a mean and bitter manner. . . .
When I brought the list around, Kris had told me to write numbers 1-10. Of course, as these things go, we ended up with closer to 14. Kris opened with some new material, it was good. Ellen did new material as well and Tanya did material I hadn't seen before and , thus, it was new to me.
My original plan, when I asked for the stage time , was to work on my set for tomorrow night. I had planned to be all rehearsed by tonight, including new stuff and then I would have time to fine tune by tomorrow night. In my fantasy, I would rehearse my set every day and work on structuring jokes that I have written the premises of. I would be confident and kick some comedy butt at the Studio, just to do good. So, the operative word in that previous passage is "Fantasy" because I never got a chance to do anything. I 'm so tired from work and I 'm drained at the end of the day, there's nothing left for creativity. However, I did do a couple of new things and I kept to my time. I improvised something that got a big laugh and decided to end on it. I'm going ot have to listen to the tape.
There were a lot of people trying new material. One of my favorites is Steve Smith, he had like 5 new jokes. Rick Cormier did a good job . Matt Winneger did some new stuff and a couple of my favorites of his. Chris Perri & Derek Gerry also did new material. Heather forgot the punchlines to her jokes and that was very funny , but for the wrong reasons, but she perservered.
There was also an angry, recently separated from his wife , white guy who brought a bunch of people. He paced the stage and his friends yelled out the premises of the jokes he apparently had told them he was going to do. He also alluded to killing himself and/or killing his wife's new lover. Not funny. Kind of scary. He paced the stage like an agitated pitbull on a leash in a front yard, trying to remember what he was going to say. I don't think he realized the kind of preparation this was going to need until he actually had the microphone in his hand. Fortunately, they all left after his set. There was a potential for danger there. Not the least of which was that the angry guy's sister looked like an ex-girlfriend of Kris's, he told us that after they left.
Heather and I stayed until the end. Even though it was more like a workshop for comics, it was still a good evening. We all felt like we had done something. I got home around 12:30 AM. Now I'm going to go to bed.

Mrs. Palfrey @ the Claremont

We went to the movies again tonight. We've been planning on seeing this one since we saw the preview. It stars Joan Plowright and Rupert Friend. It 's the story of a widow who moves into London after the death of her husband. It's not as nice as she was expecting it to be. Her grandson doesn't return her calls and she's basically alone in the big city. On her way to mail a letter to her daughter enquiring about the grandson, she slips and falls in the street and is helped up by the beautiful young stranger played by Rupert Friend. The story is about the relationship that they develope. It was nice but I was frequently aware that they were "actors" "acting". A little stiff in places. It was a nice story , but it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. It was a quiet English film. Nice . . but , eh .. . . .

The Guardian

Kiki and I went to see "the Guardian" tonight. It stars Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher and a bunch of other faces you've seen before including Boston's own Neil McDonough (maybe I spelt it wrong, but you'd recognize the face !) It's about officers in training at the Coast Guard Academy.Ashton played the character well. I was concerned that he would spend a lot of time mugging for the camera. Also, I thought Costner was very real in his character. There is a scene near the end where his charcter is very vulnerable and I don't think I 've ever seen him do that in a film ( for the record , I don't currnetly have a personal relationship with Mr. Costner. So, I would only see him do anything in a film . . . or a talk show). I thought it was really well done, but I couldn't help occasionally comparing it to "An Officer and a Gentleman", which I think I saw like 4 times the summer it came out. We missed the beginning but saw enough of it to understand an important plot point.
I liked it because it's nice for me to believe that there are people out there who try to do the right thing. Kiki would have liked there to be more about their training and how it would affect their lifesaving skills, she is a registered Master Diver. I appreciated the overall quest for excellence, on so many levels. I sat there wishing I was striving for excellence in some area of my life. I 'm mostly just trying to get through the day. I wish I could work some sit-ups or push-ups into my schedule, every once and a while.
Okay , that's it. Apparently, Bob Saget came into the booth on Saturday and he wouldn't pay the $2.00 for the map.