tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72092712010-04-29T13:11:14.983-04:00Dedicated to the glorification of standup comedy. SHECKYmagazine.com--Standup comedy...seriously! Published by Brian McKim & Traci Skene Copyright 2005 Independent Together ProductionsBrian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.comBlogger2838125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-32370755092758760202010-04-29T12:57:00.003-04:002010-04-29T13:11:14.993-04:00

According to their website, "The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is an annual song contest whose mission is to provide the opportunity for both aspiring and established songwriters to have their songs heard in a professional, international arena."This year, Tom Waits was one of about three dozen artists who judged the contest. And Dr. Demento was among the industry executives who

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-15343209513110987342010-04-28T19:24:00.002-04:002010-04-28T19:38:44.910-04:00

Er... not quite.It's Stand-Up for Diversity season!NBC Universal, as you know, "prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin or ancestry, creed, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, mental or physical disability, and any other category protected by applicable law."Did they say, "pregnancy?"They did.Anyway, NBC (as does ABC and, for all we know, each

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-43589336333120201402010-04-28T18:42:00.002-04:002010-04-28T19:19:46.697-04:00

We have a soft spot for biographies set in Hollywood. It doesn't matter if they're recent or not. (One of our favorites was Dwayne Hickman's autobiography, which we regret leaving behind on a plane.)This one was published in 2004 and it can be had for a nickel on Amazon.com! But it's worth a whole lot more!We recall seeing Green's television show when he was working for Canada's Comedy Network

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-59003525843489301172010-04-26T10:45:00.004-04:002010-04-26T11:21:02.845-04:00

...at least not in Afghanistan.Once again, a political figure tries humor in a public appearance and fails miserably. We have always told the pols and the bureaucrats to leave the joking to the professionals. They never listen.But it's fun to dissect the gag!The National Security Adviser, General James Jones, is in some hot water for telling a joke that some folks find offensive, in particular,

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-69310844216165264382010-04-21T23:56:00.002-04:002010-04-22T00:18:58.109-04:00

We read the rest of the Institute of World Politics essay on ridicule as an instrument in the war on terror. It's good reading. One of the references was to Castro, from Luis E. Aguilar's "Chistes"-– Political Humor in Cuba, published in 1989.Jokes and contempt know no philosophy and a good laugh, even of the gallows humor variety, spread virally, is almost impossible to control. Russian

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-8680944199706007652010-04-21T19:46:00.001-04:002010-04-21T19:48:13.011-04:00

From the NY Daily News:GARVEY-- Raymond "Ray". On April 20, 2010. Former proprietor of Ray's Comedy Club & Pip's Comedy Club, Proprietor of the Borgata Comedy Club, Retired NYPD & DSNY and paper handler for the Daily News. Beloved son of Adrienne (nee Kenning) & the late John. Loving companion of Sharon Super and a good friend to her brother Lenny Super. Dear father of Ray Jr. & Araina.

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-5599995182037853622010-04-21T11:46:00.002-04:002010-04-21T12:04:59.238-04:00

There's another link on the Last Comic Standing Facebook page. This time, it's for a taping that takes place Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA. And the headline on the status updates says:GET YOUR TICKETS FOR THE FINAL 10 SHOWCASE TAPING!Further inspection of the Alex Theatre page reveals no further tapings of LCS. Although we suppose that could change at a

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-66860923308575539912010-04-21T09:26:00.002-04:002010-04-21T09:54:34.353-04:00

The Quotes of the Day widget on our iGoogle supplied us with this gem today:Humor is the only test of gravity, and gravity of humor; for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious, and a jest which will not bear serious examination is false wit.That's Aristotle, allegedly. "Raillery" is just a fancy Aristotelian word for "teasing."So, to recap: A subject which can't take a little

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-30220662601159238302010-04-20T14:13:00.002-04:002010-04-20T14:21:50.765-04:00

We have unofficial word that Borgata Comedy Club owner Ray Garvey has lost his lengthy battle with stomach cancer. We're in transit right now (@ the airport laying over in Nashville), but we'll post further when we get home.Garvey was an NYC cop, an actor and one of the principals of Pip's Comedy Club in Brooklyn, a popular venue in the early days of the comedy boom.

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-48008457822889646042010-04-17T13:56:00.002-04:002010-04-17T14:39:36.148-04:00

Uh... we did.But a bunch of eggheads quoted by Agence France-Presse are getting some ink because they put out a report that says the battle against al-quaeda must include ridicule and satire as much as predator drones and bullets.Terrorism must be defeated through the deliberate 'toxification' of the al-Qaeda brand; not by making it seem dangerous, but by exposing it as dumb," Jamie Bartlett, one

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-13969520205411837512010-04-12T13:29:00.002-04:002010-04-12T14:14:01.391-04:00

Are there two more California-sounding place names than Hermosa Beach and Toluca Lake? We think not. Perhaps they're topped only by the Slauson Cutoff... but only people who remember Johnny Carson would say that. (Hit the Art Fern Appreciation page here if you don't know what we're referring to.) We drove past Slauson Ave. yesterday... were sorely tempted to get out and cut off our Slauson.We

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-40016504353122995182010-04-12T13:12:00.003-04:002010-04-12T13:18:58.983-04:00

It's just across the wires. The NYT says Conan O'Brien will move into his new TV home in November.The program will air Mondays through Thursdays at 11 p.m. Eastern, shifting TBS' "Lopez Tonight," starring George Lopez, to midnight.It's all part of the effort to brand TBS as cable's home for comedy. The outlet's tagline is "Very funny."No Fox? As it was explained to us, there was no guarantee

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-58990748163414931722010-04-07T19:11:00.003-04:002010-04-07T19:19:27.093-04:00

Go to the Alex Theatre website calendar page and scroll down-- there are tickets for two nights available, April 13 and 14. So they seem intent on whittling down the contestants via two shows in Glendale, CA, next week. We got this info from a link on the Last Comic Standing Facebook page. (Which has hit its quota for friends... so they've started a new Fan page here.) And they've got a

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-35094870824217765812010-04-07T19:01:00.002-04:002010-04-07T19:11:19.925-04:00

The tenth annual FunnyFest Calgary Comedy Festival is going on next month. They promise:Non-stop belly laughs with over 70 awesome comedy performers! * 11 nights of comedy * over 10 venues * 11000 punchlinesAnd director Stu Hughes says that 2 of the 72 spots for performers are open as of this date. So click on over to the site and hit that "Performers" link.SHECKYmagazine.com visited

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-39094850052330499832010-04-03T15:13:00.006-04:002010-04-05T09:12:31.225-04:00

...and some folks still say that we're just whiney... or worse.We've just been hipped to the latest column on the Guy Earle controversy. And we're appalled and horrified.Morley Walker, writing in the Winnipeg Free Press, opens his column, entitled "Yes, it's called a punchline, but does that mean it should hurt?" with the following:It is a truth universally acknowledged, and Jane Austen likely

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-76625586743189312412010-04-01T19:32:00.002-04:002010-04-01T20:21:45.960-04:00

That's the subject line of an email we just got from "roy nic" who, we assume, is Nic Roy, the quisling who testified at the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal inquisition/persecution of Canadian comedian Guy Earle.The body of the email was simply:THANKS FOR THE MOST BOLD LETTERSWe assume that's a reference to our posting from yesterday in which we stated that we wouldn't waste our time

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-59527812024319100782010-04-01T12:19:00.002-04:002010-04-01T12:26:52.011-04:00

Eleven years ago today we launched SHECKYmagazine.com!That's a long time in WWW years. That's a long time in any kind of years!The posts have been a bit infrequent lately. We have plenty of excuses-- Gigging every week for the past twelve, a broken arm (The Female Half), minor out-patient surgery (The Male Half), side projects, auditioning for LCS, historical snowfall at SHECKYmagazine HQ-- and

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-1027779660387267482010-03-29T18:50:00.003-04:002010-03-30T09:48:49.273-04:00

That's the word on the street. The club, which had a long run in Pittsburgh, going back more than 25 years in at least three locations is said to be closed as of last Saturday night.Normally, when we report the closing of a comedy club, we do so with much sorrow. And we are sorry for any comedians who might have had a date on the books with the Pittsburgh Bone.But we can't help but think that

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-48632289085725982802010-03-25T08:43:00.003-04:002010-03-31T18:46:31.121-04:00

Well, it's "game on" up in Vancouver. The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal continues to embarrass the entire nation (and most of Western Civilization) by following through on its plan to persecute a comedian, Guy Earle, for dealing with two unruly audience members at a comedy show. It all resumed on Monday and continues through tomorrow.You can read all about it on the "The Guy Earle

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-91482938062074640672010-03-24T16:50:00.001-04:002010-03-24T16:53:17.134-04:00

Comic Sean Ottey writes yesterday:NW comedy lost a great comic, booker and wonderful guy last night. Jay Sierra was one of those people you meet who makes you think that there ARE still truly kind and sincerely true human beings out there. He was surrounded by his wife and children when he passed last night at around midnight. He had been battling some medical issues, but we all hoped he was

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-1634713288424301512010-03-24T16:46:00.002-04:002010-03-24T16:49:52.431-04:00

Philadelphia musical comedian and radio personality Big Daddy Graham writes on his blog:By now you folks know I'm sick and I'm gonna be off the air for a couple months. As well as recovering from back surgery, I have some very treatable throat cancer, but it's still gotta be treated. MORE THAN EVER I'm gonna need you to read my column and correspond or I'm gonna go nuts.As far as live gigs and

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-38573842696912234122010-03-17T23:51:00.003-04:002010-03-18T00:28:43.302-04:00

You may have noticed that we haven't been posting a lot lately. We've been busy. Very busy.And the Female Half has been dealing with an injury. Initially, when she slipped on the ice, she was told she had an "elbow effusion." Now, it turns out, 5-1/2 weeks later, to be a fracture. (An appointment with the orthopedics folks tomorrow will reveal just how severe and just what measures will be

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-28882870776735383262010-03-16T19:16:00.006-04:002010-03-16T19:53:57.128-04:00

Ron White is at it again. For the second year in a row, he's leveraged his fame to dump giant piles of cash onto a worthy cause. The press release explains last Saturday's event:The Armed Forces Foundation (AFF) is proud to announce that comedian Ron White of "Blue Collar Comedy" fame has sold out shows at the Warner Theatre for this Saturday, March 13th. All proceeds from the two shows will

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-20560602081746509852010-03-11T17:43:00.002-05:002010-03-11T17:53:27.663-05:00

An AP article says that Conan O'Brien will take his show on the road for a 30-city tour. Sounds logical to us.It might be gruelling and expensive, but it will keep the late-night TV host in the public's mind (ink will flow like Niagra Falls) and it will cement that bond between O'Brien and his audience while he's on his forced hiatus. Sure, he'll only be seen by a fraction of a fraction of a

Brian McKim & Traci Skenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08551129938810580569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7209271.post-73501784023220010262010-03-02T20:06:00.002-05:002010-03-02T20:13:38.820-05:00

We get emails like this one:Spike TV will launch a nationwide search this week to find undiscovered comedic talent for a new late-night talk show. The series is being developed and executive produced by Thom Beers, owner of Original Productions (The Deadliest Catch, Ice road Truckers, Ax Men and Monster Garage.) The new late-night entry will differ from the typical late-night chatter of movie

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