Last week on Funny Title Here, there was no Funny Title Here. And the week before last there was no Funny Title Here. This week though, all of that changes. Stay tuned for a game changing revelation on Funny Title Here. This week in the grand returnining of Funny Title Here, we have the very funny Kathleen Mcgee from Canada’s own Edmonton!

Something funny about the comic that I try to spin up goes here, but what I think Kathleen says about herself in the next few lines is solid gold, and must be exposed to more people.

I am a favorite to many drunken rig pigs of Alberta that think that I’m “funny for a girl” and “would like to eat my pussy sometime” *please note that those are direct quotes from some of my fans. I am proud to say that I have offended at least one uptight bitch in every city, town, village, hamlet, etc that I have visited. I’ve entered a numerous contest and won one at a gay bar and placed 2nd in another so I guess you could say contests are not my strong point…unless some drag queens are judging.

Paolo: Holy stuff! Just what exactly is going on in Canada right now? Did your government just slam dunk Parliament or something?
Kathleen: What is happening is that finally Canadian politics are finally interesting. It’s long and complicated but I think that we just saw how much fun American politics were getting and we just wanted to know what it was like to actually care about what our leaders are doing.

More with Kathleen, including, bone-able religious figures after the jump!

Posted: December 10th, 2008 under Funny Title Here.
Comments: 3

This week on A Tight 5ive we have John Madden, Donald Trump, George W. Bush, Jerry Seinfeld, Al Gore, Jack Nicholson, Dr. Phil, Bill Clinton and others being interviewed at Comix Comedy Club by Dylan Gadino. All at the same time.

Now that I perked your interest, I hate to say that we’re not having any of them. But rather, Frank Caliendo of TBS’s Frank TV and commercials for Direct TV fame. But believe me, this is just as good, if not better than all of the previously mentioned people all in the same room at the same time. Think of all the banter our intrepid host, Dylan Gadino of Punchline Magazine would have banter! He just had a child! He’d be all bantered out! Think of him why don’t you?

In a related note, I should maybe start collecting all the cool goodbyes that Dylan does with comics at the end of A Tight 5ives. Here’s the goodbye he did with Frank. Gadino out!

Posted: December 10th, 2008 under A Tight 5ive.
Comments: none

In honor of Christie Hefner stepping down as Chief Executive of Playboy, and to shed light on Playboy’s plight of ever dwindling relevance in matters of boobs and airbrushing, I’m going to try something new here at the RooftopBlog. Hear me out: centerfolds.

Yes, we’re probably (read: probably) not ever going to replicate the tactile sensation of unfolding a May 1989 issue of Playboy to find Ms. May gazing longingly at you (when you meant to look for an old Domino Rally set) but I think that spirit is still with us. Besides, it gives us a chance to use some awesome (read: awesome) photos that our own Rooftop Comics sent us for our own calender, which unfortunately we were not able to do this year, maybe next, if the world is still around, of course.

Our inaugural centerfold is Birmingham, Alabama’s own Matt Mitchell! Yeah, drink it in, let it warm you up in these cold days.

Hoping this can be a weekly thing, and comics! Any remote interest in being a Rooftop Pin-up (on top of comic) send all vaguely/mildly/is that even legal erotic photos…to me. That didn’t come out right. Regardless, send them to:

paolo (at) whereiworkishereatrooftopcomedy (dot) com

Drink it up, all of Matt Mitchell, after the jump

Posted: December 9th, 2008 under Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: 12

Hey everybody. Welcome to our newest, and yet, most beloved feature: the Standup Women (stand)Update! The latest news (in brief) about women in comedy. Here’s a little run down of the latest!

- First off, Lisa Landry’s album made the list of Top 10 Comedy Albums of 2008 on iTunes! Congratulations, Lisa. Now all of you go buy it.

- Tina Fey gets a huge spread in the most recent issue of Vanity Fair, with fancy photos by Annie Leibovitz and an article by Maureen Dowd. They talk about the scar, Sarah Palin (of course), her marriage, and her resemblance to alter-ego Liz Lemon. However, a good chunk of the article focused on the fact that Fey is admittedly the end-product of a huge makeover. When she started writing for SNL, she was pudgy and unkempt but then she lost weight and “glammed up,” and that’s when they put her on Weekend Update. It’s almost disheartening to hear what a huge difference it made:

[Former SNL writer Adam] McKay recalls Fey telling a story about her heavier days. “Steve Martin walked right past her at the coffee table, and then, after the makeover, he was like, ‘Well, hel-looo—who are you?’ ”

Steve Martin: kind of a sleaze apparently.

- This trailer for ‘Spring Breakdown,’ starring Parker Posey, Amy Poehler, and Rachel Dratch looks amazing. Too bad it’s only getting a DVD release. WTF? I’m trying to get stoned and go see this with my mom! Not get stoned and… rent it… with my mom.

- Were you wondering what to get me for Christmas and/or Hanukkah? WONDER NO MORE! I AM SO SERIOUS.

- Maybe you can buy it for me at the new Feminist Bookstore? Holler at Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen aka Thunderant.

That’s all for this week. I’ll leave you with my pick for my favorite Standup Women clip of the week! Surprise, surprise: It’s Jessi Campbell. My hero.

Oh, and if you have any hot tips, let me know! emilyh (at) rooftopcomedy (dot) com!

Posted: December 8th, 2008 under Standup Women Update.
Comments: 2

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Posted: December 8th, 2008 under Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: none

Birbiglia On stage performing "Sleepwalk With Me."

I’m a big fan of Mike Birbiglila…add to that the ridiculously awesome reviews of his one man show at the Bleecker Street Theatre in New York City, and I’m on the verge of forgoing family Christmas presents to fly 5,000 miles and get a gander at this epic union of superb stand-up comedy and theatrical genius.

The best thing about good ol’ Birbigs is that he manages to poke fun at quintessential life experiences gone awry that most of us would consider grounds for mortification.  Birbiglia is able to humble his audience by relating to them as if he were divulging his innermost secrets to a close friend.  The Associated Press commends Bribiglia’s brilliance in this coming-of-age monologue as he “spins a self-deprecating account of awkwardness, procrastination and insecurity in the face of some of life’s most serious realities.”

Directed by Tony Award-winning Nathan Lane, “Sleepwalk With Me” was manifested over a four year period of Birbiglia’s life, which included his diagnosis with REM behavior disorder, which causes him to act out his dreams with a risk of harmful consequences.  As a result, he now dozes off in a special sleeping bag that restricts his movements.  With events like these that have impacted his life in imperative ways, Birbiglia has created and anecdotal, smart, and side-splitting show that the New York Times calls “simply perfect.”

“Sleepwalk With Me” runs through Jan. 18.  If you can catch him on Dec. 10 you are in for a treat:  A post-show segment entitled “Awkward 10 Minutes with Mike,” with special guest Ira Glass, host of one of my favorite NPR shows “This American Life.”

See our exclusive interview with Mike Birbiglia for Punchline Magazine here where Mike discusses “My Secret Public Journal,” his start in comedy, and “Sleepwalk With Me.”

Check out the official site of “Sleepwalk With Me“.

Posted: December 5th, 2008 under Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: none

Well, I’m back. To those who noticed, of course. But after a right knee arthroscopy turned into a blood clot in my leg turned into me injecting anticoagulants (into my stomach, twice a day, but of course) marketed to people who are prone to strokes and hip replacement surgeries. Regardless, aside from being the worst Requiem for a Dream fantasy camp ever, I am still alive, and depending on who you talk to, this may be a good thing.

Regardless, apologies for leaving the blog high and dry, looking forward to futzing around on this thing again, like in the good old days, the days of winning State kind of days. And I’d like to thank my fellow Rooftop-ites for the well wishes (plus get well card) while I was bedridden in a Vicodin haze trying to decipher hidden messages and codes in the texture ceiling of my bedroom.

Anyway, I just killed two birds with one stone. Here is your New Clip Round-Up for the week.

I bet you didn’t see that coming? Or did you? New clips after the jump.

Posted: December 5th, 2008 under The New Clip Round-Up.
Comments: none

It seems like the big post-election question (other than what kind of puppy the Obamas are getting) seems to be: where is the Republican party going to go now? It’s obvious that there needs to be some re-thinking and strategizing happening. The clunky, directionless McCain campaign lost by reaching to the religious right at the last minute, while the sleek, sexy, l33t Obama campaign did the internet all over the Republicans’ faces. So how is the GOP regrouping?

Rest assured, the best and brightest are on it. Why, just saunter on over to rebuildtheparty.com where user-submitted strategies were discussed, voted on, and eventually incorporated into a 10-point plan for the future. I read the whole thing. It is super boring.

Reading the user-submitted ideas was pretty interesting, though. Especially this one espousing greater inclusion, less emphasis on religious morality, etc etc. Basically: social liberalism. Curious to see how other members of the party felt about this proposal, I clicked through to the comments. It is quite the lively discussion. There are a few Christians on there saying over and over again that accepting baby killing and sodomy is a bad bad bad idea, a few Republicans saying it’s necessary, a few liberals just on there to gloat, but overwhelmingly, the message is: Truck Nutz.

Take this exchange, for example. A user named Goal Oriented writes:

I think our Conservatism needs more capitalization, not less. For example “conservative” this looks WEAK. “CONSERVATIVE!!!” THIS IS FORCEFUL, POTENT, and AGGRESSIVE. THIS IS THE PARTY WE NEED TO BE. Say goodbye to conservatism and Conservatism, this is the age of the CONSERVATIVES!.

In response, CamionetaCajones writes:

I agree with gaol oriented:

“I think our Conservatism needs more capitalization, not less. For example “conservative” this looks WEAK. “CONSERVATIVE!!!” THIS IS FORCEFUL, POTENT, and AGGRESSIVE.”

Say it loud, I’m TRUCKNUTZ and I’M PROUD!

Or this, from NuttyNuttyBoy:

All yer small “c” conservatives are belong to TruckNutz!
All yer small “c” conservatives are belong to TruckNutz!
All yer small “c” conservatives are belong to TruckNutz!
All yer small “c” conservatives are belong to NUTZ!

Or my personal favorite, from someone who has taken on the moniker ‘Michel Foucault’:

In this central and centralized humanity, the effect and instrument of complex power relations, bodies and forces subjected by multiple mechanisms of “incarceration,” objects for discourses that are in themselves elements for this strategy, we must hear the distant roar of trucknutz.

The future’s so bright, I gotta wear… truck nutz.

To read the whole discussion, head over here.

Posted: December 2nd, 2008 under Election Coverage, Ruminations, theorizations and stuff.
Comments: 9

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Posted: December 1st, 2008 under elbow macaroni.
Comments: none

Escape your family this Turkey Week OR bring them along and come check out Rooftop’s own, W. Kamau Bell as he headlines The Punch Line for TWO NIGHTS on
November 25 and 26.

This is a HUUUUUUUUUUGE deal, because if this goes well, they will give him a full week like a star!

ONLY $12 at door if you say the password FISHBONE

Kamau is half of Rooftop’s Siskel & Negro. The SF Weekly named Kamau 2008 Comedian of The Year and called him, “smart, stylish, and very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle and Margaret Cho”, although he was more excited that they called him “handsome.”

Also appearing — From Comedy Central Sheng Wang and from The G4 Network, Laura Swisher

Posted: November 25th, 2008 under Press Releases.
Comments: 1