WHOOOPS!!!!

Sorry, I loaded the wrong file into the Libsyn site for the National Comedy Company interview- now corrected - please feel free to download and enjoy!!

Dummy In Charge Here...

National Comedy Company


New Orleans Improv Comedy Troupe



A few years ago, I interviewed an improv comedy troupe in New Orleans. At that time, I hadn’t even started to imagine a series like the one that later developed into my “Talkin’ Funny”, Talkin’ Theatre”, “Talkin’ Turkey” audio set, linkable from the photo collage above, BTW…

At any rate, here’s a link to that interview:

http://thatdanguy.libsyn.com/

You can also convert this post to an RSS feed (as if THAT will work), or download it from i-Tunes (if THAT ever decides to load…)

NOTE: The titillating picture above is just one of the locations the company performs at. A fine restaurant to grab a burger in NOLA...
Chow for now!!

Sad way to start your day – hearing that actor Leslie Nielsen had passed away. I am a big fan of his work in comedy, and much of the rest of the world shared in that enjoyment of his zany send-ups of other popular styles of movies. The Airplane series, the Naked Gun series and more all cracked me up.


Not so much – Mrs. That Dan Guy! When we were first dating, I took her to see one in those series, and while I was roaring with laughter in the theatre, I could feel her shrinking in the seat beside me. I think beneath her embarrassment at my reaction, she truly did enjoy his talents, although she did groan a lot through the next two films in the Naked Gun series, now that I think about it.

Chow for now…

In my ongoing efforts to get away with as little effort as humanly possible in this space (I seem to recall a teacher as far back as elementary school writing something to that effect on a report card of mine…hmmm…), I dug around online to find a link to a column of mine from a few years back.

It is hockey season after all, and next to Tim Hortons coffee that’s about as close as we come here in Canada to worshipping false idols. If you’re a false-idol-worshipping sort of person.

Click below to be transported back in time to 2008, and my behind-the-scenes glance at this enduring Canadian institution:

http://event.ok.bc.ca/includes/datafiles/print.php?id=93183&title=Behind

Chow for now!!

Chicken Scratch

(posted by weekend guest blogger Charlie Chicken…)

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

HEY! I’m getting’ tha hook!

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

Cluck fer now….

AAAAWK!!!!

Someone call tha coppers!!! Cruelty ta chickens!

I think my beak is bent…

I can see now that maybe we (humans in general, me maybe more so than others) did really evolve from the ape or monkey families after all. More so lately, as I discover more and more patches of profuse hair growth on my body, essentially anywhere but above my scalp.


I’m certainly getting to be more Robin Williams than Robin Masters these days. I thought I had fallen asleep on a giant caterpillar the other day when I went to scratch my back, but alas – that WAS my back!!

Wonderful – I’m turning into a Muppet in my “golden” years…

Chow for now…

I don’t believe that I’ve ever shared in this space before now that at one point in my (younger) life, I had aspirations of one day becoming a professional wrestler. Having size on my side, and a pretty decent head of hair back in the day, all I really had to overcome at the time was my adversity to pain, a nose softer than a breakfast crepe, and an annoying habit (to my trainer and coach at least) of yelping like a Chihuahua pup whenever an opponent came close to me.


I remember during one particularly gruesome training session that maybe I should have tried to learn to box instead – but then I realized that if I was worried about my papier-mâché snout with wrestling, how would I fare against fists like freight trains pummeling the ole air-beak?

I was brought back to the lesson at hand by my trainer, who pleaded for me to quit running around the ring, and to show at least some modicum of masculinity by squealing just a little bit less every time the other brute tried to put me into any sort of wrestling hold.

My rasslin’ career was not meant to be. I was deemed “un-trainable”. I guess we’ll never know what might have been…

Chow for now!

It must be cold out – I thought someone had tossed a load of oversized piano keys into our back yard – turned out to be a herd of frozen penguins…

Relief is on the way though – I hear the temperatures will be more moderate soon. That’s good news for my teeth, which haven’t stopped chattering since last Thursday.

Chow for now!!

Egads! 

Cold snap here, with the wind chill it’s like -1000 ° below – what humans can survive!!

I could see my breath when I was outside earlier. I had to chip it with an ice-pick, as it was freezing into a solid clump with each exhalation. I kept a few clumps of ice breath - that at least will save me a few bucks when I go to make strawberry daiquiris later this afternoon…

It’s so cold outside, what I thought was a statue of a bird on our balcony chirped out for a scarf.

It’s so cold outside, a couple of our resident wild jackrabbits were wearing house-cats to keep warm.

It’s so cold outside, Jack Frost was spotted knocking back hot chocolate in the neighbourhood Starbucks…

Chow for now!

Jesus & The Snowman

We’ve been operating on limited sleep here in the Such Is Life household lately. I’ll admit that right up front, before I relate this story of one day’s multiple errors in general observation.

Driving home from downtown Calgary a day or so ago, we were parked in bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic trying to get back home. While Mrs. That Dan Guy was recounting her day for me, I noticed out of the corner of my eye someone below what I thought was the adjacent pedestrian bridge, walking along in what appeared to be a bit of a modern miracle. Up to that point this winter, the river below had yet to freeze as it has since.

MTDG, noticing I wasn’t paying attention ( a rare and unusual occurrence – I’m usually spellbound) – so she glanced over to see what had been so important as to divert my rapt attention. From her perspective, she was able to note that the gentleman was on the actual pedestrian bridge, BELOW what I had noticed earlier, which turned out to be the C-train span.

No miracle…

Further along, on the very same road, and on the very same commute home, I happened to glance over to my left just as someone was approaching a door to a home that had just opened to greet them. Although all I could see was the resident of the home, whom I mistook for Frosty the Snowman. On further inspection, it was a woman dressed in a large white overcoat, with a red scarf placed exactly as Frosty prefers to wear his.

I really need to start getting more sleep…

Chow for now!

Motown Gold

Stage West Calgary

Stage West Calgary Reviews

Motown

The Sunday Morning “Somebody-Asked-Me-To, So-Here-I-Go Show Review”: “Motown Gold”, at Stage West Theatre Restaurant, Calgary Alberta Canada

(or, Why I Occasionally Still Get To Appear In Newspapers…)

Sometimes, I just can’t help myself (sugar pie honey-bunch…oh yeah…wait – there’s going to be more…)

What I want to say is:

“This Show Is Stevie Wonder-ful!!”

“Motown Gold? – Yeah, I Heard It On The Great-Vine!”

But what I really have to say should end up resembling something a little more professional – even more so when my “official” review runs in The Calgary Herald.

For today, let me say that the pics above are just a small glimpse at the ensemble cast portraying decades of Motown legends in this just-opened production. Among the most popular style of the assorted shows that this facility stages, “Motown Gold” is a groovin’ glance at the contributions Detroit’s legendary recording studio made world-wide.

And what an influence Motown has had on pop music over the years! Careers have been revitalized by recording a classic track. Some songs have never left the airwaves, 50 years after they were first released. Oh, and thanks Motown, for The Captain & Tennille’s version of “Shop Around”. Oh well, they can’t all be winners…

Seriously, The Beatles, Elvis, CCR, and innumerable other acts paid tribute to or had great success recording songs from this incredible well of talent, represented in this show by often equally talented actors. Many of the songs were either spot-on, or done well enough to not bother any critics in the audience, as evidenced by the prolonged standing ovation at the end of the show when I was in attendance. So many classic songs running from the 1950’s and on up until the Canadian Motown connection, Winnipeger Remy’s Shand’s “Take A Message To My Love”. Shout out to my hometown!!

This show was a bit of a primer for me - in my capacity as a newspaper columnist, I’m hoping to be visiting Hitsville USA next year, during an annual conference I try and attend – planned coincidentally for Detroit in 2011. Hitsville being the original Motown Records studio – something you’ll pick up in the wealth of trivia peppered throughout the show’s transitions between eras and recording acts. There’s lots more, and something even I wasn’t aware of regarding the discovery of The Jackson Five – but I shouldn’t spoil the surprise - you should really try and make it out to see this show, if you’re a fan of this enduring brand of popular music.

And check back here – I’ll be posting a link to my Herald review when that’s available. Plus I’ll be sitting down with a few cast members to discuss the show and more – so as they say – don’t touch that dial!

Chow for now!!

Chicken Scratch

(posted by weekend guest blogger Charlie Chicken...)

Knock Knock!

(BUK-AAAAWK!!!! Who's there??)

 Banana!

Banana Who?

Knock Knock!

(BUK-AAAAWK!!!! Who's There?)

Banana!!

Banana who???

Knock Knock!

(BUK-AAAAWK!!!! WHO THE CLUCK IS THERE????)

Orange!

Orange Who??

Orange Ya Glad I Din' Say Banana???

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!

Cluck fer now...

If I’m not mistaken, the very first live concert I ever attended was April Wine – specifically their “Oowatanite” tour – that song and album playing prominently for several decades on rock radio afterwards. I’ve never forgotten that show, and I ended up seeing the band live a few more times over the years. As a matter of fact, like many prominent Canadian acts of the time, they still tour!

I read online earlier this week that a founding member, Jim Clench (the writer of that enduring hit mentioned earlier) passed away. Somewhere upstairs, there’s a pretty good band starting to put songs together…

Chow for now!

Why do people always seem to want to “push the envelope”? For one thing, why don’t they just pick up the envelope, and put it somewhere else, instead of pushing it along?

I get a visual image of Hercules trying to push some flimsy little envelope up a hill – don’t know why (but that could be said of MUCH of what runs through MY head…).

I’ve pushed the odd envelope in my time. Once, I had to get one out of my way so that I could put my coffee where it had been, on my desk.

You know, I just may push another envelope sometime today!

Chow for now…

Check it out - I was finally able to add my review for Amazon.ca and .com (OK, also i-Tunes). Either click on the CD cover over to the right in my Amazon favorites, or hit this link:

http://www.amazon.ca/product-reviews/B0041RY57W/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1   

Hmmm...that should have "gone live"...oh well, you can always just click on that link over to the right.

Anyhow, when (or if) it runs in any newspapers, I'll post that link here as well!

Chow for now...

Winter has officially arrived, with our first major snowfall overnight. Volkswagen Beetles will have to wait until spring to be seen once again, and any gophers that hadn’t already decided to hibernate for the next few months will have to pretend to be housecats if they hope to survive the chilly stretch ahead (until about late August).

From our new vantage point, we are enjoying the start of our day by watching vehicles attempt to ascend the nominal upward incline of the roadway behind us. “Winter tires? Ha – it is to laugh!” appears to be the regret of  many cursing below us, waiting for elderly dog-walkers to stop and help them up the ice slide.

Good times Canada…good times…

Chow for now!

Running a bit behind this morning – a few technical difficulties in the Such Is Life household…

Also running a big behind – thanks, potato chips and Twinkies!

I know someone in Winnipeg that runs a big beehive, which is kinda cool. Must be lots of buzz about that kind of activity (go ahead, groan…).

Video stores used to run: “be kind, rewind”, which is no longer applicable, and probably stretches this wordplay past the point of return this morning.

Adieu,

Chow for now!! 

Ronald McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O,

And on that farm he has McRibs,

E-I-E-I-O.

With BBQ sauce, here, BBQ sauce there,

E-I-E-I-O,

It sure ain’t 5 star, even 4,

E-I-E-I-O.

With a blech blech here, blech blech there,

Ronald McDonald shapes Spam like ribs,

E-I-E-I-O.

(Chow for now…)

Chicken Scratch

(posted by plucky weekend guest Charlie Chicken…)

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

HEY! Who cut tha cheeze around here??

Heh Heh Heh…

I kills me…who cut tha cheeze……..

Cluck fer now.

Is Yogi Bear still alive? If he is, he must be getting up there in age, even for bear years. To be honest, I haven’t seen him on TV in recent years, so maybe he and Boo-Boo retired away to some exotic island?

If anyone has an update, I’d sure appreciate hearing about it. I suppose I should try searching for him on Facebook after I get done posting this here blog update. For all I know, he and Boo Boo tweet, or twiddle…whatever the latest social media rage is now…

Maybe I need to surf the Google – my inquiring mind needs to know!

Now that I’m on this tack, I should also look up Ranger Smith – he owes those two a pik-a-nik basket…

Chow for now!!

11 11 10…this month is just filthy with those numbers that haunt me…

Happy Remembrance/Memorial Day, everyone! Don’t forget to take the time to observe what this day is all about…

Hey, on the topic of remembering, does anyone remember how to do The Peppermint Twist? That was a long time ago, but I imagine that someone out there might still know how to do it.

"Bop Shoo Wop, Boppa Boppa Shoo Wop…The Peppermint Twist!"

Well, if you do remember, let me know – always looking for new ways to incorporate peppermint into my life.

Chow for now!

11 10 10….hmmmm…

Once upon a time, in a land far far away (but not too far from other lands that were very close to it), there was a seaside town called Lever Spool. Back in this particular time, Lever Spool wasn’t very special, but it did have one unique quirk – the young lads there all cut their hair the same – with bangs hanging way down over their eyeballs.

Lever Spool was far indeed from North America, but through the miracle of portable radios, many of these hairy young lads would listen to music from there – and dream of one day playing such pop tunes themselves. 

As fate would have it, four of these hair-blinded lads found themselves together one day in a record store, fighting over a single copy of the latest hit record from across the watery waves of the sea.

“Help!” shouted one of the lads, with a force mighty enough to lift the bangs right off his eyebrows.

“We Can Work It Out!” pleaded another, as he pummeled a rival with his drumsticks.

“I AM The Walrus!!” proclaimed a third – which brought the shoving match to an abrupt halt – what sort of fool proclaims to be a walrus, the other three thought?

 The last lad looked at the fellow closest to him, winked and said “I want to hold your hand”. With that, the prized record was dropped to the ground, smashing like Humpty Dumpty at an omelette cooking class.

The exasperated clerk waved his hand, and told them to come together, right now. Over tea. Which sounded like a grand idea.

Each of the lads left the store, and parted ways, never seeing each other again. This now seems to have been a rather pointless story, with no perceivable moral or conclusion.

May YOU live happily ever after then…

Chow for now.

I’ve already blabbed about this from Facebook (where a quick link to song snippets is available), and as you can see over to the right in my Amazon.ca space, I have posted a preliminary link to…the new Viva Elvis soundtrack CD – not even available until mid-November – which is why you have to wait for an official review.

This isn’t the entire soundtrack – there are omissions from the recently opened Vegas show created by Cirque du Soleil– but the ones included are often amazing re-imagined versions of Elvis’ original hits – best when they stick to the early catalogue, but each and every one worth a listen.  

More on this disc later – for now, here’s a reminder of the stage show itself:

http://thatdanguy.blogspot.com/2010/02/viva-elvis-cirque-du-soleil-elvis.html

Chow for now!!

We’ve been so busy lately that I completely missed a milestone here in the Such Is Life household – my online interview series http://thatdanguy.libsyn.com/ quietly surpassed one year of posts. That was way back in September, and it just continues to grow every month, consistently attracting hundreds of viewers.

I’ve got some interesting stuff planned ahead, plus the regular feeds that arise from the local stage productions – so head on over to i-Tunes and subscribe, so that you don’t miss an episode!

Otherwise I’ll find your IP address, and add you to my Nigerian prince’s mailing list - on the plus side, you may be able to help him access over $25,000,000 U.S. dollars and get yourself a share!

Chow for now!!

The Sunday Morning Cheater Post:

Here’s a link to my latest real estate column, suitable for readers of every persuasion, as it is really just a profile of actor Jamie Farr from M*A*S*H…

http://www.remonline.com/home/?cat=32

Say, that initial opening could have seemed a bit misleading, what with “cheater” having more than one connotation…oh well, you know what I meant now…

Chow for now!!

Chicken Scratch

(posted by weekend guest pest..ummm…”blogger” Charlie Chicken…)

GADZOOKS!

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

EUREKA!!

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

Yessir, I had me an idea – don matter that I can’t renumber what it wuz right now, but I did have an idea – illoominatin’!

I wonder if pipl had ideas before Edison invented the lite bulb? Musta been dim ones if they did…

BUK-AAAAWK!!!!

Hey!?! With that lite bulb on my noggin, I see inna mirrer that I ain’t got hair!!! When did I go bald???

Oh, wait…I always wuz bald – excepin’ fer my comb – kinda a poultry version uva Mohawk do.

Mebbe I need ta start a punk band?

“Charlie Rotten & Tha Moldy Potatoes”????

Oughta work on that, I think…an I wonder if that wuz tha idea I had come up with earlier?

Who tha cluck knows????

Cluck fer now!!

I took in the launch of The Calgary Public Library’s big “One Book One Calgary” soiree last night – quite the star-studded event:

http://calgarypubliclibrary.com/onebookonecalgary/

Along with local dignitaries, the author herself, and a mini-galaxy of well-known Cowtowners, this was the launch of about one month’s worth of readers…umm…reading  the book chosen for this theme – specifically Aritha van Herk’s “Mavericks – An Incorrigible History Of Alberta”. Spoiler Alert: It’s not just about cattle, or discontinued Ford sedans!

Mrs. That Dan Guy and I had already visited the exhibit based on this tome at the museum here a year or so ago. Has it been that long already? YIKES! No wonder everybody I run into looks so much older than the last time we’ve seen them!

At any rate, I really went to catch some of the talent – some I had seen before, some I hadn’t (there’s pretty much only two inevitable camps when you start a statement like that…). Singer/songwriter Steve Pineo, we had seen before – and we’re fans. We own some of his music.

Utmost for me was a local and national great, three-time Stephen Leacock Humour Medal winner Will Ferguson – I even smuggled in one of his winning books to get it autographed. In retrospect, FYI, you really shouldn’t look around furtively if you’re getting a book signed in a library – it sends off the wrong signals to authority figures…

All in all, a nice little outing. If you’re in the Calgary area, or even as close as some rural village in PEI, I’d advise you to stop by and check out any of the libraries while this is on. Click on the link above to find out more.

Hey, and while you’re clicking on links, how about clicking on that Amazon.ca link over to the right of today’s post? I got an e-mail from them today, and I am apparently a little lax on the traffic to their site, so to speak. So don’t be a fink – click on their link.

Chow for now!!

“I taught I taw a puddy tat.

I DID!! I DID!!”

(Classic North American TV show dialogue excerpt – some lines are so iconic, they will live forever).

Chow for now!

“Loaf” is a funny word. When you think of it, a loaf of bread mostly loafs all day.

Chow for now.

Good morning Russia & The Netherlands – countries which according to the “stats” feature on Google are my current leading sources of site hits. Canada ranks third, then the U.S., and there are quite a few more – but Russia & The Netherlands lead by a surprisingly large margin.

Which begs the question – what appeals here to those exotic, faraway lands – my occasional witty commentaries? The often insightful entertainment reviews?

Or is it Charlie, the warped piece of weekend poultry, who is the winner of the downloading sweepstakes, as indicated by the posts consistently attracting the most views?

Well, we’ll just have to find out. Coming this weekend – Charlie Chicken’s tribute to Russia & The Netherlands (at the very least, a hard-hitting investigation of booze and cigarettes of those regions. If he’s sober enough).

Is the Netherlands where “Nether-Nether Land” is located? I really need to learn more about those countries…

Chow for now!

11 01 10…hmmmmmmmm….veddy interesting…veddy interesting indeed….

Today (just for shiggles) I’m not going to correct any of the typos that pop iup at I try to typeout today’s post on my netbook -0. Netboo, which is code for “ computer featuring keyboard sized appropriately for dwarf housefly".

Usually I take the time to edit and correct my posts, but when I’m trying to get them word-processed, the things that pop us as I type are nothing short of amazing, if not at least amusing.

I’ve had entire posts disappear. I’ve had programs open I didn’t even know resided on the computer!Q

Mostly, things like that randon “Q” are the most common, as my husky fingers attempt to navigate a keyboard better laid out size-wqise fot a malnourished gnat.

It is kind of liberating not to go back and take out all the extra vowels and constantents tha t pop upas I typwe – even that plasticized poultry Charlie on the weekend  would appear to be a better speller and editor than mysweklf right now – however fo the purpose of this experiment, I cam just going to leave every flub in.

I suppose I could just send my fingers to jenny Craig, or LA Weightr Loss, but this seems mike much more fun.

And this is on a netbook, NOT a cellphonekeypad – that’s even woese!!!

Well, thanks for staying with me (if indeed you bothered to  - there’s no apss you can dowenoad for THIS mess!!).

Back to proper posts tomorrow…

Chow for now!!!