A long long time ago
In another lifetime
I used to go to open mike nights at stand up clubs. I had a good time, and got some laughs. And I learned something about stand up comedians. Most of them are assholes.
In order to develop the quick reflexes and sharp wit a comedian needs in order not to be hammered flat by the lamest heckler, you have to have been the subject of a lot of abuse. Most comedians, most good ones, have been through hell and it shows.
If you’ve ever seen the Friar’s club roast, or any of the old Dean Martin roasts, you know that a great deal is made of the ability of the roasters to abuse and insult the roastees, the rest of the attendees, and the crowd. They do this with relative ease, because of a sense of professional.. well, hatred of the other people.
Last night I had the extreme pleasure of attending and… hosting a roast for T1G who just turned 40, and is heading off for parts unknown.
Thankfully, Tammi did most if not all of the arrangements, so it went off well. Fact is, without her none of it would have happened. The ability of, and willingness to, embarrass yourself in the entertainment of another(joe) is something we all shared, but nobody more than Harvey And the remarkably lovely and incredibly patient TNT, whose wrath I hope I have not incurred (a BAD person to have pissed at you)
having participated in roasts before, I had a ton of material, and I left it on the sheet of notes.
See, roasting someone properly involves really insulting and annoying the assembled guests, and while it’s an incredibly easy thing to do, and I’m pretty good at it, I like these people all too much.
Thanks, everyone. See you next year!
16 comments Og | Uncategorized
You were wonderful! You made the evening wonderful!!
Thank you for doin’ that – it was a great time!
It sounds like you all had a wonderful time! I raised a glass in your direction…
Many thanks, Og. ‘Twas a damn good time!
You didn’t need to say a word: We’ll all be paying out thousands of dollars in therapy bills after seeing Harvey….
Was a great time! And a pleasure meeting you!
No, no Grau! The therapy will be for seeing what was left of the ‘uniboob’! And, yes, for that literal scarring,Og, my anger/disgust is still festering!
great. Now I have to have THAT to be terrified of.
Most comedians, most good ones, have been through hell and it shows.
Makes sense. I would guess that having a bit of a mean streak might help.
You did one hell of a job. Then again the assembled cast did make for some good material. Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s a pitcher to drain around here somewhere.
It was good to meet you man. Even it it was a brief meeting. I thought Zonker was gonna cry when he found out I snapped pictures of the Uniboob with his camera while he left it at the table and went somewhere to try to flatter other women. Pussy. Man your camera if you don’t want a ‘Neck puttin’ pixels on it.
I’d have taken a picture of anything else “uni” you had man, on Zonkers camera.
You did a good job, and I didn’t prepare anything really to poke fun of Joe with, but, I’m always late, so it’s coming.
Neck, you rock. I’m real sorry I didn’t get to spend more time with you.
Hey. Remember me? I’m the dork who’s tagged you with a meme.
Maybe you’ll play along? If not, I’ll probably get over it eventually.
Freddie, I don’t do memes. Never have, never will.
Stand up comedians tend to be the most depressed people around. Comes from all the abuse they’ve taken over life. Makes them assholes too, just as you said.
Yay! A computer that works! It was terrific to see you again. And though I know you’ve traumatized Zonker for life with your scar. I am sadly unfazed… having been a nurse all those eons ago. That was a very nice scar compared to those I dealt with in my hey day. *grin* (at least it was actually closed… I’m just sayin’…)
Now when you were sparring with T1G – I was simply trying to get out of the way of any fallout when the explosion hit.
;-)
Great time! Next time we roast TIG (not if, but when) maybe I can prepare more than an “ASSUME THE POSITION” sign.
Loved seeing you again and don’t forget about the pink .380 grips for my Walther!