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!