"No Show" Jones

I’m a pretty big fan of George Jones.  Truthfully, not much of a fan of his later (past 15 years) stuff, but I love his 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s songs.  Frank Sinatra once said of George Jones (paraphrasing): He has the second best voice in America.
So, back in the spring, when I was working at CFCY, and I heard that CFCY was presenting George Jones’ performance in November in Charlottetown, I put out feelers for free radio station tickets.  I got lucky as the station’s new Promotions Director, who, unknown to anyone, was going to quit the next day, gave me two tickets.
Not really knowing anyone else who was much of a George Jones fan, I asked my father if he wanted to go with me.  He said he wasn’t a huge Jones fan, but he’d go with me if there was nobody else who would rather go.
Making the date, I put the tickets in my wallet.  This was in the spring.  Over the summer I had thought of, and looked forward to the concert, quite a few times.
Last night at about 11:30, I heard a country-ish song on some TV commercial which reminded me of George Jones.  That made me think the tickets in my wallet.  “Hmm”, I thought, “that concert is in November sometime?”  I go to my wallet, get the tickets and see:

George Jones, November 5 –  8pm –  Charlottetown Civic Centre

I missed the show!  I’m an idiot!
I wonder if it was a good show?  I didn’t hear anything about it.  I even wonder if it took place?  I assume it did.

Cletus Dunn Thinks Big

More out-loud thinking like this, please.  I have no idea whether his suggestions are viable or cost-effective, but Alberton/Mimigenish MLA Cletus Dunn should be commended for being willing to be criticized for such grandiose thoughts.
I particularly like elementary school being grades 1-9.

TV Guide – Unsubscribe

TV Guide is a, ahem, magazine that we’ve always just subscribed to.  Used to be, it was invaluable for tv listings.  I’ve realised recently, that over the past few years, I’ve been relying on TV Guide less and less for listings information.  Partly this is due, I think, to my watching less television, and knowing precisely when the shows I do watch are on.  Occasionally, TV Guide will hip me to an interesting show that I might not otherwise have known about.  More than ever, it’s now simply the magazine I pick up and read when in the bathroom.
The articles in TV Guide have been bugging me for quite some time.  I dislike the, ahem, journalistic approach they seem to favour (very too much fluff and very pro-CTV Global programs) and do not agree with their opinions very often.  And it’s very much a female-oriented magazine, with far too much emphasis on fashion.
I’ve been thinking, for a while, of cancelling my subscription, but never got around to it.
Now, with this week’s edition, I have the reason to do so.  This week, TV Guide presented to the people of Atlantic Canada (and Ontario and Quebec), their new "Eastern Edition".  Now, all listings are presented in Eastern Time zone only.  That means that we in Atlantic Canada now must convert the times listed to our time zone.  Sure, this is fairly simple, by adding an hour to all the listings, but it really bugs me that we have to do that.  It bugs me because they’re implying that this change is somehow an improvement to their customers.  Obviously, to us in Atlantic Canada, it is not an improvement, and obviously, this is a cost-cutting measure.  But it is a pain in the ass.  A slight pain in the ass, but, principly, a pain in the ass, nonetheless.
It bugs me enough to email TV Guide and cancel the remainder of my subscription, and that’s what I did on Monday..  So far, I haven’t heard back from them, but I’m interested to hear how spin this.
I’ll post their reply if a) I ever get one, and b) it’s interesting enough to post.

The Blair Sketch Project


Sketch22 running through woods
Originally uploaded by The Annekenstein Monster.

Recently, the lads and lass from Sketch22 spent a day in the countryside, videotaping bits and pieces for a future video segment. Here, you see us either running from something, or running to something. Perhaps some of us are running from something and some are running to something. Quite possibly, the very thing that some are running from and some are running to is the exact same thing.

Back On The ChainGang

If you were wondering where I’ve been, blogaphorically speaking, the past couple of weeks, I’ve been:
(choose one)
a) in jail.
b) depressed and not feeling like posting inane nothingness to the handful of people who read this site.
c) feeling a great lack of inspiration and wondering if I’ll ever find the desire to write again.
d) busy with other stuff.
e) watching television 24/7.
f) visiting relatives in Attleboro, Mass.
g) too nervous about all these hurricanes and terrorists and bird flues.
h) obsessing over things like whether it’s "flues" or "flus" (or possibly an entirely different spelling), but not to the point where I bother to look it up.
i) reading something called a ‘novel’.  It’s kind of like a text-only fiction site on the internets, only it’s all, like, hard copy and portable.
j) pirating movies and then watching them.
k) taking my wife to and from and to and from the hospital and visiting her there in between.
l) sitting by the phone and waiting for it to ring after our Sketch22 Contact East performance.
m) drinking so much beer that I’ve begun to wonder if I have a drinking problem.
n) looking for magic mushrooms in my own backyard.
o) spending way too much time playing a stupid video game on the GameCube.
p) taking all kinds of pictures with my digital camera.
q) letting my knee heal, mostly by just sitting on the couch and having it (my knee, not the couch) elevated.
r) chastising myself to the point of lethargy about my lethargy during this current work hiatus.
s) planning a little home work project, wherein I glue all kinds of discared CDs onto a black-painted wall,  and wondering where I could find enough discarded CDs.
t) rapping.
u) thinking about all the stuff I’ve lost over the years.
v) counting a bit too much on that big Lotto payday last week, but not even buying a ticket.
w) being unemployed.
x) admiring too much female nudity on the world wide web.
y) keeping silent on this site for two weeks because I lost a bet and the stakes were two weeks web silence.
z) not eating pizza, but really, really wanting to eat pizza.

Now that I have finished doing that one thing from the list above, I hope to return to a more regular posting schedule.

Sarah Silverman

I’ve been a fan of Sarah Silverman for a few years.  If I ever was to do standup comedy, I think I’d want to do the kind of comedy she does.
Here’s a link to a New Yorker article on her.

Putting the “stmas” Back In “Christmas”

Hey all you Christmas Lovers, Christmas Haters, and People Who Don’t Have Much Of An Emotional Stake In Christmas One Way Or The Other, Sketch22 is putting on a show just for you!
That’s right.  We’re in the process of writing a bunch of Christmas-themed sketches and videos.  And the plan is to allow anyone who wants to, to come to the Guild in Charlottetown on any of 8 nights in December* and, after paying a small entrance fee, watch us act out those sketches live on stage**.

So, if you’re interested in seeing what a bunch of atheist or agnostic (and perhaps a Closeted Christian or two – Sketch22 enforces a "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy) wildly-talented*** and boastful sketch comedians come up with on the topic of Christmas, make sure to attend.  I’ll bet that we surprise you****
It’s guaranteed to be the best sketch comedy show presented this December on Prince Edward Island"*""*.

*the specific 8 nights will be announced at a later date.
**video segments will not be performed live on stage.
***not an actual boast
****not an actual bet.
*****guarantee not valid on Prince Edward Island.

Putting the "stmas" Back In "Christmas"

Hey all you Christmas Lovers, Christmas Haters, and People Who Don’t Have Much Of An Emotional Stake In Christmas One Way Or The Other, Sketch22 is putting on a show just for you!
That’s right.  We’re in the process of writing a bunch of Christmas-themed sketches and videos.  And the plan is to allow anyone who wants to, to come to the Guild in Charlottetown on any of 8 nights in December* and, after paying a small entrance fee, watch us act out those sketches live on stage**.

So, if you’re interested in seeing what a bunch of atheist or agnostic (and perhaps a Closeted Christian or two – Sketch22 enforces a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy) wildly-talented*** and boastful sketch comedians come up with on the topic of Christmas, make sure to attend.  I’ll bet that we surprise you****
It’s guaranteed to be the best sketch comedy show presented this December on Prince Edward Island”*””*.

*the specific 8 nights will be announced at a later date.
**video segments will not be performed live on stage.
***not an actual boast
****not an actual bet.
*****guarantee not valid on Prince Edward Island.

Eye Spy

On this website…
I spy, with my little eye, a word that starts with ‘p’…

And It’s Goodnight From Him

When I was growing up, The Two Ronnies was a show (imported from the BBC to the CBC) I enjoyed.  I cannot remember any specific comedy from any of the episodes I saw, but I remember the show to be smart comedy.  Writerly comedy.  I appreciated that. 

The only thing I remember, really, is the sign off: 

Ronnie Corbett: "It’s good night from me…"

Ronnie Barker: "…and it’s good night from him."

Yesterday, Ronnie Barker passed away.  And I bet ten pounds I’m the only one in the world who will have thought to use that headline.