I changed my top 4 to be Robin and a bunch of cats. I'm not good with people. Let's be honest.

Here's an exerpt from "The Book of Secrets" by Deepak Chopra about right and wrong decisions:

- - - - - - - -

Right and wrong decisions: If you obsess over whether you are making
the right decision, you are basically assuming that the universe will
reward you for one thing and punish me for another. This isn't a
correct assumption because the universe is flexible - it adapts to
every decision you make. Right and wrong are only mental constructs.
Immediately I can hear strong emotional objections to this. What about
Mr. Right? What about the perfect job? What about buying the best car?
We are all in the habit if looking like consumers at people, jobs, and
cars, wanting the best value for the money. But in reality the
decisions we label as right and wrong are arbitrary. Mister Right is
one of a hundred or a thousand people you could spend a satisfying
life with. The best job is impossible to define, given that jobs turn
out to be good or bad based on a dozen factors that come in to play
only after you start the job. (Who knows in advance what your
co-workers will be like, what the corporate climate is, whether you
will have the right idea at the right moment?) And the best car may
get driven into an accident two days after you buy it.

The universe has no fixed agenda. Once you make any decision, it works
around that decision. There is no right or wrong, only a series of
possibilities that shift with each thought, feeling, and action that
you experience. If this sounds too mystical, refer again to your body.
Every significant vital sign - body temperature, heart rate, oxygen
consumption, hormone level, brain activity and so on - alters the
moment you decide to do anything. A runner's metabolism can't afford
to be as low as the metabolism of someone reading a book because,
without increased air intake and faster heart rate, the runner would
suffocate and collapse with muscle spasms.

Decisions are signals telling your body, mind and environment to move
in a certain direction. It may turn out afterward that you feel
dissatisfied with the direction you've taken, but to obsess over right
and wrong decisions is the same as taking no direction at all. Keep in
mind that you are the choice-maker, which means that who you are is
far more than any single choice you have ever made or ever will make.

Do you guys want to have a peek at my performance schedule?

COMEDYSPORTZ – Twin Cities
Although we have shows every Thursday - Saturday, I personally am playing ComedySportz on:
- Fri 5/2/2008 8:00 PM
- Thu 5/8/2008 8:00 PM
- Fri 5/9/2008 8:00 PM
- Thu 5/15/2008 8:00 PM
- Fri 5/16/2008 8:00 PM
- Sat 5/17/2008 8:00 PM & 10:30 PM
- Sat 5/24/2008 8:00 PM & 10:30 PM

...and at corporate, school and church events around the metro area, as well as on the Minneapolis team at the World Championships, August 1-3 in Portland, OR.

http://www.comedysportztc.com for ticket prices and details.


IMPROV A GO GO
I will be performing with Eggs of Steel at Improv A Go Go on May 11 and May 25, and with Wolf Blitzer Trio on May 4 and May 11. AND! Drum Machine, my award winning solo improv at the anniversary show on May 18. http://www.myspace.com/improvagogo


IMPROV FESTIVALS
Most importantly, do not forget the Twin Cities Improv Festival http://www.twincitiesimprovfestival.com

I will be performing SCRAM with my hero and mentor, Joe Bill on Thursday June 26. I encourage you to check out the entire schedule, we're bringing the best of national improv to Minneapolis and the best of Minneapolis improv to the world.

I'll be teaching and performing Drum Machine at:

- the Chicago Improv Festival June 5-7, 2008 (also performing with HUGE and SCRAM). http://www.chicagoimprovfestival.org

- Norsk sceneskrekk, Toten, Norway August 4-9, 2008.

- the Kansas City Improv Festival Sept. 5-6, 2008. http://city3.org

- the Atlanta Black Box Festival Sept. 25-28, 2008.
http://bbif.atlantaimprov.com/

- ComedySportz-Los Angeles, October 10-11, 2008.
http://comedysportzla.com

- the Denver Improv Festival, November 6-8, 2008.
http://www.denverimprovfest.com/

...and other festivals to be announced as soon as they realize they cannot live without me, ha ha.

I also coach an outstanding team called RUNNING WITH PENGUINS (RWP) at the Brave New Workshop's Six Ring Circus. They perform most Tuesdays, drop on by, it's only $1. http://www.bravenewworkshop.com

Well that's it for now, I'll try to keep you posted.

Hey you guys. I have a new project. It’s called "Lockhorns Aloud." Every day I read the Lockhorns to you. Every weekday that is. Additional space costs $24 and that seemed like a lot of money to spend just to entertain myself by reading the Lockhorns out loud.


http://lockhornsaloud.livejournal.com/

The thing I hate about phishing is that it really puts us all in a 'boy who cried wolf' situation. I mean. What if I really found a website where you could download 1000's of ringtones for free? Or what if I really have a recommendation for where you can buy awesome Nokia phones cheep? And if I spend hours and hours on my sexy webcam but you just think it's a phishing message, don't we both suffer?

Thanks to Curt Frye in Portland, I have spent over an hour looking at YouTube clips of Pavarotti singing duets with various people. Apparently he had huge charity events for a decade and just partnered with anybody you could think of. We have this wealth of recordings; why, why is life so good sometimes?

Here he is schooling Bryan Adams in the most adorable way. They're both so cute about it, it's ridiculous.




Here he is with Liza Minelli, singing New York, New York. Come on. That's precious.




There are other cute ones, Gloria Estefan and Ricky Martin both come off well because they're fast-paced songs and it's not hard when you speak Spanish to pull off Italian. The dude from Savage Garden is not as cute as Brian Adams on Solo Mio. There's two with Bono, Miserere isn't half bad, Ave Maria is odd. There are some sad ones, like Barry White is past his prime; I would've loved to see a fair fight between those two voices. Some that you think will be funny are just eh, like Meatloaf and Bon Jovi.

Then in the category of things that should not work but do, Mariah Carey.




Spice Girls. Yes, THE SPICE GIRLS AND PAVAROTTI. I am not making this up.



Brian Adams again on "All For Love" THIS IS RIDICULOUS! Aaahh!!! Yes that is Bocelli singing back up, it is, it is.




Even more so, Simon Le Bon, containing a moment where Pavarotti sings backup on Ordinary World that the universe has given us and we never have to give back.




Most importantly, James Brown.




And.
Lou
Reed.





Some other good ones:
Here Pavarotti is a little bit dancing with Jovanotti, even. I believe we can see him attempting to raise the roof as he comes onstage. The duet kicks ass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmEq9oOOUy4

Michael Bolton gets a thumbs up from Pavarotti in the middle of Nessun Dorma, and nails the money note. You know, if he'd stop swooping, the guy can sing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4GhZ90BtxQ

Also noted:
The Cranberries lady. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDyuarcu14Y&feature=related "moo-lee-airr-e-boos" cutie! At the end he takes her hand when they sing the last line and I'm honestly teared up.
Sting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUh1SlrtEG0 Yeah, that wiped the smirk off Sting's face, heh heh heh.
The Chieftans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siEpux48BYg&feature=related Disappointing because there's a full orchestra drowning out the Chieftans.


You luck out if the arrangement is for you to sing first, really. I want a clip video of all the "oh fuck, what am I doing here" expressions on the other singer's faces. Dolores O'Riordan has a great one, a little chagrin mixed with awe. I love that Jovanotti doesn't have one, that's awesome.

- - - -

OK. I have to stop now. I have to.
Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

Yo that thing hasn't worked in three days. I feel betrayed. Betrayed!! If I wanted something that didn't work I would get a boyfriend. HEY-O!! Thank you, I'll be here all week.

Well suddenly out of nowhere MySpace has this highly functional mobile interface! Color me impressed.Oh MySpace.Just when I thought our chance had passed.You went saved the best for last.

I have changed my profile to a song by my excellent friend Pablo called "You Are Special."  {editing to say I've changed it to Big Boy in support of NOLA music, but you can go to Pablo's page to hear "You Are Special."}

Listen through it, because it's about you.

Because look, look, you're wonderful. Deal with it. Whoever it was that made you feel like you were not wonderful, well, that person was wrong.

And it's all right that you're not the only one who is special. It's all right that we're all special. It does not reduce your specialness at all. We are all part and parcel of the same thing, and the fact that I'm wonderful and you're wonderful can only be good for all of us.

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of you living small and apologizing for breathing. I'm sick of you being afraid of asking for what you want because you think "No" equals "You suck" when instead it just equals "No" which only really means "Look somewhere else."

And it's funny I should tell you this, because you shouldn't even be looking to me. Your perpetual need for external validation is going to kill you. Don't look at me to tell you if you're good. Don't look at your boyfriend or your mother or your imam or your priest. Look inside and know that you're good. You can tell yourself this and be right. Anyone who tells you you're not good is only trying to push you down so they can feel higher up; it's a petty move, and it's bullshit.

You are wonderful. It's not arrogant to know that and carry it inside.

People often ask me, "Why is your Top 8 still British people and cats and British cats?" To which I say YOU KNOW WHAT? I am a girl on the go. I have places to be. I do not have ALL NIGHT to spend making a Top 8 of boys I have crushes on and then chickening out and thinking of some other clever thing. LAY OFF! Jeez.

Then Chris Brooker is bound to ask why his Britishness does not outweigh Leo's catness. To which I say, Chris Brooker, if you were an adorable tabby we could talk about this. He's got you, Brooker. He's got you.