Blogging? Me? I know. Crazy.

My computer went down a while back and then I threw my cell phone into a brick wall. I gotta tell ya, it's not too bad being completely cut off. All interactions are completely random and surprising. However, I lost any interest with technology and it's wonders.

Writing the show. Writing the show.

TCIF days 2, 3, and 4 happened. They were awesome. I didn't actually see day 4, I'm sad about it. I was exhausted. So many great workshops and shows and parties and even an after party I didn't attend. I held my own after party with a half gallon of orange sherbet. Woot!

Writing the show. Write write.

The 4th of July was great. Normally, I hang out with my friends more, but because of the destroyed phone I spent most of the time out of the loop. It was a blessing in disguise. Alicia and I were both so tired, we fell asleep by 10pm almost every night we were there. Besides, I hadn't been home since January so spending some family time was really nice.

Writing the show. Rehearsing the show. Memorizing lines.

Came back into the loop up north. Got a new phone - it's awesome while remaining just a phone. Started teching the show, running pieces, learning lines, etc. Then Saturday we got to the 24 hr. improv marathon. Carazy. So exhausted by the time Agogo came around. Both Butch and I were so exhausted neither of us could imagine improvising but Jen "Duracell" Scott pulled us through. That was a great set. Zombies, Bachelorettes, zombie bachelorettes, zombie cops, wood chippers, shirt tails, a magic todd oldham. Why didn't we tape that?
Working backwards, the BNW cast had a crazy set - dirty sexy.
Lonely Highway was a lot of fun and could easily be renamed 4 assholes trying to get under each other's skin.
Stagecoach had a fun set - I can't remember too much, I was getting delirious.
The random jam was a blast - just random and fun.
And Larynx had a fun set. That particular set could've also been called three dudes fucking with each other. Fucking with each other brings such wonderful things to the surface. Like if Jason and I weren't fucking with each other, we wouldn't have discovered that we could travel through time and were, in fact, the same person. As was President Dave. As was skirt, the store bought invisible brother who fucks dinosaurs.

When you write out what happened in an improv set, it always seems like a book I want to read.

At any rate, I hope the Gilda's Club raised a nice big chunk of change to help victims of stupid cancer (Not cancer of stupid, I'm all for cancer of stupid.).

Final countdown to doing the new show for the first time. Got some big chunks to learn.

Go Skirt Turtles. Thanks for everyone pulling together to play some games in these trying times. I hope to watch some Dark Knight and play next Monday - then pizza - then ice cream - perfect day.

Learn the show.

Holy cats!

The Twin Cities Improv Festival kicked off last night to critical acclaim in that I am the critic and I acclaimed it. I hope acclaimed means loved. It was awesome. Larynx opened with one of our more solid sets to date which was a relief because we threw up some real stink bags in rehearsal. T-Rex Force closed out a muffinlicious first hour.

Next up was Stevie Ray's troupe which made me long for the days when I was a part of that group. Seriously, during the "Arnold" it took everything I had not to run up and deliver witty kill quips. SCRAM closed that hour out. What can I say. I couldn't laugh because I wanted to hear what would happen next. I was crazy invested in all of their characters. Three scenes happening simultaneously, C'MON!

The last hour was Vaudeville With A Pig which I regrettably missed. I hear Jen and Dave had a great set, yay! The night closed out with 1-2-3 Improv! doing their retarded brand of awesome. I missed the front end of their show too but the last 80% was drop down, drag out funny. "You are worthy of my father because you killed my father."

And then we partied into the wee hours of the night. What a night! Big time show tonight! Check it out. www.twincitiesimprovfestival.com

Wow! Computer is back and functioning. I'm not saying I couldn't of blogged in the last few weeks, but I figured my level of interest in spewing my daily minutiae was equal to that of those who read this dreck.

Geek Squad is a cadre of douches. Geeky little fuckers that I would love, LOVE to use for batting practice. Speaking of batting practice, Go Skirt Turtles! We earned a win last week and I'd like to see that happen again tonight. I've cut the sleeves off my shirt for three reasons 1. luck. 2. the heat last game was borderline intolerable. 3. I'm testing the limits of my ability to look like a rapist/douche. I may park my IROC-Z in center and rock some Speedwagon.

Closed the show on Saturday. 5 months of the 50 Years of the Brave New Workshop. I really liked this show, I am glad we finished a successful run. Now all eyes and attention are focused on upcoming events.

Twin Cities Improv Festival Thursday thru Sunday. Get your tickets at www.twincitiesimprovfestival.com . Don't miss this full blown extravaganza. If you do, you'll kick your dog and nobody wants that. I perform with Larynx on Thurs. and the BNW on Sat. So many good groups, and your dog loves you. Attend.

The Lion, The Witch, and The War Hero or Is McCain Able? previews begin July 17th and opening night is July 25th. Dear god is it gonna be a hoot. Lots of stuff is written. What will make it? What won't? How will I swedge my new favorite term "swedge" into the show? Find out the answers to these questions and more by coming to the show!

Adorable performed at Improv A Go Go last night. So much precious fun. Dear lord. I love it when an audience confirms my belief that everyone resents their cat.

Speaking of adorable, Baby Jackson Farmer made his first appearance at the BNW. What a cute little baby, rocking his hip hop poses.

Parents came into town to see the show last weekend and (I've saved the biggest news for last.) travelled to Stillwater with Alicia and I to set a date and place for our upcoming wedding. Yay! Looking like Oct. 3rd 2009 at the Washington County Courthouse. The fall colors, the history, the grace... stunning. It's gonna be great!

Such a full weekend meant not a whole lot of rewrite time so ol' half eyes stayed up all last night. I will be looking for select times to take a nap throughout the day as I need to be fresh for the softball game. I'm out.

Fuck you Geek Squad!

This blog can also be found at josheakright.blogspot.com

Bobby and I grabbed the 21 bus from Uptown heading to St. Paul. That alone could probably fill a blog if I could remember much of it, but my brain is filled with Obama. We arrived around 6 and grabbed some dinner before heading to the rally.

By the time we stepped onto Xcel property, the line was down the block, across the street, down that block, turned down another street, down that block, and continued for an unknown distance. We decided that there was no way we were getting in by way of giant line.

We cut back to the Energy Center past two more giant masses of people awaiting two graduation ceremonies and found ourselves across from the VIP entrance. I had been in contact with my dear friend, Katie who travels with the Obama's as part of Michelle's staff. She said they would be arriving around 8 and that she could get us in. It was 7, so we had time to wait.

Bobby and I ran over ideas for sketches for the upcoming election show at the BNW, and shot the shit. That was when I noticed we were both dangerously close to real shit so we moved. I had crazy fantasies of what might happen at the rally. My favorite was that I stopped Obama's assassin thus making a very powerful friend.

I also wanted to see a secret service tackle of an evil doer. A couple of grad students working on a video interviewed us about technology in the work place. We were discussing the tech situation at the Brave New Workshop when the secret service tackle happened behind us. Just a couple of drunks, but still... damn it.

The motorcade was approaching so we got pushed back into a parking lot. After they had arrived, we were allowed back to the sidewalk where we began chatting up a cop. He asked if we were VIPs and I replied no. I explained that we were waiting for my friend Katie to come and get us in. That was enough to cross the street. Upon arriving at the door we were again asked if we were VIPs. Again I said no and explained that my friend Katie was going to come and get us in. That got us in and through security. All on the vague credentials of "my friend Katie".

On the other side of the metal detector we were finally stopped by a woman with too much going on. She ordered security to close the doors because people (Bobby and I) were just wandering in. Finally, she said we could go through to general admission. So if you're ever at an event that is impossible to get into, claim you have a friend who is supposed to meet you.

Katie showed up right then. Katie is a gem and I don't get to see her very often but we grew up together summering in Wisconsin. She led us right down behind the press, flashing her secret service clearance pin at anyone who looked at us sideways. She was gladhanding writers for major publications, political insiders, she seemed to know everybody there. She got us the okay to hop a fence and, Boom!, there we were not fifty feet in front of the podium.

The vibe was intense. People were vibrating with excitement when who should walk up but Amy Klobuchar. She was walking towards us with such determination and focus that I was sure she knew who I was, who I worked for, and that I, more or less, insulted her in the Office Romance song Ellie and I did in YouCube. She came right for us.

If she knew, you'd never know. She was so cool and in control. Awesome! I now share Brian's crush on Amy Klobuchar. She's got the power! Plus I got a picture with her. I can't believe it. Bobby too. Seriously though, she was surrounded by young men in five seconds. She's magnetic.

Then Barack took the stage. Took it hard. He and Michelle waved to the crowd kissed, and then did this cute little fist bump that was adorable. Michelle is adorable. If you saw it, you know. The crowd went nuts. Wouldn't let him start. It came and went in waves. When it would ebb, suddenly someone would get excited and it would start all over again.

One man up there. Just one man. Not there to rock you for one night. Not there to make you laugh for an hour or so. One man soaking in all of the love from thousands of people because he has pledged to change the world. Crazy powerful.

His speech was inspirational. This our moment. This is our time. Electricity was running through the place. And when the chant of Yes We Can started, it was like those positive thoughts people that fill up football stadiums. I honestly felt like, in that moment with that group of people, we could do anything.

I had my moments of cynicism causing the whole picture to seem surreal. I just finished reading Survivor by Palahniuk. In it, this guy becomes a product. Writers, agents, clamoring fans, nothing real, nothing genuine. Just a product. But then this one man would break that away and make me believe it was all possible.

I was already pretty gay for Obama. But still, I make fun of everything, take nothing seriously, and I have nothing to poke fun at except the chubby kid jumping up and down in front of me (not Bobby).

Found miss Peggy Flanagan afterward and she introduced us to Keith Ellison who is a rock star himself. Couldn't get near the guy. Smooth too.

Scammed Bobby into volunteering. A recruiter came up and asked us to volunteer. Bobby said no and I said, "here let me see that" and picked up the clipboard and pen. I read through it and realized I didn't want to knock on doors, or make phone calls, you know, get all involved. So I handed mine back blank. Bobby, feeling the peer pressure filled his out completely. Sucka!

Got to see Katie briefly before she jetted off again. Literally in Minnesota for three hours. Thank you Katie. It was awesome. And congratulations to you and everyone on your team. You guys did great.

A political junkie was born.

This blog can also be found at josheakright.blogspot.com

I hope everybody had a great Memorial Day Weekend.

I had fun. Did our shows Friday and Saturday night. Solid sets afterward too. Caleb and Dane Stauffer sat in on Friday. This week Katy and Jim Robinson are coming by. There are only 8 shows left. Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm. Don't miss it!

Had a slot for Musical Pubes-ical on Sunday for A Go Go, but couldn't find a pianist to accompany us so Ellie and I offered it up to the mainstage cast. Joe and Mike couldn't make it as they were in Coon Rapids. So, Ellie, Lauren, Bobby, and I went up as Sugar Sunday in honor of the fact that I only eat large amounts of sugar on Sunday. I ate a cookie, a piece of cheese cake, some skittles, some m&ms, and 8 shots of espresso and then did a set. I don't remember much to be honest, but it was fun.

The next day Ellie had a cookout. I had many sausages. And some delicious "meat" cake. Lauren made a meat shaped cake that was a wonder to behold and devour. And then we decided to have our second footrace around the drainage "pond" behind her house. It is somewhere between 1/3 mile and 10 miles around. I held the lead until the end when a shoeless Joe (not kidding) Dressel overtook me and won the race. Kenyan Kudos, Joe! Afterward I wasn't the only one who felt sick, but I may have been the worse. Happy Birthday Ellie!

I spent most of Tuesday making props for an upcoming lip sync contest. A cardboard car, and two Betty Rocker spoons. They are sweet. So much spray paint. So high in the shop.
We have begun the process of writing the new show. Ideas are being generated, topics discussed, it's very exciting. Who will be the democratic nominee? Will McCain live to see the election? How will we portray Obama? All these questions and more will be answered in the upcoming weeks. Come and see the show to find out.

Punch Out This Friday at 11pm. Last chance to see two improv behemoths go head to head whilst raising money for the Twin Citie's Improv Festival! Which is it's own super exciting event on the horizon.