Tuesday, November 29, 2005

update

Upcoming Comedy
Wednesday, November 30 - Yuk Yuks (guest spot)
Sunday, December 11 - The Comic Strip (guest spot)
Sunday, December 18 - The Comic Strip (guest spot)
Thursday, January 5 - Yuk Yuks (middle)

-shot the photo art for my next three articles on Monday. I think we got some good stuff, especially for the Christmas shopping article on December 16th.

-My Saturday show went extremely well. Shallow person that I am, I measure a show by how many hugs I get from pretty female audience members...it was a Very Good Show. I'll be back at Yuks on Wednesday developing some new material--but don't let that stop you from coming. JOHN WING will be there, and since he doesn't come through a lot, he's worth checking out. He's a great writer and performer and I love watching. HOWIE MILLER will be MCing which is always a good time.

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Usually I use this space to shamelessly plug my writing and comedy. I'm a private person and I like to keep my personal life to myself. Having said that, one of the toughest challenges I face is the fact that my writing and comedy often forces me to dig into my insecurities and fears. Somebody once said 'happiness isn't funny.' I know for myself, my most succesful articles and jokes work because I'm letting myself be vulnerable.

Comedians, writers and show business personalities have a reputation as being troubled souls. Looking at the list of famous creative people who have struggled with depression or bipolar disorder, I guess there's some truth to that. And when you're constantly making yourself the butt of the joke, it's easy to let yourself start believing in those negative feelings that come up.

That's why those people who can keep a positive attitude are so awesome. Comics like LARS CALLIEOU and KERRY UNGER are two of my favorites for this. They recognize the place comedy has in their life, and while they love it, they also leave room for the other things that matter to them and refuse to let themselves dwell in negativity.

But here's something interesting:

For myself, I'm finding it largely a matter of attitude. One thing writing about my vulnerabilities has taught me, is that it's okay to be afraid or anxious or less-than-cool. I'm learning to accept the not-so-great parts of my personality, and weirdly enough, that makes me feel pretty good.

I like being positive. I try to make a conscious effort to focus on the good things in my life and the directions that I'm excited about exploring. But instead of trying to ignore the negative things in my life or pretend they aren't there, I'm learning to use them in a positive way--namely, making Mrs. Brodribb's handsome son rich and famous. Or at least moderately well-off and vaguely recognizable.

I've got a show tonight to get ready for. Hope to see you there (I knew I could get a plug in, if I just tried).

Dan

Friday, November 18, 2005

Weekend Edition

Upcoming Comedy
Saturday, November 26 - Yuk Yuks (20-min. Middle) EARLY SHOW ONLY

Upcoming Edmonton Journal Living articles
Friday, December 2 - First Date
Friday, December 16 - Christmas Shopping
Friday, December 30 -New Year's

Dan Brodribb's headLINES appears every Saturday in the Edmonton Journal's ed magazine supplement.

-I've just been booked in a middle spot for the Early show on Saturday, November 26 at Yuk Yuks. I'll be doing a twenty minute set, which is longer than my usual appearances. Yuks' website doesn't say the name of the headliner, but I'm sure he's very good--after all, he's following Me. Hope to see everyone there.

-I'm coming off a stretch of eight comedy appearances in eleven days and I've hit the highest of the highs and the lowest of lows in that time. Fortunately, I have a great group of fellow comics to write, rehearse, and share the victories and setbacks with.

-When I haven't been performing, I've been sitting at home writing on my upcoming articles as well as an outline for a teleplay and the usual short stories. It doesn't make for exciting blog updates, but I'm pretty happy with the way things are coming along.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

October headLINES (better late than never)

Saturday, October 1 - The American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors recognized the Journal's ed magazine for fearlessness and innovation. Like the time we put the Miss Grand Prix girls on the cover of ed. Bet the competition wishes they thought of that.

Sunday, October 2 - The Edmonton Oilers want to replace Rexall/Skyreach/Northlands Coliseum/Place/Centre with a new rink. I guess they're tired of renaming the old one.

Monday, October 3 - CBC employees are going back to work, which means we'll see Don Cherry on TV this year after all. In preparation for his return, men's fashion experts have already begun clawing out their own eyes.

Tuesday, October 4 - ed Top 10 writer Lars Callieou and I had a great time working on ed's bar special this week. The best part was trying to beat cover charges all over the city under the guise of research. "Fearlessness and Innovation" are our middle names.

Wednesday, October 5 - Lars and I thought we had it made being sent to work on the strip club section of the bar guide, until Lars realized: "Hey that's a MALE stripper. I bet he isn't a real cop either."

COMMENTARY: This story never actually happened. Lars and I wanted to be very clear on that.

Thursday, October 6 - Turns out he was a real cop. He just needed a night job after withdrawing his candidacy for police chief.

Friday, October 7 - American citizens are complaining about President Bush's decision to appoint Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court in spite of her complete lack of qualifications. Weren't American citizens the ones who voted both Jesse Ventura and Arnold Schwarzenegger into political office? They're just prejudiced against Miers because she never appeared in 'The Running Man.'

COMMENTARY: They were also in Predator together. For the record.

Saturday, October 8 - Oiler Ryan Smyth is out of the line-up after Jason Maas took out his knee with a crowbar, yelling "Somehow, some way, I'm going to play somewhere this season!" I guess it worked; he's already signed to fight Tonya Harding in a foxy boxing match.

Sunday, October 9 - The Green Bay Packers win their first game of the NFL season by a margin of nearly fifty points. In other news, the sun rises in the West, Elvis returned to deliver a message of peace and hope from the back of a winged giraffe, and Tom Cruise admitted there might be something to this psychiatry business after all.

Monday, October 10 - Telus and its union are close to a settlement, which means we can expect Telus to "resume it's previous level of service." In that case, maybe I should smash my phone with a hammer now and save myself the aggravation.

Tuesday, October 11 - Season 2 of Arrested Development on DVD, leftover turkey, and
unused sick time...Looks like I'm going to be thankful just a little bit longer.

Wednesday, October 12 - Why do they put Halloween candy on sale six weeks before Halloween? My grocery store receipts are starting to look like David Dingwall's expense account. We aren't even halfway through the month, and I've already gained fifteen pounds and an extra chin.

Thursday, October 13 - PM Paul Martin vows to get tough with the U.S. about the softwood lumber dispute. If the Americans don't shape up, he's going to write a sternly-worded anonymous one-liner to Venting.

Friday, October 14 - Just-In-Case-You-Were-Thinking-of-Trying-It...Don't Dept. The Halloween Candy and Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Diet. It tastes pretty good, but after four days, I was feeling a little queasy. Too bad I used all my sick time.

Saturday, October 15 - Rob and Amber, two reality show stars who gained fame on Survivor are in town, which is fitting since watching the competition for a new police chief is like watching a bizarro-world version of Survivor where the contestants are TRYING to get voted off the island.

Sunday, October 16 - Memo to Michael Flatley: Wearing a ridiculous Masters of the Universe costume and being joined on stage by girls in bikinis does not make you a Celtic Tiger, no matter how much you look like Larry Bird. Not that I was there or anything.

Monday, October 17 - Prince Harry is training at the Royal Military Academy. It will help him with his royal duties in the event he's challenged to single combat by the leader of another nation...or in case Daniel Craig doesn't work out as the new James Bond.

Tuesday, October 18 - A surveyor's error means the Alberta/Saskatchewan border may be wrong. Does this mean we have to split our prosperity cheques with the people of Lloydminster? Because $399.97 doesn't go nearly as far.

Wednesday, October 19 - You know you're getting desperate for a Halloween costume when you start looking at the guy dressed as Sailor Moon from a past issue of ed and think, "You know, I think I could pull that off."

Thursday, October 20 - I picked up a new book called "In Praise of Slow," about reducing the pace of modern life, but I haven't yet had time to read it. Maybe I'll get an audio version so I can fast-forward through the boring parts.

Friday, October 21 - Prince Harry defeats Prince Nana from Ghana in gladiator combat. Meanwhile Paul Martin and George W. Bush are all set to settle their softwood differences over a spirited game of Connect Four. That does it--North America is officially WussyLand.

COMMENTARY: Prince Nana is a real character, though he's not a real prince. He's Jimmy Rave's manager in Ring of Honor wrestling. Aren't you glad I do my research?

Saturday, October 22 - Alice Cooper performed at the Winspear of all places. Take note, up and coming artists, he might be old, but the guy's been cutting off his own head at shows for over thirty years. Now that's commitment.

Sunday, October 23 - Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko is in hot water for trying to ban coffee and other caffeinated products from Alberta prisons. He's braver than me. Law-abiding citizens going though caffeine withdrawal are scary enough, let alone someone who can turn a toothbrush into a murder weapon.

Monday, October 24 - Tragedy struck at the Monday night open stage at the Sidetrack Cafe when local singer/songwriter Ben Spencer was hospitalized for blood loss after cutting off his own head. Apparently, it isn't as easy as Alice Cooper makes it look.

Tuesday, October 25 - In an NHL special treat, the Edmonton Oilers' opponents tonight will be...the Colorado Avalanche. Again. Since their latest expansion, the NHL has, like, 948 teams. Can't we play one of them for a change? It would be nice to lose to someone different, that's all.

Wednesday, October 26 - Saddam Hussein's trial has been delayed again, after he had a scuffle with his guards. Maybe they let him have too much coffee.

Thursday, October 27 - A pair of Montreal parents are suing a teacher for being verbally abusive to their child. Preposterous. Verbal abuse is good for kids. Professor Snape was sarcastic and condescending too, yet that Harry Potter kid turned out okay.

Friday, October 28 - Katie Holmes is pregnant. I wonder who the father is. Oh, come on. I can't be the only one thinking it.

Saturday, October 29 - The good news: Sean Fleming kicked five field goals in the Edmonton Eskimos victory over B.C. in CFL action. The Bad News: I have to pick another local sports figure to mercilessly abuse. How does everybody feel about Raffi Torres?

Sunday, October 30 - 10 years ago today, in a close referendum, the people of Quebec voted to remain a part of Canada. Well, except for the Nordiques.

Monday, October 31 - For a special Halloween treat, ed writer Dan Brodribb appears on the Adler on Line radio show talking as an expert on women relationships. I will now pause so my ex-girlfriend can wipe the tears of laughter from her eyes and seek medical treatment for the burns suffered from spraying hot coffee out her nose.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

You're a Rock Star...and your friend was pretty good too

Upcoming Comedy
Thursday, November 10 - The Roost (AIDS benefit)
Saturday, November 12 - Yuk Yuks (LATE SHOW ONLY)
Sunday, November 13 - The Comic Strip

Upcoming Edmonton Journal Living articles
Friday, November 18
Friday, December 2
Friday, December 16
Friday, December 30

Dan Brodribb's headLINES appears every Saturday in the Edmonton Journal's ed magazine supplement.

-Every once and a while in comedy, you do a show where everything goes right and you get to play Rock Star for a little while. I'm not one to toot my own horn (actually, I am, but in this case, TODD K. already did it for me. Check out the November 9 entry at www.toddk.ca for all the details. While you're there, check out his schedule and see when he's doing a show in your area next). I think I understand why comedians sell CDs after shows now. It isn't so much the money as you have an excuse to stand by the door as people are leaving so you can grub for compliments.

In his entry Todd talks about the "you were pretty good too" phenomenon, which has probably happened to everyone in showbiz at some point. It's when you're standing next to someone who did a fantastic job (Usually LARS, ANDREW IWANYK, or--more and more often it seems--KATHLEEN MCGEE) and people are coming telling them how great they are and then they kind of notice you and as an afterthought say, "Oh, yeah. you were pretty good too." I wonder if there's a column in this somewhere.

-headLINES will be posted shortly.

Monday, November 07, 2005

Update

Upcoming events:
Comedy: October 13 - The Comic Strip

Writing in the Edmonton Journal's living section
Friday, November 18: Lucky Me
Friday, December 2 - First Dates
Friday, December 16 - Christmas Shopping
Friday, December 30 - New Year's


-www.danbrodribb.ca is up and running. I just need to make sure I know how to update the sucker. It's not as fancy as some out there, but it gets the information I want out there in a clear and easy to find way, so I'm really happy with it. Thanks TAMMI for all your help.

-My radio interview ended up going last Thursday. If you missed it, I was brilliant.

-Found out I'll be writing a couple more articles for Christmas and New Year's in the Journal. Check out the Upcoming events for the dates.

-I've been having some great sets lately at Yuks and the Comic Strip. I don't always get the dates up here in a timely fashion, because a lot of them are 'surprise guest' spots, but one thing I love is how great the crowds are in this city. You guys make the shows happen.

-Caught the MPW show on Saturday. I always love watching the bad guys--it's cool seeing guys like SHANE O'RYAN and ACE DAVIDSON taking those extra steps to make the crowd hate them or to make the 'good guy wrestler (that's babyface for all you internet fans) look good. If you get a chance to see them, show your appreciation by booing them unmercifully. Trust me--they like it. I should have a commentary up at their site in the next week or so.

Update

Upcoming events:
Comedy: October 13 - The Comic Strip

Writing in the Edmonton Journal's living section
Friday, November 18: Lucky Me
Friday, December 2 - First Dates
Friday, December 16 - Christmas Shopping
Friday, December 30 - New Year's


-www.danbrodribb.ca is up and running. I just need to make sure I know how to update the sucker. It's not as fancy as some out there, but it gets the information I want out there in a clear and easy to find way, so I'm really happy with it. Thanks TAMMI for all your help.

-My radio interview ended up going last Thursday. If you missed it, I was brilliant.

-Found out I'll be writing a couple more articles for Christmas and New Year's in the Journal. Check out the Upcoming events for the dates.

-I've been having some great sets lately at Yuks and the Comic Strip. I don't always get the dates up here in a timely fashion, because a lot of them are 'surprise guest' spots, but one thing I love is how great the crowds are in this city. You guys make the shows happen.

-Caught the MPW show on Saturday. I always love watching the bad guys--it's cool seeing guys like SHANE O'RYAN and ACE DAVIDSON taking those extra steps to make the crowd hate them or to make the 'good guy wrestler (that's babyface for all you internet fans) look good. If you get a chance to see them, show your appreciation by booing them unmercifully. Trust me--they like it.