Video

Me Reading "The Dry Patch"

In case you missed it when it played live (and I wonder if anyone actually did see it that way), here's the video of my reading. I brought four stories along, and until I sat down I wasn't sure which to read ... as evidenced by my hurried shuffle. I ended up going the dark and morbid route with "The Dry Patch." The sound is pretty crappy, and the video quality is poor, so deal with it (I don't think it will come through on Google Reader and the like, so click here in case it doesn't appear below). Have a great weekend. http://qik.com/video/7424402

I Was Soooooo Wrong

Remember how yesterday I said I wouldn't be surprised if no big special guests showed up at Conan O'Brien's show near Philadelphia? Well, the man's mega star power does not disappoint. The opening act was Reggie Watts, who was friggin' hilarious. Check out this satirical music video that may not be for everyone, considering that it's called "Fuck Shit Stack." Then sometime later Trey Anastasio came out, whose name didn't mean anything to me as I've never been a Phish fan, but he played a song, plus appeared again when everyone came out for two more songs for the encore. But the highlight of the evening is without a doubt when Conan brought out the Chuck Norris Lever, which he said legally he could no longer call the Chuck Norris Lever, so he called it something else, and to help him, he introduced the one and only Tina Fey:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpd_lm49NXQ

So yeah. Good times, good times.

Attention, Attention

Tonight my wife and I head down to Philly to see Conan O'Brien on one of his many stops on his tour. We're big fans of Conan, saw him live many times when he was doing Late Night in New York, and once, because we were in the front row, I even got to shake his hand when he came out before the show to greet the audience (yeah, that's right). There have been special guest appearances all along this tour (Jim Carrey appeared twice, once dressed at Superman, another time as Kick Ass), but I won't be surprised if there are no wild special guests at this show (I mean, who mega famous lives around Philadelphia?). Doesn't matter, though, because it's friggin Conan O'Brien!!!

I didn't post a Freaky Friday Fun video last week, mostly because I couldn't find anything I liked, but also because I'm starting to become bored with the whole thing. Maybe I'll keep it up, maybe I'll abandon it completely, but for the time being here's a video of Conan's show when he was in New York City and Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart popped up on stage:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UITgc2XqEaw

The Truth About Book Signings

I had something completely different planned to post for this week's Freaky Friday Fun. But just a few minutes before I did so, Kevin J. Anderson posted this great video on Facebook and I knew I just had to share it (see, Facebook does have a purpose after all). Book signings are interesting things. Unless you're super mega famous, not many people are interested. Not unless you have a healthy following of fans who will drive hours to see you for a few minutes. That must be nice. But for the rest of us?

When I initially planned on doing events for the anthology's release, it was specifically for New York and Los Angeles, and it was specifically for the contributors who could attend. Because let's be honest -- nobody wants to come see the editor of an anthology, not unless that editor also happens to be super mega famous. So that's why I'm not even going to attempt something at my local bookstore for just little old me. Maybe have a little release party at a coffee shop or something along those lines, more of a get together with family and friends, but not in a Barnes & Noble where I'm sitting by myself at a table, forcing a smile at each person that walks with their eyes adverted like I'm not even there. Don't believe me? The video below by author Parnell Hall shows the nasty and sad truth about book signings. Have a great weekend.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZoJ5OKmEJY