They Put My Picture in the Wall Street Journal

…on May 21st.  The same day the world was supposed to end.  I’m not jumping to conclusions.

The previous Wednesday, I was part of the killer lineup at Ben Lillie’s Story Collider, where he brings science to the masses with true tales of everyday life.  It’s sort of a genius idea, but I bet you don’t get to become a high-energy particle physicist by being a moron.  But of course, I wouldn’t know.  Just like I don’t know how to get myself out of a damn zoo after closing hours.  (The original theme of the night was “Zoology,” leading Ben to invite me to tell “that ridiculous zoo story.”  Then the theme changed to “Bodies,” but I was kept on the bill to tell “that ridiculous story featuring….caged…bodies?”  It was a stretch, but I went with it.)

A photographer was there, snapping away, but I didn’t think anything of it.  There’s usually somebody taking pictures at storytelling events, and they only surface if there’s one of me looking like I’m chewing on an invisible log.  Candid photos are not my friends.  But manservant Mike asked the photographer where he was from, and spent the next few days checking the WSJ website, til he hit gold, and shared this:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704904604576334073826659908.html

Manservant is kind of awesome.

So for the first time in ages, I went out and bought an actual physical newspaper.  Okay, ten actual physical newspapers.

It was great to make it into print, but I couldn’t help but notice one glaring oversight:  David Dickerson told far and away the best story of the night, about his adventure skinny-dipping in Red Tide.  It was funny, exhilarating and – like the best stories – really, genuinely moving.  I can only guess that the reporter was in the loo at the time.

Go here to find out when the next Story Collider is, and to hear podcasts from past shows:  http://storycollider.org/

The Domino Effect

Brad Lawrence puts on an amazing show.  I’ve said that before, but this time, there’s proof!  Download the The Standard Issues episode from 2/23 to hear our inaugural attempt at relay storytelling.  A Domino Effect, if you will.

Here’s the link:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-standard-issues/id418142815

How I Learned

Right now, I should be working on the story I’m telling at tomorrow night’s How I Learned.  But, I’m a bit of a procrastinator.  So instead, I’ll write about how swell the How I Learned series is.

It’s pretty darn swell.

Our host, the lovely Blaise Allysen Kearsley, has a knack for lining up the perfect blend of writers:  the hilarious, the sincere, and my favorite, the hilariously sincere.  She also knows how to pack the joint, so get there early.

http://howilearnedathappyending.blogspot.com/

Moth GrandSLAM, October 2010

On October 10th, the kids’ network I’d been working on for months made its worldwide debut.  The following night, I performed in the LA Moth GrandSLAM.  So, not a whole lot of prep time on this one.  The theme was “Without a Net,” which I ended up taking literally.  And I knew that I couldn’t tell a story onstage in Los Angeles without including David Pincus: a beloved friend and natural storyteller.

Without A Net-desktop

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Sleep With the Monkeys

One of the mob’s less-intimidating threats.

And a story that won the Los Angeles Slam in August, probably because the judges were all like, “yeah, the same thing once happened to me.”  It’s all about being relatable.

moth Copy – Computer

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I only came to watch

Really.  I swear.

It was my first week back in LA, so I thought, what the hey?  Let’s check out the storytelling scene here.  Like the rest of the East Coast wordies, I’d written off the Los Angeles Moth as a bastion of Professional Handsome Men, telling tales of their professional handsomeness while keeping their best side downstage, toward the crowd full of agents.

What I found when I walked into Busby’s on Wilshire (once I found Wilshire.  Who moved all the roads while I was gone?) was a warm welcoming crowd filled with nerds and weirdos – some of them professionally handsome, sure – and a welcoming air that, frankly, I haven’t felt that strongly in awhile.  And certainly didn’t expect to find in LA, a city I fled in misery six years ago.

So I got me a beverage and settled in to listen to stories about Narrow Escapes.  The weekend before, I started reworking the Zoo story to fit this theme, before getting distracted by a shiny thing (this town is nothing if not shiny) and deciding to simply be a spectator.

Then the final call came to put names in the hat, which coincided with Stella Artois’ arrival in my empty stomach, and then there goes my name, into the hat, which is actually a festive logo tote.  My name joined about 20 others, so the odds weren’t great that I would get called.  I’ve never winged it before at a Moth.  The very thought makes my chest hurt.  But nobody knew me in this room, so what better place to crash and burn?

When my name was called, my mouth went dry and Stella made an attempt to escape.  Oh.  Good.  Lord.  What have I gotten myself into?

A winning story, and a shot at Monday’s GrandSLAM title, that’s what!!

Did I say “final”?

Much like Cher’s Farewell Tour turned out to be simply a farewell to 2001, my last appearance on a Speakeasy stage was the very last…before this one.  Which will indeed be my last, as our lovely host Sherry is hanging it up to spend more time with her family, the one that drives her nuts and inspires 98% of her stories.

Oh, she’ll be back.

But until then, come out to Cornelia Street Café on Tuesday, March 2nd, at 8:30pm to say goodbye.  Goodbye to March 2nd, and perhaps even goodbye to Speakeasy Stories.

They will be missed.  Again.