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This crazy thing called "comedy"
Sunday, February 22, 2009

Last week, I received a last-minute invitation to an open mic in Tempe. Our friend, Danny Vega, is hosting a weekly night for comedians, poets and musicians at Cafe Roma every Tuesday. I went and performed "stand-up" that I read from a series of index cards. I'll be returning this week, January 24, possibly with new material. What's really special is that this week, making her stand-up debut, is Gretchen Larsen, who is married to me. Cafe Roma lives at 960 W University Dr., Ste. #105, in Tempe.

Empty Marcos
Friday, January 20, 2009

Our temporary Mystery Troupe name this month is "Empty Marcos" and we will take the Firestage tonight at 9:00ish. Admission is free.

Cerberus Cup V
Thursday, January 29, 2009

Every few months, The Torch Theatre hosts an evening of competitive long-form improv at Space 55. This event, the Cerberus Cup, pits 9 three-person teams against each other in 3 rounds of 3 teams on Friday night, with the 3 winning teams returning the following night. Debra, Kevin and I have entered the next Cup as "Saguaro Latte." We will be dominating the competition this Friday, January 30 at 9:00. Come out and show your support by voting for us.

http://space55.org
http://thetorchtheatre.com

Apollo 12
Tuesday, January 27, 2009

During the month of January, I've been rehearsing/working out with long-standing Phoenix Improv group Apollo 12. We'll be trying out the new line up tomorrow, January 28, at the Trunk Space. Showtime is 8:00 SHARP!

http://www.myspace.com/apollo12

Video of Frames Vacios
Monday, January 19, 2009

Until now, this News page has been all talk and no action. But now, check this out:


It's the first show by "the empty frames" or "frames vacios."

Who is the Mystery Troupe?
Sunday, January 11, 2009

Several of us graduates of the first class of the Torch Theatre have begun to rehearse a new long-form troupe. Alphabetically, our line-up is:

Alex
Amy Jean
Debra
Ernesto
Jessica
Kevin
Pete
Rick

We will performing for the first time this Friday, January 16 at the Firehouse in Phoenix. We are going on under the name "Frames Vacios" unless we arrive at a permanent name before then.

We expect to perform between 8:30 and 10:00.

the Firehouse is located at 1015 N. 1st Street, in downtown Phoenix AZ.
http://www.strivedreams.com/

Quadruple your chances to see some awesome improv!
October 21, 2008

For the final stretch of our improv studies, the Torch Theatre's level IV show is four (IV?) times the entertainment. We will be performing a four week run of shows every Wednesday night at Space 55 in Phoenix. The complete list of dates is:

October 29
November 5
November 12
November 19

Level IV will be different in several ways. We have been developing a more organic show that is not strictly defined in terms of format. Come to one or more (or all) shows!

Deconstruction, Armando, Little Brown Jug
August 5, 2008

The Torch Theatre's Level III show is this Saturday, August 9 and will feature not one, not two, but three performances from our class. First, we'll have half of the class performing a format called "the little brown jug," followed by the other half of the class (including me) performing something called "armando." To conclude, we will unite the class as a whole to tackle the behemoth that is "the deconstruction." All told, that's three improv shows for $5.

Return of Something to Smoke About
May 12, 2008

Level II improv class has been teaching us about Harold. We will perform 2 Harolds this Thursday, May 15th at 8:00 at Space 55. Space 55 is on Seventh street and Pierce in Downtown Phoenix.

Something To Smoke About
February 28, 2008

I've been taking longform improvisation classes from The Torch Theatre. Our level One Improv show, "Something to Smoke about," will be live tonight (6pm) at the Trunk Space in Phoenix. The Trunk Space is at Grand Avenue and Roosevelt.

Ballpoint Fury! now a blog.
Friday, August 4, 2006

Stay updated on the new sketches at Ballpoint Fury with the new blog.  You can subscribe to the RSS feed and always know when something new is up.

I'm on e-hobo!
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

I've just illustrated two of the seven hundred hoboes listed in John Hodgman's book, The Areas of My Expertise.  They are available for viewing at e-hobo or flickr. 

the Goose / Not the Goose

ps: the book is very good.

Mail Art
Saturday, July 22, 2006

We donated some art to the Trunk Space's Mail Art show.  Here are the images I was responsible for:

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting     Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting      Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting  Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Gretchen provided this self-portrait:

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

And here are some shots of the artists in front of their works:

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting            Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Click an image to see the full version.

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New Features: Ballpoint Fury & Fan Art
Saturday, May 20, 2006

The Sketchbook section of my website has been reborn as a new feature to be known as "BallPoint Fury."  The new design will allow me to update this section weekly as well as allow you all to leave comments telling me exactly how badly I need to learn to draw. 

Also included in this redesign is the Fan Art Page.  Please take a look at what everyone has been doing and send in your submissions.

New sketches, also
Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Just in time to be three weeks late for Election Day, the sketchbook page now includes a series of voting-related drawings.

New art from the people
Tuesday, November 22, 2005

New Fan Art is available for your perusal here.  Don't be the last on your block to submit your Jive Turkey fan art!  Click here.

the fans have their art, too
Sunday, November 20, 2005

Our newest addition to the web page family is this fan art page and the inaugural piece of Jive Turkey fan art.  Look back semi-regularly for updates. 

the big Z, issue two
Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Just this past Saturday, I attended an informal 24 hour comic day with some friends from my last 24 hour session. Brandon, from Male Pattern Radness was responsible for getting me invited.  Thanks must also go out to Jackie and Eric and Blue. While my results were encouraging, I did not make it for the full twenty-four.  I don't think I can honestly put out the big Z issue two with the "24 hour" label, but I finished 14 pages before falling asleep on the floor.  I woke up at about 6:30 in the morning and finished two more pages, but that leaves eight pages to squeeze in somewhere.  What's in it you ask? Some new characters in wacky new metafictional situations, plus the return of Jive Turkey! Yay! More news to follow.

Friday night at the bookstore
Wednesday, November 16, 2005

We just attended a reading at Changing Hands by Sal Plascencia and Jack Pendarvis.  They were both quite good and their respective books are definitely worth your pocket change.  Sal read from The People of Paper, and Jack read from his not-quite-released book, The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure.  If you ever have the opportunity to meet Mr. Pendarvis, ask him to show you his excellent Oliver Hardy impression.  Sal's book has multiple narrators, so he employed multiple readers dressed as beekeepers. 

more to look at
Thursday, October 20, 2005

The slow evolution of this page into an actual content-carrying website continues over on the Art page.  New arrivals will be coming every few days as I handpick items from my sketchbooks that amuse me. 

the big Z is online now!
Monday, October 3, 2005

You are hereby invited to visit my newly added ART page which contains my recent 24 hour mini comic, "the big Z."  A 24 hour comic is an artistic challenge to create 24 pages in 24 hours.  Mine was completed at Samurai Comics in Phoenix back in April.  Enjoy!

Mein Schnurrbart kann die älteren Menschen überwältigen
Monday, September 24, 2005

In recent news, at the last Modest Proposal show, I was the winner of the Mustache Contest. I won a plethora of prizes from the Georgia Egg Council.  My powerful, handsome, yet ultimately-temporary mustache earned me the stage name, "The German Tourist."  To pay tribute to this new name, I visited freetranslation.com and came up with the title of this post. 

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