The Night Jimmy Fallon Dissed Me...

It's been an interesting year. Overall, I wouldn't rank it in my top ten best years ever, but there've been a few shining moments and amusing times to keep it from being a complete disaster. The important thing in life is not to lose your sense of humor, because really, life is funny and absurd. But no matter what, the best source of humor is always yourself. If you can't laugh at yourself, I don't think you should feel that good about laughing at other people.

So imagine my surprise this week when I was on Amazon and happened to see a Listmania! book list with my book Queer Hauntings staring back at me under the title "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." Now, I watch about as much television as a blind man, but I thought something had to be wrong. There's no way... right? So, I did a little searching and discovered Fallon's ongoing segment of his "Do Not Read List" of funny, weird, and downright strange books. And there it was: on August 29th, Jimmy held up my book.

Now, I know some people might be outraged; nasty emails must be flying around from enraged writers horrified to hear that someone made fun of their work. And there are other books, like this one, that probably could've used just as much (if not more) razzing. For me, it was basically shock... followed by a bit of chuckling as I watched. Why? Because he basically said all the things I've heard, all the jokes passed around, since I wrote the book! Even I had to admit that while writing it, there's a certain level of absurdity that comes along with writing something as bizarre and unexpected as a book about gay ghosts. In fact, I tried as much as I could not to write something too serious. After all, the topic just can't be taken that seriously!

It did help things fall into place for me, though. About a week ago, I was on Amazon and by book sales had suddenly skyrocketed. I just assumed it was with Halloween coming up. Now, I have a better idea. Although really, I didn't think that many people tuned in to Jimmy Fallon or any other late night shows. Let's face it: SNL was his peak. Still, his ratings have rebounded on Late Night... he even earned an Emmy nomination for it.

As they say, "all press is good press." Things like controversy, humor, and absurdity sell. How else could people like Sarah Palin sell any copies at all? And it wasn't even bad press. He never actually attacked the book; he just had a good laugh at the basic idea of it. So, I don't hate you, Jimmy Fallon. You might be on par with Conan O'Brien in the comedy department, but I don't hate you. I'm happy I could provide you with some good joke material just this one time. And in return, in those two short minutes, you probably provided the most publicity my book has received in the past two years.

Mainstream Horror Goes a Little Gay...

Just in time for the Halloween season, there's a new film debuting this month. Well, technically, it's four films, each from the mind of a notable director of twisted scary movies. Dubbed Chillerama, it's most certainly not for the faint of heart or anyone with a distaste for the somewhat perverse. But if you're fine with porn stars, killer sperm, Hitler, and zombie spoofs, then it just might be up your alley. And the first film happens to be more than just a little gay-friendly.

Somewhere between the fictional worlds of Grease and Twilight, I Was a Teenage Werebear fits in quite neatly. In this musical comedy takes lycanthropy in a whole different direction. Set in the 1960s, it's the story of closeted teenager Ricky (Sean Paul Lockhart, a.k.a. Brent Corrigan) who runs into a rebellious gang who turn into a leather daddy "werebears" (one played by Ron Jeremy) when turned on by other guys. I'm serious. I kid you not. Don't believe me? Check out the trailer:


Now I have to give kudos to Sean for being one of the first porn stars to successfully make a leap from adult films to regular cinema. (Some of you might remember him as the merman from Another Gay Sequel.) While the other films sound just as weirdly amusing, I'll confess I'm slightly disappointed in one of them. And that would be The Diary of Anne Frankenstein. It's not because of the storyline (a comedic version of Hitler trying to create the perfect human killing machine); it's because when I first heard about it, I thought it was a different Diary of Anne Frankenstein. Unlike the one in Chillerama, the off-Broadway play of the same name seems a lot more hilarious. I just wish I had seen it when it was playing, but at least there's the video interview for Under the Pink Carpet:


That would've made this a truly must-see movie in my eyes! Still, I'm sure this film won't disappoint. You can catch the world premiere this coming week on Thursday, September 15th, at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Other dates are being added to the official website as they are arranged. I'm sure such a risque film might not necessarily make it to a theater near you, but you can always wait for it to come out on DVD and watch it later.

Kicking Some Ectoplasmic Butt...

Everywhere you look, you'll find serious paranormal teams using serious techniques to find serious evidence of ghosts... and being way too serious. Even when it's all supposed to be in good fun with a dash of humor, too many people build whole careers--even lives--on the illusion of a flawless reputation. For what? A "real orb" photo and a strange sound on audio tape that only is completely convincing to anyone who was present at the time it was recorded? If anyone had that hard-core evidence proving beyond any doubt the existence of ghosts and spooks paranormal activity would be widely accepted as factual and science-based, not the grey area it really is. Even J. B. Rhine, one of the most respected parapsychologists of all time, believed that if anything was happening in a haunting it was merely the ability of the observer's brain to tune into past events and witness things being projected from their own mind.

But then we have the physical phenomena to take into account. Apparitions. Levitations. Light phenomena. Audible sounds able to be recorded by devices. Certainly there's some amount of deception and illusion involved in some instances. Yet a great many people have witnessed something for which there is no scientific explanation. Perhaps that's why paranormal television is so popular... as is the drive with so many ghost hunters to capture that fifteen minutes of fame and the attention they so desperately desire. But this is serious. We can't all just be namby-pamby and let the unseen world walk all over us. We need to fight back! Grab the ghoul by the gonads!

Have no fear! The Ghost Provokers are here!

You may ask yourself why (aside from the humor) I bring up a comedic spoof of Ghost Adventures here. Aside from doing a brilliant job on their first episode their storyline was certainly a little queer. But I'll let you see for yourself. Join Scott Butterfield, Dr. David Jordan, and Jim Dooley as the team tracks down (and tries their best to royally piss off) the ghost of a woman and her lesbian lover in the creepy old Wildewood Manor... well... almost.

GHOST PROVOKERS - Episode 1 "Wildewood Manor"

Thanks, Cullan, for bringing this to my attention!

Love is a Devil...

It's hard to resist the temptation of a bad boy. As much as we all say we want someone kind, sweet, and thoughtful you can't deny that a tough and sexy narcissist attracts a lot of attention and lustful thoughts, to say the least. But when we go after the hell-raisers and pass over the innocents it can lead to some dangerous situations. Playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacassa takes this idea almost too literally in his comedic theatrical piece Say You Love Satan.

Set in Baltimore, the play revolves around a graduate student named Andrew with a picture-perfect and sweet quasi-boyfriend named Jarrod. While reading Dostoyevsky in a laundromat one night, he spies the gorgeous, shirtless Jack and sparks fly... despite the fact that Jack happens to have "666" burned into his forehead at his hair line. When Andrew asks his new flame about it, Jack explains that he's not a satanist, "But [his] father - he is the devil." Though his fag-hag friend Bernadette objects, Andrew pursues the relationship and begins to discover that Jack isn't really the son of the devil, but his real identity is far worse. "Evil incarnate," as Andrew explains, "has a six pack... and zero percent body fat..."

This is the final week you can catch Say You Love Satan in Cleveland, Ohio at The Liminis in Tremont produced by Convergence-Continuum. The play runs through Saturday, starring Scott Gorbach as Andrew and Lucas Roberts as the steamy Jack. If you live in Arizona you can catch it at Live Theatre Workshop in Tuscon from October 21 through November 6. Here's a little video message about the Cleveland production from one of the cast:

"Notorious"... And Now Haunted?

For those of you who are fans of primetime television's supernatural series Ghost Whisperer on CBS, you may have noticed the newest cast addition is none other than gay icon and stand-up comedian Margaret Cho. She will have a recurring role as Anthropology Professor Avery Grant, a rather serious (and perhaps a bit snobbish) role which might surprise Cho fans. Most of us know her better as an outlandish and blunt funny woman instead of the weeping widow.

Her debut appearance featured her communicating with a spirit with the aid of a Ouija board, an item with which Margaret is quite familiar (and I'm jealous of her collection). It may surprise some people to know that the comedian is actually a believer in the paranormal. In fact, on her MySpace profile, it clearly states she would like to meet "...hot bottoms, bears, paranormal investigators,..." and a slew of other fascinating people. Perhaps she is a girl after my own heart, considering I quite possibly meet all those qualifications (ok... so the first one is relative).

Here's a brief behind-the-scenes interview with the comedian on her experience with the show and her thoughts on Ouija:

Beware the Oompa Loompas!!

What if that world of "pure imagination" were really a sick, twisted, dark place filled not with candies and chocolates, but with gore, brutality, and horror? Well, for all of you who thought that Willy Wonka really was a few apples short of a bushel, writer Eric Appel brings you a strange twist on the old tale of Charlie Bucket. His movie trailer for Gobstopper mixes comedy with terror. And best of all, it stars one of my all-time favorite actors... Christopher Lloyd!!

Who else could pull off that uncomfortably-creepy character with just the right comedic timing? (Sorry, Gene Wilder... deal with it. lol)

Sadly, the film isn't real. But what a shame! Here's the "trailer' for Gobstopper, via Funny or Die:

Gobstopper Trailer

And now... I bit you all adieu for a few days as I take care of some offline affairs. Thanks, Fred, for telling me about this gem of a video. I'll be doing my best to add a little humor in your life now, since you need it the most.

A Disappointed Demon and Nutty Ghosts...

My comedic tastes range from the traditional to the insane. And with the latter, one New York comedy troop comes to mind: The Whitest Kids U'Know. Their sketches range from absurd to offensive, yet comedy (as with beauty) is in the eye of the beholder.

I've been overdue for a good dose of comedy and thought I'd share with you all a few interesting video clips from their program. Surprisingly, they each have a paranormal theme. The first follows a demon assigned to a Ouija board at a slumber party. It's followed by a skit surrounding an office worker plagued by the supernatural. Like most jokes from WKUK, they speak entirely for themselves.

The second video is definitely not safe for work... though it is work-themed.

Ouija Board Demon


Can You See Them?

Dead Comedy Lives Long in History...

"This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! It's a stiff! ...Bereft of life, he rests in peace! ...He's kicked the bucket, he's shuffled off his mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!"

While Monty Python became famous for these memorable lines from their "Dead Parrot Sketch", the joke itself predates the British comedy routine... by nearly 1,600 years!

A recently republished collection of some of the world's oldest jokes, Philogelos: The Laugh Addict, contains an ancient Greek witticism written in 4 AD about a man returning a recently-purchased dead slave to his seller. "By the gods, when he was with me, he never did any such thing!" replies the seller.

Fortunately for John Cleese and the rest of his comedic comrades, there were no copyright infringements made on the joke since it was written without prior knowledge of the Greek farce. Besides, the author is long since dead... and unavailable for refund, as well.

If you've never watched the Monty Python sketch, or care to revisit it, here's a clip from a live performance in 1976:


You can also get your own plush "sleeping" parrot in remembrance of the classic British comedy skit.

Frightfully Entertaining Cinema...

Mix together toxic waste, mutated mosquitoes, and gay men cruising at a highway rest stop... and what do you get?

A messed-up, hillarious movie.

The Creatures from the Pink Lagoon is a campy spoof on the old horror movies we all love to hate. Set in 1967, it tells the tale of party-goers plagued by a group of gay zombies with attitude, disdain for cheap cologne, and a penchant for musicals and Judy Garland.

The black and white film is the first feature-length production by director Chris Diani. It has been screened at countless film festivals to much acclaim and is now available on DVD.

Watch the trailer here:

Lingering in the Darkness...

My friend Bill posted some lowbrow humor last week. A little flatulent humor. So, I thought it best to pay homage in the only way I know how: with a little spoof I stumbled across on YouTube.


From the insane people at popnoodles.com, I bring you Most Farted.

"Open your windows and shut your legs - it's Most Farted."



As if that weren't the best... they also created a theme song! Ask yourself this: has anyone sampled clips from Most Haunted and farts and placed them against the backdrop of a dance beat? Well, look no further... here it is: 'Stale Meat'.



(You may have to click the play button twice to get it to work.)

Brains... I Mean Penis...

Even the undead can be fierce...

Fronk N Dego Films is a sketch comedy team hailing from Columbia College in Chicago. They produce some strange bits for YouTube while making their way through film school.

Their latest production involves a neighborhood overrun by zombies. But they aren't exactly after your brains. Check out the faux movie trailer, Gay Zombie...

It's All About Evie Tonight...

I'm always the last to know everything...

Did anyone else know the site GirlsWillBeGirlsOnline.com existed? No, it's not some adult site with drunken college girls and spotty camera work. It's the continuation of the comedy film bearing the same name.

Minus the "Online" part, obviously.

If you haven't watched the movie Girls Will Be Girls, you seriously should. Anyone with as warped of a sense of humor as mine will truly enjoy it. The cast includes Jack Plotnick (Drawn Together, Gods and Monsters), Clinton Leupp (Trick), and Jeffery Roberson (...I'm sure he was probably in something). Word simply cannot describe this movie, but "over the top" seems to sum it up quite nicely!

Be sure to check out the blog for plenty of video shorts. From what I was told, there won't be anymore!

Bravo, writer/director Richard Day. If I can ever write something half as funny as your work, I'll finally feel I've achieved my goal...

...and might get somewhere with my own scripts.

Dead Disco Drama Queens...

A creepy old, run-down house and a young straight couple. Sounds like an A-typical Hollywood horror movie, right?

Not quite.

A French film titled Poltergay changes everything. Homeowner Mark is awakened by loud disco music only he can hear. Winged penises appear on walls, bare butts poke through walls, and a polariod camera snaps a picture of him in the shower. Yet his wife Emma and his best friend don't notice anything out of the ordinary. Apparently, 27 years prior, there was an explosion at a gay nightclub at the same site. Five of the victims now haunt the house!

Yes, it is intended to be a comedy. The characters are stereotypical and the storyline intriguing. If you can get beyond the subtitles, be sure to check it out! Of course, finding a copy of it might not be very easy... I have yet to locate the 2006 film on DVD.

Check out the trailer for yourself:

Deathly Drab and Ghoulishly Gay?

"The closet is no place for a monster..."

If you think there's no room for campy gay humor in comics, you're wrong. Dead wrong.

The Gay Monsters is a web-based comic created by illustrator and flash animator Andy Bauer. It features a host of undead characters from Twinkle Toad Town, including a zombie drag queen, queeny Frankenstein-esque monster, hunky dead stripper, and jealous mummy. It's a unique blend of cute humor and dead people (and the penis-shaped tombstone is a nice touch...).

Though the comic is only a little over a year old, it's still relatively undiscovered, which is a true shame. If you're looking for a little amusing and funny pick me up, be sure to check it out... and visit the MySpace site!

And now for the preview:

The Gay Ghost: A Mockumentary

"They DO exist. And they're fabulous."

Here's another online discovery, brought to you via Super Deluxe. It's a documentary-style look at the haunting of a gay ghost (with a frightening blond wig that makes him look like Bruce Vilanch).

The three-part skit comes from Boston... and a little comedy troop called The Untrainables.

Part 1: Homeowner Interview


Part 2: Neighbor Interview


Part 3: The 'Poltergay' Expert

Got Milk?

British comedian Richard Herring samples...

...Sasquatch Milk.

The Continental Divide of Humor

The average American doesn't truly appreciate comedy from other countries.

When I was in elementary school (I cannot remember my exact age... somewhere between 7 and 10), I had a brilliant idea for a Halloween costume. I went as a "granny mountie", an oddball version of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police where I rode an old woman instead of a horse. It was borrowed from a skit I watched on Benny Hill. My classmates were confused. A few teachers nearly died laughing. I was thoroughly amused by myself.

Yes, I watched Benny Hill at that early of an age. I was truly a warped child. Yet the scantily-clad women apparently had no effect on me...

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a household where I was exposed to many television choices unlike those of my peers. Instead of Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210, Baywatch, and Melrose Place, I was watching Sherlock Holmes, Lovejoy (where my email and old paranormal group name, 'Moonspenders' is derived from), All Creatures Great and Small, Are You Being Served?, and one of my favorite physical comedy programs: Mr. Bean.

In recent years, Rowan Atkinson has finally become noticed by the general US public. He made a few Mr. Bean movies and starred as the misfit special agent in Johnny English. None of them seemed to appeal to a broad American audience, and that's truly a shame. Mr. Bean's Holiday was a hilarious film!

I'm not saying that Americans are the only ones who don't always find the humor in British humor and other comedy. Different styles appeal to different people. Nonetheless, Bob Smith the average Yankee doesn't quite understand why Monty Python or Kids in the Hall makes some people laugh. What's wrong with Saturday Night Live?

Sometimes, it's cultural differences. Unknown politics and celebrities. Even I am forced to admit that although I love the Australian program The Chasers War on Everything, occasionally I miss a joke because the name is not familiar. European comedy is most familiar. I try my best to keep up on foreign politics. I know all about Tony Blair (the bastard). I recognize that Jacques Chirac is no longer in office, and hasn't been since May of 2007 (et il est un homosexuel...). I know about the recent hate crime in Canberra, Australia. I know Brazil's economy is booming.

In short: I'm aware of the world around me.

Perhaps that's why I grasp the humor of other countries. And not just because I find America as humorous as they do...