I hope everyone’s hanging in there. If you’ve read this post, you know I was a part of an awesome podcast recording. Well, Belle & Dubs Season Two is now out! I was fortunate to be a part of Episodes Three, Five, and Six! Be sure to check out Belle And Dubs: Subscribe, listen, and laugh! I play Jan Malcolm, an enthusiastic paleontologist, in Episode Five, and a spirited suffragette named Rose in Episode Six. It was so joyful to participate in my friends’ hilarious project. I hope it brings you joy too!
Last weekend I got the chance to reunite with my friends from Mouthy Broadcast! I was a moron and forgot all about the recording session, so if I sound off and not very witty, it’s because I jumped on pretty hungover and unprepared. Nevertheless, it was a blast. Love those folks. Click here for Mouthy escapades!
I wanted to do a quick post to plug this super fun episode of the podcast I used to be on regularly with some of the greatest and most badass ladies (and one dude) I know. It was great to get back together with the Broads, catch up on what we’ve been up to, wax nostalgic on the past episodes we recorded, and do some straight up laughing. Check it out, won’t you? It’s the 200th episode, so if you’re a new listener, you have 199 other eps to delve into as well! Warning: Not safe for work or easily offended brains. Filled with Hidden Valley Raunch.
Happy Saturday, little darlin’s. Hope the long, cold, and lonely winter is winding down for you. I wanted to post an update here to let you know something: I grabbed a notebook this week, stuck a pen in the spiral, and jotted down thoughts and ideas every day. That hasn’t happened in a long while. It’s a good sign, though. It means I’ll be posting more content here. Working my writing juices into a tasty smoothie of fun. Ewwww, that sounds gross, doesn’t it? Maybe not the best metaphor, but I’ll go with it. I have to thank my buddy Kris for the motivation. He recently asked me to cohost the second season of his podcast, The Peaceful Pirate, and we started recording last weekend. Do yourself a favor and catch up on the first season now. You’ll learn that if you have a passion, you can do something with it. You’ll learn tips on how to do it too. I’m attempting to take his advice. Hence me and the notebook. This update is based on the first thing I scribbled in there….
Stories. Everyone has them. Lately, they’ve surrounded me, coming from friends and strangers. When chatting about podcasting and podcasts in general, several folks suggested The Moth, so I subscribed. It’s been a perfect accompaniment to my work commute. A collection of stories told by people from all walks of life. Some funny, some scary, they’re all over the place. But the coolest part is they’re all true. I’ve been in my car laughing, crying, and enraptured. I imagine I’m sitting in front of whoever is spinning their tale, in a cozy room with a fireplace. My favorite Moth story so far was from the late Taylor Negron. It’s a doozy. Check it out for yourself:
Not long after I became a fan of The Moth, my friend and fellow Mouthy Broad, Deb, founded a monthly storytelling showcase here in the Hampton Roads area. It’s called Tell Me More. It takes place at the wonderful Push Comedy Theater, and it’s super exciting to see how it’s taking off. The first event sold out! My friends and aquaintances have fantastic stories to tell. Check out Laura’s story about shitting herself.. Trust me, it’s awesome. Look around at the rest of the Tell Me More website to learn more about the events.
Finally, I had one more encounter with the telling of stories recently. I met Vee through another great friend. We hit it off immediately. She’s unique, lovely, talented, and strong. She recently competed in a story slam for the organization For Kids, and WON! It’s inspiring as hell – watch:
Pretty amazing, huh? Listening to all of these experiences has restored my faith in humanity. It helps to remind me that we’re all going through something, 24/7, 365 days a year.
Last weekend it was all about The Boss. It was kind of prophetic that I ended up seeing him in concert, because if you look at a couple of entries ago, I posted a video of him performing My Hometown. Also, a couple of weeks ago, I attempted Dancing In The Dark at karaoke. We had no plans to attend his concert, because we’re broke, but the boyfriend got free tickets thanks to his amazing company the day before the show. These weren’t ordinary tickets, either. They were in the company’s private box, complete with food and drink service. HOOOOOOO BOY! The box was right in the middle too, so we had a fantastic view.
But let me back up a bit. The day before the show, once I found out we were going, I had to dive into Bruce Springsteen’s massive catalog on Spotify. I needed a refresher course, because as much as I admire and respect the guy, I don’t listen to his albums all that much. It felt good. The man is incredible. And that band? Yeah. By the end of the work day, I felt I was ready to experience the Bruce….. well, EXPERIENCE. The guy & The E Street Band don’t just come on stage and sing a few tunes and leave. Nuh uh. I knew what I was getting into.
Ok, so it’s the day of the show. I also attended our area’s first comic book convention, Tidewater Comic Con. Us ladies from the Mouthy Broadcast podcast shared a table with the Playing Doctor duo, so I went to hang out, see some fellow nerds, and get our podcast out to the masses. The con was PACKED to the gills. A very good thing of course, but it was weird for me, for some reason. I haven’t done the con thing in a while, and I guess my lack of food and water, natural tendency to get claustrophobic, and distracted mind didn’t help me get super into it. I couldn’t wait to leave. That being said, it was awesome seeing some friends, chatting with the geeks, watching the great cosplay, and passing out cards.
Once I got home, my dumb ass quickly sucked down a smoothie and stuffed a sandwich in my mouth hole. That may not have been a wise idea. One or the other would have been wiser. But oh no. Meri needed immediate satisfaction. Well, guess who became extremely pukey feeling in the car, on the way to meeting our fellow concert goers? Yeah, this chick. Fortunately for me, our rendezvous point was my parents’ house. And we had some time to kill. Mothers know best, so mine quickly plop plopped some fizz fizz into a cup of water (oh, Alka-Seltzer you rock) and I sipped. Then, the best thing happened: Boongie, my folks’ 15 year old Maine Coon cat, decided to take a dump. The smell wafted to my nose, and that was it. TAKE ME DOWN TO THE OL BARF CITY WHERE THE SMOOTHIE PUKES OUT AND THE SMELLS ARE STINKY. Glorious relief. I was starting to worry, I mean, who wants to see The Boss in a state of nausea? Gross! So that was taken care of, and we were ready to rock.
It was a beautiful night. The weather was perfect; cool and breezy. We hung out with two other couples, one we’ve known for ages, and two of their friends. The husband ended up being my world history teacher from 9th grade, which was hilarious. We drink tons of wine, ate chips & hummus, and were completely blown away by the energy and awesomeness that was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Hey look – there’s Conan O’Brien’s former band leader on the drums! And check out the Rage Against The Machine dude playing guitar! Good times. Bruce is 64, but you wouldn’t know it. He was running, jumping, crowd surfing, dancing, and being badass like any young rock star. It was magical. Bonus cute factor of this little girl getting picked to sing Waitin’ On A Sunny Day……
So that’s a pretty interesting day. Hang out the with comic book folk, vomit, then rock out with a legend.
Podcasts are a fun, great, super duper platform to express yourself on the internet. Like something? Are you funny? Want to share your interests with the masses? Make a podcast. Or, if you don’t want to make one, listen to one or 40. I happen to do both. Me and my wonderfully talented lady friends do the MouthyBroadcast podcast, which is part comedy, group therapy, geekdom, and rant space. It’s great. Feel free to subscribe to our insanity. I also listen to bunch of podcasts, mainly when I’m in my car going to and from work. I’m happy to suggest my favorites, and feel free to tell me yours in the comments! I’m always looking for new ones.
First up, I Seem Fun – The Diary of Jen Kirkman Podcast. I first heard Jen on another favorite podcast (which I’ll discuss in a second). I loved her voice and desire to revive the old 80s show, Puttin’ On The Hits. Remember that show? Here’s a taste:
Anyway, so I decided to check out Jen’s podcast – LOVE IT. You’d think that one person sitting in their bed or couch and talking into a mike would not be engaging or interesting, but not JK. She sings along to songs adorably, dishes about her LA life, reads listener emails, and has the coolest family.
Second podcast on my current fave list:The Fogelnest Files. Here’s the deal: Listen to Jake Fogelnest play random You Tube clips, usually with a cool guest, then watch the clips on his very own You Tube channel (it’s on the provided link). Jake never fails to find some AMAZING stuff. Like a clip from Fernwood Tonight.
Third up, U Talkin’ U2 To Me?. One of my favorite actors, Adam Scott, teams up with fellow Scott, Scott Aukerman, to comprehensively (and hilariously) discuss the career of the best band in the world, U2. They’re only on episode two as of this typing, but if the first one’s an indication of the fun I’m going to have listening, I’ve found what I’m Looking For. Har har har.
Whenever I think of a hermit, I always picture Terry Jones’ character in Life of Brian. I’m not 100% sure that he actually was a hermit; more of a spiritual dude doing monk-type things (being naked and taking a vow of silence? And growing juniper bushes?). But whatever. Hermits. They don’t go anywhere. They don’t socialize. They revel in their own abode, doing wonderful solitary things like sleeping, reading, watching television and/or movies. Maybe do a bit of internet lurking. I’ve been about that hermit life lately, and while most of their typical activities are right up my alley, it wasn’t something I particularly wanted to do.
Last year, around the holidays, two massively expensive, craptastic things happened. A new washing machine was purchased, and my dude discovered a tiny hole in a pipe leading to our water heater, which resulted in a new pipe. Hooray. Basically, my laundry room was the asshole room of the house. These two things woke me up. In order to take care of our crippling debt, we had to make some extreme changes. Spending money BAD. No more going out to bars/restaurants and being a social butterfly. This, along with the usual seasonal depression, turned me into a really sad panda.
At the same time, I was right in the midst of taking an improv class, and really enjoying the shit out of it. There were great folks involved, I was learning cool things, and I didn’t feel like I sucked at it. Well, I missed one class because of illness, and then another because of the sad panda thing. So I basically flunked it on my terms, because if I don’t do everything that is required of me, I don’t feel like I accomplished a task. BOOM. More sad panda-ness.
I think things are slowly getting better. I realize sacrifices can be made without completely isolating myself. As long as I learn more frugality and stuff. No need to become Howard Hughes, who I just remembered as I was typing this blog, was a super crazy hermit in his later life. No, I will not pee in jars and grow my nails out super long. I’ll get out once in a while to see my peeps and support the local comedy scene. I’ll rack my brain to come up with a cool idea for a podcast of my own, while still being a part of the Mouthy Broadcast.
You know, at this point, I feel like I’m about to break into Let It Go.
If you know me on the internet, whether it’s from this site or the super kickass Mouthy Broadcast podcast (Go here for info on the Mouthy Broads & my Tom blog specifically) I do, you know I am a fan of Thomas William Hiddleston. He is an extremely talented, funny, tall, English, hot, gorgeous, gifted, kind, and wonderful human being. I have had many celebrity crushes in my life, but Tom’s is more than that. It’s definitely love. I know we are meant to be together. PSYCH. Kidding. I am not like that. It’s just nice to see a phenomenally talented dude like him become successful and be brilliant and hot and positive about it all. He was born on February 9, 1981. I hope he’ll be partying like mad tonight or tomorrow, because you’re only a 33 year old smoking hot famous guy once in your life, right? Eh, I don’t even know what that means. But he’s had a busy year so far.
Performing in the title role of Coriolanus on stage in London must take a lot out of the guy. Just look at the preparation!
Then he had to go and be naughty in that Super Bowl ad for Jaguar. Being bad takes effort!
Finally, he went to all the trouble of having a sexy photo shoot for Elle.
So relax and enjoy your birthday, Thomas. You deserve it.
Meri's World 