FCW Society Show! Lil' Bit O': Lauren Anderson

So, I'm doing research for my show on KFAI next week (yes, I have only left myself a week to prepare this show. I'm sure I'll be fine! I have improvisation skills!) and in a google search for comedian Lauren Anderson, a contemporary of mine and company member of Brave New Workshop, I found this awesome article about her performance at the Ivey Awards in 2007. Watch the video! I adore Lauren - she's obviously extremely talented and hilarious and she's such a good soul, too. Freakin' Cool.

So, now I've decided to do posts on some of the women I'm interviewing (it depends on the goods I can find about ya online, ladies). Okay, not interviewing - I'm no journalist - having a conversation with. I'm not going to give everything away, so it's just going to be called "Lil' Bit O'(FCW's Name Here)"


Photo from Star Tribune.

Booty! (As in pirates, not rap videos)

For the past two years, the McLean family has done a Secret Santa gift draw so that we don't have to get something for everyone. Instead, you get to focus on one person and get them their entire wishlist if you can. I like this much better because I love getting people gifts, but, as I've expounded many times in the past, I hate the stress of the holidays mostly due to the extreme consumerist mindset and making a list of numerous people for whom to get something. This year, I got my mom and she got me! And due to her tiny wishlist, I was easily able to get her everything (3 CDs, an inexpensive watch - she loved the one I picked out for her, and a donation to an organization that is helping to eliminate child abuse). And with Mom as my Secret Santa, I got a lot of my hypocritically long wishlist, including 30 Rock: Season One, Steve Martin's autobiography, warm winter clothes and pj's, and this beauty:



That's right. Momma's got herself a proper winter coat. Minnesota winter - you are not going to take the stranglehold of last year on me in 2009. Oh hell no. I am going to be outside and feeling as warm as if it were Fringe Festival Season. I sent my family my wishlist with all the underwear I would need for a comfortable winter when I was like, "Wait jest a dern minute here... what I really need is a new coat." And viola. I'm super grateful my family can afford to get me such items instrumental to survival in this climate since I can't afford it for myself.

But my favorite gift by far was something I didn't even ask for.



When I received my gifts in the mail, I got "permission" to open all the soft presents, ie, the warm items of clothing, right away (about a week before Christmas) because I would need them immediately. But this was a hard gift that I waited until Christmas Eve to open and I was floored. My mother compiled recipes from her mother's and my dad's mother's culinary repertoires as well as her own concoctions and created this amazing cookbook which she also gave to my brother and Sam and our cousins!!
Check out this amazingness!! A full index and dividers!!! (I also love that the cover image is a world being recycled. Nice metaphor, Mom!)



And Mom also wrote this beautiful forward (not shown) and dedicated the book to my grandmothers:



Wow. One of my favorite gifts ever - it totally made me feel this connectedness to my family all over the world through the past few generations of food we've enjoyed together.


Honorable Mention are gifts from my friends: Phillip got me a book a pros pros to our conversations/collaboration. Trevor got me a new spatula. The Jacksons sent an "anonymous" gift (there was no gift card, but I know who it's from, you tricky dicks) - a fondue pot and cookbook!! I got cookies from Marne and Jen and lots of love with my Christmas dinner at the Abbeys'. The Abbeys also got me a Blue Sky Guide for 2009 , some notebooks, an awesome water bottle (from Anna, Ross' sister), and these rad and nerdy pj pants:



Yeah, when I'm wearing these, don't stand too close because I'm prolly swinging my Wii-mote wildly. And I don't wear the wrist strap.

I'm really grateful to be showered with such gifts and luxuries.

Oh, and I also cut my bangs which has inspired a Princess Leia-esque hairdo:



Peace!!!

Ninja Radio 5

Ninja Radio 5
Originally uploaded by Rob Boudon

My blog has been kinda Rob-heavy lately!! Maybe I just miss him. That's right, I MISS ROB BOUDON. I know, I didn't think it could happen either.

This was a fun podcast we did a few years ago... Rob is starting to re-post all the Old Ninja Radios from back then. Give 'em all a whirl!
Listen to me sound like a pretentious jerk! Thank goodness I've mellowed out a bit. Thank you, the 30s.

A Week Ago Today!

A picture tells a thousand words, so I have about 240something thousand words about the past weekend with Carly:



Click here for the whole collection.

But here's a word about the weekend: FUCKINAWESOME.

First, A Word.

I am going to tell you all about my awesome, incredible weekend with Carly, but first...

Lost Dog.

I just ran a search for this on TBLR and couldn't find any mention of it. This is the cast of characters Brett and I came up with after being approached by Nickelodeon back in '04 to come up with a cartoon, based on what they saw we had at Comic Con. Anyway, Brett and I were just chatting and he's going to be making Lost Dog grow.

AND - I have not been keeping up with The Abraham Lincoln Logs, Brett's hilarious political podcast that he started in APRIL 2006! And I just realized that I can listen to it at work! I will be playing some major catch-up. Do I go forwards or backwards? I've plugged it before and I will again - check it out.

Carly +1

Now Doreen is coming out for Saturday night? What? This is going to be my favorite weekend ever.

This might be what it will look like:



This just in: No Doreen this weekend. It was turning out to be too good to be true. Doreen, we will raise a glass or NINE in your honor!!

Gimme a Wild Turkey on the rocks... in memoriam.

On Saturday night, I was writing this entry in my head about my breakup with Trevor that happened that morning. I was going to write about fundamentals versus circumstances and isn't everything just a result of circumstance? On Sunday afternoon, I drove over to Allegra's for some BSG after spending the morning moving from couch to bed to couch (unable to decide whether to continue sleeping or crying). I had been told it would take a while for my Spicy Chicken Sandwich at the Wendy's drive through, so could I please just park my car by the sign and we'll bring it out to you in a minute? Sure. My phone rang. It was Debbie, a friend I hadn't heard from in a while. Happy to see her name on my phone, I picked up with a jubliant "Hey!"

She told me James had died.

James was Jenny's boyfriend, but above that, he was a dear friend to everyone in Jenny's life. Once Jenny and James met, we all knew that Jenny had found her match. This boisterous, ambitious, loud-mouthed, but extremely loving and generous tattooed teddy bear who would never let you say no to an invite out, always insisted you have another drink, and before you could protest, it was sitting in front of you, taken care of. And James would be smiling at you with a smirk you couldn't refuse, his glass held high for you to clink your own against. A Wild Turkey on the rocks. James is the guy who got me to appreciate bourbon/whiskey/scotch (though I'm still a novice) and tried his best to get me to say YES to life. Because that's how he lived: YES to friends, to late nights out, to glorious food, to things that one should probably say no to, but James said yes because, as his myspace quote goes, "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry for tomorrow we may all be dead!" He said YES to life. And his was cut short by a heart attack at 37 years old.

James was the chef at Delmonicos Steak House in NYC and had several other high profile restaurants under his belt. Time Out NY even featured him in an article about Ginger, the healthy Chinese cuisine restaurant he helped launch in East Harlem. Here's a video of him talking about it. He had a passion for food and it showed every time Jenny had a party and James would create a spread that would spin your head. He treated me, Trevor, the Jacksons, and our other friends to fabulous multi-course meals at Delmonicos on several occasions and he always took so much pride in the delicious meal he served his friends.

I didn't always get along with James. Whether it was because of my possessiveness over Jenny, who is one of my best friends, and the rocky road their relationship took in the beginning or whether it was because James and I are both strong, hotheaded, opinionated personalities, I didn't always appreciate him. But he worked hard to win me over and talked to me a handful of times about how much he loved Jenny and wanted to take care of her and thanking me for accepting him in my and her life. It became quickly apparent that James was one of the best guys for Jenny in many ways. I have seen few couples that laughed and loved as hard and as loud as they did.

I just talked to Jenny a couple of hours ago, only the second time I have done so since I moved. I'm sorry that she and I have not been in better contact and that we've allowed our lives to get so busy that this is the circumstance under which we express our love for each other. She expressed her gratitude that James died knowing she loved him and that was his wish.

I will, like Rob, getting myself some bourbon tonight and drinking to James Marshall's awesome life in which I am so lucky to have been a part. And to any of James' friends that are reading, bless all of you and much love and healing to you. I am working on getting out to the funeral in NY this Friday.

R.I.P., James.



photo by Rob Boudon

A Week Ago Today...

... I was driving around the wrong side of the MSP airport in the attempt to pick up The Jacksons. I succeeded and arrived on time. I took my camera out in the endeavor to take their picture as soon as I saw them, but once they were spotted coming down the baggage claim path, I ran and jumped on them in hugs and started crying. Brett said it was the best airport reception ever.

Here's the pics from this past weekend and a lil' sample of the fun:



We found a keg on the road.

Seriously, not a starf*cker

New pics surfaced from the night at Casa Diablo and this is the only one where she and I are in the same shot. Even though it may appear that I am super-imposed.

Diablo Cody gave me a bedroom set this weekend.

No, folks, that's not a euphemism for anything, I really am the proud owner of a new-to-me bedroom set courtesy of Academy-Award-nominated screenwriter Diablo Cody. Otherwise known as Brook to her/my friends here in the Twins, Diabs (yes, we're that tight) had a few of us over this weekend while she was in town for two minutes visiting.
I received the text from my roommate, AKA Diabs' ex-hubby's new lady, saying "Gathering at Diablo's tonight at 9pm." I knew she was going to be in town this weekend and did secretly wonder if I would be part of the festivities due to my unique position within the friend group. I initially met her earlier in March, pre-Juno explosion, when I made my first visit to Minneapolis as Trevor's girlfriend. A bunch of us went to dinner at the Loring Pasta Bar and then to dance to the Autumn Leaves at The Kitty Kat Club. I think I've said this in an earlier post, but I remember thinking I was the hot shit performer at the table till I asked, "What do you do, Brook?" She replied, "I'm a screenwriter. My new movie stars Jennifer Garner." It wasn't nearly as pretentious as I'm making it sound, but it certainly shut me the hell up.
Anyway, so Saturday started out as a really poopy day emotionally for me, but Trevs put the super awesome boyfriend moves on and took me out walking in the high-20s weather (which felt GREAT after the recent and thoroughly depressing sub-zero trends). This lifted my spirits tremendously. He's the best. Later, we visited the home of one of Trevor's choir colleagues at which there was the largest personal bar for any one person I've ever seen. I wish I got pictures: The open-faced cabinet in her dining area had a pullout-shelf on which there were bottles upon bottles of liquor, about 10 across by at least 4 or 5 deep. Wow. I would never leave my house if it were mine. Buca Du Beppo catered the party and ice cream with fresh-baked fudge brownie drizzled in caramel in a martini glass followed immediately after. Trevor and I had to scoot because he had to work, but the evening was turning a pretty good day into a great one.
I arrived home, having received the aforementioned text a few hours ago and still not totally sure if I wanted to show up because of my general insecurity about life at that moment exacerbated by my insecurity about not being tight with Diablo and coming to her house as bystander, clinging to the people I did know there. I also have a monologue I'm working on for the Unified Auditions and I had been planning all week to use my Saturday night to rehearse while Trevs was at work. But then, my new MPLS friend Marne texted - "when are you coming over?" and I knew I had to make an appearance, reluctant and scared. We shot a few texts back and forth when she wrote, "Brook asked if you were coming." Now, the disqualifier-of-the-positive in me thinks this was just a ploy to get me over there. Nevertheless, it worked. It was what I needed - a genuine invitation, albeit indirect, from our newly celebrated friend. I put on an impressively stylish, yet casual and not trying too hard (in my eyes), outfit and trekked the whole 4 blocks to Diablo Cody's (and Johnny's) on-the-market townhome.
** Note to my "new" Minneapolis friends that read... I don't know why I feel I must explain that all gatherings involving Brook, as she is from the pre-Courtney MN era, make me feel like I'm not totally a part of the group. I recognize this is a personal problem and I am officially over it. Now. No, Now. Okay... NOW!**
Soooooo... I pull up, walk to the door and see everyone is watching my arrival from the kitchen through the vertical window adjacent to the front door. Johnny grabs the door, ushering me in, and Diablo runs up to give me a hug first, asking me for a light and then saying, "You need a bed, right?" Well, sure (I'm sleeping on a great-for-guests-;-not-for-every-night futon). "Great. Take the bed."



Um, okay. And then, by the end of the night, it turned out that I was taking the entire bedroom set. I was, and still am, pretty floored and a little concerned about getting a place big enough to fit all this good stuff. But, ultimately, I'm so grateful and simply stunned that my new apartment is coming together, if only in the form of the furniture in it.

Not to make it sound like the receipt of free, fine furniture was the highlight of the night. Everyone was silly to the point of jigs and bell-kicks in the kitchen, shopping in the house for who would snag the rest of the furniture, and Johnny almost made a drink with Absolut Pears and Bubble Yum drink (they actually make that?) till Trixi stopped him with common sense. It was a great time had by all.

Thanks, Diabs!

Happy Anniversary

Today is Brett & Emily Jackson's fifth wedding anniversary! They are two of my best friends in the whole wide world. I wish them many more years of awesome happiness with each other and of the awesome happiness the two of them as a team bring to others.



They've been together for a total of about 13 years. Wow! I told Brett today how he and Emily are one of my "model couples" - a great example of working with the awesome and the not-so-much (I've seen them on both ends) and still remaining a super-power partnership.