The New York Times Magazine article suggests there are three Stephen Colberts.  I’d submit that there are four, considering the hip-hop Colbert who performed Empire State of Mind with Alicia Keys. (thanks Matt McMahon!)

A few years back Tom Purcell, executive producer of The Colbert Report (pictured next to Dr. Colbert ) taught a writing class at the P.I.T.  He spent six Saturday afternoons with us reviewing how the staff approaches writing The Word and the other classic bits, and generously offered to extend the class a few more weeks to help us develop our writer’s packet.  I managed to write a few pieces I was happy with, including one for the Threat Down segment, but struggled with insecurity to finish a strong packet.

I’ll accept David Meerman Scott’s challenge to make 2012 the year of courage.

A quote from storyteller Ira Glass, host of public radio’s This American Life, inspired me to finally launch a new web series.

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

Then, the circumstance. A few weeks ago, I watched in awe as a guy climbed 60 feet up in our tree to cut down a huge branch damaged by the snow storm. I grabbed my video camera and began to tape. It was fascinating. The idea for a web comedy series hit me — “Three Simple Steps.” It would be some interesting footage I could film myself with a few jokes along the way yielding roughly a solid minute of nonsense. Something I could do for little to no budget, and put myself on a deadline to finish a comedy story each week.

My buddy Garth Beams helped me out with the animation and rewriting the script for episode one, about cutting down a different tree.  Check out the pilot episode.

A-Rod Past Prime, Unable To Match Asinine Public Embarrassments Of Years Past

I played Senior Baseball Analyst Jim Ridgeway on the Onion Sports Network’s new series Get Out Of My Face — such a blast to work with this team.  I had the chance to work with one of the SportsDome anchors on a Super Bowl commercial for Dunkin Donuts.

There are a few burgers so luxurious that they require you to wear cufflinks.  DB Bistro Modenrne’s sirloin burger stuffed with braised short ribs, foie gras and black truffle demands such reverence.  Its price is $32, and that doesn’t include cheese.   But since it’s served on a Parmesan bun, and certainly the most decadent burger I’ll savor in my lifetime, I’ll count this experience for the cheeseburger blog.

After the show, I went with the WSJ gang to indulge and laugh too loudly for a swanky restaurant.  A sentimental time for me as it was the same crew I was with when I launched the Cheeseburger & Comedy blog series at the New York Comedy Festival in 2009, sans Ricky Gervais.  Sometimes I feel like adults shouldn’t have this much fun.  But that feeling soon passes.  Thanks Melissa for setting this up!  (Pics below are from our first soirée)

Ricky Gervais backstage at Carnegie Hall 2009

NYCF 2009 After Party

My first job out of college was in sales with Xerox Corporation.  I’m pretty sure having that much fun on a job is not allowed anymore.  The job introduced me to corporate comedy as I used to write sketches and emcee the sales conferences.   Sales is an outstanding place to start a career as it forces you to learn the art of communication and negotiation quickly.

After each copier sale, we were required to spend two hours training the customer on how to use the equipment.  Here’s a clip of my buddy Bruse :

And approximately 80% of our sales leads came from this commercial:

About the Cheeseburger & Comedy blog series.

After speaking at NYU’s B2B social communications leadership conference, I had the chance to visit with FastCompany’s Drew Neisser about how corporations can help use  humor to build online audiences.    Check out the article here, and an extended discussion on Drew’s blog.

Q1) Why did you do this?

A.  My boss asked me the same thing.  The Cisco router will connect the royal wedding (the real one for Prince William and Kate) video stream to the TV station for the broadcast, so this video is a fun way to celebrate.

Q2 ) Who is Ms. Fauntleroy?

A.  I’m not sure if you’re asking about the character or the actor.  The character was inspired by the middle name of the wife of one of my best friends from college, Robert Spencer. The actor is Jenn Schatz, who you may have seen recently on 30 Rock “Double-Edged Sword” in a scene with Tina Fey and Matt Damon — neither were in our video.

Q3) Was this filmed at your home?

A. No.  We needed a setting that was more cozy.  The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion, with 62 rooms and 44,000 sq. ft. helped to create the intimate mood.  Special thanks to the mansion’s executive director Shelly Gerarden for his kindness and generosity, and to his staff, especially Brian, Jon and Susie.

Q4) Why didn’t you use a British accent?

A few folks have asked that before you did (Updated – thanks Elyse and David) .  We tried British accents for both Ms. Fauntleroy and the voice-over actor, but it didn’t seem to work as well.   Although I’m now filled with self-doubt.

Q5) The mansion looks familiar.

That’s a statement not a question.  But the mansion hosted scenes from House of Dark Shadows and The Stepford Wives -  both 1975 original film featuring Katharine Ross and the 2004 remake with Nicole Kidman — neither were in our video.

I presented at SXSW Interactive about the role of comedy in corporate social media, and was amazed at how productive the conference was.  I had the chance to meet with quite a few social media leaders — when possible, over BBQ — including Jeff Pulver, C.C. Chapman, Guy Kawasaki, Pam Slim, John Jantsch, Erik Qualman and David Meerman Scott. I managed to squeeze in some comedy, kicking things off with Conan O’Brien’s  documentary premier.

ConanChristopherOBrien.com

Rainn Wilson and director James Gunn dialed in the flight-delayed Ellen Page and put her on speaker to talk about their new dark comedy feature Super.

Director Todd Phillips shared the backstory of some of his comedies like Old School and talked a bit about The Hangover Part II.

Dined with Vince Thompson, comedian Matt Kirsch and the LA crew at the Salt Lick BBQ.

I wrapped up the visit with some classic Austin trailer food at Trey’s Cuisine for an amazing New York Strip burger stuffed with mac and cheeses served on a croquette.

Trey’s Cuisine chef Cowden Ward.

Finally, dessert at Amy’s Ice Cream with my favorite NEW YORKER cartoonist, Matt Diffee.

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