I was lucky to run into my buddy Stephen Gardner last night with enough time for him to do a sketch of me for his very impressive Sketch of the Day blog. He is a talented guy.  

A bunch of my friends have books out right now. You should totally buy them.

Bob Powers‘ You are a Miserable Excuse for a Hero is an insane take on the “Choose your own Adventure” books of our youth. It’s hilarious.

My former Daily Show colleague, the genius Rob Kutner, surveys the end of the world in Apocalypse How: Turn the End-Times into the Best of Times!

Finally, the formidable Chris Regan, another TDS colleague, surveys everything up until the Apocalypse in his huge and hugely funny Mass Historia. Also, it’s the first book I’ve ever had the honor of blurbing.

Click on the above links to Amazon them, or even better, buy them at a book store near you.

TELL YOUR FRIENDS
Monday, August 25th – 8:00 PM, $10.00
Lolita Bar — 266 Broome, corner of Allen St.

SCHOOL NIGHT
Wednesday, August 27th – 11:00 PM, FREE
UCB Theatre -306 W. 26th St. at 8th Ave.

As I threatened earlier, I’ll be doing two small roles in Julie Klausner and Rachel Shukert’s Wasp Cove next Monday, June 16. The ludicrous take on ’80s prime-time soap operas features Julie, Rachel, Ryan Karels, David Rakoff, Jodi Lennon and Megan Stern, this time with special guests Miriam Tolan, Andrew Andrew, Neil Medlyn and me, among others. At Comix 333 W. 14th St. at 9th Avenue. $15 advance, $20 day of. Show at 8:00. Tix Here.

I join Brett Gelman to co-host his unrelentingly odd show at Rififi. Guests include Dan Mintz, Demetri Martin and Hannibal Burress. Wednesday, May 14th at 8:00 PM. 332 East 11th St.

Julie Klausner and Rachel Shukert’s take on ’80s prime-time soaps, Wasp Cove, is looking like a doozy. Go see it Monday, May 19th at Comix. Starring Julie, Rachel, Ryan Karels, David Rakoff, Jodi Lennon and more. It’s looking like I might be participating in a later installment, but only because I blatantly lobbied for it.

Nice to see that The Daily Show’s “Secret Weapon”– researcher Adam Chodikoff — is finally getting his due in this Washington Post article. He’s a great guy and deserves a lot of credit for what people love about TDS.

I put together a short piece for this book produced to accompany the hit Broadway production of Xanadu. It’s fun for fans of the movie and the show alike. I interviewed the original screenwriter of Xanadu, Marc Rubel, to find out… well… exactly what went wrong. He was gracious, funny and self-effacing. It’s a weird kind of privilege to share in the history of one of the best worst movies ever. (And the entertaining musical Doug Beane and his cohorts put together to honor it.) It’s also cool to be “anthologized” with the formidable Chip Kidd and David Rakoff, who also contribute pieces. Pick it up when you go see Xanadu at the Helen Hayes theater on Broadway, or at Kira’s Skate Shop online.

I reunite for my first show in years with Tammy Faye Starlite and the Angels of Mercy for this one-off gig at Joe’s Pub. 9:30 PM, May 6th. Tix 15$. This is part of a series sponsored by the Onion celebrating the First Amendment. It’s one of my top 10 favorites in the Bill of Rights. So, why not? Tix available at Joe’s Pub

MORRISON MOTEL Tuesday, March 11  8:30 PM, $10   Cornelia St. Cafe   29 Cornelia st.