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Inauguration Day
Ooooh boy, today’s the day! I’m so excited to watch the events unfold with my friends at the Comix bar. If y’all need a place to gather. We’ll have the showroom open as well.
Paquita looks so cute and pathetic walking in the snow that people can’t help but comment on her. This morning a guy said, “Hey Miss, can you walk me next?” His buddy answered, “If you pick up your own poop.”
Heh.
Christian is in Atlanta this weekend performing at the Punchline. He and I are looking forward to it. We’ve both of us home so much over the last two months we’re kind of sick of each other. We’re not used to so much togetherness!
—Kambri
Absence makes the heart grow fonder after all. -
A Petty Officer and a Gentleman
Moving in to your horse’s barn because your trailer got repossessed is what some folks might call a low point. It was time for a drastic change, so my parents moved us to the big city of N. Richland Hills, TX.
It was there — when I was 16 — I met a 22 year old Sailor. It was love at first sight. It was greatest four weeks of my life. The Petty Officer from Akron, Ohio, was shy, tan and muscular and drove a white Trans Am with a fake vent on its hood. Mom said he looked just like JFK, Jr. The movie Top Gun had just been released so when I first saw him covered in grease from working on an F-14 Tomcat I thought my uterus would crawl out of my vagina and snatch him whole and devour him like a hungry Venus flytrap from a Roger Corman flick.
Read the rest at LoveDaddy.org.
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Memories from My Old Country Home
I sent an old friend from Montgomery, TX my yearbooks from our 6th, 7th, and 8th grade years and she mailed me her senior year yearbook. I knew some of the students since I was seven years old. If we hadn’t moved to Ft. Worth before my 10th grade year, I would have graduated with them. So it was genuinely interesting and also kind of heartwarming to see them in a way I hadn’t seen them before: older than when I left them, about to embark on a new phase of their lives.
After going through the Facebook Page I mentioned below, Mom decided to mail me some old photos I don’t have and some other notes and tidbits she’s kept over the years to add to the page.
And, best of all, as a Christmas surprise, my brother mailed me an old wrought iron bell in the shape of a longhorn. We used to ring it when we wanted my horse Charlie Brown to come back to the barn for food or I wanted to saddle him up for a ride. It’s been through a lot, not unlike me, my brother and mom. Looking at it brings back so many memories and I’m grateful to him for sending it. I’m going to hang it alongside an old kerosene lamp my mom mailed me a year or so ago. We used to use the lamp in the months before we had electricity. The knob to raise and lower the wick is rusted and stuck, so I doubt it will be in working order again but, like the bell, it’s a lovely inspiration and a reminder of my country roots displayed in my New York City apartment.
—Kambri
Waxing nostalgic. -
More Randomness
My parakeets have discovered the joys of walking instead of flying. It’s fun to see them explore. For example, Dinah is having endless fun in front of my new floor-length mirror, a Christmas gift from Christian. I worry I might step on them, though. I’ve never had to wonder if a bird is at my feet.
I highly recommend the “In the Womb” series on National Geographic. Weed smoking not required because it is a genuine mind FREAK. -
Facebook Page
Happy New Year!
For those of you on Facebook, there is a page for my upcoming memoir about life with Dad. The page includes the feed for this site, photo albums with never before posted pictures, and videos (only three now, one is not closed captioned {yet}, and the other two have no sound so no CC necessary).
The page also has details on my upcoming performances or media appearances. So, if you’re on Facebook and are so inclined, you can click on the “Become a Fan” link. By doing so, you can also post your own discussion items, comments, receive direct email updates from me, etc. Here’s the link:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kambri-Crews/55559482928
I hope everyone’s 2009 is off to a splendid start! -
I Wonder
If a deaf schizophrenic still hears voices.
If anyone else kept the shoes they walked home in on 9/11.Or the shoes they walked in for Blackout of ’04.Why it took my passport only 1.5 weeks to arrive. Aren’t we in post-9/11? A white girl from TX isn’t scary as all git out?How I never opened the drawer that held the jeans I’m now wearing in over two years. These jeans are phenomenal.Why Maybelline, the bunny I rescued while in NOLA after Katrina, doesn’t like coming out of her cage anymore. Sideways sad face.What story I should tell on Tuesday at SpeakEasy Stories.If anyone else’s rent did not go up. Ours stayed the same for the first time in four years.Why I’m so attached to clothes I haven’t worn in ages.Where all these pens came from. -
Just Checking In
Where the heck is everybody? No emails, no phone calls. The holiday was last week!
Well, we accomplished every single thing on my sabbatical to do list and then some. The armoire and old TV are gone. A new flat screen is in our living room awaiting the arrival of a new media table. The exposed brick wall is happily staring back at us.By week’s end I should be at my two-thirds mark for my first draft. As expected, the sucker wasn’t banged out. The holidays beckoned and the armoire took up more time than we hoped. But lots of writing was done and my extra one-third mark is on pace.The then some is my all my tax stuff is already prepared and a couple of closets cleaned. I love to procrastinate from writing by doing really productive things that make me feel like I’m not procrastinating at all. It could be worse, I guess. I could procrastinate with Guitar Hero or marathons of “What Not to Wear” but how about I just sit down and write?Four pounds lighter and ready for the New Year! -
Sabbatical Update, Part II
The Comix questions have subsided, though, I did end up going in on Friday after a day full of errands. I dropped off my holiday cards for my assistant to stamp and mail, took care of Greg Fitzsimmons’ and Patrice Oneal’s press itineraries, and answered some pressing emails.
I got my passport renewed and dropped off my laptop which I’m picking up today. It had a virus on it which they eliminated before installing some protective firewall stuff and cleaned off all the unnecessary programs. All told, it cost $220. Pretty fair cost, in my opinion. I usually just buy a new version when I start to have trouble with my gadgets, so I’m pleased with myself for being frugal and taking care of what’s already mine.
I only dropped off half the home videos I intended because the price I was quoted over the phone of $5 each, suddenly jumped to $20 each. Yikes! I left the longest recordings, mostly videos of plays I starred in years ago, the rest I can easily transfer to Mini DV here at home. I had just walked four avenues in an awful snow / sleet storm, was pouring down sweat and my feet were soaked and freezing due to the giant puddles on every corner. So when the guy told me the $15 price difference, I kind of had a melt down. It was funny watching him not know what to do or say to make me feel better. It wasn’t his fault, I told him, but I still wasn’t happy to have walked so far out of the way to HIS video store when there’s dozens more convenient places around the City. I knew that $5 price was too good to be true, but I had been quoted a similar price for a back room operation that runs out of a porn shop. I figured I’d go with the legit business and, well, it cost me.
No takers on the armoire. How does anything get sold on Craig’s List? I keep hearing how easy it is but we didn’t get one single inquiry. It’s gorgeous and a bargain. I suppose we should wait till after the holidays. Or we can just hire some of the guys that loiter around Metropolitan Lumber looking for day labor to help us carry it down two flights so Salvation Army will pick it up. (S.A. will only pick up furniture two flights up or less.)
I’ve gone to the gym three more times, so that’s six out of ten days I’ve put in a good work out. I’m down three pounds total. (There’s no goal number in mind, and I’m sure I’ll gain it back once I go back to work. I just find it interesting to see how conscious living / eating has such immediate results.) I indulged at a comedy industry party and had sugar and lots of wine, as expected. Other than that, I’ve stuck to no sugar and no alcohol. I’ve not eaten a lot of sugar since Christian lost his weight almost 3 years ago, so it hasn’t been hard, thankfully. I remember when we first “de-toxed” from sugar and it was maddening. Hard doesn’t define it. Sugar is evil.
I’ve had a few days of non-writing thanks to the aforementioned errand running, Comix day and holiday party, but I’m still up 14,000 words. When I get home from today’s errands, I’ll pick up with Chapter Seven “You’re a Good Horse, Charlie Brown.” Now that I’m approaching chapters where the stories are ones I’ve told dozens of times and have much more impact on the story arc, I think the words will fly off my fingertips. We’ll see.
—Kambri
Headed to Rockefeller Center again during the busiest season of the year. This laptop had better work for a long while! -
Paquita’s Boots
Paquita tried on her winter boots for this morning’s walk.
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Guilt by Association
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
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Sabbatical Update
Holiday cards are done. I’m still stuck answering Comix questions and taking care of press for upcoming comedians, but I hope that doesn’t continue.
Laptop is being taken in tomorrow for general cleaning and repair. I was able to take care of lots of the glitches and annoyances once I devoted an hour or two to it, but I’d still like the pros to wipe off a bunch of the crap I don’t need.The armoire is cleaned and all its contents removed and sorted into sell, donate and keep piles. It’s on Craig’s List if you’d like to buy it: http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/fuo/960556791.htmlHome videos sorted and are being taken in for transferring to DVD. A lot faster and less of a hassle than me transferring them to mini-DV as I had started to do. Mini-DVs just don’t hold that much compared to a VHS tape.I’ve gone to the gym three days in a row, haven’t had any sugar or alcohol in a few days now so am down two pounds. I’m sure that will change once I hit the holiday parties. I scrubbed the skin off my office. I’ve been here for nearly four years and hadn’t given it a thorough washing. It sparkles.Christian bought me a beautiful floor-length mirror for Christmas. Unfortunately I figured it out when I was at our mailbox place and they showed me the package. Eek. Oops. Oh, well. He assembled it and it’s in my freshly cleaned office looking dazzling.Um, what else? Oh, yeah, I’ve managed to churn out 6,000 more words. Not shabby but far from my goal.—Kambri
Speaking of…back to the keyboards! -
I’m on Sabbatical!
Sort of. In my line of work, I can never really be on vacation or MIA. I’ll definitely try to pare down my emailing and what not because I haven’t taken a single vacation since Paris last Christmas. Sigh.
There is lots to catch up on around the house like selling or donating my big armoire. It’s beautiful but I’ve had it for 8 years and it’s quite bulky by NYC apartment standards. Plus we really need a new TV. Sure, we want a new flat screen, but we actually need one. Our old tube TV is fading. A flat screen would look beautiful against our exposed brick wall that is nearly fully covered by my giant armoire. So, yeah, we’re looking forward to purging.
I also need to renew my passport, finish writing out the 250 Comix holiday cards, drop of my laptop for repair, transfer some old home videos to DVD and stuff like that that simply haven’t gotten my attention due to the insanity that was 2008. I also went grocery shopping for the first time in about 5 months. I’m a pretty healthy eater by nature, but not when I’m out in restaurants. I definitely like my greasy bar food. I figure if I’m home for the next two weeks, I might as well try to re-calibrate my bad eating habits that have spiraled out of control lately. (This may come as a shock but pints of Ben & Jerry’s NY Super Fudge Chunk at midnight really aren’t necessary.)
Finally, I’d really like to finish (or come very close to finishing) the first draft of my memoir. I’m one-third of the way through without much concentrated effort. I think if I can spend the next two weeks consistently writing for days in a row, I could bang that sucker out. I truly expect to at least get another one-third on paper. Any more than that would be amazing.
It’s an awful lot to expect out of two weeks off, especially during the holidays. But if I can get at least half of what I want done done, it will have been a success. To help me stay on track, I’m keeping a daily diary of everything from what I eat and drink, to how much time I’m writing, watching television (Thankfully Survivor & Dexter have ended. Knock out The Biggest Loser & How I Met Your Mother and we’re in business.), and on the internet.
—Kambri
If only the cursed internet would break down for a few days. Do I really need to look up the ingredients in lip balm that make it “addictive” or famous comic book villains? No. But tell that to me when I really am curious about the answers. -
Interview with Pop Rock Candy Mountain
From PopRockCandyMountain.com comes this interview:
Kambri Crews is a work machine — the publicist for several high-profile clients including the famous New York comedy club COMIX, Crews is also a performer, writer and much, much more. She recently landed a publishing deal and is working diligent…read & listen to the rest…
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DAG & Me @ CW11
Long day that started at 5:30 AM. A the fu*king Em. Going to bed. Good to see DAG and have a great day with press in NYC.
Night. Night.
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Loved, Supremely
Freestyle Love Supremewas awesome last night, as usual. The now rich and famous but still eternally lovely and loved Lin-Manuel Mirandawas on the bill. This time, however, his “In the Heights” director, Thomas Kail, was in the audience. It became quite surreal when Miranda used his Tony Award winning role as inspiration for his freestyle rap of the audience-suggested word “smoothie”. I wish I could tell you all the salacious details but you should have bought tickets since the money went to their pet charity the VideoVoice Project. You can redeem yourself this January 5th, when they return to Comix and the first Monday of every month thereafter. That’s a recurring calendar entry you can guarantee is worth the effort.
Couple that with the ever crush-worthy Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan (The Electric Company!!!), Anthony “Two Touch” Veneziale (the ridiculously generous, effervescent and gracious founder of VideoVoice Project), and Utkarsh “UTK” Amudkar (eminent rapper/ actor whose birthday was also yesterday), and you have yourself a magically delicious night.
—Kambri
They really make me want to eat my face just to get the extra taste of smiles and happiness that I devour after looking at a room full of their audience members. -
Three Quick Things
Katrina Bowden from “30 Rock” is our special guest tonight at Comix for Freestyle Love Supreme’s special charity shows to raise money for the Video Voice Project. I’ll be at both shows so say hello if you come by.
I’m filming a fun promo piece with Michelle Buteau where she’ll taste test three different key lime martinis made by our Comix bartenders and choose her favorite. The winner will be added to the specialy cocktail menu, too. I think it’s a fun way to promote comedians, the Comix staff and, of course, sell some booze. We’ll see how it turns out.
Meanwhile, the other thing I wrote, directed and starred in, aka The Fart Commercial, begins airing in NYC today. Fun! I can’t wait to see it at the gym while I’m on the treadmill. That’s the only time I see our commercials, without fail. I guess because it’s the only time where I’m on one channel for an hour with no remote control to click fast forward.
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Kiss Fist Magazine
I’m featured on pages 36 & 37 of this month’s issue of “Kiss Fist”, a beautifully laid out magazine that caters to the Deaf Community. All contributors and those featured are either deaf or a CODA. Check out the third issue here: http://read.kiss-fist.com/issue-03 and be sure to bookmark it to read about all the wonderful things happening in the Deaf world.
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Holy Holiday Crapness
It feels like not much is going due to the holidays on but where the hell did the time go?
We’re working on updating Christian’s bio, resume and what not in preparation for the big PR for his DVD. After his photo shoot, we’ve narrowed down his promo shots to 50. The cover of the DVD is already designed and the second cut of his hour special was delivered yesterday. So, all is chugging along on that end.
Brian Posehn and David Alan Grier are in town back-to-back weekends so I’m busy with their PR schedules, designing the Comix holiday card, updating the mailing lists and planning the annual holiday party. With all that and Thanksgiving in Boston, there wasn’t much time to focus on writing even though it’s all I want to be doing. While in Boston, we stayed at the Parker House across from the Granary Cemetery. The Parker House has a rich history which includes notables such as Ho Chi Minh, Malcolm X, JFK and the like. The Granary boasts the remains of John Hancock, Paul Revere, Sam Adams and Mother Goose. Quite the spot to spend some time meandering around on Black Friday.Christian’s family all live relatively close to one another so they all drive to eat turkey, call it a day and pfffttt, that’s it. Couldn’t we just do that some other Thursday when no one else is traveling and, therefore, traffic and prices are normal? Holidays…I don’t get ’em. That said, we of the kids’ table, had a great time doing a TDay pub crawl through Boston with Christian’s cousin, his fiance, his other cousin and his sis-in-law. The six of us created a new tradition from here on out, and I look forward to the next time we see them. You know, just for fun and because we actually like each other and not because the calendar dictates it.I’m going to dub one random day a Festivus-type holidy and shake things up. We can pretend it’s a tradition in my family and Christian really needs his family’s support to make me feel welcome. It will involve chanting, candles, robes…oh, wait, that’s just church. Hmm…guess nothing’s weirder that what’s already out there.
—Kambri
Truth is stranger than fiction. -
First Friday Roundup – Lone Star Beer & FREE Sunburns!
Join us for FREE Sunburns (tequila, triple sec & cranberry) cocktails and $4 Lone Stars this Friday!
There are other cheap drink specials, $4 Lone Star Beer while supplies last, and delicious food at a discount. Bring your business cards and a smile as this is a great mixer, meet & greet opportunity.
Discounted food and drinks available from 6:30 – 9:00.
FRI, DEC 5th – 6:00 – 10:00
Comix
353 W. 14th Street
http://www.comixny.com/ 212.524.2500Space is limited. RSVP REQUIRED . We burst at the seams at the last event! RSVP to kcrews@comixny.com.
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“Au Contraire!” Rough Cut Update
I finally saw the first rough cut of Christian‘s one hour DVD special we produced in front of two live audiences in Philly. Christian spent most of Sunday taking painstakingly detailed notes on specific cutaways, line reads, edits, sound edits, etc. After the initial negative feelings and comments that are natural for anyone putting together a special like this who isn’t wholly delusional, he’s pretty pleased with it. And he should be. It looks fantastic and is pretty awesome for a rough cut.Once Warner Bros. gives us a budget for the DVD extras, we’ll be busy filming those. The scripts are written, we have two different film crews lined up and people in mind to cast. (Sorry to you hopefuls but the role of our Chihuahua will go to our Chihuahua, Paquita Borgito Borgato Chorizo Jimenez.) If we use a location rather than a studio, then I’m sure Comix or Ochi’s Lounge will work out for what Christian has in mind. So, now it’s just a matter of how much can we spend to produce them. The Comedy Central air date is not contingent on the extras being completed so the other question is: When will it air? I don’t know yet but we’re aiming for Spring 2009. No matter what the date, you can rest assure that I will be the first to shout from the rooftops.Proud wife and pleased publicist. -
On Real Estate
We officially withdrew our offer for the co-op we liked on the UWS. The building, a lovely brownstone right on Riverside Park and three blocks from Central Park, was only 50% owner occupied. The other 50% were owned by the sponsor. Not good in these troubled financial times and our broker, attorney and accountant all felt the same. We should wait for prices to drop and find a place that has only 10% or fewer units owned by the sponsor. Or, better yet, find a condo.
We’ve actually got our eye on a few new condos in Long Island City right on the East River with breathtaking views of Manhattan and only one subway stop (or two?) from Grand Central Station. With LIC being the new “it” residence and new developments popping up left and right, we can afford to sit tight and see what the market does.
Christian is right: I love projects and take on new ones all the time without dropping any old ones. So, with that out of the way, I hope to spend less time thinking about real estate and more time writing. Browsing various real estate, decorating and furniture websites daydreaming about a new place was a HUGE time killer for me.
—Kambri
Speaking of writing, off to do just that for another 10 to 12 hours today. -
Life’s Tough. Laugh More.
My first week as Director of Publicity at Comix, I came up with an ad campaign idea tied around the phrase, “Life’s tough. Laugh more.” I dubbed it as our official tagline after seeing it in an email from our videographer thinking he sure did sum it up quite nicely. Now, two years later, the campaign has finally started coming to life. First up, a commercial to air on Time Warner (or RCN / Verizon Fios) beginning in the next week or two. Coming soon, more commercials and a site where you can submit your own funny examples of just how tough life can be. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy our first attempt at the theme with a piece I wrote loosely based on Christian’s real life experience and starring me and Sean Crespo:
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Hot Off the Presses
Christian must be in the Dec/Jan 2009 issue of Cosmo Girl. You know how I know? He got a piece of hate mail complaining about a derogatory Jonas Brothers remark he made.
I regularly submit jokes from comedians to an editor at Reader’s Digest. When a quote is used, the comedian gets paid $100. Not bad! In the December 2008 issue, they used a dating anecdote by Katina Corrao so they sent me a copy for her press kit.On the same page is a funny deaf joke I’d heard before but had forgotten about. It made me recall a few other deaf jokes that My Jailed Deaf Dad has told me over the years. I’m going to send some in on his behalf and hope they use them. How cool would that be to see his name in print? Plus, he could really use the money since I just sent him $60 and renewed his USA Today subscription for a year for $175. I told Dad that’s the last I can spend on him this year until after we buy a place. Since winter is on its way and his Texas jail cell isn’t heated, he needs new thermal underwear. He could stretch that $60 OR maybe he can earn some money off the stories he loves to tell and buy some longjohns with his very own cash.
—Kambri
I never even had an allowance growing up, and now I’m trying to teach my dad how to budget his. -
There Are Worse Things I Could Do
I didn’t write much over the last few days but, even still, I’m excited about the changes I made for Chapter Three. It was a chapter that was going to be all back story about my mom and dad.
Snooooooooze.
Back story is important, of course, but I simply can’t write fluidly and excitedly about stuff for which I wasn’t present, let alone born. That said, though, I was obsessed with their romance. It seemed lifted from the pages of a screenplay. Finally, after reading and re-reading, staring and daydreaming, I realized why. It reminded me of something that was very tangible, real and exciting…
Grease.
They went together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong. Which when you think about it, doesn’t go together at all.
Chapters Four and Five are humming along with no problems because they’re all about spiders and snakes. Now that’s something I know about.
—Kambri Chang chang changity chang shoo bop that’s not the way it should be!
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TO JOIN OR NOT TO JOIN? – New York Post
How do you handle finances? Separate but equal or pool them all together? That’s the subjct of this feature article in today’s New York Post. Pick up a copy and turn to page 67 & 68 or check it out here. My quotes aren’t long but they used my mugshot.Photo by Liz Sullivan for the New York Post article on marital finances.
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Wow, Some Day!
Yesterday Jackie Hoffman (Xanadu), Julie Halston (The Class), David Rakoff (This American Life), Peter Frechette (Tony Nominee), Maria Thayer (Strangers with Candy) spent the entire day at Comix rehearsing for tonight’s performance of “Posteriors” @ Comix. It’s a fully staged reading of a movie classic (in this case Woody Allen’s “Interiors”) and from what I saw, it’s going to be a hoot.
Because they were rehearsing, I had to tiptoe around the showroom with the producers of a Discovery Channel show. They’re scouting Comix and its staff as a potential episode for one of those makeover type TV shows. This one is about being green. I really don’t think our chances of getting picked are high because Comix is fairly new. That means all our machines are efficient, plus we use local vendors for our produce, we recycle our oil, we’re very conscious about our electricity consumption, etc. But, we would make for *FUN* episode, that’s for sure. We’ll see.
While I was giving them a tour and the rehearsal was going on, MTV came by to go over some tech stuff for the show “Man & Wife” which is not only becoming a huge hit, it was all filmed at Comix. Sweet!
What a day! As for today, I’m gtting dressed early for a photo shoot with a New York Post photographer. Look for the story about married couples managing their joint finances in tomorrow’s paper. Tonight is “Posteriors” and a comedy show my pal / former producing partner Molly is putting up at Bowery Poetry Club with the most insanely great lineup. With all these things, I’m still trying to figure out when to carve out time for writing. I might have to take up a few offers from friends to use their country homes for a week. Until then, my Saturdays and Sundays are spent in silent isolation on my couch writing non-stop for hours. That’s not very glamorous! But as friends have told me, I gotta “keep my eye on the prize!”
—Kambri
Something’s gotta give! -
First Friday Roundup
Tex in the City hosted another successful First Friday Roundup at Comix and raised $300 for a need Texas high school theater student!Thanks to all who came out and enjoyed the FREE tequila and cheap Lone Star Beer we brought up from Texas for the party. Look for a roundup of the Roundup in Tex in the City’s Diaries.
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VIDEO CLIP: Christian on Barney the Attack Dog
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Red Carpet Pics
Red carpet pics from last night’s Comedy Central Indecision 2008 party. Damn, I wish I had known. Yikes. We were silly to make up for the lack of proper grooming.
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/C6-4ipop-01/Comedy+Centrals+Indecision+2008+Election+Night -
First Friday Roundup – Lone Star Beer & FREE Vodka
No matter what the outcome of tomorrow’s historic election, Bush will definitely be gone. Sooooo….why not raise a chilled Lone Star Beer or a FREE drink to celebrate?
That’s right! We have five cases of some of Texas Tea coming up to the Big Apple and FREE Pearl Vodka cocktails to quench your thirst.
Join us at the First Friday Roundup for FREE cocktails courtesy of Pearl Vodka from 6:30 – 8:00.
There are other cheap drink specials & yummy *discounted* food. Bring your business cards and a smile as this is a great mixer, meet & greet opportunity.FRI, NOV 7 from 6:30 – 9:00.
Comix’s Main Bar
353 W 14th Street
New York, NY 10014—Kambri
Space is limited. RSVP REQUIRED . We burst at the seams at the last event! RSVP here on Facebook or an email to kc@texinthecity.com kc@texinthecity.com -
On Race
I listened to a particularly depressing This American Life podcast yesterday. I won’t ruin it for you or drag you down to my level (entirely), but it is about the last days of the election in Pennsylvania. Basically, racism is alive and well and it’s fu*king disgusting and bolstered by a mind-boggling level of ignorance and paranoia. Of course we already knew that but listening to an hour of reporting on it was tough. Hearing ostensibly decent people rationalize their racism was even tougher.
—Kambri
Can’t wait to cast my ballot for a black man not because he’s black or in spite of him being black, but because he shares my views on issues that are important to me. -
In Case You Missed It
Sundance Channel did 10 Questions with folks like Robert Redford, Ted Nugent, & my husband. Read Christian’s answers here.
Christian will be on The Today Show Monday morning during the 4th hour.
We put in an offer for a place on the UWS. I’m convinced there’s no way we can buy anything so have no high hopes…only dread about the application process.
Multi-time Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda for In the Heights confirmed he’ll be on the Nov 10th Freestyle Love Supreme show @ Comix. Hold on to your wig, or he’ll blow it right off. Our faves Utkarsh “UTK” Ambudkar, Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan and Chris Jackson will be there, too!
Julie Halston (The Women, Gypsy) and Tony nominee Peter Frechette will join David Rakoff (Strangers With Candy) and other greats for Tweed’s send up of Woody Allen‘s Posteriors at Comix.
—Kambri
Then there’s Halloween, free theater tickets, dinner with an old high school pal, Tex in the City’s next mixer and, good lord, when in tarnfu*kingnation am I supposed to write??? -
>If you thought taping two shows in a 600 seat theater in Philadelphia on a windy, rainy night while the Phillies are playing in the World Series was bad timing, you’d be WRONG. Neither of those things mattered as fans lined the street around the corner waiting to see Christian tape his first one hour special. Between the director, audience coordinator and two managers from the Trocadero, I happily stepped aside and enjoyed the show as any other audience member. We even had a few friends and family show up for both shows so there were familiar faces in the crowd. It was fun to see the big swing camera swoop down next to Scott “Reverend” Ramsey‘s head…a big old smile plastered on his face.
Afterwards, we laughed and marveled at where our lives are now compared to when we met at 15 years old in Texas. My, how things have changed. We watched the rest of the Phillies game and partied with the crew upstairs at the Troc till 3:00 in the morning. Christian & I still managed to take an early train to Penn Station and, luggage and all, went to an open house. We figured if we’re going to be in Manhattan on a Sunday, we might as well try to make use of it.
We liked the place we saw enough to put a bid on it this morning. In the description of the co-op board restrictions, it says “parents buying for kids okay.” Heh. We wish. I can’t imagine getting that kind of “gift” from a parent. BUT I can’t imagine wanting it, because receiving such a huge sum makes you indebted. Fu*k that. It’s like planning a wedding. Once you receive parents’ money to pay for the ceremony, they suddenly feel entitled to have input on how it should be conducted, who is invited, etc. Our wedding was such a perfect, fun party, and blissfully stress free. Just the way we envisioned it. Now that we’re in real estate mode, I’m sure the stress will be tremendous, but there is a sense of pride knowing we’re doing it all on our own. Our hard work and diligent saving with minimal spending has paid off. We might not get the exact things we want in an apartment, but it will be ours 100%. That’s pretty satisfying.
—Kambri
But if Christian’s Dad suddenly won the lottery and wanted to give us the 20% down payment you bet your biscuits we’d take it. Do parents ever get paid back? -
Well, Now That That’s Settled
After all that, they settled the case before we, the jury, could deliberate. Harumph. It was still a very interesting process, and I would do it again even knowing that I would never get to help decide the outcome. What it ultimately means is that I’m woefully behind on my email. Strangely, though, I don’t care. I say “strangely” because I have an empty inbox 99% of the time. No joke. An email comes, I read it (or not if it’s spam or a similar unwanted source) and answer, file or delete it as needed. I don’t let it sit around and gather dust unless there is a significant reason.
Instead, tonight, I skipped the gym, dined at Cafe Bar, napped, painted my nails, and am now propped up on the couch with a glass of Shiraz and my laptop to look for open houses. In other words, things right now are unabashedly, selfishly mine. I work hard. Very hard. But jury duty reminded me that I work too hard. I haven’t vacationed since Paris last Christmas — not one single day truly “off” and tomorrow I’m taking one to celebrate my husband’s success and infinite talent and charm during one of the biggest events in his career. He makes me tremendously proud, and I look forward to just sittin’ there looking purty while he rightfully basks in the glory of this milestone.
—Kambri
Proud wife. -
>Pics by Anya
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I uploaded a few of the photos taken by the awesome Anya Garrett. My laptop needs some servicing, I think, because viewing the photos really exhausted it. Maybe I can load the rest tonight.I’m on lunch break from serving as Juror #6 and, so far, I’m loving it. I guess it makes sense since I did earn a degree as a paralegal many moons ago. I can’t talk about the trial, obviously, but I will say the plaintiff looks like Antonio Banderas’ shorter, balding cousin. It’s kind of weird.
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>They Call Me Juror #6
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I guess this means I’ll be busy at night trying to play catch up from what I’ve missed in the office every day. Bear with me!I’m still performing tonight at Cornelia Street Cafe and still planning on going to Philly for the DVD taping. I hope to see you at one or both.
Meanwhile, enjoy “The Funny Page” from today’s Metro.
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>Fun Times
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The lovely and talented Anya Garrett gave me a sneak preview of our recent photo shoot. She’s a magician with a camera. A camagician if you will. (Won’t you?) One of her photos is going to run in a magazine spread about me as a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) that comes out Winter 2008. How fun!Even more fun? I got a note from my favorite high school English teacher. She can’t wait to read my book, and I can’t wait to send her the galley. Sadly, her husband passed away some years ago. He was my history teacher and Whiz Quiz coach, and I know he’d be proud, too. (Yes, I was on Whiz Quiz and am proud of it!) Thankfully I’ll have an editor, so I won’t have Mrs. E reviewing my grammar again. Eek! She instilled fear in me. I so wanted to please her.
And almost as fun as all that, I’ve been called for jury duty. It was just over five years ago the last time I served and got booted off a jury due to my work in a law office. It was an intellectual property case of all things, and I had just worked with the FDNY and NYPD on all their IP issues after 9/11.
And then a quarter as fun as all that, I’ll be telling a story at SpeakEasy Stories tomorrow night at the Cornelia Street Cafe. But don’t come out just for me. On the bill is the esteemed James Braly, the lovely and hilarious Giulia Rozzi, and other amazing folks
—Kambri
Seriously, they’re hilarious and talented and will make me feel like sh*t about how great they are and how many more times I have to perform to become just a fraction of that awesomeness. (Please don’t read that sentence, Mrs. E.) -
>Au Contraire! and The Hysterical Festival
>We’re less than one week away until Christian‘s big DVD taping! I’ll be bring my flip camera, video camera, digital camera and any other mechanical device I can lug along as back up and will be flitting about the Trocadero Theatre as the nervous and proud wife that I am. He’s worked long and hard on developing an entire new hour of material worthy of broadcast and by Jove, I think he’s done it. Get your free tickets to the taping of Au Contraire! by visiting www.starflowentertainment.com.
The inaugural Hysterical Festival was a smashing success, especially given the current economic and political climate. I really hope it becomes an annual event worthy of the gobs of press and hilarity that we received the first time out of the gate. Not only are women funny, they’re worth the price of admission.Anything boys can do… -
>Life & Style Blurb
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Christian was in the “Scene & Heard” column of this week’s issue of “Life & Style”.
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>Christian had an all day press junket that I arranged for him in Philly yesterday. One station put the interview online, so I listened in and heard him talking about me and my book. (Fast forward to 8:26 for that.) There’s just nothing really tangible to plug yet, but it’s still awesome of him to mention it.
By the end of the day, Christian was feeling sick. Lack of sleep and all that talking will do that. But no rest for the weary, he got up early and just left for Tampa. Hopefully he’ll get some R&R over the next few days and be in top notch shape for his taping. Which, speaking of, there are no more tickets available for the first show. You can still reserve a spot for the 10:00, though.
Yesterday was a blur with preparations for The Hysterical Festival kick off. It’s off to a great start with plenty of other amazing shows on the bill.
—Kambri
I’m on one more festival show Saturday night in Ochi’s Lounge. Come on down and celebrate all things fierce, funny & female. -
>What a Great Week So Far!
>The first ever Hysterical Festival kicks off tonight at Comix and Ochi’s Lounge. We have four days of amazing women and comedy gracing our stages and the amount of press we’ve gotten is astounding. I’m so thrilled! I perform on one festival show tonight and another one on Saturday. Drop on by, wontcha?
My photo shoot was a load of fun. Can’t wait to see the results. One of the photos will be used in a magazine article / profile about me but details are still in the works.
David Alan Grier stopped by Comix last night and did a surprise guest spot. The audience was delighted, of course. He had just screened his new Comedy Central show “Chocolate News” at Soho House and a fellow comedian walked him over to show him the club. DAG will be headlining Comix later this year, so if you’re a fan no need to fret about missing him.
Christian’s DVD taping in Philly is shaping up. I booked him on two radio and one TV show this morning, so he took a 5:00 AM train to be in studio. Ugh. But they went well and we have already seen the free ticket requests spike as a result. While he’s in Philly today, he’ll be passing out fliers and hanging posters around town. Plus, I have him meeting with a reporter with Philadelphia Weekly and another one with City Paper. We’re really making use of his time there but, my lord, he’s exhausted after getting up at 4:30 this morning with pretty much zero restful sleep. Poor guy.
With all the excitement, I completely forgot that I’m finally filming an ad campaign I’ve been sitting on for two years now. We do a walk through of the set and story board review on Friday and film on Saturday. I can’t wait!
—Kambri
Okay, gotta get cracking on the Hysterical Festival press list. -
>Busiest Week Ever
>And so begins a gauntlet of events, performances, appointments and parties. I’m trying not to think of the whole week, otherwise I would get overwhelmed. So, taking it one day at a time, I will focus on today:
— Blow out at the salon,
— Photo shoot,
— Finalize press itinerary for Maria Bamford,
— Tex in the City planning meeting and dinner, and
— Party for a bunch of comedians and industry.—Kambri
See, that’s not so much. I can totally do all that. -
>30 Rock on Location
>Living in Queens near Kaufman Astoria and Silvercup Studios means shooting sometimes goes on in streets or area businesses. Two weeks back, I had to snake my way through a film crew that was setting up shop outside a few businesses which I frequent on a near daily basis.
Ugly Betty & 30 Rock are two shows that have been in the neighborhood as of late so I assumed it would be one of the two. Sure enough, as I flipped through this week’s Entertainment Weekly’s Photo Issue there was a series of pictures with Tina Fey and her stand-in (shown in this photo) shooting scenes at a local check cashing place decorated for Christmas.That happens to be the same dumpy spot where I buy money orders for My Jailed Deaf Dad since it’s right outside my subway stop and they cost only $0.69.
I don’t know why it tickles me so much, but it does. I cut out the photos to send to Dad and will hope that the other prisoners will let him watch the episode when it airs in December. Something tells me 30 Rock isn’t a top viewing choice for Texas inmates.
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Publisher’s Weekly Scan
My pal Rachel slipped me the actual issue of Publisher’s Weekly that reported my book sale. Reading it made me squeal like a teen. Seeing it online was cool, but in print? Priceless.
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>The Pop Tub with Christian Finnegan
>This interview with Christian was filmed at Comix in our coat room. Um, wtf? Anyway, the YouTube commentary Christian gives accompanied by clips is pretty well done. Enjoy:
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>Come See Me Read
>There are plenty of shows to choose from since next week is a busy one for me on stage. I’ll be performing twice on Wednesday (the first time I’ve been booked on two shows in one night), on Danny Leary’s show on Thursday, The Family Hour and SpeakEasy Stories. I’ve updated my calendar page (see link at left) where you can get the juicy details.
Also, The Hysterical Festival kicks off on Wednesday at Comix and Ochi’s Lounge as mentioned in this week’s Time Out NY and Bust (with a little name check for moi). There are lots of fantastic women on the bill and some great shows lined up. Support women in comedy, people.
—Kambri
DO IT! -
>Latest Ballyhoo
>October 7th:
September 30th:
September 23rd:
September 16th:
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>October 3rd First Friday Roundup
>You missed a fun party last Friday! See:
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>Publisher’s Weekly Blurb
>”In a third deal, Chris Park held an auction for another memoir, this one by Kambri Crews and titled Love, Daddy; Bruce Tracy at Villard won North American rights.”
If Publisher’s Weekly said it, then I guess it’s real and I can stop pinching myself.
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>Day One
>Today is officially day one of my writing career. I had lunch with my editor (HEE! WOO!) on Tuesday after which he followed up with feedback on chapter one. His notes in hand, I’m off to a cafe to start writing my memoir. It’s not as exciting as the first day of school — I have no butterflies, am not wearing new clothes and won’t be reuiniting with friends after a summer break — but it feels like Fall, I have a new notebook, colored pens and a spring in my step.
—Kambri
I want to write at least four hours a day four times a week. Does that sound right? Man, I wish there was a clear-cut guidebook for this.
