A Very Special Episode . . .

On January 23rd, we are doing a Very Special Episode of the J. Keith vanStraaten Show over at The Comedy Central Workspace!
Unlike most Very Special Episodes, this one will not feature any soft lighting and important lessons on life, nor will it feature any retarded children saving a cat from a tree or putting out a fire.
What makes this Very Special Episode very special is the cost: FREE!
That’s right. All you have to do is RSVP, and show up. We’ll take care of the rest.
If you’ve been wanting to see your old pal Uncle Willie live, in person, giving up the funny, now’s your chance.
Here’s the info:

GUESTS:
Comedy legend Fred Willard!
Comedy Sensation Zack Galifinakis!
Musical Guest Nina Gordon!
PLUS!

  • Me
  • Adam And The Chesters
  • 100 smoking monkeys*

WHEN:
January 23rd 8pm
WHERE:
Comedy Central Workspace @ The Hudson Theatre
6539 Santa Monica Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90038
RSVP NUMBER:
323.960.5519

I will be wearing The Shirt. Hope to see lots of WWDN readers there!
*(monkeys will only appear in your imagination)

Libros Muchos

I spent almost six hours on the phone with my editor, going over the entire 2.0 draft of my book. I was up until just past 2 a.m., and I am dazed this morning.
But I am so happy! For the past few weeks, I’ve been wondering if it was any good, and felt that there were many places that needed lots of work. Being able to talk with him as we went through it page by page made all the difference: we cut several chapters that just didn’t need to be there, generally tightened up the entire thing, and restored my confidence.
Speaking of books, my good friend Cory Doctorow’s book Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom has finally been published! Congratulations, Cory! I read his book last summer, and it’s one of the best SF books I’ve ever seen. I’m hoping to write a review of it before the end of next week.
Anne loved writing in the weblog, and appreciated everyone’s comments. We may just have to get her a weblog of her own.
Thought For Today:

“Some people are like big children, harming others without even seeing it. Staying angry with these fools is like being mad at fire because it burns.”

More Thoughts From The Wife

Hey! Check it out! The wife is actually using the computer! I’m pretty proud of myself. I even did a little on-line Christmas shopping. Guess who has on her big girl pants now!
I wanted to say a little something regarding our shitty (can I say that on here?) New Year’s Eve. See, I hadn’t heard any horror stories about the dog. Just that he was nervous around people. And that the dog didn’t like Darin (which is so odd, since Darin is the nicest, most non-threatening guy I know). Me being the animal lover, I just didn’t see that this dog was vicious. Just scared. I took my time hanging around the dog, and he eventually was rolling and rubbing his face on me. He seemed very happy. All the commotion in the house just scared him and I was the first thing he saw.
The first two days, I felt a little nervous when Ferris would lay on her back and roll over toward me, showing her big happy face and a mouth full of teeth. But this doesn’t change how I feel about animals. I even took my son to a shelter on Saturday and we hung out with the pooches. Stitches and all. And yes, all my other stitches (50 total in the face now….8 from jumping off my brother’s bed and hitting the mattress frame between my eyebrows) were from the dog we had when I was little.So the scared feeling I had when I was a kid definitely came back. I can’t imagine how Wil must have felt when I looked over at him with a mouthful of blood. He kept himself together though.
After my swelling went down a bit (I must say, I was kind of enjoying my Kim Basinger-like full pouting lips) I read the comments that were posted after Wil wrote about this. I am so touched by all of the ‘mojo’ and kind words everyone has sent. I was amazed to read all of the stories of dog bite incidences, as well as several stories of shitty (did we find out if I can say that yet?) New Year’s had by others. At least it was the end of a year, so we can all have a fresh new start!
The bite was a nice straight slice so I think it will heal fine with little scarring. My stitches are a lovely shade of blue which I’ve kind of gotten used to now. I won’t miss them when they’re gone though. And hopefully this will be the last time a dog uses my face for a chomping pad.Wil was right, it could have been so much worse.
Thank you so much for your concern. You are all awesome! No wonder Wil likes doing this website.
Take care and have a healthy, happy, injury-free year!
Anne (the wife)