Very Possibly Simply the Best Thing Ever

It's 1985, people, get it together!

Ok, I'm sorry. I'm not making sense. I'm too much hyped up. Barrel of Monkeys is by far the best Monday night out I've ever had. All of you- why haven't you seen it yet? Multiple times!

So, quickly, BOM is an organization that goes into public schools, induces children to write stories, and then stages them. Both in the schools, for the benefit of the authors, and every Monday night at the Neofuturariam, under the title "That's Weird Grandma," for the benefit of all. The actors in question, by the way, are top-notch*- the comic timing, the boundless energy, the works, no ketchup. I teared up at the end. I reserved a copy of the CD. I bought an amazing t-shirt, which I will be rocking with deconstructed denim tomorrow down at the Grind, to the thunderous envy of all.

I went to see the "Celebration of Authors," which means the show was longer, there were over 30 actors, and the audience was full of screaming kids/writers. I like screaming kids. I know a lot of people don't. I'm considering returning next week before I write the Inside review... just to let y'all know what the ambience is like on a normal night. Who wants to come with me? It's only an hour long, so plenty of time to hit the Hopleaf afterwards.

*Including my hero Molly Brennan. Do you want to know how cool she is? The Jeffs were tonight, and she is nominated, but instead of going to a ceremony to honor herself, she went to a celebration to honor these kids. That in itself, gentlemen, you might think is pretty cool.** But consider this: she sent a puppet to the Jeffs in her place. Game, set and match.

**And now, so that we don't forget the forces of anti-awsomeness, I'll give my award for un-cool behaviour. I'd been eagerly awaiting the "Sin" issue of Topic Magazine, until I read the following l'il anecdote in Gawker (quoted w/o permission, sorry):

One Topic editor tells me about the totally dick move he pulled on a flight back from Paris. “I was sitting next to this guy, looking disdainfully at the mass market spy paperback he was reading. And when he fell asleep I took it out of his seat pocket, ripped out the last three pages, and put it back. But when he woke up, I found that he was actually very nice. He asked what I was reading and it was To the Finland Station by Edmund Wilson. And he was all, ‘Oh, what I’m reading isn’t quite as literary,’ and I’m, like, repressing laughter. When I got to the terminal, I looked at what I’d torn out and the entire book hinged on what was in those last three pages. So, yeah, that was pretty fun.”

I can't even describe to you what a completely worthless person this guy seems to be. Topic Magazine, for employing such a person, you lose points. I will read the articles I'm interested in while standing up in a bookstore, and give the money I've saved to Barrel of Monkeys.