My upcoming gigs now look like this:

Sunday 7th November 2010
Absolutely Free Comedy,
Queen’s Head,
Piccadilly Circus,
15 Denman Street,
London
W1D7HN
8pm
Free
Website
With Henry Ginsberg, Bobby Carroll et al

Monday 8th November 2010
Ham! London Comedy Showcase,
The New Diorama Theatre,
15 – 16 Triton Street,
Regents Place,
London
NW1 3BF
7pm (6.30pm Doors)
£6.50
Tickets: 0844 2090 344
Website
An excellent line-up. With Delete the Banjax, Grainne Maguire, Pat Cahill , Joe Davies & Nick Helm. (more…)

So this is my 200th post since I started this blog in October 2008 and the world must be celebrating because I can hear fireworks outside my window. It’s shocking really because over half of all of those posts were written between last December and March this year. Anyway what better way to commemorate this special occasion than with another of my boring Spiked Fury posts. Bonfire night has been a bit of a washout so I reckon there will be plenty of examples of spiked fury out there tomorrow so get snapping. (more…)

For the 10th Spiked Fury! entry we have a bumper selection starting the first of two new entries from Hayley Campbell (above). (more…)

Yet another Spiked Fury from regular contributor Doreen Barber, found this time in Ladbrook Grove. Please send any more Spiked Fury entries to me at nathaniel@tombolaoffun.com. (more…)

My upcoming gigs now look like this:

Sunday October 3rd 2010
Absolutely Free Comedy,
Queen’s Head,
Piccadilly Circus,
15 Denman Street,
London
W1D7HN
8pm
Free
Website
With Henry Ginsberg, Pat Burtscher, Laura Carr & Paul Ricketts

Tuesday 5th October 2010
TNT Comedy,
The Torriano,
71-73 Torriano Avenue,
Kentish Town,
London
NW5 2SG
8pm
Facebook
A weekly comedy night in aid of saving the Torriano pub from being redeveloped into flats. Entry is free but audience members will be asked to make a voluntary donation and in return have a chance to win a prize in a raffle. All proceeds will go directly to saving the pub. With Luke Benson et al. (more…)

Just started reading X-Rated: Adventures of an Exploitation Filmmaker by Stanley Long with Simon Sheridan. It’s the autobiography (although I don’t know if you can call it that when it’s ghost written) of the British film director Stanley Long. Stanley Long is best known as the director of the Adventures of… series which are like the poor man’s Confessions movies (if you can imagine such a thing). I’m slightly obsessed with British movies of this period and although Long isn’t someone I’ve previously been that interested in, he’s certainly crossed paths with many people that I am. (more…)

Just started reading The Alcoholic by Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel. It’s a comic book or graphic novel if you’re so inclined but I’ve never really liked the term. It always sounds to me like someone trying to make the word “comics” sound more highbrow. You probably already know, but if you don’t I work in a comic book shop and have done for the past six years. Contrary to popular opinion this doesn’t mean we sit around reading comics all day (I often describe it as being a bit like an office job, but one where you are being constantly interrupted), in fact I rarely read any comics at all nowadays, so The Alcoholic does seem like something of a departure. Due to my job I’ve been aware of the book since it was released in 2008, but was never really inclined to read it until now. That is because of Jonathan Ames. I wasn’t really aware of his work until recently, lumping him in (wrongly it seems) with the McSweeney‘s guys, even going as far as to think that I may have read a short story by him in one of their anthologies. However recently in Edinburgh I watched the first series of his sitcom Bored to Death which I’d heartily recommend. It feels a lot like a Wes Anderson TV show not least because it stars Jason Schwartzman as the “fictional” writer Jonathan Ames. Ames also gets a very complimentary mention in Stewart Lee’s book. All these things combined made me want to read The Alcoholic. The artwork is by Dean Haspiel, whose work I’ve always quite liked but never loved, but there are some fine examples of his work in the books first few pages. The Alcoholic is currently available in both hardcover and softcover editions but it looks as if both versions may both be about to go out-of-print. Either way you can currently buy both editions from Gosh where I work.

My upcoming gigs now look like this:

Wednesday 29th September 2010
New Variety Live!
The Plough Inn,
173 Wood Street,
Walthamstow,
London
E17 3NU
8pm (7.30pm Doors)
£3.50
Website

Thursday 30th September 2010
Comedy @ The Temperance,
The Temperance,
74-76 York Street,
London,
W1H 1QN
8pm (7.30pm Doors)
£8
Reservations: 020 7262 1513
Facebook
With Richard Sandling, Josh Widdicombe, & Stuart Goldsmith (more…)

Just finished reading How I Escaped My Certian Fate: The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian by Stewart Lee. I reckon you’d like it if you’re reading this. It’s basically transcripts of his three commercially available DVDs, which are heavilly annotated giving a personal and professional overview of his whole career. Highly recommended.

I finally read Sarah MacIntyre‘s Dear Diary: 1988-1990 despite it being only several pages long. It’s beautifully drawn and more charming that a monicled fox. (more…)