So, remember last year when I worked with my favorite, Wendy Liebman and Carol Leifer at the Women in Comedy Festival? If not, feel free to click the hyperlink in the previous sentence. Well earlier this year Carol contacted me and said she’d like to put together a show with her, Wendy and me and asked if I’d be interested. Duh. So fast forward a couple months, and “A Gay, A Jew & A Black Walk Into A Bar” hit the stage at the Armstrong Theater in Torrance, CA. Woohoo!
The audience was really great and being on a theater show with these two ladies made me feel legit! I really hope we get the chance to do it again. An than after that, again. And again.
Tonite when I arrived at the Texas State University Student Center for my show, this sign greeted me. See the little girl in the duck costume? That’s me. Whomever designed the poster for my event decided not to use my headshot, but instead a #ThrowbackThursday photo I posted online a couple months ago. I guess I kinda asked for it. The second I saw it, I laughed out the deepest belly laugh I’ve probably ever laughed. The guy and the girl sitting on the bench near the door had no idea that was me, and thus thought I was a lunatic. It was hilarious.
Wentworth Miller officially “came out” last week, in a letter declining an invitation to attend a Russian film festival:
âAs a gay man, I must decline,â Miller wrote in his letter. âI am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government. The situation is in no way acceptable, and I cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly.â
But it was no surprise to anyone who’s been a fan of him and his career. The only reason I bring it up is that I am wholly amused by the women who get online and post things like “what a waste!” or “we lost another one…” whenever a handsome celebrity comes out as gay. As if that’s the reason he and she will never end up together — like Anderson Cooper’s gayness is why they’ll never marry a Vanderbilt. The only way that reaction is even remotely rational is if you’re talking about someone you actually know that you either used to date, or (believed you) had a chance to date.
Wentworth Miller will always be one of my favorites. He’s a great actor and maybe an even better writer and producer. He stood up for what he believed in; rather than just not go, he chose to make a statement. And I love that unlike other multiracial celebs, he proudly acknowledges his black ancestry — ahem, Vin Diesel.
Little Vin Diesel #TheAfroNeverLies
Plus, he is beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that I am currently re-watching the entire Prison Break series just to bask in his beautiful-ness.
You were never gonna have him anyway. So please, let the man live.
I like books. With hard covers. Made of paper. With big ketchup stains from that night you couldn’t put it down long enough to finish dinner. That I don’t have to plug in to read; they’re how I unplug.
I just got home from the 7th Annual Laugh Your Asheville Off Comedy Festival in Asheville, NC. Such a good time! I had a show at the University of Georgia the day before I was headed to the fest, so I pitstopped in Atlanta, met up with my girlfriends Angela and Courtney and we made a road trip out of it. To say it was an eventful 48 hours would be the understatement of the decade. More on that in a later post. Angela’s been to Asheville a ton of times, and my love for this adorable town has been well documented in this video, but it was Courtney’s first visit. We wanted to give her the full AVL experience so we encouraged her to Google photos of the Biltmore Estate as we drove by it… because ain’t nobody got $65 to walk around somebody else’s big-ass house. Good times. As soon as we checked in, we freshened up and headed out to Angi’s favorite local restaurant, CĂșrate. The food was AMAZING. We ate all the tapas. Poor server was taking our order real skeptically, like ‘there’s no way y’all are gonna finish all that.’
Silly server.
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Saturday was my day to pick the restaurant. So of course we went to 12 Bones. Yum. With that good barbecue, cheddar jalapeno grits and corn pudding in our bellies, we were ready to head out on the town for some shopping and sightseeing. Asheville has such a cool vibe. Musicians and street performers on every corner, great vintage and souvenir shops. I found this Obama magnet in a local bookstore called Malaprop’s. It looks more like Herman Cain. Or Sherman Hemsley. Or Lou Rawls.
This week on Exhale we talk with the hilarious Kym Whitley. We chat about how she got her start in comedy, her reality show and of course, her gorgeous son. Having adopted him without knowing his family medical history, she discovered that he has a lot of food allergies. And since babies can’t tell you what they can and can’t eat, she was nervous to leave him with sitters, daycare. So she came up with this t-shirt parents can put on their kids when they’re staying with new people just to remind them about food allergies. You write in your kid’s name with a Sharpie up top and then check the boxes of the things he/she is allergic to. And there are write-in boxes below for items not listed.
Isn’t that a FANTASTIC idea? As a person with severe allergies to a whole host of things, I can really appreciate this. She said that she’s even received messages from parents of autistic children who are unable to articulate their issues to caregivers saying “You’re saving my child’s life.” So powerful. You can order these shirts in English and Spanish at dontfeedme.org.
I had a severe allergy attack that landed me in the ER just yesterday. For the past month, I’ve been having these persitent reactions (hives, eye and lip swelling, throat swelling). Thought it was a new food allergy and have been journaling to try and narrow it down. But after yesterday I know for sure, my allergy is to aspirin.
I posted the status above on Facebook about a week ago. I was making a joke. Because I’m a comedian who currently has no medical insurance. But allergies are no joke. THANK GOD I had just gotten my epipen Rx filled. Without it, I’d never have made it to the hospital. Those two aspirin almost took me out, and I’m a grown woman. To think of what kids go through when they have severe allergy attacks — now more than ever I wanna buy these shirts for every parent I know just in case. Thanks so much Kym for what you’re doing!
Below is the trailer for this week’s show. We also talk with Keisha Knight Pulliam, Jeffrey Osborne, and Kevin Rodney Sullivan. SO much fun! I hope you’ll tune in. Wednesdays at 8pm. Only on ASPiRE.
He’s a full fledged, karate-chopping little boy and I can hardly stand it. I was in Atlanta this weekend for a show and BFF Angi brought Roman by the hotel so I could spend a little time with him. It’s been about 6 months since I’ve seen him and he’s grown so much. I love that kid super hard, but I’mma sprinkle some of that Benjamin Button on him so we can reverse this whole growing up thing. I don’t like it one bit. I’m not that up on kids toys and games, but I guess I’m going to have to learn a little about Ninjago, as it seems like he’s ditched Angry Birds for it. He even gave me a Ninjago name — Samurai X. I’ll see him again in a couple of weeks, which gives me a little time to brush up on my ninja skills.
But in the meantime, enjoy Disney Roman! Auntie Erin loves you the most.
On the next episode of “Exhale,” which is NEXT Wednesday, July 10 (NOT TONITE — we’re off this week b/c of the holiday) we talk Health and Wellness with actress and wellness expert, AJ Johnson; the original “around the way girl,” philanthropist and cancer survivor (and wife of LL Cool J), Simone Smith; physician and author, Dr. Felicia Wade and Carrie Broadus, Executive Director of Women Alive. This a really fun and informative episode, so set your DVRs now and make sure you catch us!
P.S. I KNEW it was stress and not those donuts causing this belly fat!!! #ShutUpThatsHowIHeardIt
 
 
