Sometimes It's Better To Fail - Isn't that right, Balls Mahoney

After working VERY late this Tuesday I happened to turn on some pro wrestling. Yeah, that's right. I said. I watched Pro Wrestling. I don't "watch" Pro Wrestling. But on this night I happened to watch it. On this night I discovered that if you have a dream and you work hard and you give it your all, you just night succeed. And that sometimes that's the worst thing could possibly happen to you. I discovered a wrestler by the name of Balls Mahoney.

I know they need wrestlers to beat otherwise the good wrestlers wouldn't stand out but how do you don that to a man? How do you look a grown man in the face and say, "Sir, from now on you will be known as Balls. Balls Mahoney. And not only that. You will not be very good." And before you get all up in my face and be all like, but Dustin, Balls was ECW tag-team champion 3 times, twice with Spike Dudley and once with Masato Tanaka, I say to you...shut up! You are such a wrestling nerd.

I really hope that if I ever reach my dream of being a Professional Comic they don't make me take the name Nuts McGee (although in this one particular case it might actually help my career . Who's going to remember the name Dustin D'Addato?).

Have you noticed more whipper snappers around

Let me preface this entry by saying I AM NOT GETTING OLD.

Have you noticed more punks (aka whipper snappers) around lately. Young kids who think they are the funniest, most clever person alive? I have. They're always on the train talkin' all loud on their walkie talkie functions on their phones. It's a PHONE you little brat, just call them. Why the hell do phones have a walkie talking function on them? The technology is has been made obsolete by the very device that it's on.

I saw a couple of girls sitting on the floor of the subway the other day. That just burns my oil. That's right, it burns my oil. I've never said that before, but yet it came so naturally to me. That's how much it upset me. Look little girls, we all want to sit on the floor sometimes, but we don't because it makes everyone's life harder because they have to look out for you so they don't step on you. (okay, maybe not everyone wants to sit on the floor of the subway, but the point is I don't like having to pay attention to anything I don't have to pay attention to.)

As i type this I can't help but think that I am getting closer and closer to being a "get off my lawn" type old man. But I'm not and I'll tell you why. Because when I get to that age I'm going to be "Crazy Ol' Mr. D'Addato". Because I'll have a sign on my lawn that says something like "stay off the lawn or I will haunt your dreams" or "Beware of the boogie man, because he's real" or for the older kids i would put up a sign that says, "Stay off lawn! No one will miss you. Trust me". Plus I will have a back lit cut out image of me with glowing red eyes in the window.

Man I'm looking forward to doing all that stuff. I better get old soon. It's gonna be great.

Oh, You Said Exotic...

Am I the only one who thinks that people should be a lot more careful with their use of the word "exotic" in print. If you are anything like me, the first time you read the title to this blog you thought it said Erotic. I alway always alway see erotic when it says exotic. Which conjures up all sorts of crazy images when I see signs. Like, what the hell are Erotic Fish? Can I really get a cheap flight to a bunch of erotic locations? And specifically from today, I wonder how an Erotic Smoothy tastes. Now that I am thinking about, it's probably pretty disgusting.

Times Indians Won

Yeah, sure Indians got a raw deal. They lost their land. They were the victims of genocide (which again, is not funny). But they did win in two places:

Sitting - Go ahead, name another group that has a way of sitting named after them? None! You can sit Indian style or normal style, but that's it. You can sit in like 30 different way, but we honored them with a name.

Burial Grounds - You go anywhere near an Indian burial ground and some crazy shit is going to happen. Ghost will try to eat your kids. Your dead cat will come back and hiss a lot. Walls will tell you to move. An average burial ground is spooky but an Indian burial ground is like a super natural power crazy place.

So, you know, they got that going for them...and casinos.


(it's possible the Indian in Indian style sitting refers to the other type of Indians, the kind from India. If that is the case, oops. Still they have the Burial Ground thing.)

Testing Something

Hey, I'm trying to get all modern like and test another way to blog. So if you see this and you're like, what? Why is he blogging but not writing about anything, well, it's because I am testing something.



And why can't you ever give me the benefit of the doubt. Seriously. I try really heard.

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The Magic of Holiday Plastic

I am a complete believer in real Christmas Trees. As soon as you smell one you are instantly like, "damn, now that's frickin' Christmas" (I don't know why you swear so much). My grandfather had the ability to argue a $100 Christmas tree down to $15. That's my grandfather on my father's side. My grandparents on my mother's side had a fake tree. It was a nice little tree, at one point that is. Not by the time I was old enough to remember.

For some reason that I will never understand, every year my grandmother would take the tree out of the box, put it together and (and this is the unusual part in case you don't pick up on in) she would cut the tree to make it symmetrical. As far as I can tell, and please correct me if I'm wrong. but plastic does not grow. I mean, I've heard about a lot of advancement in plastics. But I don't think my grandparents had space age technology put in their Christmas tree. So each year the tree got smaller and smaller.

I once introduced the concept of labeling each branch so she would never have to cut it again but I was a child. I figured there was something that i just didn't understand. Now, 25 years later, I still don't understand.

Look What I Did!

Hey y'all. A few weeks back I mentioned that I worked on something with a real life muppet dude. Now it's done! You can check it out here: www.dogshowusa.com. Click on the "video" tab and then choose the button that says Dog Show USA. There are 4 "Webisodes" there. I did those.

Please remember they are intended for super dog lovers, not comedy elitists from the LES. But it's still cool. While the dog in it is not technically a Muppet (because it's not owned by Henson) the guy who controls it does regularly work for Henson so it's pretty damn close.

Don't Mess With A Good Thing!

Over the last few days I have heard a lot of people talking about their plans for Thanksgiving. One thing has struck me (and by struck me I mean upset me and slightly pissed me off) about the plans I have been hearing. Most of them DO NOT involve eating Turkey. I've heard getting Chinese Food. I've heard making a Ham. I've heard doing nothing at all.

I know I am prone to non fancy or different food, but god darn it all to heck, Thanksgiving is about turkey. The pilgrims came here so we could eat it! Millions of Indians died so we could eat it (there's nothing funny about that. I don't even know why I said it. Genocide does not get funnier as you get further away from it you heartless bastards).

Why do I care? Because America is a melting pot. We have different cultures. Different religions. Different holidays. But we all share Thanksgiving (except for the previously mentioned American Indians. And for the record it's still not funny what happened to them. It's really tragic and immoral). When you start messing with the one tradition we all share you are just being a douche (and by that I do not mean that you make women feel spring fresh in their naughty place).

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

Comic Relief 2006

So this past weekend was Comic Relief 2006. If you're like me you didn't know they were still doing it either. As a comic I ask this, PLEASE STOP.

Look, I love charity and those that give to it. People need help. In this case they were raising money for Katrina victims. Great cause. So why am I against it?

Because Whoopi, Billy and Robin never need to be on stage again. Yes they are icons of comedy and yes they have all made me laugh a lot. But they are done. They fell victim to the Eddie Murphy syndrome. They got old. They lost touch. They love money more then laughs.

If they are going to do it again they should step aside. I could think of a few comics who love charity and need exposure. (I'm talking about me!)

Yeah, I drink like a girl. You wanna fight about it.

Listen, I admit it. I don't like beer. I never have. What makes matter worse is that I do like Bacardi Silver and Smirnoff Ice. So yeah, I drink like a 14 year old girl from Long Island. But like the kids who eat Apple Jacks, I drink what I like.

I didn't drink all that much in college and not at all in High School so I never developed a taste for beer. And that's what people are doing. Developing a taste for it. Beer is nasty.

But I admit it. Much like smoking, drinking beer looks cool. Damn you peer pressure!

Now do you get it teenagers!

Tonight I was all set to host my show, People I Like. I was really looking forward to it. I mean, sure it was raining like it had been 3 of the last 4 times but I was not to be deterred. I was going to get there early and I would ready. Then I got to the venue, Mundial. I think you can see where this is going.

Apparently they had been closed down because of underage drinking and no one decided to tell me. See teenagers, when you drink you don't just hurt yourself. You hurt comics who are just trying to get their name out there. People who may be frustrated about having to find yet another venue. But you don't think about that do you teenager? You are just thinking about that next high. Or is it fighting authority that you are thinking about today teenager? Forget it, Authority is going to kick your ass.

I hope you are happy drunk teenager.

Check Out Acid Test!

For those of you that don't know, I am currently directing a live improv show called Acid Test. The first Saturday of every month we present two awesome improv groups. But it's not your typical theater show. We've got a full on control room and three cameras and we are taping the whole thing. Then we stream it to the internet.

Check it out at www.acidtest.tv. It's pretty cool. Ryan Sturt is producing the whole thing and is the internet wizard behind the whole thing. We had a great show tonight which should be on the web by Monday morning.

I didn't have to go to bed this time!

When I was 6 and living with my grandmother and mother I was the subject of cruel and unusual punishment. I was forced to go to bed immediately before the start of the Muppet Show. What? The show meant for kids and I had to go to bed. I was pissed.

As I grew older I was eventually able to stay up and watch and I loved it. So many dynamic and hilarious characters. The Muppets were and are amazing. Whether you are talking about the huge heart and little body of Kermit the Frog or the tragic comedy stylings of Fozie Bear you have to admit they are great characters. And they are so real, so life like.

Well guess what I did today. I directed a shoot with a real life Muppet puppeteer. While technically the puppet in this shoot was not a full on Muppet, it was damn close. I. Dustin D'Addato got to call the shots on a Muppet. I was not disappointed. The little guy was everything I hoped it would be. I should be posting it on the web in the next month or so. Until then I just wanted to brag that today I got to hang out with a puppet and got paid for it.

We Must Protect The Children

There is a terrible threat facing out children today. It's not drugs or gangs or the return of communism. It a PBS show called Boobah.

Okay, so maybe it is kind of drugs because this show is the most tripped out thing I have ever seen in my life. Look, I know this show is for kids, but come on man.

The basic idea of the show, as far as I can see, there are several creatures that are actually balls of light that only have a round body and eyes. They can't talk. They can only move their eyes back and forth in a very shady fashion. They spend 90% of the episode dancing around in a rhythmic fashion. They can fly. Their whole world consists of brightly colored rainbows and white energy areas.

As I suspected I am not doing a very good job explaining it. Here is the website http://www.boohbah.com/. You tell me what's going on that website. Once you click past the home page, there are no words. It's just craziness. And if you live in NY, you can check it out every morning on wliw (Channel 21 on Time Warner) at 8 am.

This show is going to really mess with kids. It's messing with me. I'm watching it right now and they have a little girl standing on a rainbow circle on a golf course looking down and then standing up over and over again for like two minutes. There is no redeeming quality to this show. I am 100% certain this is children's programming brought to you by the producers of High Times.

Watch it and let's discuss.

Saving Money Is Hard

Do you have any idea how hard it is to save money in this city? You probably do. I mean, when you are paying $5 for a coffee and $10.50 for a movie you know that money is just flying out the door for no reason.

The reason I bring this up is because I've found out today how often people try to scam you. I purchased something over the internet today and they totally lied to me. They added costs they didn't tell me about at first. They told me something cost $125 bucks when I know full well that is should only cost $35. I thought I was going to get a good deal, but instead I just got pissed off.

I'm not mister consumerism and I hate to defend big business, but I am getting a better understanding of why big companies get big. After I told the website to go screw I checked in on a big companies website and they had the same thing, with a long warranty and free delivery for only a few bucks more.

As much as it sucks, Starbucks coffee is really good. The seats at the $10.50 movie are very comfortable and the big chain actually deserves to be a big chain. All those things may be the reason that other countries hate us and why a lot of people here hate us, but they are also why America is so fun. And I like fun.

Happy Birthday To My Lady

Today is Joy's (my girlfriend) birthday. If you see her please wish her a happy birthday. I felt it only right to spend some time talking about her.

For those of you who don't know her, she's pretty cool. She's one of the most supportive people in the world. She is always looking to make sure everyone is happy. I seriously recommend her, but you can't have her she's mine.

It's been my experience that you meet a lot of people in life who want something from you. People who are only looking out for themselves. When they see good things happen to others they get jealous or bitter. Joy couldn't be any less like that. She gets excited for others when good things happen for them. She's always trying to do whatever she can to help people achieve whatever they are seeking.

She's got an amazing curiosity for other cultures and other places. She has no fear of putting on a backpack and going to another country all by herself and just playing by ear.

And best of all, she's silly. She makes me laugh.

She'll deny it, but she's one of the best people I know. Anyone who knows her falls in love with her pretty quickly. Forget what I said before, if you see her, do more than wish her a happy birthday, make sure she has a happy birthday. Give her a hug. Or come chocolate. Or Ice Cream.

Watch Out For Stationary Objects

Yesterday I full on walked into a pole. It was one of the scaffolding poles. It was dark. I was talking. I just didn't see it. I have a small bump on my head now and a messed up collar bone.

Lately I have found that I walk into a lot of stuff. Often hurting myself. I estimate that I hurt myself by being a dumbass about once every four weeks. Which is an increase of this time five years ago. At my current rate of dumbass injury I should be in a wheelchair by the time I am 38 and completely paralyzed by the time I am 65.

Why am I sharing this information with the world. Because wheelchairs are very expensive, as is taking care of a person who is paralyzed. Rather than having a big fundraiser later on, I thought it would be easier if everyone just saved 25 cents a day for my wheelchair fund.

Seriously, this is going to happen people and I would be really helpful if I could get one of those really cool electric wheelchairs. Like this one...

(p.s. if there is an optional grenade launcher option I would really appreciate that also.)

Come See Me Tonight - if you're not a communist

So if you haven't seen me perform in a while or not at all or just want to see me again, you are going to have two great chances in the next week.

Tonight I will be doing a 25 minutes set at the P.I.T. on a show called Comedy is for Humans. Here are the details for the show:

Comedy Is For Humans
(TONIGHT) Friday, October 6th @ 8pm
The Peoples Improv Theater
154 West 29th st.
New York, NY
212.563.7488

Next Wednesday I'm hosting my show "People I Like...". We've got some awesome stand ups coming to the show as well as a bunch of special guests for the show. Here are the details for that show:

People I Like...
Wednesday October 11th @ 8 pm
Mundial
505 12 Street (between Ave A & B)
New York, NY

I'll Miss You Stealing Bartender

I found out that the bartender at one of the venues I go to a lot was fired a few weeks ago. Apparently he had been giving people less change then he was suppose to and then keeping the extra. I guess if you want to be a stickler for morals, then what he did is wrong. But he gave me free sodas. I know that doesn't sound like much of anything but I really like soda. I like it more when it's free. We had our little thing. I would only ever order soda. I would always offer to pay and he would always say no. Then I would tip him a dollar. We would chat about what comics he liked and who sucked.

He was a cool dude, except for the stealing (but who doesn't steal sometimes. I could tell you stories, trust me). I will miss him. That's it. No jokes.

It's just interesting how people come in and out of your life and you never even realize it. I mean there are the big ones that you realize. The exgirlfriends and boyfriends. The good friends you moved away from or grew apart from. But there are plenty of smaller "bit" players in your life who just come and go. In a year or two I might not even remember who the hell I am talking about right now. I'm not saying that this a bad thing or a good thing, just that it's interesting.

When You Just Can't Eat

When you just don't have time to grab a regular meal here are some suggestions:

Skittles: They are very filling. You can go another two hours off a bag of skittles and if you eat only a few at a time they can last a while. But don't get tropical fruit. That's not a meal.

Doritos - The are even more filling then Skittles and more tasty. Problem is, you're hands get all orange. However, orange is one of the main food groups, so it provides calcium or protein or something.

Gummy Candy (preferably the soda bottle kind) - While not full on filling, if you ear enough they can give you "stomach issues". That solves all your hunger needs.