Hey Ladies! This Throwback Wednesday is for you. Not really though, as this sketch, while titled "For The Ladies", features an extremely less charming, 18 year old version of myself, Justin Golak, who is not really all that charming now.
However, the totally weird, and still puzzling to me today, thing that happens at the 2:40 mark is worth tuning in for.
Note: This is the second to last Throwback Wednesday! Crazy I know. But the final Throwback Wednesday will be a special event that we at SAGAttack.com are very excited about. In the biz, that's what they call a "tease." And by biz, I mean the business of local, moderately followed comedy blogs.
My father has retinitis pigmentosa. As a result, he has tunnel vision and it's difficult for him to see at all at night. It's a genetic condition that is tough for the many people around the world who suffer from it. Yet, in general, it seems like the average person has not even heard of retinitis pigmentosa. I feel like the awareness of retinitis pigmentosa needs to be heightened. So, of course, we need either a high-profile celebrity to get retinitis pigmentosa or have a movie about the ailment. Pop culture is where it's at.
Well, I should correct that. Retinitis pigmentosa was covered to an extent in one piece of pop culture and that was the critically acclaimed Baywatch. On the show, the character of John D. Cort returns (after leaving the show for some reason), and his lifeguard friends find that he's different.
Let me first start off by saying that I am not a Baywatch viewer, but this was one of the few episodes of the show that I watched as a kid. The primary reason that I watched this episode was not because I found out that it tackled the same condition my father was dealing with, but rather because professional wrestler Giant Gonzalez was guest starring, and I was a diehard professional wrestling fan at the time.
As the episode progressed, I bonded with Cort. His symptoms were a lot like my father's. My father couldn't catch a frisbee or appropriately make out with Pamela Anderson. Likewise, my heart melted for Manny (Giant Gonzalez's character), a sideshow freak who scared children at some sort of beach carnival, but in reality he was just a touching “Pelican Man” who loved to carve pelican sculptures.
In the end, Cort leaves knowing that he can cope with his tunnel vision and Manny finds a new friend in Hobie Buchannon.
Of course, all turned a bit weird the next season when Cort returned to the show homeless and depressed. As a child, I started to be greatly concerned for my father. Was this the eventual future for my father? How could I allow my father to be homeless? How would he be able to see if what he was eating out of the dumpster was actually food? It was a confusing time.
But, over the years, concern wasn't necessary. It was pretty apparent my Dad wasn't John D. Cort at all. He was more Mitch Buchannon. Without ever putting it into these words, it was clear, forever and always, he was always there for me.
In the long haul, maybe we don't need another TV show or movie or celebrity to get retinitis pigmentosa for the awareness of the condition to spread. This Baywatch episode teaches its viewers so much, and should just be necessary for every person to watch. We learn from the show to never judge a person even if he's bumping into things or taken advantage of by some weird carny. Remember, everyone needs a friend...
I performed in the awesome new show "PB & J: Pizza, Beer, and Jokes" at Formaggio near The Ohio State University campus. The show is every Thursday at 9:30 and has an amazing line-up for each week. Become a fan of PB & J on facebook for more info.
Sumukh and Golak will be performing in COMEDY'SPLOSION 2011, the annual Columbus stand-up comedy showcase at the MadLab Theatre on Saturday, February 19th. It's an insanely great weekend of shows, check out the info below:
16 comics, 2 shows, 2 nights... COMEDY'SPLOSION returns to the MadLab Theatre for another amazing weekend of stand-up comedy! In it's fourth year, COMEDY'SPLOSION is the longest running local stand-up comedy festival in Columbus. While the line-ups for each night include staple local acts and... national headliners, all of the comics on the shows are Columbus-based. This not only makes COMEDY'SPLOSION one of the best, most dense line-ups of stand-up comedy you can see all year, but also showcases the tremendous talent that is available at shows throughout Columbus all through the year.
Both shows are at 8PM at the MadLab Theatre, 227 North Third Ave (Downtown).
Tickets are $10. Tickets can be purchased at www.MadLab.net.
Friday, February 18th - 8PM Darrell Dawson Cole Downs Joseph Ivan Sean Somerville Jeff Burgstrom Matt Horn Travis Hoewischer Chris Coen
Saturday, February 19th - 8PM Sommer Sterud Zachariah Baird Mike Kolar Anthony O'Connell Mike Paramore Justin Golak Sumukh Torgalkar Mark Lucas
Ted Williams, a homeless man who gained overnight fame because of his amazing "radio voice," will accept an announcing job with the Miami Heat.
Williams was discovered by a Columbus Dispatch cameraman, and the video taken of him went viral immediately. He appeared on KISS FM radio in Columbus soon after his rise to fame and was initially offered a job by the Cleveland Cavaliers to do announcement work at Quicken Loans Arena.
In a statement released to the press, Williams states that, "This was a very tough decision, but after much consideration, I've decided to take my God given talents to South Beach."
Fans of Williams in his long time home of Ohio are understandably upset. Mike Donovan, who was seen burning a tattered army jacket near I-71, said, "It's just upsetting. We have great radio jobs here. He didn't need to leave and he didn't need to do it like that."
Williams also said in his statement, "I love Ohio. It has some great radio stations and arenas. But if I were an arena announcer for Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland all the announcing pressure and responsibility would be on me. In Miami, I have the chance to work for radio stations like POWER 96 FM and announce with some of the best DJs and Traffic Reporters in the country."
Williams is happy with his decision, and says, that because of his affiliation with the city, New York "was always an option."
I'm sure everyone has seen the Ted Williams video by now. He is the Columbus, Ohio man with the "Golden Radio Voice." Little do many Columbus residents know, but they're city is full of talent! Check out the video below about another homeless man with a Golden Talent.
So, you probably totally noticed that we missed the last Throwback Wednesday, but we are back strong! Last week was a Drug PSA parody, now we parody Smoking PSA's. We be clever!
