Comedifans Post-Game - Episode 036

In Comedifans Episode 036, Golak made reference to a television show called Battle Dome. I confused Battle Dome with another television show whose name I could not remember.

That television show is WMAC Masters. Strangely, my confusion may have been because that show used the terms “battle dome” and “battle zone” for the areas in which the fighters would meet. To sum up what I learned from Wikipedia, WMAC Masters lasted for two seasons from 1995-1997. While it was a scripted show that provided stories with lessons, it also contained rehearsed fighting with seasoned martial artists, many of whom were stunt doubles on The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

The main goal for the competitors was to win The Dragon Star. In order to do that, a competitor needed to earn enough victories on their Dragon Belt. Once they received Full Dragon Belt status, they would challenge the current holder of The Dragon Star.

The show had a video game feel to it. There were power bars on the sides during fights to show who was winning. As Golak pointed out correctly in the podcast, the show was hosted by Shannon Lee, daughter of Bruce Lee.

Here's the first of four parts to an episode of WMAC Masters that was out on YouTube entitled “Quest for the Dragon Star.” If you watch all four parts as I did, it has everything you could want. First, a story focusing in on Olympus's goals with a nice life lesson. Then, there is a hilarious montage song, “Quest for the Dragon Star,” as Olympus obsesses over the Dragon Star throughout New York City (with random appearance by radio personality and former WWE host Todd Pettengill). This is followed by the matches for the episode where you get to experience the cartoon world of the WMAC.

Much like WMAC Masters, Battle Dome was a short-lived syndicated program lasting from 1999 to 2001. As Golak mentioned on the podcast, it combined elements of American Gladiators with professional wrestling-style characters. The Battle Dome's “Warriors” would compete against contestants. The most notable Warrior on the show was T-Money, who was portrayed by actor Terry Crews, who has now moved on to be the lead in the TBS show, Are We There Yet? and appeared in The Expendables. Others who appeared on the show included “Downtown” Julie Brown as a sideline reporter, Bobbie Brown (famous for being the woman in Warrant's “Cherry Pie” video) as an on-camera assistant, and bodybuilder Michael O'Hearn who was a part of both installments of American Gladiators. Here's a scene from Battle Dome:

Also, Hall & Oates will be appearing at the LC Pavilion in Columbus on September 2, 2012. Needless to say, The Sumukh and Golak Attack will be in attendance. Here are our favorite Hall & Oates songs: 

Golak



Sumukh

Golak's Father's Day Epilogue

The 1997 smash-hit (may not actually be a smash-hit) movie Father's Day has been brought up many times on Comedifans--and in everyday conversations between me and Sumukh.

You may currently know the rapscallion son that Williams and Crystal are chasing as Peggy's boyfriend from Mad Men.

Before playing an uppity, liberal journalist following stories around the country, he was playing an uppity kid following a girl around the country who was following band Sugar Ray around the country.

Following Sugar Ray around the country. Why would I want to save my son from that? That seems like a great way for a kid to spend his summer--following around those clean cut white boys that sing ditties like "Fly." What could go wrong?

Everything! Did you see the people at those concerts? They had piercings. Fucking piercings!

But seriously, every other song on Floored (the album that housed "Fly"), and every song Sugar Ray released before it, was relatively heavy. I use relatively very strongly. It would fit very well in a 90's genre labeled "Korn Lite."

So, check out this clip of Sugar Ray's other Floored single from YouTube, then go to YouTube and pay the $1.99 to watch Father's Day. Well worth the investment. If only to understand our podcast and general conversations better.

Comedifans - Episode 036

Sumukh and Golak are back with guest Tyler Sonnichsen. The group talks baseball, the fan choices of a mover, Manny (Nanny) Ramirez, soccer, MLS, football and comedy, American Gladiators (and its off-shoots), and band tours.

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Sanjay A. Yelp Review: Brothers Bar and Grill

Sanjay A. is BACK! Here's his Yelp review of Brothers Bar & Grill in Columbus, Ohio, which he weirdly ended up at last night after Comfest!

Comedifans Post-Game - Episode 035

In Comedifans Episode 035, I brought up the idea of the “positive racial slur” where a person suggests that you look like a celebrity of the same race, and while seen as a positive thing because you may like that celebrity, there's no real connection other than your race. Let me share with you some of the “positive racial slurs” that I've been given over time.

Aziz Ansari

I get the connection. I do stand-up comedy. I'm Indian. I sound like a white guy. This comparison has been crazy from people suggesting that my comedy is like Aziz's (I don't see that) to multiple people confusing me for actually being Aziz. Yes, Aziz Ansari showed up to host the Showcase at the Columbus Funny Bone. Nevertheless, I'm a fan of Aziz, and while my baldness kind of trumps us being doppelgangers at all, I still get my fair share of comparisons to the man that is Tom Haverford.

Kal Penn

I did a show in Coshocton, Ohio where a woman brought up the Indian guy from House. I said, “Kal Penn.” She said, “Yes.” Then, it became apparent she thought I was Kal Penn. First, I had to disappoint her that I was not Kal Penn. Then, I'm sure I went up on stage and possibly disappointed her some more. But, this made no sense. Once again, as is the same issue with Aziz Ansari, I'm bald. Additionally, at the time, Kal Penn had just left House to work for the Obama Administration. He decided to take time off from that to tell jokes at a banquet hall in Coshocton? Oh yeah, he's not even the headliner?

Romany Malco

While at a bar, someone told me that I looked like the guy from Weeds. I look like Kevin Nealon? After more conversation, I realized she meant Romany Malco. I guess I can accept that, and now it's nice to know I can cross over into other races. At least, the woman didn't say I looked like the guy from The Love Guru.

Thierry Henry

While watching the video clip below, my friend told me that I looked like Henry. She said I looked like I was out there playing soccer. I actually do kind of look like Henry now that he's added the beard to his shaved head. So, I'll take that one particularly since Henry is one of my favorite soccer players. So, yeah, I guess you can go ahead and call me Thierry if you want, but then again, that really has no relevance to comedy.

Enjoy the goal below (and the Russian announcer's HAHAHA), and remember: I'm Sumukh!

Comedifans - Episode 035

Sumukh and Golak bring guest Laura Sanders on to the show. The three talk kickball, injuries, Dads, Seattle Seahawks, Blazers Pub, breasts, The Comedy Sitdown, golf, boyfriends, Tiger Woods, and basketball.

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Columbus Pride Festival and Macho Man

It is Pride Weekend here in Columbus. I like Pride especially for its excellent parade. In the lead-up to this year's parade, The Village People's “Macho Man” was stuck in my head constantly, and I'll explain why.

In elementary school, I borrowed The Best of The Village People CD from the library. What was there to not like about The Village People? They made a bunch of songs that made you happy and want to dance, which was right up the alley for a child at that age. Strangely, my cousins came to visit that same summer during the time I had borrowed this CD and inspired by The Jerky Boys, they along with me and my brother made some classic prank phone calls. One of them involved my cousin calling up a number, and this happening:

Person picking up the phone: Hello?

Cousin: Will you be my... (my brother presses play and The Village People start singing “Macho, Macho Man...')

The prank phone call craze ended when someone actually called us back. Luckily, it was not with a prank phone call related to The Village People.

Recalling that album in high school, I went to our local Record Exchange, and saw that it was available for a mere $2. I decided to buy it. After going to the Record Exchange, we ended up at the movies with a big group of friends. Upon finding out that I had purchased The Best of the Village People, an acquaintance (I will not label him a friend) called me gay for having purchased this CD. I shrugged it off proclaiming that “Macho Man” was a good song.

Years later, I still own this CD, and as far as I'm concerned, I still have every desire to be a Macho Man. I was right. “Macho Man” is a good song, and if that means me being called gay for it, so be it.

But, of course, as with memories, some just stick with you so much. This was the first time that I was called gay (many more times would come especially once I delved into the world of stand-up comedy where I've been called just about everything as a joke), and that kind of sticks with you forever, especially in your teenage years when you battle with your masculinity. So, in effect, I equate being called gay with the song, “Macho Man,” and ultimately with the LGBT pride that is associated with this weekend. Odd, I know.

I decided to take a look again at the music video for “Macho Man.” Okay, it is a bit gay, particularly Lee Mouton (the man in leather)'s dancing. By the way, when I take my shirt off, I can pass for a mixture of two Village People: Mouton with his chest hair and the Native American due to racial confusion. 

Here's also a classic reminder of The Village People in a great episode of Married with Children. This mini episode will either refresh your memory or hopefully inspire you to try to find the full hilarious episode. 

 

Comedifans Post-Game - Episode 034

On Comedifans Episode 034, we discussed pogs. It was the second and hopefully last time that we discuss this topic on the show. The Wikipedia article on pogs covers the topic on a general level pretty well, and even provides some insight on its popularity that I never knew (particularly, its origins in Hawaii and its rise being attributed to an elementary school teacher).

We questioned whether pogs were deemed collectibles or not and how much they ran. A common search of pogs on eBay not surprisingly brings up a lot of listings. Here were the funniest to me. Nothing signified the popularity of pogs and its time period to me than this O.J. Simpson American Tragedy pog set! I distinctly remember pondering O.J.'s guilt with a friend while taking away a few of his pogs. Now, I could actually take away O.J. pogs at the same time. The Wikipedia article brings up how fast food chains jumped on the pog craze and this posting of Apollo 13 pogs from Hardee's is an example of that. It was a hit movie in the summer of 1995, and a great choice for Hardee's to hop aboard on.

We also discussed The Dewey Decimal System in the podcast. In order to find out where pogs are located in the system, I visited the Columbus Metropolitan Library website and searched "pogs." Only one book came up (clearly, pog history is popular). Its call number was 708, which under the Dewey Decimal classification puts it in Arts & Recreation. 708 is specifically "Galleries, museums, private collections." All right, I'm not sure that makes sense, but I suppose pogs could be deemed a "private collection." It seems like it would better be classified in 793 under "Indoor games and amusements." In reality, I guess Golak and I are both wrong as it is not considered a sport nor under Pop Culture. We still have no idea where this pog book would be found at Barnes & Noble, and to be honest, I have no interest to go looking for it there (remember: I don't buy books!)

Now, for one of the more memorable lines in The Simpsons history:

Comedifans - Episode 034

Sumukh and Golak are back with guest Joseph Ivan. The trio talk about Score Bar, stand-up open mics, pole dancing, NBA Finals, Varsity Blues, James Van Der Beek, the Stanley Cup Finals, the Dewey Decimal System, MLB Baseball, and public proposals.

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2012 Summer Jam: Shaggy's "Sugarcane"

Summer has arrived and with that there is always a need to have at least one summer jam if not more.

While watching TheCoolTV, one of the eight channels I get on my television (and an awesome one because they actually show music videos), I stumbled upon Shaggy's “Sugarcane.” First, it was nice to see that Shaggy was back. I was sure he was continuing to make music but he hadn't been seen to me since his mainstream success with “Angel.” I was immediately entranced by “Sugarcane” and its video.





The song is catchy and brings out a great summer vibe. After doing research, the song was released in summer 2011. Clearly, stupid mainstream radio did not want to push this gem out well enough to the public. It did reach high on the Billboard Reggae Charts when it was first released. Given that it did not receive the success I feel it deserved in 2011, I have declared “Sugarcane” my summer jam for 2012.

Shaggy delivers yet again with a great beat and hilarious lyrics. Once you realize that Shaggy does not also produce sugarcane in his spare time, you accept that his tongue and cheek use of the word is both brilliant and gross at the same time. I am captivated by it much like the women in the video.

That brings us to the music video, whose logic is a bit disturbing. Sugarcane has totally taken over this woman's mind. She's loving Jamaica and the taste of the sugarcane. Her father, a clearly wealthy British gentleman, is fed up. She has to come home to continue being a rich daughter. Don't worry. The mother will go and get her daughter. But, oh no, now the mother has fallen victim to a cab driver's sugarcane (which, let's be honest, is a lower form of sugarcane than that of Shaggy's sugarcane)! I must say that the part where the mother eats the sugarcane is a little too symbolic and uncomfortable. Well, no one is returning the rich father's calls. He must now go to Jamaica (this family is really rich. They don't give a damn about how much money they spend on trips to Jamaica). Somehow, on the entire island, he manages to find his wife in a secluded area enjoying the sugarcane. Nothing is resolved in the end other than to say that Shaggy has easily destroyed a family. If we've learned anything, it's that you don't allow your daughter to go to Jamaica. That damn sugarcane!

Destruction and laughter have long been what Shaggy does best. You can never forget this gem, one of my favorites in random conversational songs:



I'm glad to see Shaggy still going strong. He's the best. I hope they make a movie about him, which if so, I feel like it could star this man, someone I thought was just as cool as Shaggy when I was a kid:

Comedifans Post-Game - Episode 033

So, it looks like me and Sumukh's "Tiger wagers" have been relatively spot on to the old boys in Vegas. After winning the Arnold Palmer invitational (not Ben Hogan), Tiger was getting 7/2 odds to win the Masters--Sumukh have me 4/1. After failing to pull that off, but then coming back to win the Memorial, Tiger is getting 5/1 odds to win the U.S. Open. Sumukh is giving me 6/1, but still pretty good.

Probably the best thing I'll attach my fandom to, odds-wise, this summer. The Indians are currently (as of 5/31/2012) sitting at 40/1 to win the World Series.

Speaking of 5/1, those were are final results in the "Public Marriage Proposal Poll" from the Post-Game for Episode 030. 5 wanted no public proposal, while 1 (probably Brooke Cartus) did. Not a huge sample size, but definitely a land slide in the results department. You got it ladies, keep the proposals private. Or in my case, non-existent.

Tiger Woods is the shit, right? This is my favorite Tiger thing, and I feel not a lot of people know about it. Back when the EA Sports game Tiger Woods 08 came out, a YouTube user found a glitch in the game where you could shoot the ball into a certain water hazard and the ball would simply lay on top of the water. You could then take a shot--named by the user a "Jesus Shot"--off of said water. Obviously a physics glitch in the game. Or was it. EA actually took to the web in response to the video when promoting Tiger Woods 09.


Pretty funny and bad-ass. Looking forward to spending that 30 bucks at ComFest.

Comedifans - Episode 033

The boys are back from their holiday break and Sumukh and Golak talk Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, the U.S. Open, bets, NBA Playoffs, Cav's draft, NHL Playoffs, and eyebrows.

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Mr. Hero: A Cleveland Legend

When I was up in Cleveland over Memorial Day weekend, my brother and I visited our local Mr. Hero. Cleveland has its bizarre heroes from Bernie Kosar to Michael Stanley, so it's not a surprise that its true hero for fast food is a place called Mr. Hero.

If you grew up in Cleveland, you grew up on Mr. Hero. You may not have ever eaten Mr. Hero, but you did interact with it. Just as Cleveland has its bizarre heroes, it has its odd, catchy commercials like any other city. Sure, there was Garfield 1-2323, Discount Drug Mart saves you the run-around or later the Norton Furniture guy. But, for me, somehow Mr. Hero's “When Your Taste Takes Over” jingle will be stuck in my head for the rest of my life.

Mr. Hero is known for its two major sandwiches: the Romanburger and the Hot Buttered Cheesesteak. Please be aware that it is not merely a cheesesteak, but rather a Hot Buttered Cheesesteak, and it's full name should be acknowledged. The restaurant's side of waffle fries is also a classic.

Of course, Mr. Hero can't survive purely off its trademark items. I usually found myself getting the Grilled Chicken Philly, another classic but perhaps not frequently purchased item by the general public. Mr. Hero also provided cheaper sandwich items such as a Fish Round, Chicken Round, and Italian Round, which now are put under the label of “Taste Buddies.” It had its weird choices that probably no one purchased such as spaghetti and a dessert of New York Cheesecake. For something that is such a Cleveland institution, they really pushed out items created in other cities.

When my brother and I went there last weekend, we stuck to our classics. It was a very nostalgic experience considering I hadn't stepped foot in a Mr. Hero in years. My brother ordered the Romanburger and I got the Grilled Chicken Philly. Even if over the years the price changed and the size likely decreased, the sandwich is still great. The combination of chicken, green peppers, mushroom, onions, and cheese is something only that is unique and specific to Mr. Hero. Now that I got a reminder of the taste, my pursuit is to desperately attempt to recreate this in my home kitchen with a Grilled Chicken Philly Night.

To add to the nostalgia and the feel of Cleveland, Mr. Hero has stuck to its style for as long as I've been alive. While my hometown Mr. Hero may have gone through a bit of store re-modeling in the 1990s, nothing has really changed. It still has the visual element that it always and I have every expectation that each Mr. Hero in the Cleveland area is the same way. It is something that is specific to Cleveland. Cleveland is a city of loyalty, and it's almost as if Mr. Hero considers that it should remain loyal to the way that it has always been. Why change? In fact, Mr. Hero's current catchphrase according to the bag of food that I got is, “Things That Make You Go Mmm...” All right, it's always nice to do a play on a phrase from 1991 by a now fairly irrelevant musical group.

Mr. Hero drew some level of national prominence when it was revealed that “The Real World” cast member Mike Mizanin used to work there. Mizanin is now better known as “The Miz” in the WWE, and this Plain Dealer article makes enough Mr.Hero references to make every Clevelander excited. My local Mr. Hero was owned for a brief period of time by the mother of “The Miz,” and I managed to venture in when he was appearing on “The Real World.” She had posted a bunch of pictures of him on the wall and acknowledged him as her hero. Once again, Cleveland had found another hero.

While I mentioned that Mr. Hero seemed to be no different than when I was a child, it's not as if it hasn't switched gears and evolved with society. Mr. Hero is on Twitter and Facebook and their website reveals many changes. Unlike when I was kid, Mr. Hero now has a spokesperson named Nicole, who could be best described as “Cleveland hot.” I'm not complaining. This is making Mr. Hero even better for the young man who likes a good sandwich. You can also check out their new TV ads, which clearly pale in comparison to “When Your Taste Takes Over.” While I appreciate how freshly prepared my sandwich is, I'm way more concerned with my taste and its ability to take over like Michael Jordan in crunch time. (Oops, maybe I shouldn't have made a Michael Jordan reference in a Cleveland loving post like this one).

All in all, Mr. Hero holds a special spot in any Clevelander's heart. If you ever visit Cleveland, you've got to grab its freshness. And now, to close on something else classic that represents a part of Cleveland as well: