Guest Blog

Hi all-
I know many of you have been eagerly awaiting a new blog post, but I have been very busy flying back and forth between Denver and Texas... and I just haven't been able to wrap my brain around anything but the immediate future.  So, my awesome brother decided to update my blog for me.  Here is his "guest blog" since I have been preoccupied.


Here you go Emily my sister.  You obviously are too busy to update your blog, so I am forced to write a guest column for you.  (Which will no doubt be the most well-received and critically acclaimed column in the history of the ugly tree blog)

As I'm sure many of you know, our family places high value on humor and laughing. This can come in any form, for us a lot of it is making fun of each other and cutting each other down (I like to say we take turns kicking each other in the grapes) but any way we can get a laugh is important to us.  Which brings me to the point of this blog (column, essay, script, whatevs); My siblings and I were/are great fans of the late, great Mitch Hedberg, a stand up comedian with odd mannerisms, odd manner of speaking and hilarious observations which made him stand out in the veritable sea of stand-up comedians. (Unless you are a complete Troglodyte, you know how to find clips of Mitch on youtube - do so now.  I'll wait for you to get back.... go on then, yes... still waiting. I wasn't lying to you).  Okay, you saw him, he's great right?  Well the problem is he overdosed on some drugs and is no longer with us.  So, that leaves a void in the comedy universe because he will no longer be producing fresh material.  
So, the challenge now before us is to find a new comedy hero.  I have my favorites, sure Louis CK, Ricky Gervais people like that, but those comedians can't really take the place of Mitch as the all-around family favorite. I'm not sure anyone can take the place of Mr. Hedberg, but I would like you all to go ahead and give a listen to someone and let us know what you think.

 Last week while Emily was in town to visit me - yes it was mainly for work, but let's not nitpick - I introduced Emily to a comedian called Demetri Martin who I described to her as "Hedbergian"  and much of his material reminds my of Mitch.  Demetri's "sames and opposites" songs had Emily and I laughing out loud as we traveled up and down a road looking for a restaurant that we never found (although we saw it by accident two days later)  that song features the line "Saying I'm sorry and I apologize is the very same thing... they are the same... unless you're at a funeral"  There is another joke that he tells that I found especially amusing, for no other reason except it can be applied as a joke about ousted Ohio State Head football coach, Jim Tressel. It goes as follows:  "I think vests are all about protection.  Life vest protect you from drowning, and bulletproof vests protect you from being shot and sweater vests protect you from pretty girls"

I encourage you all to check out the fine work of Mr. Martin and have a laugh or twelve.  For those of you waiting for Em to update her blog with her own work - well I'm sure she has something very special in the works and will get back to us soon, that way no one has to suffer through another one of my guest columns.

Deuces
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmLubAD3SEA&feature=related