LO, A CHILD IS BORN


Or at least will be...

On this Christmas Eve I am now officially announcing that my partner in crime, Michelle Johnstone, is pregnant, and that immaculate conception has been ruled out (as no trumpets were heard). This means that I am expecting to become a father some time around late May.

We are incredibly pleased about this Christmas miracle (more like Labour Day, truth be told), and the exciting new chapter our lives that is about to begin.

With that, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and great things for this holiday season and beyond.

Still 24 hours to shop for mur!

Happy Holidays.

dp

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

I am incredibly happy to be back in Montreal. I had some ideas for a blog about my thoughts on the whole heckler/audience/comedian dynamic in the wake of certain events (it was going to be called "Michael Richards: Comedy's Columbine") but it's the end of the year and why finish on a stressed-out hostile note? Better to save it for the new year (and begin on a stressed-out hostile note, I guess). Or maybe save it for Valentine's Day.

Instead, an overview of my western junket:

On-stage highlights:

-a hooting match with some rowdy drunks in Calgary.
-playing for a very nice warm audience in Vermilion, including a Stan Lee look-alike (unintentional, I suspect).
-an even warmer audience in Olds, possibly my favorite show of the tour
-surviving a set in Lethbridge with the most agonizing sore throat in recent memory. Not a highlight so much as a Christmas miracle.
-performing for the Camrose police department, one of the great surreal "how do I end up in these situations" sort of moments that are always nice. Biggest laugh of the show was comparing a nice, petite blonde in the audience to Louie from "Taxi" (played by Danny Devito). Had to be there, I guess. They were a friendly bunch.
-an impromptu hosting job in Edmonton which turned out to be a lot of fun.
-trumping the Camrose police for surreal "how do I end up in these situations" moment, a show in an airport hanger in Grand Prairie. Acoustics held up okay, and they were, again, a very nice audience.

Off-stage highlights:

-having a drink with the boys in Vermilion (the boys being Trevor Buchanan and Allyson Smith)
-gracious hospitality of the relatives in Coaldale (emphasis on "hospital", as this was during the worst of my throat affliction
-deer-hunting with Dave Hemstead (it was a video game, I didn't go totally Albertan)
-more gracious hospitality at the Roach Motel in Edmonton, complete with nightly indulgences of Super Mario Party and 60's Spider-Man DVD's
-banging off two scripts for "The Business" on my off-days in Edmonton (hopefully those will air in some form on The Movie Network next year)
-finding Doom Patrol #'s 35, 36 and 42 for a decent price in Vancouver, making it worth staying out west an extra week (these highlights are very subjective)

Thanks to all the Yuks bookers and staff for making the trip a success, and all the people directly involved with the above moments.

More announcements coming soon of a decidedly more domestic bent.

Enjoy the holidays. I most certainly am.