Work is giving me major agita this week. Just saying.

The late-night king is gone. His recoveries from bad jokes are legendary in comedic circles. Late night won't be quite as conversational again, I fear.

Yesterday I had a big audition. It was for Theatre Bay Area's general auditions, a once-a-year event where numerous casting directors attend. As for my performance: to paraphrase Shakespeare, verily, I sucketh. Ugh. Perhaps they'll forget about it. I don't think I'll be booking any theater roles out of my audition. I don't want to rehash the various and sundry ways I sucked; I'd just like to exorcise them with some holy water.

One more reason to consider moving to Canada: you can get college degrees in comedy. Joe Flaherty of SCTV, Freaks and Geeks and numerous other projects, is a teacher there. Does any educational institution in the U.S. offer this? Too cool.

Prepare to see this ad on Craigslist:

"Jon Stewart said I was a dick and told me to stop hurting America. CNN thought he was right. Looking for a gig, anywhere. Will work for bowtie. Contact Tucker Carlson, pronto."

The fucked-up thing is, he'll probably end up on MSNBC right after Keith Olbermann, which will make my remote trigger finger even itchier after the end of Countdown.

From the New Yorker, via a mention on Eric Alterman's blog: a profile on Harold Ramis. You may not know him, but you know his movies: Animal House, Caddyshack, Stripes, Groundhog Day, Analyze This, among others. He was the first head writer on SCTV, the most underappreciated sketch comedy show ever. And as the article says, he was a huge architect in the acting persona of Bill Murray post-SNL. It's heartbreaking to read about the way things broke down between them, personally and professionally, during and after Groundhog Day. Had no idea.