Neither of us make youtube videos anymore, and it doesn’t have a lot to do with video games….but this is YOUR show! Since someone asked about YT, we talk about it. Also we goof off a lot in this episode, and every episode, enjoy!
Join the conversation with us LIVE every Tuesday on twitch.tv/2nerdsinapod at 9pm CST.
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Somehow in addition to our regular segments we go off on a tangent about the Simpson’s influence! One viewer wants out personal GOTY, and there’s plenty of banter about video games (go figure!). Also mack confesses his love for his motorcycle.
Join the conversation with us LIVE every Tuesday on twitch.tv/2nerdsinapod at 9pm CST.
Viewer questions/business inquiries can be sent to 2nerdsinapodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on twitter @2NerdsInAPod for updates and daily gaming news!
After a couple weeks off the boys are back at it! @Macktion and Lam @NiceGuyGaming talk about why you should spray paint a stolen car and other nuggets of wisdom to make yur commute, boring math class, etc more interesting (you’re welcome). The boys also discuss PewDiePie’s recent controversy, Fallout VR, and other gaming news!
Join the conversation with us LIVE every Tuesday on twitch.tv/2nerdsinapod at 9pm CST.
Viewer questions/business inquiries can be sent to 2nerdsinapodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on twitter @2NerdsInAPod for updates and daily gaming news!
Can console life cycles by extending by upgrades? @niceguygaming (Lam) and @macktion discuss whether or not the PS4 pro and Project Scorpio (new XB1) will extend our current console life cycle? Mack also shares a story about his motorcycle restoration and the guys share lot of laughs!!
Join the conversation with us LIVE every Tuesday on twitch.tv/2nerdsinapod at 9pm CST.
Viewer questions/business inquiries can be sent to 2nerdsinapodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on twitter @2NerdsInAPod for updates and daily gaming news!
I keep New Years resolutions about as often as I went to class my freshman year of college. For that reason I don’t even bother setting them. I’d rather set goals throughout the year, and course correct as needed. If you know me you know that I moved to Chicago (suburbs) about a year ago so that I could do more comedy, and for other other reasons (see: pizza, and a job promotion). If you know *that* about me you also probably know that I suck at social media.
I just don’t like to put myself out there for some reason, especially on Facebook. As a comedian I spend my nights on stage saying “look at me! See what I can do?!” In the past I haven’t seen any reason to do the same thing online. Let’s be honest, people who do that are ANNOYING. I get that your kid is cute, your lunch was delicious, and several of your “friends” have a Go Fund Me page that you wanna share, but maybe some selective posting would help your cause.
Soooooo a goal that I started at the end of 2016 (so once again it is NOT a New Years resolution) is to be more active on social media. Does this mean that I’ll tweet pics of myself from the toilet and get disturbingly personal on Facebook? Nope (although I do tweet @niceguygaming). It just means that I’ll post content that I create, or find entertaining, and the occasional show that I’ll be in.
Speaking of being selective, I recently cut back on the number of side projects that I have. For a while I was trying to balance stand up comedy with live streaming video games on Twitch.tv every night! Both areas suffered in quality, plus gaming felt like a job. Imagine that you really like to ski. So someone tells you that you can ski LIVE ON THE INTERNET for strangers, some of whom will become regular viewers/friends. But you’ll also have to deal with people critiquing your skiing ability, and the occasional trolls (which don’t phase me, minor annoyance). You’ll make some money, but you’ll have to spend several hours a night on this so that your viewers/fans/friends get consistency and keep coming back. After a while skiing would seem like a chore rather than a hobby. So I cut back on twitch almost completely, despite having nearly 6,000 followers. Someday when I have more time I’ll get back into it.
I still scratch my video game itch by playing them, and doing a gaming podcast called 2 Nerds In A Pod! with a friend of mine from Utah. If you’re into that kind of thing you can check us out on iTunes here.
So if you’re a fan/friend/random person that stumbled upon this blog post AND made it this far you can SELECTIVELY go check out my other social medias (is that a term?) for great, selective content.
Wasssssup Westies!
I’m addressing this post to you guys since I assume at least a few of you will read it. Also I assume you can read since you’re in college. Let me know if I’ve made too many assumptions….
Anyway! Last week I went to NACA West in Portland Oregon (aka Rip City!). NACA is…well….a party, lets be honest. It’s disguised as “serious business” but its an awesome event where college students get to watch a lot of entertainers (like yours truly) do their thing in hopes of getting some college gigs. This was my first NACA experience, and I learned a ton! First off, NACA doesn’t start at 9AM on the first day! If you show up at 9am and ask the even coordinators where everybody is (like I did) you’ll look like a fool. This actually makes sense, what college student do you know that takes 9am classes??? The student who registered for classes late and got stuck with 9am classes because everything else was full, that’s who.
Sooooo after making a fool of myself to start things off, I managed to have an AWESOME weekend. College students are HILARIOUS! I’ve only been out of college for two years, and I don’t remember college being a CONSTANT dance party. When music would play: students would dance. Someone won a bucket of Voodoo donuts: students would dance. An announcement came over the intercom that a cell phone had been lost; students started dancing. It was like a Justin Timberlake video 24/7! Good times.
One of the cooler parts of the weekend was that since I grew up in Seattle I got to spend some time with my family AND since my wife has a sister in Portland we didn’t have to pay for a hotel! #IAMCHEAP. Even cooler than that were all the awesome artists showcasing. I’m a comedian, but I’m also a comedy NERD to the nth power! I love watching comedy only slightly less than I love writing and performing my own comedy. Second City Chicago performed! This is the group that has produced many of the best improvisers/comedy minds in the game! Also there was a lot of awesome/eccentric/mind blowing music on stage at various times. One group that I remember in particular was called Fly Panda. They’re a rap-rock duo that has a dude in a panda suit dance on stage while they perform. I couldn’t make that up if I tried.
Of course I spent a lot of time networking, handing out business cards and other promo to college students/agencies/fellow performers, and oh yeah eating. I ate a lot. I at at Red Robin, twice. Even though the first night I ordered some donuts and they tasted like they had been fried in the same oil as their onion rings. If you haven’t ever tried onion flavored donuts, you aren’t missing anything.
In short, NACA was excellent! If you’re a NACA West attendee and you’re reading this I hope I got to meet you! If you’re considering bringing to your school STOP considering and start doing! I’d love to make you laugh (and your school’s students too, of course).
Not all comedy shows are created equal. There are rooms of all sizes, audiences of varying attention spans, and other varying variables. On Wednesday I had the chance to open for a Las Vegas-based comedian/magician named Adam London, and it was one of those shows where most if not all of the variables were ideal for comedy.
My wife and I arrived at the venue at 6:30pm. I told someone at the front door that I was the opening act, and they gave me a funny look. Luckily right at that moment someone came out and said “oh good, Lam, you’re here,” and took us inside. It was a nice theater with a balcony, seating about 600 people. Adam was on the stage and introduced himself, nice guy. One thing that I’ve heard a lot (and I believe to be true) is that you shouldn’t pester the headliner. I always try to see what type of person they are before engaging in a lengthy conversation. There are plenty of people who (understandably) don’t want to talk to everyone before their show; they may be preparing, getting in their “zone”, or whatever. Adam seemed very laid back and kind, not at all in his own world.
A friend of mine was opening as well. We had each planned to do a certain amount of time, but were asked to shorten it. Not a problem. Another thing that I’ve learned is that you have to roll with the punches. Being easy to work with is almost as important as being funny. That may not be how it should be (some people feel that being funny is all that matters), but I think I’m pretty easy going anyway so changing things up last minute is never a big deal to me.
Fast forward to the beginning of the show. The theater was packed. My friend did his set, and did well as he always does. Then I did my set, and was later told both by Adam and many audience members that it was great. I’ve read a lot of articles that say when you are hosting/opening/featuring that you should hold back a little; you shouldn’t come out and try to “knock the headliner’s head off.” In other words; do well, but don’t do so well that the headliner has to compete with you. I can see the truth in this, but also, you never know who is watching.
Regardless, I kept that rule in mind. I feel like all of my bits were hitting with the audience, as they should since I was avoiding new material. However, the bit that I decided to close with didn’t end with an applause break as it normally does. The reaction was great, but not what I’m used to. It was sufficient though, so I ended my set and left the stage. Normally in that situation I would have kept going in an attempt to end on a slightly higher note, but I wanted to be mindful of the time that I was given. Earlier today I watched the video of my set from that night, and I’m fine with how it went.
Adam’s show was great. He started off with stand up and then did magic with tons of audience interaction. I haven’t seen tons of magic, and there were several tricks that I was impressed with. For one of his tricks he made my wife’s wedding ring go into a bag of M&Ms. Crazy stuff.
Everyone has to pay their dues, especially in the entertainment industry. Every time that I’m fortunate enough to do a show like this it reminds me that it is where I want to be. I love performing for crowds of 30-50 too, it is relaxed and I can work on new material. Even if I’m blessed to someday perform in theaters on a regular basis I’d still want to continue to do smaller shows. Bottom line is that its great to work with people who have what I want, to get to know them, to watch them work, and to show what I can do in those circumstances.
When did growing up become a “thing”? I think that Peter Pan and whoever wrote the iconic jingle for the Toys-R-Us commercials (“I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a Toys-R-Us kid….”) would be appalled by the amount of maturity in society today. People discover their first interests and hobbies when they are children, but so often those interests are abandoned as people get older. I started playing video games as a kid; in fact, one of the best Christmases ever was when my brother and I got Super Mario Bros 3 for the NES. I STILL play video games, albeit less frequently because I have a family, job, and am working on a Master’s degree. Regardless, so many people think that it is immature, childish, or irresponsible for people to continue loving the things that taught them how to love in the first place.
I still love to read graphic novels, more commonly known as comic books. One my favorite series is called The Runaways, about a group of teens who realize that they have super powers and that their parents are part of a criminal group called the Pride. It is well written and illustrated, and grabs my attention just as well as a “more mature” non-illustrated book would. I love The Walking Dead, recently read Batman: Year One, and I got seasons 1 & 2 of Batman Beyond for Christmas. I’m a self-respecting, hard-working adult; I love reading graphic novels, playing video games, and watching cartoons.
In fact, if you know me, you know that I also have my own comic strip (you can see an old one below). It isn’t meant to be laugh-out-loud HILARIOUS, but almost more of a journal of my experiences as a comedian. It is called “Comic About A Comic” (I agree, the title is clever. Thank you for noticing) and most weekdays I post a new one on my Facebook fan page as well as here on my website. It is loosely based on my comedy, and like comedy there are occasional exaggerations that are grounded in truth. None of the characters (other than yours truly) are based on real people, because not all of the things that I write about are “happy”.
By now you may be wondering why I titled this post the way that I did. The answer is because comic books aren’t for children. Any form of media, can be used and appreciated by people of all ages. When I watch Sesame Street with my son, I can appreciate the fact that someone took the time to write the episode and that the people in the episode are actors playing a role. But really, my appreciation of comic books goes deeper than that. I’m not usually into literary analysis, but comic books have room for plenty. In fact, I took an English class as an undergrad that was based solely on graphic novels. We read Batman: The Long Halloween, Blankets, Y: The Last Man, and others. It was one of, if not the greatest class that I have ever taken. The authors of these books are often pushing messages that can’t be seen at the surface, ones that children would easily miss.
So I create comics, and I read them. I will continue to do so until there are no more good ones to read, or I lose my eyesight. You should too, because you don’t know what you’re missing.
Yesterday I bought a new notebook for my jokes. There are several reasons for this; my previous one was falling apart, I wanted one that is a little nicer with lined pages, and it symbolizes taking my comedy career to the next level.
A lot of the time I would flip through my previous notebook before going on stage, and occasionally I would come across hidden gems that I had forgotten or half-written jokes that needed working out. Also, my previous notebook contained a lot of my best material (as it should). Of course there are times when I take the stage with little idea what material I am going to do, but quite often I relied on my previous notebook to help me decide which jokes to tell.
That’s why it is time to put it in the past.
I’m not necessarily throwing out all of my old material, but I plan on writing and creating much more (jokes and content ) that I did last year. I think that a new book will help with that. Now, when I look through my notebook it will be blank (initially). That’s not to say that I won’t open and close sets with battle-tested jokes, but I won’t be using them as a crutch as much. There’s power in vulnerability, at least when it comes to art. Of course when you’re getting paid or auditioning for something, vulnerability could be dangerous. In low pressure environments however, vulnerability is what helps people grow.
The first time that a comedian tells a joke that works (not just gets a few chuckles, but really WORKS) is magical. Its an unparalleled feeling that I won’t bother to try and describe. The only way to continuously have that feeling is to write new material, try it, and be surprised the first time that it works. Then of course, you rework it to make it better but even then you are expecting laughs as you perform the bit.
Long story short, a new notebook will help me to grow and get better. It will force me to put past successes and failures behind me.
Lam Guluka 