I was a Joke Writer for Jay Leno

Jay Leno just ended his run as host of the Tonight Show.

I've got some great memories from being a monologue joke writer for Jay for three years in the late nineties.

RADIO PRODUCER
Back then I was a producer, on-air wacky sidekick, and writer for a Morning Show in Boston, Karlson and McKenzie. They're still on at WZLX.

When guests came in I'm greet them, get them set up in the green room, and take them on air.

I met lots of fun people. One time Eddie Money came in without a shirt. We game him a station T-Shirt. Crazy.

Here I am with Kathy Griffin.



I used to write topical jokes based on the news of the day. When comedians came in, I'd always talk to them about it.

JIMMY FALLON
One time Jimmy Fallon came in with his sister to talk about his book, that he wrote with his sister Gloria, I Hate This Place: The Pessimist's Guide to Life.



That's from when he was on Saturday Night Live. He was nice back then too.

WRITING JOKES
One time a local comedian took a look at the jokes I was writing and said that I should be writing for Jay Leno.

I asked him, "How would I do that?"

He explained that Jay have what's called Fax Joke Writers, and you were required to send in 10 jokes a day via Fax. If Jay chose to use one on the monologue, you'd get paid. He made the introductions, and I signed a contract.

One of the jokes Jay used was this one:

President Clinton was greeted by rioting citizens in Greece, who set fire to local stores.

CLINTON WAS OVERHEARD AS SAYING, "THOSE GREECE FIRES ARE HARD TO PUT OUT."

VEGAS VACATION
One time my wife and I made the not too well thought out decision to take my niece and nephew (21) to Vegas.

Coincidentally, Jay was doing a show there. I called into the show and got four VIP tickets. I was told, if there was any problem, to ask for Jay to come out to straighten things out.

My nephew hoped there'd be a problem. ;-)

There wasn't. We got center front seats in a huge banquette. It was a fun time.

Best of luck to you Jay. Thanks for the memories. ;-)

Cultivated Wit Comedy Hack Day at MIT Media Lab

Most photos taken with Samsung Galaxy Camera. Thanks @SamsungMobileUS for the review unit.


Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100 8GB White, Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) 3G Unlocked HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 by Samsung from New Generation Products

Elisha Yaffe changed his profile picture on Facebook.

Post by Elisha Yaffe.

Testing out the new Facebook EMBED feature.

A Sneak Peek at the Next 30 Days of Yahoo! Logos

Yahoo! will be introducing a new Yahoo! logo next month.

Gaming With My Mom

Jimmy Fallon is featuring games all next week on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

He asked viewers to send in videos of themselves playing a video game with their mom.

See: Be a Part of “Gaming With My Mom”



Well, how could I NOT do this.

I took a ride up to my mom's. She's 87 and up for anything.

I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Camera. I chose it because it has a nice built in wide angle lens. I also used a Quantaray tripod. I set the camera up just behind the top of her iMac screen, pointed down.

TEST PHOTO
First I took a test shot to make sure the framing was right. I used the Galaxy Camera's voice activation to take this photo.

SMILE!



I should have combed my hair.

VIDEO TEST
Next up was a video test. In this first video I ask my mom what she knows about video games:



PONG
Next up we played Pong on Google Chrome:





MAH JONG
Finally we tried Mah Jong:





Thanks @SamsungMobileUS for the review unit.


Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100 8GB White, Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean) 3G Unlocked HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 by Samsung from New Generation Products

We made it into the video, take a look: Gaming With My Mom on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

[Video] Jimmy Fallon brings back Tebowie with Rebel, Rebel on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Tim Tebow traded from the NY Jets to New England Patriots.

That calls for Jimmy Fallon to bring back Tebowie singing Rebel, Rebel on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

Would have aired on June 12, 2013, but the Bruins/Chicago Stanley Cup Game went long.



More videos here.

Beer Me!

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Beer Me Pint Glass

Love this glass.


Image: Jimmy Fallon as Tebowie. Courtesy Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Artists Rendering of New Chicago Sun-Times Sports Page

Chicago Sun-Times just laid off its entire photo department, 20 people. http://t.co/zF4qlal9PM

— Tom Gara (@tomgara) May 30, 2013

The Sports page will now look like this:


Artists Rendering.

Tea Kettles That Look Like Other Things

These tea kettles look like other things! OMG!

Giraffe

Animal Kettle 2.4 Quart Whistling Enamel on Steel Giraffe Tea Kettle

Honeycomb

Honeycomb Whistling Tea Kettle

Cow

Cow Whistling Tea Kettle

Can you see it?

Yahoo! acquires Tumblr. Promises not to screw.

Photo: I’m delighted to announce that we’ve reached an agreement to acquire Tumblr!  We promise not to screw... tmblr.co/Z4v08slQ0n8V

— marissamayer (@marissamayer) May 20, 2013

Unfortunate automatic shortening of a tweet:

"I’m delighted to announce that we’ve reached an agreement to acquire Tumblr! We promise not to screw..."

Also, the animated GIF only shows up on Tumblr. Not in the official Business Wire Press release or on twitter.



So this tweet doesn't work either because the press release and related multimedia content don't include the GIF, only a static JPG:

First ever acquisition announced by animated gif :) @yahoo is acquiring @tumblr. finance.yahoo.com/news/yahoo-acq…#keepcalmandcarryon

— marissamayer (@marissamayer) May 20, 2013

Jerry Seinfeld believes funniness is genetic

Jonah Weiner interviews Jerry Seinfeld for The New York Times, Jerry Seinfeld Intends to Die Standing Up. Here, Jerry talks about his dad:

Seinfeld believes funniness is genetic. When his father, Kalman, was stationed in the Pacific during World War II, he’d transcribe jokes he heard and store them in a box for safekeeping. “In the army, that’s kind of how you got through it,” Seinfeld says. “People would tell jokes by the score, because what else are you going to do to maintain sanity? The recognizing of jokes as precious material: that’s where it starts. If you’ve got the gene, a joke is an amazing thing. It’s something you save in a box in a war.”

That's the same thing my dad did.

I've got the box.


Image: My dad's box of jokes on index cards


Image: Jokes on index cards


Image: My wife likes to buy anything marked "down."

"My wife likes to buy anything marked down. Today she came home from the store with two dresses and an escalator."

That's a Henny Youngman joke.

My father also had this routine he'd always perform. Over and over and over again.


Image: Routine

My mom and I heard his routine hundreds of times, but we'd always laugh.

I guess that's were I get my love of comedy.

Thinking back, I used to love to listen to my dad's comedy records, and then my own Steve Martin album.

I took a Stand Up Comedy Workshop at the Boston Center for Adult Education and went on stage a few times. It was fun.

When I was producing the Karlson and McKenzie radio show in Boston, I'd write jokes for them, and that led me to becoming a Fax joke writer for Jay Leno. I'd fax in 10 jokes a day, and if any got used, I'd get paid.

These days my comedy comes out when I do presentations, comment during Boston Media Makers Meetings, or post to twitter.

If you see a tweet that you like, let me know. ;-)

Here are two tweets from today.

New York Stock Exchange sold to derivatives company in $8bn takeover bit.ly/VbHmPr > Guess Oracle didn't bid high enough.

— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) December 20, 2012

RT @cbsboston .@terrywbz says torrential rain coming Friday… vsb.li/L3DYQ0 The good news, there's going to be a Friday!

— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) December 20, 2012

I'm always trying.

Hurricane Sandy: What does Gisele predict?

What does Gisele predict? MT @necn Tracking #HurricaneSandy: Exact track still uncertain. Most models predict landfall early Tues...

— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) October 26, 2012

Image: Gisele on the Harper's Bazaar Brazilian edition photographed by Terry Richardson in New York. [ via ]

Talking Politics with Jesus

Cup O Politics' Phil Johnson has a chat with Jesus about the 2008 Presidential Primary election. Who is Jesus supporting? Huckabee, Romney, someone else? Watch 'Talking Politics with Jesus' to find out.

Election 2008: The Feline Point of View

Election 2008: The Feline Point of View - Originally uploaded on flickr by stevegarfield.

Cup O Politics - Election 2008: The Feline Point of View.

In our continuing effort to present all points of view today we look at the presidential campaign through the eyes of Phil Johnson’s cats. Take a look. [ PG-13 TV-PG Language ]