the slack daily

Agorafabulous!

From sarabenincasa:

HOW YOU CAN MAKE AGORAFABULOUS! A BESTSELLER

with thanks to Baratunde Thurston for the inspiration (buy “How to Be Black” now!)

Now I know we’ve all got limited funds these days, and you don’t owe me a goddamned thing. That said, I’m about to try and convince you to do me a huge favor. I thank you for even reading it, much less following any of the suggestions.

So let’s say we’re buddies IRL or on the Internets, or you’ve come to see my comedy live and not paid any monies, or you enjoy my Tweets or my free (and awesome) podcast, Sex and Other Human Activities. Like the rest of us, I gots to make a living, and I’m trying to do it through art. It’s a silly enterprise, to be sure, but one to which I’m committed. I don’t have a Kickstarter or anything like that, but I do have a book. It’s a good one. I promise. It’ll make you laugh, cry, think, and maybe even feel pretty great about yourself and your life, because at least you aren’t doing the crazy things I do in the book! Also, it’s red and will look great on  your bookshelf. It represents about a decade of effort, and I’m so happy to share it with you.

I’d be so grateful if you’d follow one or more of the tips below to help make this book a bestseller — cuz then I can continue to do free comedy and free sex podcasts and pay my wifi bill and do free Internet things and all that jazz (all while wearing a leopard print Snuggie!) Okay, here goes…

1. Buy it

Easy, right? You can buy it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, Powells, and anywhere books are sold. You can get it for Kindle or Nook. I will attempt to have it translated into hieroglyphs and written on the wall of a cave, and we will charge a fine price for access.

2. Write a review

On the ecommerce site where you purchased it. On GoodReads. On your blog. In the sky with airplane exhaust.

3. Tell your friends and family to buy it

Tell them that if they really love you, they’ll buy this book by your friend/friend-of-a-friend/Internet-pal “Sara Benincasa.”

4. Reblog this post.

I’ll see that you reblogged it, and send you magical good vibes straight from my heart!

Thank you so much. And if I can help you out with your art in any way, please email sara@sarabenincasa.com and tell me how. I promise I’ll try if it’s within my power.

Love,

Sara

 

*************************

I haven't even read the book yet (Will has his on his kindle; my hard copy should be waiting for me when I get home) but I will tell you that having known Sara through the Internets*, seen the show, and then gotten to know her in person that not only is she smart and funny and adorable and charming but she is deserving of good things. I wouldn't recommend this book if I didn't think you'd like it. And if you don't know Sara, then you'll find yourself liking Sara and then you'll be doing things like writing her notes on your Tumblr and inviting her over for sleepovers in footie pajamas and Sunday-morning pancakes.

Besides, how often can you help make someone's dreams become a reality?

The point is: Reblog. Buy. Share. Enjoy.

 

Win a Boston Red Sox Night Out!

Did you know that Older SlackBrother J has a new game out for the iPhone/iPad?

Jon Lester Hardball Ace gives you a chance to hit off the Red Sox pitcher himself. You can download the game for free here. Register in-game for a chance to win Lester autographed baseballs, jerseys, and more.

But that's not all! One lucky fan will have a chance to win a Red Sox Night Out! Check out the details, rules, and enter here.

Let's recap: it's free to download the game. It's free to enter. It's free to pass this around.

Disclaimer: There is no disclaimer. I wasn't paid for this post. C'mon, he's my brother!

 

Let's Talk Bizness.

1. Willya look at that? It's me being interviewed for Your Industry Insider. (Thanks to Julia for the hook-up.)

2. My job is in your hands! Tell MTV what to do!  Demand to see Savage County!

Savage County Official Trailer from Savage County on Vimeo.

(Just click on the demand link and it'll get you where you need to go.)

ARGFest (In Your Rabbithole.*)

Yesterday, I returned from steamy Atlanta, GA where I ate ribs at Fat Matt's, drank Mai Tais while listening to Tongo Hiti cover Styx's "Come Sail Away," stole the Grand Inquisitor's fez, and entered into a relationship with a sock.

In a word? ARGFest!

 

I call this series "naked sock with naked (face) girl."

In-between drinking and eating and tomfoolery, there was much discussion about the creative and business direction of transmedia entertainment. It was a privilege to be in the room with players and practitioners, and my head is swimming with how to turn all of these ideas into reality.

I hadn't planned on going, but I'm glad that I did. A lot of my writing - especially the kids' stuff - is about community. Where are my people? Where do I fit? I showed up in the transmedia community post-Valemont like the proverbial new kid. HEY! HEY YOU GUYS! CAN I PLAY? Not only was I invited in their sandbox, but I was given a bucket and a shovel.

Thanks to Brooke for inviting me to be on a panel, and to any and all who I met this weekend.  I'll be harassing your inboxes soon.

*That one's for Brian & Jan.

(You may have to be logged into Facebook to see some of the photos linked above.)

Like Chocolate in your Peanut Butter.

Me & Will.

The cast of LAGenX. (Jason, Gina & Jeff!)

Nutcase 101.

ALL IN ONE PLACE!

LISTEN to LAGenX tomorrow - Saturday, May 29 at 11am PST at LaGenX.com (click on "Listen Live!)

Then as the show is wrapping up, get in your conveyance device and get THEE TO:

Laurel Tavern
11938 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604

Laurel Tavern opens at noon...so we'll get there at (or around) noon.

See you there...?

GirlCrush: Sara Benincasa

Remember when girls were supposed to hate other girls? Especially girls who were funny and pretty? Or was it that we were supposed to hate girls who were prettier and funnier than we were? Oh media, you get so confusing with your mixed messages. Thankfully I have supermodels to tell me that every woman is beautiful, and I shouldn't listen to the evil media.

Supermodels: What CAN'T they do?

Now that we've got that all cleared up, I am now free to to express my abject girlcrushiness on other women. (And if I am to believe the evil media, this will help retain my male audience. I guess we can still be friends, evil media.)

I don't know how I found Sara Benincasa. I may have my husband to blame. Say what you will about him, the man has good taste. Like any decent gateway drug, a little taste of Sara Benincasa does not go a long way. You need more. So I sought her out. On Twitter! On my Facebooks! On the YouTubes!

Thankfully Sara has not realized that I am stalking her, probably because I have no desire to wear her skin for a suit. (She does have beautiful skin. But I can't sew.)

No, I want to drink wine in our pajamas together and design matching unicorn tattoos, and perhaps be lucky enough one day to catch her live. (Los Angeles needs some Sara Benincasa in its life. Trust me.)

I will have to put our time of puppies and kittens and rainbows on hold, and in the meantime, enjoy her take on  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and explore my awkward and confusing feelings toward her Sarah Palin.

Internet friends, may I present my GirlCrush: Sara Benincasa.

You're welcome.

(Friends of) Friends of Tom.

Following up on my last blog post.

While we didn't reach 100 reviews, I still chose to make a $100 donation to The Best Show on WFMU last night (on behalf of Will, myself, and Daisy J Dog.)

With a few minutes left in the broadcast, Tom Scharpling announced (and John Hodgman tweeted!) that they were $500 away from $80,0000. Knowing that we were going to end up pledging the cash anyway, I picked up the phone. It's like being a cheaterpants. But in a good way.

We appreciate EVERYONE who left a review on our podcast.

As we will have two Premiums from The Best Show (Will's pledge nets us three premiums, mine a single one) we will still give away the Premium* to one of our reviewers. If you want in, you have until Saturday at 4pm PST to leave a review of our podcast on iTunes. We will announce the winners on our show BetheMarriage on Saturday night.

(If we pick a winner who already has a Best Show premium, please let us know so we can select someone else and share The Best Show love.)

I have to say that when Will and I met, I didn't understand why he was so into this show. On Tuesday nights I left him to his computer while I did something else. I thought it was funny, but it was a guy on a microphone over a thousand miles away.

What I learned over the course of the past three years is that that guy on the microphone has built an  amazing community around him. It started when Lisa Jane Persky took Will's picture for her "Friends of Tom" photo project, and later that night I met her and her husband Andy Zax. From there it was a cavalcade of artists and weirdos and funny people.

(You can see why I felt like I fit right in.)

It was being a friend of Friends of Tom that I ended up a fan of the show. And of their cranky ringleader, who is a little bit mad, a little bit brilliant, and a whole lot funny. Having him out there DOING IT is a reminder that we can DO IT TOO. 

You can check out The Best Show which streams live every Tuesday from 8pm-11pm EST on WFMU.org, or check out their various podcasts.

Thanks again to all who participated, and we'll announce our winner on Saturday night!

*Please note: It'll take some time for the Premium to get to you, as we have to get our pledge cards and pay before the Premiums are sent. Just a heads-up!

Help Us, Help (WFM)U

There's one week left in the WFMU pledge drive and they're barely halfway to their goal. Unless you've been hiding under a rock - a BIG rock - you know that WFMU is near and dear to our hearts. Tom Scharpling, Jon Wurster, Evan Funk Davies, Terre T, Mike and Therese make our Internet World a happier place.

While Will has already made a pledge on behalf of our household (including Daisy J. Dog) but I got a magic WGA envelope this week (thank you, Italy, for continuing to air Lizzie McGuire!)

So help us, and you help WFMU.

Last Saturday BetheMarriage podcast is available for download on iTunes.

What does this have to do with the WFMU marathon? you ask.

For each review you leave on the BetheMarriage podcast I will donate $1 to the WFMU marathon...up to $100.

CLICK HERE & IT WILL OPEN iTUNES AND TAKE YOU TO THE SHOW PAGE. SCROLL DOWN TO CUSTOMER REVIEWS AND CLICK ON "WRITE A REVIEW."

But wait! There's MORE!

If we receive over 75 reviews before The Best Show on WFMU airs tomorrow (at 5pm PST/8pm EST) I will make my donation then, which will qualify me for Scharpling's DJ Premium. Since Will has already donated, we have a Best Show DJ Premium.

So I will give the second premium away to one of our lucky reviewers!

If we do not receive 75 reviews by tomorrow, we will be making our pledge on Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic on Saturday, March 13, the day before the marathon officially ends.

Of course, if you want to make a donation to WFMU on your own (and thank you to those dear friends of ours who already have!), there's a handy web form right here. 

The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling
The Evan Funk Davies Show
The Cherry Blossom Clinic with Terre T
The Therese Show

In Which the Slackmistress Helps You Spend Your Money. You're Welcome.

It's Friday, which means for some of us, we're on a crash course heading toward the weekend. (Some of us are unemployed, so we only know it's a weekend because we saw our husband was wearing jeans to work today.)

Now if I was you - I'm not, but I'm pretty good at getting inside your head. Not my entire self inside your head, mind you, because my entire body inside your head would probably break a few laws of physics, even though any part of me being inside your head would break other laws of physics. But we're ignoring those last laws.

So here I am, inside your head, ignoring a specific amount of physics to do so and you're WELCOME, by the way, because I think I could be arrested by the Physics Police, not that there are Physics Police but if there were they probably dress like Albert Einstein. Also, I think I could outrun them, but there's not a lot of room to hide inside your head, so I gotta get this out, like quick.

I'm inside your head and you are thinking to yourself (because we can't think to other people yet. Some say this is a pity and to those people I say it's probably a very good thing you cannot see my thoughts) you are thinking,

SELF, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEND MONEY THIS WEEKEND, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT I SHOULD SPEND IT ON.

And here comes the Slackmistress to the rescue, because I have not one not two, but THREE THINGS worthy of your cash this weekend. (And subsequent weekends hereafter, should you not be available to spend money this weekend.)

1. The Book of Right and Wrong by award-winning author Matt Debenham

The Book of Right and Wrong is currently available for pre-order for $24.95, but it's actually $19.95. So you've ALREADY saved five dollars. And you have to spend money to save money. Not only is Mr. Debenham an award-winning author, but if you follow him on Twitter, you know he's an incredibly funny, smart guy. So imagine an ENTIRE BOOK of this. It's a bargain at any price. And if you pre-order, he'll not only throw in a signed bookplate but a picture drawn by one of his kids. (I personally would charge extra for this, but Matt's a nicer guy than I am.) Imagine how smart you're going to look with The Book of Right and Wrong in your house. Right? RIGHT.

2. The Brutalist Bricks by Ted Leo & the Pharmacists

It's no secret that the Mister and I are huge fans of Ted Leo. And even though I hit on him by accident on Twitter last year, he seems to have forgiven me. Or completely forgotten who I am. Either way, it's a win-win. The Shorty Award Winner and genuinely nice human being not only has his new album available for pre-order on Matador, but he's playing an all-ages show at the Troubadour on March 27th. This is not a show to be missed. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists will rock your faces off. So if you're in the mood for some of the best rock-n-roll on the planet PLUS a new face, you'd better jump on those tickets NOW.

3. The Thrilling Adventure Hour at the Largo.

Written by the funny, charming, and soon-to-be-incredibly-famous-so-you-can-know-them-when duo of Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, this take on the radio play is a sincere delight. It premieres in its new location at the Largo this evening, and tickets may still be available. So come! Enjoy! See us and buy us drinks! Everyone wins!

Let's face it: you're going to spend money this weekend. And the things you're going to spend it on - like Kit Kats, your electric bill, and that gym membership that you never use - are dumb! (Okay, Kit Kats aren't dumb. I APOLOGIZE, KIT KATS!) So why not spend your money on stuff that's awesome?

And because I love you (except the ones who aren't wearing pants. Please put some pants on! Then I will love you!), I will provide you with something free. That's right, entertainment at no additional charge.

Tomorrow night's BetheMarriage LIVE! (On Ice!) comes to you over the InterTubes at 5pm for the cost of ZERO DOLLARS. Just tune in at 5pm tomorrow at Ustream. Can make it? Don't want to look at our ugly mugs? Then you can subscribe and download the podcast on iTunes.

YOU. ARE. WELCOME.

(Wo)Man About Town.

Where will I be this week when I'm not here?

Saturday nights at 5pm PST you can find me (with my delightful husband) sharing a cocktail and story on our weekly show BetheMarriage LIVE! (On Ice.)

Can't make it Saturday? Then by the following Monday (or Tuesday) you can find the BetheMarriage podcast on iTunes. Go on. Subscribe. Leave a comment. You know you want to. (Don't have iTunes? Then you can check it out here.)

Tuesday night I can be found somewhere tethered to the computer, listening to The Best Show on WFMU. (You can even follow its host, Tom Scharpling, on Twitter.) If you're still up for some auditory stimulation, check out Evan "Funk" Davies Show. (Or even follow him on Twitter.)

Thursday night at 7:30pm PST, I'll be joining some friends while we watch Acker & Blacker's Thrilling Adventure Hour, which streams live on The Room Live. Check it out! It's FREE. 

Friday night there's Paul F. Tompkins Show at Largo at the Coronet.

Saturday morning at 11am PST I'll be tethered to the computer again to listen to LAGenX (and possibly call in) followed by Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic on WFMU from 12-3pm PST.

The rest of the week I'm hopefully writing.

Which means you'll have to be content with following me in 140-character spurts on Twitter. (And while you're at it, follow Will's newest project, 3 Tweet Stories. No, really, it's good.)

You're welcome, stalkers. YOU'RE WELCOME.