First Time Watching a Same-Sex Wedding

I’m usually a day or so behind when catching up on my DVR’d television programming. Tonight I watched the final night of Conan in NYC. It was a grand return for Conan O’Brien since leaving his NYC based show “Late Night” in 2009.

What caught my attention was the featured guest on the show, Louis CK. At the end of Conan’s opening monologue I also learned that the episode would end with a televised same-sex marriage. I didn’t think much of it at first, as I often usually don’t make it all the way through an episode of Conan anyway. However the string of NYC shows were tailored with numerous surprise appearances and hilarious bits that kept me glued. Then the time finally came. At the point where Conan usually has a musical guest, he instead stood on stage with David Gorshein, one half of the same-sex wedding that was about to take place.

It was at that point where I realized that I have never seen a same-sex wedding before. That partially kept my interest. I also was curious at how serious Conan would make the 5-minute ceremony. All of that was enough for me to keep watching Conan’s costume designer Scott Cronick walk down the theater isle to join his partner on stage.

The two grooms exchanged vows and I was literally blown away at the love they shared. You could see the emotion bubbling in their eyes. I realized that what I was witnessing was an absolute love. A love without labels. It wasn’t 2 men in love… it was just two human beings.

It was at this point that I felt shame. I grew up in a church that spoke ill of homosexuals on a weekly basis. Sure I had gay friends growing up but I was always forced to give the generic “I respect what they believe in but I can’t agree with it” spiel. I’m so ashamed of what I “thought” I believed.

I stopped going to church about 4 years ago and since then, my world has opened up a lot. I still feel I have a personal relationship with God but my experiences with churches in the last 12 years have just really put a bad taste in my mouth. I know Christians will say that in order to believe in GOD, I have to go to church but screw it. This is my path and if a church believes that people like Scott and David should be denied of their love for each other, then I have no desire to be apart of their congregation.

I don’t want to get preachy in my own right. I’m not saying everyone should think this or that. I’m just expressing how I was moved by viewing this same-sex wedding and I hope to attend one in person one day.

Mazel tov to Scott Cronick & David Gorshein!

http://i.cdn.turner.com/v5cache/TBS/cvp/teamcoco_drupal_embed.swf?context=teamcoco_embed_offsite&videoId=19707

Related articles

• Conan Officiates Same Sex Wedding! (justjared.buzznet.com)
• Conan O’Brien Officiates A Same-Sex Wedding On Live TV (mediaite.com)
• Conan O’ Brien to Officiate First Ever Late Night TV Same-Sex Wedding (laughingsquid.com)
• Conan O’Brien to Officiate Televised Same-Sex Wedding (laist.com)
• Conan O’Brien Officiates a Gay Wedding (Video) (dailypicksandflicks.com)

Adding Up the Small Stuff for a Silver Lining

Yes. A supervisor at work attempted to get me in trouble for NOT working on my break.

Yes. In trying to be funny, I insulted the staff of my local newspaper.

Yes. My dinner plans were thwarted due to being drenched in vomit.

Most would consider this to be a horrible day. For me, not even close. I work in customer service therefore any living thing that can pick up a telephone has the right to crap on me. I’m a comedian (by night), so wisecracks often fall on all-too-serious ears. I’m a father. Poop and vomit is my business. It’s just a lil’ tough when all three worlds collide in one day.

But still… if I balance out the mini “silver linings” in my day, I still end up ahead. I will now share these events with you. Keep in mind… sometimes, you have to look for the small things that make you smile. They really add up.

Lemoyne EP by Fluorescent Biege

I discovered some new tunes. Jeremy Arambulo is the star of a new webseries called “Mythomania.” What many of its viewers may not know is that Arambulo records his own songs under the name “Fluorescent Beige.” His new EP is called “Lemoyne” and acoustic singer/songwriter fans can download it for free at Soundcloud. I’m listening to it as I write this blog post.

I was offered a gig. I am an aspiring stand-up comedian and I was asked to do a show with comedian, David Lee. True, it’s not a shot at instant fame or anything but it was the first comedy show offered to me outside of my usual circle of comedians who usually book me. It’s all about baby steps. If the circle keeps slowly expanding, who knows what other opportunities are on the horizon.

My daughter - Photo by Lisa Hoang of Windwardskies Photography

Speaking of baby steps, my 17-month-old daughter continues to inspire me daily. As she suffers through the diarrhea and vomiting episodes of the stomach flu, she somehow delivers a smile that instantly lights up the room. If my daughter can smile after exploding from both ends, then whining about the tribulations of my life seem silly.

As a bonus, I ended my day with a lowball of whiskey on the couch, watching an episode of Conan. The musical guest was Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. I found his flavor of contemporary jazz to be very soulful and he delivered an amazing performance. As a trombone/singer frontman myself, it motivated me to keep doing what I’m doing.

Dark clouds are temporary. They drain out and pass over. There is always something big and bright right behind it.

Fall 2010 Top TV Picks

I didn’t watch much TV in my 20′s so I find it hilarious how I’m now a tube junkie .  Coasting along in my 30′s, I sometimes get darn right giddy about some of the crap that’s on TV.  Now that my summer of reruns has come to an end, I’m elbow-deep in season & series premieres.

One new show that I won’t be cheering nor jeering, is the new Hawaii Five-O.  Being that I live in Hawaii it’s all people talk about and frankly, I’m burnt-out and numb to the subject.

Moving on, here’s some fall programming that make my nipples tingle:

The League, season 2 (FX) – A show about the trials and tribulations of an 8 team fantasy football league.  The characters are brilliant but what really drives the show home for me are the performances from Paul Sheer and Mark Duplass.  Guys effectively knocking each other down a few pegs while drinking beer.  It’s a delicate balance that is perfected in this series.

Boardwalk Empire, season 1 (HBO) – Adapted from the book by Nelson Johnson, Steve Buscemi brings life to tales of corruption in Atlantic City during the prohibition era.  Violence, nudity, music, it has it all.  Martin Scorsese directed the first episode.  For me, it’s like watching Gangs of New York every week.

Bored to Death, season 2 (HBO) – The adventures of Jonathan Ames continues as an unlicensed private detective.  So far it looks like Zach Galifianakis’s appearances are still lightly gingered throughout each episode however Jason Schwartzman and Ted Danson keep the dialogue aflutter until we see more of the funny Greek.

Community, season 2 (NBC) – The powerhouse cast left viewers hanging in romantic suspense at the end of season one.  Thus far, it appears they are making it up to us with a rhythm of chuckles consistent of season 1, while adding depth to characters we’ve come to love.

Unfortunately there are also some disappointing shows this season that are making me limp from the waist down:

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, season 6 (FX) – This is actually heartbreaking because I’ve been a hardcore fan of the show for a while now.  The season kicked off with what seemed like a two part episode, however it was not acknowledged as a two-parter.  Which implies that the show is straying from their signature mantra of not having their characters grow and develop and starting each episode with a clean slate.  The dialogue seems a bit lackluster and doesn’t have the intensity it once had.  I’m starting to think that the days of Nightman and Kitten Mittens are over.  This new season may be one where you’ll have to catch it from the beginning or you may miss the ride completely.  To be honest, it’s starting to look like a ride you may not care to catch.

$h*! My Dad Says, season 1 (CBS) – As a follower of the popular twitter feed, I really wanted this show to do well.  The obvious let down is the piss poor acting from Jonathan Sadowski but when I thought about it more, I’m not sure that William Shatner was the best choice for the role of Edison Milford “Ed” Goodson III.  Off the top of my head, Ed O’Neill would’ve been a better crabby old man.  If I had it my way, I’d yank O’Neill from Modern Family and cast him in this show on a cable network so that he could be a full blown potty mouth.

It’s still early in the season so really, there’s hope for all.  There’s a few shows yet to air that my thumb is ready to set to DVR:

Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time, premieres October 12 (Comedy Central) – Stand-up Comedian Nick Swardson rolls the dice with his own sketch comedy show, hoping for the same moderate success as Important Things with Demetri Martin.  I’m a fan of Swardson’s stand up act and I’m a sketch comedy writer and performer myself so I’m going to do my best at supporting the craft.  Based on the sample clips on Comedy Central’s website, it looks decent enough to avoid the sketch comedy graveyard recently populated by Michael & Michael Have Issues and Chocolate News.

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, premieres October 1 (IFC) – The first episode of the show created, written by, and starring David Cross can already been seen in its entirety on IFC’s website.  Cross has been apart of some home run comedy shows such as Mr. Show and Arrested Development and his stand up alone crushes audiences into a submission of laughter.

Conan, premieres November 8 (TBS) – The new lead-in for Lopez Tonight is expected to begin a new era in late night comedy.  Teamcoco.com is steadily serving up bite-sized hype for the upcoming show with twitter feeds, show promo videos and interviews with Conan O’Brien himself.  After all these months since the Conan vs NBC drama, I thought I’d be tired of saying that Jay Leno is a douchebag.  But I’m not.  Jay Leno is a douchebag and is a hershey stain on the underwear of comedy.

The fall 2010 season is shaping up to be a healthy entrée of entertainment.  Sifting through these hits and bombs are sure to keep viewers like me busy as I wait for my 2011 fresh helpings of Parks and Recreation, Entourage and Whitest Kids U’ Know.