In August/September of last year I took a brief contract working with WorldSkills TV.  The reason I found out about the position was because of my good friend, Geoff Schoenberg.  He was working in the volunteer department, noticed the job posting, and sent it over my way.  Since that time he’s embarked on a new adventure to get his Masters Degree in Australia and to document his progress he’s started up a blog.

The website is in its infancy and I’ve enjoyed reading his variety of posts.  As someone who has no ambition to go after a post-secondary education (sorry Mom), it’s fascinating to learn more about that world and his experiences.  I recommend you take a look and, if you like what you see, subscribe to it.

One post in particular that was published last week was a list of things that he learned working under his supervisor at WorldSkills Calgary.  (Granted: it’s probably not an exhaustive list, just the highlights.)  I think that these lessons are important for everyone, regardless of your career or specific goals.

You can read “Things I learned from Mo at WorldSkills Calgary 2009″ on his site by clicking here.  I know that I took away a couple of thoughts from it and hope that you do as well.

Keep up the great work Geoff!  I can’t wait to read more about your experiences down under.

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Tickets for both Wednesday and Thursday’s Haitian Relief Fund Raisers are still available.  For Wednesday night’s Red Carpet Comedy you can order your tickets here, and for Thursday’s night benefit you can click here.

I don’t watch the TV news, I don’t read newspapers, and I don’t follow current events in any way.  I have several friends that think this is to my detriment.  My comedian friends may think that it’s impossible for me to write anything living in isolation.  Neither of these arguments will change my opinion.  There are two primary reasons for my “media fast”:

1. In this lovely technology-driven world the really important news “finds” me.  Be it through Twitter, Facebook, or old-fashioned real-world conversations: I find out (without trying) about the most important events.
2. With 99.9% of reported news, I am incapable of taking any action to help the situation that they are reporting on.  Knowing some of the terrible things that happen only serves to depress me and leave me with a powerless feeling.

While the earthquake in Haiti last week proved point #1 (I found out about it almost immediately through various sources), it has also shown the exception to point #2; next week I will endeavour to help as much as I can.  I’m going to do this the only way that I know how: entertain others in exchange for money and donate that cash to The Red Cross.  This will happen over two nights for two different events.

Red Carpet Comedy is scheduled for January 27.  While the show time (8PM), ticket price ($10), and location will all remain the same, the money made on the door will now be donated (100%) to the Haitian Relief Effort.  There has been a lot of talk about the ability to donate $10 with a text message – that same $10 can make its way to The Red Cross and in addition to helping those in need, you’ll receive a unique evening of entertainment.  You can order your tickets online now by clicking here. Also, you can check out the Facebook event page.

The day after Red Carpet Comedy (January 28) will see a second evening of entertainment for the same cause.  The management at Club Paradiso (the same venue for Red Carpet Comedy) has decided to hold their own fund raiser featuring a variety of the performers regularly seen on their stage.  There will be music, comedy, magic, and some special surprises.  (I’ll be on the show as well.)  Tickets for this evening are $50 and include the show, a drink, some snacks, and a $10 Village Cantina coupon.  As in the previous night’s show, all of the revenue from ticket sales (plus silent auction items) will be going toward helping those affected by this disaster.  You can order your tickets for this event by calling (403) 265-5739.

I’ve decided to take action to help in my own small way, and I hope that you’ll choose to help in your own small way by joining us next Wednesday or Thursday night.

Twelve days into 2010 and it’s off to a great start for both myself and one of my best friends.  Granted; my first few days of the decade haven’t been quite as news-filled as his… but it’s my blog so I’m going to share my news first.  (I hope that this is a slow work week for you… because there are a bunch of things to listen to and watch.)

On Saturday morning the host of CBC’s Daybreak, Russell Bowers, called both myself and fellow comedian Lori Gibbs into the studio to share our views on the new airport security measures that are being implemented for flights to and from The United States. Sure, neither of us are experts on the topic, but the experts aren’t as much fun to interview.  You can listen to our portion of the show here:

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(I also highly recommend subscribing to his full podcast -- which comes out every Monday.  He gets a lot of great interviews and talks with more than a few really cool people.)

In the audio clip (I’m assuming, of course, that you listened to it) you heard that I spent my weekend performing at the Yuk Yuk’s Club in Edmonton, Alberta.  I started a couple of the shows with a joke that I wrote on January 1 of this year, making it my first joke of 2010.  Given that this particular bit has a very small amount of time to be “topical”, I’ve put it up on YouTube to hopefully get as much use out of it as possible.  It’s less than 30 seconds long:

And now for the BIG news: It’s a well-known fact that I use this blog to fuel my own egomania, but every so often someone that I know achieves something that I simply can’t ignore.  Shawn Farquhar, who I have written about before, has done just that.  This coming Thursday, January 14, Shawn will be making an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show! So, check your local listings… set your PVRs, DVD recorders, and VCRs (if you still have a VCR)… and don’t miss out on watching it.  I know that I am looking forward to both seeing what he has come up with for the show, and seeing him dance.  Well done, Shawn!

That is a lot of excitement to start the year.  I may have established a dangerous precedent -- living the whole year with this much going on could get a bit crazy.  (Mind you, I don’t think that I will complain… at least I’ll have something to blog about.)