#45 - Don't Spread Hate 07/07/18

Yesterday, it was announced that the RCMP were charging the truck driver from the Humboldt Broncos tragedy. He's facing 29 charges in relation to the crash, and is looking at some pretty serious jail time if convicted.

Reactions are all over social media. Twitter, Facebook, the internet is full of people and opinions. A majority of the comments I'm seeing are people expressing how happy they are that the driver is going to have to face the music for what happened. Some people are also sending him condolences, pointing out that while he's alive and physically unharmed, his life will never be the same again, either.

I fall in between the two viewpoints. No official details have been released (that I've seen), but if the driver is being charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle, the investigators obviously know that he screwed up somewhere. If that's the case, I'm happy he's being charged. I know it has flaws, but I'm a believer in our judicial system. If you do something wrong, you should be held accountable.

The common opinion right now is that people think he was on his phone. We've all seen people talk and text/drive (admittedly, I've done it myself), so I get why this is the assumption people are jumping to. However, until the facts are made public, it's just speculation. We know the man has been charged, and I think the best thing we can do now is step back, and let the legal process play out. If it can be proven that he was on his phone, or somehow negligent and at fault for what happened, he'll pay for it in the end.

On the other hand, I can understand where people that are sending him condolences are coming from as well. Regardless other whether he was on his phone, high, drunk, sleeping, whatever he allegedly did that caused this crash, I'd be willing to bet it wasn't his intention. We've all made mistakes. Fortunately, most of them don't result in a tragedy like this one has. I'm not saying he shouldn't be charged or held responsible, but I don't see how piling on is going to help the situation or the victim's families.

I saw someone that shares the same name as the driver post a plea for people to stop harassing him, as they have the wrong person. I can only imagine the vile, hate filled messages this innocent man is receiving. Even if you find the right person online, I fail to see what messaging him will accomplish. And people are making a lot of angry, racist comments, too. I don't care what happened, you'll never convince me that's the right approach. Let's be better. If you want to spend time online dealing with the people involved in this tragedy, spend it sending messages of support and love to the victims and their families.

All this said, I've never been through anything remotely close to what people involved with the Broncos are going through. I don't know how they feel, and I'm not going to sit here and promise that I wouldn't lash out like this if someone I loved was involved. I just think we are making a horrible situation worse by dragging racism and hate into it.

My thoughts are with the victims of this tragedy. And I hope those found responsible are held accountable for what happened.

Adam

#44 - Better Late Than Never 07/06/18

I was 32 years old when I tried stand up for the first time. Definitely "late to the party", at least compared to most of the comedians I know.

Particularly when I started, I'd kick myself for starting as late as I did. I'm 34 now, and many of the comedians I look up to, and in some cases open for, are younger and more experienced than I am. I often think to myself, "if I had started when I was 18 or 19, I'd have over 15 years of experience by now." That frustrates me, because nothing was stopping me back then, other than laziness.

However, as time has passed, I've developed an appreciation for being older. I'm at a point where not only have I made peace with the fact that I started late, but I've almost embraced it. Sometimes it's harder for me to connect with my fellow comedians, because I don't feel like I have much in common with them when they're 10 years younger than me, but I feel like I'm in a better place as a person to try and make a go of this comedy thing.

For example, I think that being older provides me with a little bit of an edge when it comes to having life experience to draw from on stage. I'm not saying that young comics have nothing to talk about; Will Hannigan, Brad Semotiuk, Ryan Short are just a few of the comics I work with that are way younger than me, and they're all fucking hilarious. I just don't know what I would have talked about when I started out if I didn't have a long term relationship, failed careers and life experience to draw from. It's an edge none of them need, but I sure did....

I'm also more stable financially then I would have been had I started earlier. Certainly not rich by any stretch, but having worked full-time for 15 years before trying comedy, my girlfriend and I established a foundation for ourselves in a monetary sense, and it has made the transition into attempting to become a working comic infinitely less stressful. 

Which brings me to the main reason I'm grateful that I started as late as I did with comedy; I know what it's like to work for a living. I graduated High School in 2001, and had a full time job until 2018. 17 years of driving forklifts, selling nails, answering phones. Some good jobs, some bad. I have a thorough understanding of what it takes to get up every day and go to work. And my biggest motivation to become a successful comedian is knowing that if I don't put the work into my comedy, I'll have to put the work in on a forklift again. I don't want to go back to that life. (If you drive a forklift, I'm not shitting on you. I just don't want to do it anymore. Nobody wants to be around  a forklift driver that can only see out of half of his face, anyway).

I guess the point of this post is just that I've come to accept that I was a late bloomer in comedy. It's helped me in ways, and I think it's hurt me in others. I'm in a spot right now where I'm as happy as I've ever been, both professionally and at home, and if I had to go back, I wouldn't change anything that risked screwing up what I have now. Better late than never, right?

And besides, I kinda like being the old guy of the group.

Take it easy. Happy Friday!

Adam

#43 - Gap Years Should Be Mandatory 07/05/18

DISCLAIMER: I never went to any form of post-secondary school. So if I come across as an uneducated bozo in this blog, it's 100% because I am an uneducated bozo.

I just spent a great 24 hours on the road with my buddy, Ethan, and one of our conversations inspired me to write a blog about how I think a "gap year" between High School and College/University should be mandatory.

I know a lot of people that rushed into their post-secondary educations the Fall after graduating High School, and an awful lot of them are stuck paying back student loans that they racked up to earn degrees that they either no longer want, or can't use. I've never understood what the rush is. When I was in grade 12, they talked to us about our plans after graduating, and I, among many others, didn't really know what I wanted to do.

Fortunately, my parents were cool with that. They insisted I continued to work (I already had a job), but didn't have a problem with me taking some time to try and figure life out. I wish more parents were like that. Frankly, I think parents should not only support their kids taking a little time to think about what they want to do with their lives, they should encourage it.

I'm 34 right now. When I was 17, I didn't know ANYTHING. A strong argument can be made that I still don't, but that's not my point. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer at one point, and now I know I would have hated it. Luckily, I didn't spend years of my life and thousands of dollars to figure that out. 17 year olds don't know anything. They think they do, but they don't. I think the best thing you can do for a young person is let them get a year or two of real life experience before they're forced to commit to a direction.

When you're in school, the world is a very different place than it is after you're out of it. We should be encouraging people to hang out in the shallow end of the adult pool before they go dive into the deep end of it. Let a kid figure out what they're really passionate about, without being told something it what they should be passionate about. I think there would be a lot less depression and a lot more happiness in the world today if more people were happy with their jobs, instead of doing something they feel obligated to do because their 17 year old self thought it was the way to go.

I just spent a great 24 hours on the road with my buddy, Ethan, and one of our conversations inspired me to write this blog.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I'm an uneducated bozo. But I'm happy.

Thanks for reading.

Adam

#42 - Remember The Game? 07/04/18

This morning, I launched my second podcast; 'Remember The Game?'

If I haven't shoved it down your throat enough already, RTG will be a retro gaming podcast. Each week, I'll sit down with a friend (or enemy), and talk about an old video game that we played growing up. I'm not doing research, and this isn't going to be a history lesson of a podcast. Frankly, there's already enough of them out there as it is. I envision this playing out like a conversation you would have had on the playground as a kid. Just two gamers rambling on about a game they've played. I hope it gives you that warm, nostalgic feeling while you listen to it.

I'm really excited about this project. Much like my initial podcast, 'Adam Wastes Time', I don't have any crazy expectations for download numbers or listeners, it's just something I really enjoy doing. AWT has seen a slow, but gradual, increase in listeners over it's almost 70 episodes, and if Remember The Game performs even half as well, I'll be happy.

This podcast is something I've wanted to do for quite a while. I dragged my feet on it for a couple months, partially because I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted it to be, and partially because sometimes I struggle to produce one weekly podcast, and I worried a second one would fall by the wayside and get forgotten about it. But, I think retro video games is just the right topic for me. I have a passion and a love for it, and I know I'll be willing to put the extra time in to make sure I hit my weekly deadline (new episodes will go live each Wednesday).

Also, it's a shorter podcast. Whereas AWT can go 45 - 60 minutes, my vision for RTG is a 20-30 minute discussion. My hope is to be able to record 2 episodes in a sitting with a guest, which should make it easier to bank a few episodes and always have one ready to drop. The number of people that have reached out to me asking to be a guest on the show has been borderline overwhelming, too. So thank you very much to everyone for the interest and support.

Like I said, the first episode went live this morning. If you're interested, it's available on PodBean and iTunes (links below), and I'm looking into other platforms as well. If you like the show, please, subscribe and leave it a good review. I'm really excited to see where this show goes.

Remember The Game on iTunes, click here

Remember The Game on Podbean, click here

Take it easy!

Adam

#41 - Keep Levelling Up 07/03/18

I had already plugged this topic into a template for today's blog, it was something I thought of talking about yesterday. And then this morning, I recorded a podcast with my buddy, Rizwan, and he mentioned this exact same sentiment. "Just Keep Levelling Up".

For those of you that don't understand what that means, there's a popular genre of video games called RPGS (Role Playing Games). Many RPGS involve controlling characters, and increasing their skill and strength throughout the game by playing and repeating actions. Those repetitive actions (fighting, training, whatever), cause their skill levels to increase. So when the character gets enough experience at something, it "levels up", and gets stronger. I love the idea of applying that term to everyday life.

I think the idea of "levelling up" can be used to help get better at almost anything. I apply it to comedy, exercise, podcasting, blogging; pretty well everything I do. Whenever I get on stage, I look at it as a chance to gain experience that I can put toward "levelling up". If you play these types of games at all, you know that your character doesn't just instantly reach level 99 after playing for 5 minutes. You start at level 1, and it takes a lot of work to reach a high level of skill. Things that your character found impossible when he was level 3 will seem easy when he's put in a bunch of work and reached level 33. I look at stand up that way. 20 minutes used to seem like an impossibly long time to be on stage, and now it's a walk in the park. Because I've grinded it out, and levelled up.

Your goal everyday should be to try and level up. You won't gain a level every single day, but just put yourself in a position to gain a little more experience. Bank that experience, and before you know it, you'll grow as a person. If you want to start lifting weights, write down how much weight you can lift. Say you can bench 80 pounds when you start. You won't be able to bench 150 pounds on day 2. But keep gradually gaining experience, and tracking your progress. Before you know it, lifting more than 80 pounds will seem like a breeze. Because you put in the work, and have enough experience to  level up.

The reason I think a lot of people enjoy RPGs is because you can see your character getting stronger. It's a great feeling to put in work, and have a visual indicator of your progress. Video games just speed that process up. In real life, levelling up can take a long time. But keep track of your results in whatever you're trying to get better at. Write things down (your weight, how much stage time you get, how far you can run, whatever), and look back on it every couple of months. You'll be able to see your progress, and it'll serve as motivation to keep grinding. I don't know if anything motivates me as much as looking at something that I considered challenging and knowing that it's easy now. Just keep pounding away at it, getting better every day.

Keep levelling up.

Adam

#40 - Hecklers 07/02/18

I've actually been pretty lucky in regards to hecklers. In the almost 2 1/2 years that I've been telling jokes, I can really only remember 3 or 4 situations where I had a bad interaction with one.

When you google "comedian advice" or look at the stand up forums on reddit, one of the big questions/concerns from newer comics is about how to deal with hecklers. Bill Burr has said on numerous occasions that he worked squeaky clean his first couple years as a comedian, because he was afraid of being heckled and he thought that would help avoid it. I totally get why it worries people, but it honestly never really entered my mind when I decided to start doing stand up.

When I initially started, I kind of looked at hecklers as chicken shits. I'm the one on stage, in the spotlight, with everyone looking at me. You're hiding in the dark, in a crowd of people, and you're not expected to be funny. It takes a lot of balls to try and be the hero when you can be anonymous, and just slump back into your seat if your jokes bomb. So I didn't sweat them. I still feel that way about mean-spirited hecklers. Chirping a comic from the safety of anonymity doesn't take any balls at all. It's the verbal equivalent of sucker punching someone in a fight.

That said, one of the things I've found, is that at least in my experience, most "hecklers" don't necessarily have bad intentions. They aren't trying to make you look bad, they just want to be part of the show. Sometimes, I think they think they're actually helping the show. If you're one of those people, rest assured that we almost definitely don't need your help. For every one comment someone yells that works and makes people laugh, there's a dozen that suck.

Personally, I don't usually mind it if someone wants to yell at me a little bit. I like interacting with the audience, and sometimes it turns out to be pretty funny. And when someone says something, and you hit them back with the perfect reply right away, you get a little extra respect from the rest of the crowd. I feel like my jokes hit a little harder when I win a back and forth with someone, like you solidify that you're the right person to be up there with the microphone.

Where I start to get frustrated is when someone either doesn't want to have an intelligent back and forth, and they just start saying stupid, incoherent shit to hear themselves talk. "Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level, and beat you with experience." I usually find that these people don't shut up, because they think they're winning, and it ends up screwing up the rhythm of the show because you're constantly dealing with them.

I had the inspiration to write this blog after my show last night. A guy in the crowd was pretty drunk, and just kept yelling that he was my Mom. I didn't really care, and had a good time making fun of him, but I felt like it hit a point where the rest of the audience was like, "ok, that's enough. Tell a joke..." and this guy thought he was being clever, so he just kept saying it. Have a little fun with the comedian, but don't wreck the show for everybody else.

I dunno, I guess it's my job to let him know that. I'm still learning. Maybe I should read some of those "how to deal with hecklers" reddit posts, after all...

Thanks for reading. Enjoy your holiday Monday!

Adam

#39 - Sunday Rambling 07/01/18

I think moving forward, I'm going to use the Sunday editions of this thing to just ramble about whatever is on my mind. Because it's easy.

First of all, it's my girlfriend's birthday today. It's also Canada's birthday today. A couple pretty big pieces of the Adam Blank puzzle came into existence on July 1st. So Happy Birthday to both of you. I love you both very much and would be completely fucked without either of you!

I have one more show at The Comic Strip tonight with Adam Hunter. I've been hosting for him all weekend, and he's been a real pleasure to watch work. Really funny guy. If you're reading this before 7PM tonight, I really recommend you check out his show before you go out to party for Canada Day. I promise you he's worth the money.

Set a personal best for shows in a month in June, which I'm proud of because I'm hitting the mics harder than ever, but also because it was my first month trying to make comedy work without a day job. I'm seriously extremely grateful that anyone is willing to put me on their show, and appreciate all the stage time. Can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store!

Between the work from other people, all the sweet open mics fellow comics run in Edmonton, and my two shows at The Comic Strip and Chicago Joe's, I have an opportunity to get on stage pretty well every night if I want to. I know comics in places like Toronto and New York would roll their eyes at that, but travelling around to different cities over the last year or two, I've really developed an appreciation for the opportunity comedians in Edmonton have as far as stage time goes. This is a great place to try and become a comic.

On a completely different note, John Tavares just signed with the Leafs. Fuck. I didn't want to have to hate him....

My buddy Chris is coming over in a couple hours to record the first few episodes of my new gaming podcast, Remember the Game? I don't know how it's going to turn out yet, but I'm excited to finally get moving on it. Even if nobody listens, I think it's gonna be a fun project.

That's enough rambling for today. I'm gonna go walk my dog and sneak in a little Mario time before I head over to the Strip.

Have a great Canada Day, don't drink and drive and all that stuff, and enjoy the holiday Monday tomorrow. A Monday at home with a hangover beats a Monday without one at work every time!

Adam