The third evening of Montreal's bilingual storytelling Slam is next Monday!

http://www.documentia.ca/slamtastique/?p=48

Join us for our third evening of SLAMTelling
Joignez-nous pour notre troisième soirée de Conte de Slam!

Shaika Cafe
5526 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, Quebec
Deuxieme lundi de chaque mois, 7pm // Second Monday of each month, 7pm
Prochain Slam: 12 décembre 2011
Next event: December 12th 2011

Cinq juges, cinq minutes, des contes incroyables! (lisez les regles)
Five judges, five minutes, incredible storytelling! (read the rules)

Conteur invité / Featured Teller: Laurent Castellucci

In the spirit of being a stroller/busker/jongleur/hobo/gleoman/gangrel etc. - I will ride a midnight bus to South Station and then make my way to StrowlerCon Thanksgiving weekend. (That's Columbus Day to you Sub-49ers.)

It seemed a fun idea and an excuse to see people I won't otherwise see when I signed up some time ago.

Now it seems I'm emcee-ing the shows. Which means I should prepare.

How does one prepare for an overly-talented collection of liminal characters? One doesn't, one accepts them as they are. However, I *should* try to collect some appropriate tales of tricksters, scoundrels, layabouts and others of questionable characters such as the Stag King of Discord.

Also, I probably need costumes/clothes/many fabulous things to wear.

I leave next Thursday and go back Sunday night/Monday morn depending.

If you're Boston-area and NOT going, but want to see me, call or email or use your telepathetic powers and we'll arrange something.

As some of you know, I sometimes tell stories. I even tell these stories out loud from time to time.

Back around April 1st, I joined some other Montreal storytellers at 92 Degrees of Foolishness - a storytelling event celebrating the role of the Fool in our lives. There I told a story I learned from a terribly clever young man a fair number of you are acquainted with.

As it happens, the host of the event records the stories and sometimes puts them on his website. So for your edification (and since I am storytelling at Hurley's Irish Pub this Sunday), I present the (not at all original to me) Great Debate.

(Yes, this is more of a joke than a story and yes, it doesn't work as well without the hand gestures. Still, I figure I should get over my hesitancy to put any recording of me on the web, no matter how awful I always think I sound.)

*while waiting for my mocha to be handed over by the cute barista who kind of looks like hypatia*

She - "Hey. You're that comedian. I saw you at the Comedy Loft. Are you performing tonight?"

Me - "Yes, but not there. I'm telling stories at a cafe in NDG for Valentine's Day."

She - "That's good, because I'm not going to the Loft tonight."



Completely unrelated: Avatar really *is* the Smurfs

I've actually had employment this week, which has kept me mostly offline. Still hoping this might turn into a real job one day.

In the meantime, I heard a song on CBC Radio 2 Shift that needs to go on my list of "Songs about my imaginary girlfriend."

Mine All Mine (My Baby), the 5th track on Mike Plume's new album 8:30 Newfoundland. (Mr. Plume is obviously one of those artists that as a good Canadian I should have discovered long ago. I accept your lectures and recriminations.)

(Of course, CBC has now played a song by Catherine Maclellan called "Take a Break" which is about picking potatoes with cute people and another called "Saskatoon" which features the unlikely chorus "Everythin'll be better by Saskatoon" - this by Leeroy Stagger.)

I now distract you with a picture of a volcano causing lightning.

As a reminder, I will be storytelling at 92 Degrees of Love Friday and Saturday. I am still deciding exactly what story to tell. (I am intending to go Arabian Nights, but I may suddenly change my mind.)

I'm also going to take advantage of my fondness for being written on To Write Love On Her Arms on Friday.