The Slade Ham Experiment

I wrote a piece earlier in the week covering ten things I wish I'd learned sooner when it comes to comedy. I elaborate on all these, but this is the gist of it:

1 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 2 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 3 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗶𝘀, 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘁 4 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 5 𝗦𝗮𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗲𝘁 6 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 7 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 8 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 9 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗺 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 10 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆

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I spent the week with friends of mine who are all more talented than me. I hung out with Lou, Brad, & Kevin, and it made me revisit the country music of my past. Hint, there isn't much.

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Somehow birds keep finding me. I rescued a dove on my way to the store, which makes me remember the macaw that I kept for a while. Plus, being alone, being on Alone, and people who are afraid of being alone.

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My neighborhood features a Combat Kroger where there's never any real food and everyone thinks everyone is stealing. More posh grocery stores are an entirely different experience. I used to work in a grocery store myself way back in the 90s.

I also bring up some television shows that toy with tension to make us avid watchers, namely Alone and Suits. The latter is particularly good at preying on our attention and love of short, bite-sized story nuggets.

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I picked up some surprise sets this weekend alongside Cristela Alonzo at the Houston Improv. Great crowds, and a nice opportunity to finally run some jokes from the special without any pressure. I also caught Oppenheimer, finally! Christopher Nolan is a fantastic storyteller. I try to stay there, and keep most if what I talk about spoiler free.

And like most things do, this sends me down a rabbit hole thinking about how much I truly don't understand about almost everything I encounter.

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I lose it fighting a cockroach, who sent red wasp and fire ant minions before it. Burn the world down, I say. I also revisit a previous line of thinking in order to answer a question, which leads me down a road of vintage video games and what I have learned from them.

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I taped a comedy special this past weekend which, along with a crazy tour schedule this summer, has derailed my weekly schedule. This is a rambly recount of the taping as I get used to flying the Midnight Spaceship on a regular basis again.

You can get a free digital version of my book by signing up for my twice-a-month newsletter full of all sorts of useful stuff: http://www.sladeham.com

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I try to recall my worst travel experiences from the last two decades. Believe it or not, it's hard. I don't hang on to a lot of the bad ones, and even the ones I do get overwritten with the good from the trip. Nevertheless, it doesn't always go to plan.

Security in Yemen, heartbreak in Australia, Afghanistan floods, dead cats in Canada, and a head wound in Romania... let's revisit my past, shall we?

You can get a free digital version of my book by signing up for my twice-a-month newsletter full of all sorts of useful stuff: http://www.sladeham.com

Please consider telling a friend if you dig the show.

I just got back from touring the new show for two weeks in Canada. I talk about what went wrong at one of the shows, then get sidetracked by my Uber ride home. Momin, my driver, was from Afghanistan. He might have convinced me to permanently add the shemagh (a scarf that is everywhere in the Arab world) to my wardrobe.

Also, I walk myself through my strategies around the special, and how important it is to set the stakes and rules in advance, no matter what game you decide to play.

Strikes are interesting. The writers and actors are all off the clock and I am looking for opportunities. Also, Houston heat sucks and I try out the AeroPress but am not completely convinced.

You can get a free digital version of my book by signing up for my twice-a-month newsletter full of all sorts of useful stuff: http://www.sladeham.com

Please consider telling a friend if you dig the show.