The Chip Chipperson Phenomenon

Self-awareness is not a strength for many people in this age of social media. Self-aggrandizing posts attempting to make marginal lives seem extraordinary are the norm, and no one embodies this as a person more purely than Chip Chipperson. Granted Chip is not a real person, but his personification of the current zeitgeist is undeniable. Chip is the type of person you would absolutely revile if you experienced him in your daily life, he takes all the unattractive traits inside each of us and amplifies them: the desperate desire to be loved, the denial of our own faults and failings, and a disgusting over confidence in his own mediocrity. This adds up to the ability to exist inside a world of his own creation where he lives in an uneasy denial of his Mother’s amorous activities while bedding numerous Hollywood starlets himself without even knowing their proper names. This parallels our own online existences where we selectively edit our lives for public consumption (Hey, cut that part out.)

I think part of the reason people are drawn to Chip is that he absolves us of the aforementioned sins (even if it takes place on a subconscious level). I think this absolution is some part of what creates the cult like devotion to Chip. I cannot imagine the disgust Chip’s success elicits in the minds of established comedians that struggle to receive the recognition and acclaim they so richly deserve. Keep in mind Jim Norton is a great comedian himself, but to have a character that he has brought to life for years now take on this status has to be a shock even to him. Though I am sure he delights in the love showered on Chip, especially as it horrifies his fellow comedians. Chip is the Rupert Pupkin of our day.

I believe I have heard multiple comedians say their job is to find humor in our universal experiences. I believe this is exactly what Jim Norton has done with Chip; even if the audience doesn’t consciously recognize this. Which means there is probably a little more Chip in all of us than we would like to admit. 

Keeping Joe Podcast

Social media has given us access to more entertainment options than ever before, which is great, but it makes it all the more difficult to find quality entertainment. This is true nowhere more than in the field of comedy. It is difficult for the uninitiated to separate the wheat from the chaff with so many comedians on the scene, but thankfully there are still institutions you can turn to, to aid in the process. One such institution is the Comedy Cellar in New York City. The comedy Cellar has grown to be the premiere club in the world where the top comedians in the business go to hone their material. It is not unusual for comedic giants like Jerry Seinfeld or Dave Chappelle to drop in and deliver a set, but just as valuable and perhaps underappreciated is the fact that you can routinely see legends of stand up comedy like Colin Quinn and Dave Attell perform in the Cellar, or one of its satellite rooms, on a regular basis.

The Cellar is also where you can see the brightest young comics perform as well, three of which are on the Riotcast Network podcast Keeping Joe. (Riotcast is an online media company co-founded by Cellar regular Robert Kelly with a studio on the Comedy Cellar premises) The three aforementioned comedians are Sam Morril, Phil Hanley, and the show's name sake Joe Machi. In addition to the three comedians Liz Furiati the manager of the Comedy Cellar also appears on the show and brings a sense of balance. Another great feature of the podcast is the music of Colin Smith who has produced a number of song parodies for the shown (Mr. Smith is brilliantly talented and should be a household name). The podcast features comedy legends like Colin Quinn, Dave Attell, and Artie Lange as well as young comics like Mike Vecchione, Beth Stelling, and Anthony DeVito, all talking about their craft and experiences in the world of stand up. It is the perfect podcast for comedy fans and for anyone entertaining the idea of becoming a stand up comic. The podcast is available on iTune and on the Riotcast website.

Make sure if you are in New York city you visit on of the Comedy Cellars shows, but be sure to make reservations as they routinely sellout.

Colin Quinn and Jimmy Hoffa

This entry was part of the this day in history series with Colin Quinn. It was the date that former Teamsters head Jimmy Hoffa disappeared (July 30).

Colin von Bismark

Today's entry represents another personal favorite of mine which is the combination of Colin Quinn and Otto von Bismark. Bismark was one of Germany's greatest  leaders playing a pivotal role in creating the German Empire that existed before World War I. You can explore more about him and his role in late 19th century history here: Otto von Bismark

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Colin Quinn Howl

Here is a post from my Colin Quinn series inspired by Allen Ginsburg's famous poem Howl which was referenced by the great Rabid Monk. "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness...." Use the link to my Amazon storefront to pick up your own copy.

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Colin Quinn - Pete Maravich Basketballcard

Today's post contains two Colin Quinn inspired basketball cards the first is a Quinn Pete Maravich combination the second teams CQ with a young Bill Walton.

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Colin Quinn and Nick Nolte

Here is a short video of this week's Colin Quinn - Nick Nolte photoshop inspired by Nolte's notorious mugshot for my CQ Comedy Cellar series for his Law Abiding Criminals shows.

Here is Colin Quinn in the role of Kikuchiyo, the role played by Toshiro Mifune, in Seven Samurai.

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One of my favorite Colin Quinn posts puts CQ in the classic role of Stanley Kowalski played by Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire joined by Amy Schumer in the role of Blanche DuBois
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Here is the short video of yesterday's post of Colin Quinn and Sid Vicious. I will try and do these as often as possible. If you have suggestions or questions let me know and I will try and get content created to help you with your own projects. Thanks again for watching.
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Law Abiding Criminals

Here is today's post for Colin Quinn's Law Abiding Criminals show at the Comedy Cellar in New York. It runs Tuesday and Wednesday night almost every week. This week's entry is a combination of Sid Vicious: Rock 'n' Roll Star (of Sex Pistols fame) and Mr. Quinn. Youcan use this link: http://astore.amazon.com/jemetzca-20 to explore Amazon and find items that inspired my work. Thanks again for stopping by.  Oh, I will also try and get a video of how I made this entry up as soon as I can.

One of the first

Below is one of the first images that Colin Quinn retweeted of mine on Twitter. It was the first in a series of Quinn starring in classic movie roles that I created. This particular image is ofColin as Anthony Quinn's character Zampanò Hollywood Collection: Anthony Quinn An Original , along with Frederico Fellini's wife, Giulietta Masina in the classic film La Strada (1954) Massina starred in several of Fellini's films and she gives a beautiful performance in La Strada. I will not go into detail about the film, but highly suggest you watch it if you have not seen it, it is a great introduction to Fellini and his work and is more accessible for most than 8 1/2 (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray].

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Welcome

Hello and thanks for stopping by, on this blog you will find photo-shopped images that I have posted on twitter with a little background information on each one explaining why the images were chosen, where they were taken from and some of the techniques used to create the works. I will also include links you can use to purchase videos music and books that the images were inspired by (this will be updated regularly with new items); I hope you enjoy the posts and thanks again for stopping by.

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