6-19 ''Am I an a-hole?''

Norman Wilkerson put me on a show he's organizing and in the promotion he describes me as:

''the only guy I know with less regard for the feelings of others than me''

Herbie Gil labeled me the ''fact checker'' for my criticism of jokes that fly in the face of common sense and reality. As an example, I heard a joke this past week about going to CVS. The comic's premise was that you should never spend more than $10 in CVS. He said that the store was only for purchasing ''non- essentials like gum, mints, water and US magazine''.

Non-essentials like...WATER?

I understand that he is referring to bottled water, but don't you think it's a little distracting for him to mention among his list of ''non-essential'' items the one thing that EVERY living thing, animal or plant needs to sustain life?

I attended the DC showcase this past Tuesday. A couple of days later one of the contestants sent me and email asking, ''Would you have a few minutes to critique/chat about my set?''

In typical Joe Robinson fashion I destroyed this guy. Here are a few of excerpts:

''I love the train wreck aspect of bad comedy. When people have such little instinct in regards to what an audience wants to hear I am mesmerized. This is what I saw in you and your set. I would take the time to break it down, but honestly there was nothing usable in your set.''

''Stand up comedy is hard. If you've ever read my blog you'd read this exact same thing. You are not a bad person if you are not able to do it. I can't play baseball, I'm not mad at the Orioles. If you want my true advice, give up comedy. You are not good at it. You are years away from being hirable. Again, you seem like a nice guy. Be a fan of comedy. I love movies. So I go see them. I don't fly to L.A. for auditions.'' NEXT>