Horror Games in Georgia Straight

I'm quoted in Vancouver's free newspaper (and the only thing I read when I'm back home) the Georgia Straight. Its a short quote, but its nice to be talking about video games again. I'm really glad he chose this line, I found myself ramblinga lot when I was talking to the writer and I'm glad he didn't quote one of my stupider ideas.

http://www.straight.com/article-266470/chilling-video-games-offer-escape-fear

Futile Self-Promotion

So I'm gearing up to apply to some co-op jobs for my program and I found a perfect position doing Web 2.0 work for the School of Public Service. Perfect! I blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. So I decided to put together a website to showcase my savvy internet ways (www.robertparungao.com).

Its pretty cut and dry but hey, it does the job and I kinda like having a professional website just so I can control the first thing that pops up when someone Google's me. Sadly, I go to apply for the job and its been mysteriously pulled of the co-op boards. Of course. Now I'm stuck with a corny 'about me' website and the lingering question of where I'm going to be in January. A few other jobs have caught my eye and there's about a 90% chance I'll be moving cities once again. Primary contenders are Ottawa and Iquluit. Awesome.

An open letter to Wolf Blitzer

Dear Wolf Blitzer,

I used to love your show but your epic fail on Jeopardy has made me realize that all you do is read a prompter. Please hand over the Situation Room to Rick Sanchez and join Fox News where intelligence is not required.

For my Asian brothers...and everyone else. Hilarious.

I'm stoked at the plurality of Asianness Jew Kwon brings into this song. Nice to see Asian not treated as synonymous with Chinese.

From the vaults...

Oops. My last post was in June. Since then I have been to four different major cities (Montreal, Toronto, Honolulu, Vancouver) and have busied myself with ridiculous amounts of work. One of my new jobs is as a research correspondent for the Multicultural History Society of Ontario doing archival and oral history research on Chinese women. Here's a gem of a passage from 'Publishers of Peace' a monograph from 1942 by the Rev. T.R. Millman.

"From the Chinese standpoint, the impact with western civilization has, biologically, been all to the good. Very marked changes are taking place in their physical appearance. The freer life and the playing of games makes for finer physique; the milder climate for a lighter complexion; and western diet, with fewer fats, produces a clearer and less opaque skin. From the use of ordinary sanitary measures, features are becoming better developed, and the whole facial expression more alert. Many of the young Chinese girls are most attractive, and with a natural flair for arranging the hair and for dressmaking, one often has to look twice to distinguish them from their western sisters. Marriages between Chinese and whites are few, as they are no more anxious for this than we are."

My! Fobby! Father!

On the phone, after telling my father that I was going to try some amateur stand-up comedy.

Dad: It must run in the family. I'm the funniest guy at my work.

Rob: Really dad? Maybe you should do stand up.

Dad: Oh no, but you can use my jokes. Why is golf better than sex?

Rob: Dad...stop...

Dad: Because you get more balls!

Rob: Thank you...dad, for that bit of comedic gold.

Dad: I know! Let me tell you another one!

Rob: Oh god no.

Dad: How is golf like sex?

Rob: I'm sensing a pattern here...

Dad: Because you practice your grip on the shaft! Listen your mother is laughing! I'm already funnier than you!


I've been upstaged even before I go onstage. This has to be some sort of record.

Fringe Fest 2009 - We Call This Comedy

Pow! You hear that? That’s the sound of the 2009 Montreal Fringe Fest knocking my teeth out. ‘We Call This Comedy’ is the first show for my Fringe Fest bonanza and it did exactly what it set out to do, make the audience laugh.

For a Fringe a festival show the show is a bit vanilla, the format is simply the two Montreal comedians (Ali Hassan and John Hastings) each doing a half hour of stand-up. In between the two sets the two do some collaborated work in the form of songs and hypothetical letters to annoying apartment neighbours.

I’m familiar with both of these Montreal locals’ work having seen Hassan MC at the ‘Comedians of Color’ and ‘Comedy Without Borders’ events and Hastings at Comedy works and at a fund raiser for the Filipino women’s centre. Despite the fact that I’ve heard most of their jokes before this show still was able to get a lot of laughs out of me as they’ve obviously tightened their craft and execution.

In the first half of the show Hastings explores his experience growing in a waspy Ontario household and the process of telling his parents that he wanted to go to theatre school. As he points out, this would be a crushing blow to any parents who hope to have children who are “productive members of society.” The rest of his set, leaned a bit too much on sex jokes, but hey, its the stand up comedian’s bread and butter.

Before Hassan took the stage, the two shared some songs with the crowd. Sadly I had already heard this material at an open mic night at Comedyworks, and sadly the gags from the songs seem to work better in a more intimate setting, rather than a large venue like the Just For Laughs studio. Nonetheless, they were still entertaining.

Finally Hassan took the stage to provide half an hour of his material. In previous shows, I’ve seen Hassan do a fantastic job slinging around race humour like it was second nature, so I was upset at the fact that he did almost no jokes on race issues, rather he focussed on the topic of food and his experience as a chef. While funny, I couldn’t help but think he opted to stick to less controversial topics (like the fact that his mother was in the crowd) to ensure he reached as many people in the audience. While probably a smart plan, and certainly very funny, it’s not his best work.

Overall though the show does a great job ensuring that you feel that you money was well spent, of not for the comedy then at the very least for the samosas handed out at the end of the show prepared by Hassan himself. Food and comedy? Can’t beat it.