Dan Fiorella: Writer @ large - Easy as Falling off a Blog

Dan Fiorella

TMI: Daily-Week 30 (Oct. 12, 2020)

10/18/2020

Wasn't a great week for me this week on the show. To be honest, I started off the week feeling I was off my game, but, surprisingly, got a couple of jokes in. Then towards the end of the week, I was thought I was really cooking, but nothing got picked. Very frustrating, especially recognizing a couple of the set-ups were mine.

Anyway, TMI: Daily is on the TMI: Hollywood Facebook Page weeknights at 6pm on (Hollywood time). And here's my contributions for last week.

Barely Home Companion - Marty 2001 (Oct 2001)

10/15/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Home Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell 'prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

This is just a good old-fashion bit of silliness, something I hoped would be a aural comfort food while everyone was still in shock over the WTC attack.

I have to say that thanks to cable TV and things like TCM, AMC, or MeTV, for making the idea of doing a parody of a 50-year old movie no longer pointless. And the "I dunno, what do you wanna do" is like a running family joke.

One could even argue that perhaps another update of Marty could be done, but all in texts. Needless to say, the skit didn't make the cut...

MARTY 2001

The Amazing Maskoroni

10/14/2020

Yes, quarantine has lasted awhile now. And things get weird. I've been working out of my basement for months now and finally I reached a tipping point. I saw other people posting cute "COVID" videos and messing around online. And I was a little jealous, but really didn't have anything to do that I thought would be clever. Then I dreamed this up. Literally. I woke one morning with the whole concept of a masked magician having come to me in a dream and I actually remembered the dream! Then it was a matter of doing it in a practical manner. Then I fired up the old webcam and started playing around with the idea! And here we are. So, ladies and gentelmen, the wizard of lockdown, the pandemic prestidigitator, The Amazing Maskorini!

Barely Home Companion: Guy's Shoes (10/01)

10/13/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell 'prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

We were coming to the 1 month after 9/11 around this time and we were still reeling. I attempted to do a sequel to the version of an earlier sketch of mine that PHC did use doing the season opener the week before, a rug commercial that they turned into a Guy's Shoes commercial. So, I'd figure I'd cut out the middle man and write the next bit as a Guy's Shoes commercial. And built the entire bit around a bad pun. Needless to say, it didn't get used. But the second piece I wrote had nothing to do with 9/11 at all, so we were starting to get back in a grove. Here, unseen since Oct. 16 2001 is...

Guy Shoes

TMI: Daily-Week 29 (Oct. 5, 2020)

10/12/2020

It was another odd week on the show. First, the group didn't do a show on Monday, as they were still dealing with the death of Matt Marcy. Then Wednesday they didn't do a show because of the VP debates, but they still did the monologue, TMI: Daily Wrap Up, which I didn't submit to because I thought they were taking the day off, despite the fact that we did do a special show for the Presidential debate. And Friday, I really didn't get anything up. But on Tuesday, they did something unusual. As I included in the video, we had written a ton of Trump gets. COVID jokes for that day's show. But then it looked like he was really sick, so they decided not to do any monologue that day. But once Trump turned his illness into another reality TV episode, they pulled out the material and I got 3 jokes in that way, So my batting average is closer to normal.

I have to be honest, the last couple of weeks it's been difficult to keep churning out material for this and over things I've been working on. I haven't written anything long form in ages, even prior to the lockdown. And with the day joy still in effect, it's not like I've been sitting around binging on TV. At least I feel like I'm using some of my energy tweeting and directing it to the show here.

Anyway, TMI: Daily is on the TMI: Hollywood Facebook Page weeknights at 6pm on (Hollywood time). And here's my contributions for last week.

Barely Home Companion - 9/11 Cafe Boeuf (Oct. 2011)

10/8/2020

From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Home Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell 'prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...

After the horrific terror attacks of 9/11/01, the entertainment industry kinda shut down. There was too much to process and too many to mourn to allow ourselves to simply slip back into day-to-day life. But, even in the darkest tragedies, people get antsy for something more. Our basic needs still exist, to eat, to drink, to be among others. And social interaction leads to other things; the need to enjoy. The need to laugh.

In so many ways, all eyes were on New York City. Not just for what had happened, but for what and who we were. NYC is one of the broadcast centers of the nation. And, slowly, the media began to shake off the darkness. We all know how Letterman, John Steward, SNL and even Howard Stern started up their shows-both trying to acknowledge the change while conceding that some things, like the need to laugh, never change.

Half way across the country, PHC had been on its hiatus with reruns for the summer. Their season opener was set for 10/10/01. Not for nothing, but by that time, my day job had been back up and running in Lower Manhattan for weeks. We were pressing forward, step by step, with the ashes and smoke still drifting out of Ground Zero. Work pushed us forward. But, on the freelancing front, try writing comedy.

I tried. I alternated between bits that acknowledged the attack and others that didn't. It wouldn't be until the end of the month, with Halloween, that I went back to normal. Until then, it was working it out through the show's established characters. And a theme became the near-commercialization of the tragedy. Everyone and every business seemed to be jumping on the patriotic wagon, so that became a subject that I could poke fun of. As is a theme of these posts, this wasn't used. I thought it quite topical and whimsical, but it didn't make the cut. So, I've been trying to post these around the time they were created, (in lieu of the actual anniversary of 9/11), we present:

Cafe Boeuf

Spook-tacular Book Giveaway!

10/7/2020

Well, it's October, which means I start plugging my book "Halloweenies." And this year I'm part of The Kindle Book Review's big reader giveaway! Here's a chance to win (4) $100 Amazon eGift Cards from The No. 1 Site for Reader Giveaways; The Kindle Book Review. Just click on the link and enter the Rafflecopter on the giveaway page. It's easy & fun. If you love reading, enter now; giveaway ends October 31st. Click here and enter every day.
And Halloweenies has been discounted for this October-Fest of Reading! Get you copy and a chance to win today!

TMI: Daily-Week 28 (Sep. 28, 2020)

10/5/2020

Well, it was a rough week, for both petty and serious reasons. Petty up first. I didn't get many jokes. They even went to change-up the format to a "Joe Biden debate come-backs" against Trump. They even pulled out a joke I had done earlier to re-fit it for this format (the ramp), and I submitted a couple of new ones. After that, nothing on Wednesday and Thursday. Then Friday, the news came out Trump had COVID. First, we were going to go all in and do Trump has COVID jokes. Naturally, I went all in on that. Then the producer decided we should go the mature route and not do any monologue at all. So, it's a short video this week.

Now, the tough news, TMI: Hollywood lost a treasured cast member and friend over the weekend, Matt Marcy. They're not doing the show Monday, October 5, just because they're still processing it. I didn't know him except from the show videos. He was very talented and personable. It's times like these that I become so aware that I'm "working with" all these people on the other side of the country and I'll never really get to know them. It's a shame. And so typical of freelance work.

Anyway, keep an eye on the TMI: Daily Facebook Page weeknights at 6pm on (Hollywood time). And they'll be back soonest.

TMI: Daily-Week 27 (Sep. 21, 2020)

9/26/2020

It was a pretty good week for me. Again, a bunch of jokes, but re-worded punchlines. When I use the phrase "body count-wise" it wasn't on accident, yet it gets re-worded into a much longer, less clever sentence. Or use a sledge hammer on the RBG line. But, it's nice to vent my frustrations about current events and have an outlet for my snark.

Anyway, you can watch TMI: Daily on Facebook, (the TMI: Hollywood page) weeknights at 6pm on (Hollywood time) or catch it as a podcast. Enjoy!

TMI: Daily-Week 26 (Sep. 14, 2020)

9/21/2020

The show returned to its normal format, opening jokes and discussion panel. I got in a number of jokes, but with asterisks. The set-ups are mine and the intent of the punch lines, but they were tinkered with. Like the "disgruntled employee" jokes. I wrote, "Boy, this administration sure generates a lot of disgruntled employees." They choose to go with the "gruntled employee" trope. Or the PR aid. My set-up and my punchline mentioned paper towels, so I'm making claim to that joke. A couple of the punchlines got longer; if I put an either/or joke and they extended it to a run of three, (which granted, is the rule of comedy) or a few "really, really well"s after my line ended. It is what it is, so to speak.

Anyway, you can watch TMI: Daily on Facebook, back on, weeknights at 6pm on (Hollywood time) or catch it as a podcast. Enjoy!

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