Go West, young bloggers

Hiya.

So, if you keep checking this site and you're wondering to yourself, "Where in the Sam Hill is Benari?!"...

I wanted to let all y'all know that you can follow my continuing adventures over at G.I.Jew on Tumblr . And of course, you can find me on the Twitter, along with all the cool kids these days.

You're the prettiest readers in the world. Good DAY.

Daily Urban Legend

Hiya, folks who still read blogs!

Just wanted to pimp an awesome new site run by the talented and lovely Maggie Serota, Daily Urban Legend!

Making up shit is fun!

UPDATE: If you've been sent here by Daily Urban Legend, you are now caught in some sort of mutually-promoting internet temporal loop. Welcome!

Back to Boston

PEOPLE OF BOSTON! I am hosting awesome shows at Mottley's Comedy club this weekend.

Tim McIntire returns to Mottley's, and he's bringing his favorite comics with him! McIntire's been one of the most prolific comics in the Boston scene for over a decade, releasing two acclaimed comedy CDs, hosting the Boston Music Awards, writing for Nickelodeon, appearing on Comcast and NPR, doing independent films and even finding time to write a novel. The Boston Globe has called him a comic "on the verge of stardom."

Tim's bringing some of his very favorite comics with him - he's got New York's Carolyn Castiglia (you might have seen her on Comedy Central or VH1) with his old partner in crime, Benari Poulten, hosting. They're joined by up and comers Gary Petersen (Friday) and Sean Wilkinson (Saturday). Truly, a stacked lineup top to bottom. Come on out!

So head on out to Mottley's Comedy Club! A splendid time is guaranteed for all.*

*Splendid time not actually guaranteed for all.

NYC tonight!

NYC FOLKS!

Luca Lounge! Tonight! Comedy!
Tuesday, October 26th · 8:00pm - 9:30pm
222 Avenue B between 13th and 14th
New York, NY

Family Hour Show tonight!

HIYA, CITIZENS!

Tonight, Sara Benincasa's FAMILY HOUR returns to NYC! And I'll be telling some sort of story involving my nephews, Star Wars, super heroes, and my parents.

DETAILS:

Tuesday, October 19 · 8:00pm - 9:30pm
Luca Lounge
222 Avenue B between 13th and 14th
New York, NY
The critically-acclaimed fan favorite is BACK in a new location!
FREE admission
FREE homebaked cookies

Featuring true family stories from...

Baratunde Thurston (web editor at The Onion; HarperCollins author)
Sean Donnelly (Lil' Seany Boy Show)
Sean L. McCarthy (The Comic's Comic)
Benari Poulten (Shoot the Messenger)
Chelsea White (Gotham Comedy Club)
Jena Friedman (Entertaining the Bartender)

How do you get to Colbert's writers' room? Just get deployed to Iraq!

Here's a quick round-up of what I've been up to this week:


The Lowell Sun has a nice mention of me in the Sunday Column:

STAND-UP COMIC and Army Sgt. 1st Class Benari Poulten rubbed elbows recently in Baghdad with political satirist and Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert.

"He was in Iraq for a few days for a USO tour, and I managed to end up in his makeshift writers room during part of the visit," Poulten e-mailed The Sun from Iraq. "Just think, I had been in NYC for 5 years, and I had to go all the way to Baghdad to end up in Colbert's writers room."

Colbert's visit has been widely reported, because he declared the war in Iraq officially over and had his head shaved, Army-style, after a videotaped order from President Barack Obama.

Poulten, who grew up in Chelmsford, is part of a multinational force in Baghdad specializing in civil and public affairs as a liaison to the Iraqi media.

Before being deployed in January, Benari was in New York, where he most recently worked in a comedy club show with Liz Winstead, a co-creator of The Daily Show, where Colbert got his start.

Benari has also rubbed elbows with Lowellian Mehmed Ali, an arts/culture liaison with the Iraqi government.

"They're on different sides of Baghdad, but have seen each other when Benari goes to the American Embassy," said Sam Poulten, Benari's father.


When he returns, "hopefully by Christmas," Benari will likely return to New York to resume his comedy writing and stand-up career.

He hopes his backstage brush with Colbert, who taped four episodes of his show there, opens doors.

"He's a terrific guy and the shows were hilarious -- and he was nice enough to take a pic backstage," Benari e-mailed.

Don't know how many doors it'll open up, but it was pretty cool. Colbert and his entire staff were fantastic and could not have been nicer to me. And since one of Colbert's goals was to bring more attention to the troops still here in Iraq, I'd say "Mission ccomplished." There's nothing politically volatile about that phrase, right?

My old boss and good pal Pat Cook is also mentioned in Column for his dry wit and humor. And what's this? Why, yes, he also had a thing or two to say about my brush with fame.

And of course, NYC buddy and comedy aficionado Sean McCarthy had a nice mention of me over on his blog, The Comic's Comic, one of the best resources of comedy insight on the world wide web.

I'll follow up soon with some more behind the scenes tales from the front lines of Baghdad.

Excelsior!

Somewhat of an explanation....

NY Press explains what's up with me lately...

COMEDY OF TERRORS
From political comic to active-duty solider,
Benari Poulten trades gags for guns

By Maggie Serota


Benari Poulten is a resident of Astoria, or at least he was until his commitment to civic duty granted him a year-long vacation in scenic Iraq. In addition to playing the role of the opening hype man for the weekly Shoot the Messenger comedy show at the Green Room Theater, he’s also a regular at comedy spots Comix, People’s Improv Theater, The Tank and Rififi.

“I think I’ve done everything that has been done,” Poulten remarks. “Even the places that have closed down.”
One would be hard-pressed to find a comedian more qualified to skewer the political process and foreign affairs than 31-year-old Poulten. While other comics passively rely on newspaper headlines and sound bites for material, Poulten has already served as a Congressional Aide to Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass) as well as a staffer for the 2004 Kerry campaign. And he’s not just talk; Poulten has also spent the better part of the last decade enlisted in the Army Reserves as a print and broadcast journalist, having recently been promoted to Sergeant First Class.

“I joined the Army Reserves in 1999, one month after college, which pissed off my dad because he wanted me to join for the tuition money. I was like, ‘Screw you, old man!’” Poulten explains. Clearly, there is no greater affront to a father than ignoring his fiscal advice. Adding insult to injury, Poulten went on to acquire $100,000 more debt by earning his MFA in Dramatic Writing at NYU.

His military experience—not to mention a childhood spent in community theater—made him a perfect candidate to send up this summer’s Republican National Convention with the rest of his comedy group, the Shoot the Messenger crew, when they exported their weekly theater show to Minneapolis. Although Poulten is the first to admit that Republicans are comedic sitting ducks.

“A lot of satire is based on taking on the people who happen to be in power, and right now, these are the people who are in power,” Poulten relays before explaining that the group spent its days reporting on the convention via radio and their nights “taking the politicians to task and raking them over the coals.”

Their targets didn’t make it very difficult. “The most absurd moment had to be when we spotted Karl Rove just walking around as if he wasn’t being indicted,” Poulten says. “[Comic] Lizz Winstead remarked that one of the perks of being at the convention is that we were hanging around people that should be in jail.”

Naturally, Poulten did what anyone would do and seized the moment to take a picture with the unsuspecting Bush crony, even if he did have to exercise what he refers to as “an incredible amount of restraint.”

Another highlight involved shooting a segment making fun of the horrendous patriotic-themed fashions being peddled by vendors and modeled by prominent Republicans.

“I had to drive over to the Republican mayor of Bloomington, Indiana’s house to pick up one of the outfits for our sketch, and the car died. So I had to have the mayor help jump my [car] so I could go back to Minneapolis and go make fun of his friends.” It should be noted that the mayor of Bloomington is Gene Winstead, Lizz’s brother.

Although Poulten identifies as a liberal and “proud Democrat,” one has to wonder if he is in any way conflicted about his military assignments, especially when those assignments are surrounded by controversy.

“The last time I was deployed, I was in Guantanamo in 2002,” Poulten relays with remarkable good humor. “I was only supposed to be there for six months, but that got extended to a year because someone had to go and start another war.”

“Guantanamo was one of those situations where I had to separate the warriors from the war since a lot of the public perception of what went on was shaped by policy fights in Washington. It was certainly an interesting place to be handling public affairs.” How’s that for an understatement?

This month, Poulten will be going on the road again, not as an entertainer, but as a member of the Army Reserves shopping off to Iraq.

“I knew it was a possibility that I would be going into Iraq, but I don’t think I’ve fully processed it yet,” he explains. “I have friends who have gone and come back and friends who went and didn’t come back, but I’m looking forward to being a part of history that few of us can experience firsthand.”

Despite being sent into a war zone with the added stress of a leadership position, Poulten fails to lose sight of what is most important.

“Call me back if you need me to be funnier,” he remarked before hanging up.

minnie

Hiya, folks.

Shoot the Messenger heads out West this week for three shows:

Sep 2, 2008 - Sep 4, 2008
@ 7:00pm each night

The Parkway Theater
4814 Chicago Avenue S
Minneapolis, MN

READ MORE HERE.

Also, Lizz Winstead and I will be broadcasting live on Lowell's WCAP 980 AM every day during the convention. 9:30am and 4:30pm (EST). Tune in or listen live online at 980wcap.com/

That is all. For now.

in Washington D.C. tonight?

Because that's where I will be. I'm doing a last-minute-scheduled set as part of the DC Comedy Festival, hence the short notice.

I'll be doing a 10 minute guest set on the Lizz Winstead Show.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2008, 7:30PM, Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse, $22

Everybody blogs

Well, whaddya know?

My lovely and talented sister, Geordarna, works for an adorable little kitchenware shop called bluecashew.

And thanks to her hard work, you can check out their brand - spankin' - new website by clicking on the above link.

Even better, she's blogging for 'em, too. So go poke around the website and check out the blog, The Dose, at

http://www.bluecashewkitchen.blogspot.com


Oh, yeah - if you check out their products, you might just be reading descriptions written by a certain NY-based comic who also happens to (occasionally) post on this very blog...!

I will be on the tee-vee this weekend

If you're as big a fan of me as I am, then you might want to tune your TiVos and/or DVRs to the CNN HEADLINE NEWS NETWORK this Saturday and/or Sunday at 7pm, where I'll make with the snarky comments on things that happened long ago.

Please note, I have no idea what the quality of the commentary or the show will be like. But it's on the tee vee! How can it be bad?

Please check back here for a full breakdown, after it airs.

CNN HEADLINE NEWS * SATURDAY & SUNDAY @ 7pm, 9pm, & Midnight

ends, odds, etc.

TONIGHT!

5:30PM.

Tune in to Channel 110 on Sirius Satellite Radio!

That's where you can hear me discuss things of great import on "The Blog Bunker".

That's Indie Talk 110 on Sirius Satellite Radio, 5:30PM.

Then, at 8PM, head on over to the Green Room Theater, 45 Bleecker St., and catch me in Shoot the Messenger.

End Transmission.

Lowell...ish tonight

I guess I should mention that I'm doing a show tonight at Lenzi's in Dracut, MA tonight.

I'm the worst self-promoter ever. Also, the blogging hasn't been so stellar. Lots of stuff to catch you all up on. Soon. Details below:

Well folks, this is the last year for Leo Dunn, AKA, Larry Starr. To kick off his impending retirement Larry/Leo has graciously offered to host our first annual comedy night fundraiser, "THE LAST HURRAH OF LARRY STARR".

The fundraiser is to benefit the school's Assistance and Activities Fund and to help pay for Seymour, (the wonder school therapy dog). All proceeds will be used for the students and to help pay for the dog. The Activities Fund organizes trips and excursions, entertainment and other activities for the students, supplementing or fully covering the costs. The Assistance Fund helps students who can't afford to pay for their school uniforms or other supplies. The fund also donates Thanksgiving and Christmas food and gifts for students who's families would otherwise not have a holiday. In many cases the fund will give a student an emergency food gift certificate if the family is in a financial crisis. We are also still paying for Seymour, the school assistance dog. He brings joy and comfort to students and staff on a daily basis. This event will be our first big fundraiser. (If we can generate enough money you won't have to dodge Shari hawking raffle tickets anymore!!)

This laugh filled night will be Leo's version of a retirement party, (of course it won't be his only one I hope) and he wants everyone to attend. He has generously donated his time and talent to MC this stellar event. Thank you Leo!

The date is Friday, April 11, 2008. The venue will be Lenzi's Catering and Function Facilities in Dracut. Tickets are $25 and you can buy a reserved table for 12, for $300.
The cash bar will open at 7pm (with table service) and the show will start at 8:30. There will be music before, and dancing after the show, hosted by Greater Lowell's own DJ, Andy Garabedian. Lots of fabulous raffle prizes will be drawn through out the night. It surely will be a memorable and fun evening to benefit some great causes and a fabulous way to say "Hey Leo, thanks for the memories...."

STM round-up

That little show I work on, Shoot the Messenger, is picking up some buzz, and since that's what is occupying most of my time these days, I figured I'd share.

Here's the website, by the way.

The first part of the show - Wake Up, World - is a satirical swipe at morning shows and their uncanny ability to push corporate interests no matter the circumstances.

The second part is Thinking & Drinking with Lizz, where she sits down for a one-on-one talk with someone in the media.

Susie Essman was Lizz's guest Monday and while she couldn't say for sure, it looks like there might be another season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, after all. Also, we learned a LOT more info about Lizz's past personal life. Maybe even too much info...

Here's a little excerpt from the NY PRESS article about it:

While Susie said that Larry has mentioned that Season 6 will most likely be the last, Susie provided fans with a small glimmer of hope, quipping that a gossip column snipe that his estranged wife’s career is getting bigger than his might inspire enough spite for a 7th season. Is that a hint, Susie?

“I really don’t know what’s going to happen, though,” she shrugged.

The show itself is made up of various comics, writers, and techies who - so far - have very freely given of their time and energy. Is it cult-like? I'll leave that for the pundits to decide.

From the NY PRESS:

After the show, I hung out with Lizz in her kitchen as she hovered over a plate of sundry cheeses before reacting to the observation that her charisma has mobilized a team of enthusiastic writers and actors to produce the show as a volunteer, DIY effort. Like if Ian Mackaye actually had a sense of humor.

“Or D. Boon” she quipped before popping a piece of brie into her mouth.

And some of the reviews are in...

Thanks, for the nice words, Sean!

Shoot the Messenger at 45 Bleecker

If you haven't seen Lizz Winstead's latest creation, then you're missing out. Winstead, who co-created The Daily Show and later went on to Air America Radio, now has her sights set on skewering morning TV. Her Monday night show, Shoot the Messenger, recently moved into larger digs at The Green Room at 45 Bleecker. In the new venue, the set design and everything else feels much more like an actual morning TV program (even if it's not actually six hours, as advertised in the tagline for "Wake Up World with Hope and Davis," TV's only six-hour morning 'infonewsment' show). There are the requisite sofa, chair and coffee table. A separate news desk.

Benari Poulten plays the frat-tastic energetic audience warm-up guy. Baron Vaughn as Davis Miles plays affable co-host to Winstead's ridiculous Hope Jean Paul. Each week typically features a taped interview segment with self-help author, "Life Expert" Dana Levan (Carol Hartsell). A big screen behind the stage plays these pre-taped bits, new toons, and last week offered a well-executed debate between other 24/7 network anchors (played by Lucas Held and Sean Crespo) with Vaughn moderating it live.

Click here for more.

FYI, I also co-wrote and voice (co-voice?) the Race to the White House flash animation he posted.

Let's get Sirius (again)

Where the heck have I been?!

I know, I know. I'm a terrible blogger. How can anyone possibly keep up to the inner workings of ME if I never post anymore? Well, one place you can find me of late is on the radio.

Today, I'll be on Sirius Satellite Radio's Independent Talk channel 110 at about 5:15 pm.

And for more radio excitement, I'll be making a surprise guest appearance on NYC's WOR 710 HD tomorrow morning at around 7:40.

Does the radio excitement ever end? No. No, it does not.

Tune in again

Tonight!

5PM!

Sirius Satellite Radio
INDIE TALK - Channel 110
"The Blog Bunker"

Who know what we'll be talking about.

Tune in, Turn on, Drink Coffee

If you are up and near a computer at around 8:20ish, go to http://www.980wcap.com/, click on Listen Live and you can hear me live on the Voice of the Merrimack Valley, WCAP 980 AM.

I will speaking, expertly, on the end of the Writer's Strike, using my extensive anecdotal experience.

Also, my father wants everyone to know that HE said the strike would end by February 15th.

Top notch presidential analysis

Here's another "Race to the White House ... 08!" that I co-wrote.

Oh, yes, and you can hear the dulcet tones of my melodious voice as "the color commentary guy", most notably when I scream "OH EIGHT!"





Shoot the Messenger

"OH EIGHT!"

If you haven't had a chance to see Shoot the Messenger yet, you're missing out on comedy gems like this, our take on the '08 Presidential Primaries so far...


In this corner, the Democrats!



And in this corner, the Republicans!



These have been a blast to work on, and probably the most fun to write.

In case you couldn't tell, I'm the one yelling "08!"

Oh, sure, I say a bunch of other things, but yelling "08!" is my favorite part.