My final comic stand!

I plan to stop giving jokes this year. And no, this is not a joke. This is a serious announcement, and if you think I'm joking, you going end up being the real April's fool.

Hear this story. Couple years ago a journalist told me he wanted to do a story about how well- known people deal with being constantly in the public eye. He asked me to share my stories of bad experiences or downsides of dealing with public attention as an actor/comedian.

comic cubbyhole

I made a point of telling him about the many positives first, and then recounted some of the annoying negatives. He asked, almost by-the-way, towards the end of the interview, if I would consider giving up comedy. I told him I definitely plan to give it up one day soon, especially because I do other stuff too and don't want to be exclusively boxed into the comic cubbyhole.

Well, he eventually turned my minor comment into the central point of his story. It became a major proclamation that I plan to give up comedy because I'm tired of people bothering me on the streets. I think the gentleman knew I never intended to make any such announcement, but he also knew what would make a good story.

Well, this is my story and announcement now: Owen 'Blakka' Ellis is not going to perform on any public event as a stand-up comic after this year. You'll be hearing more about it soon, but just remember I said it myself, today the first day of April.

stop idle and fiddle

Talking 'bout that, April come quick again, eeh? It's like just last week we were saying happy New Year and suddenly the calendar starts telling me is April 1. Is a joke or what? Hey, yu know that by the time yu 'quint' yu eye couple times, di year going to done again? We better start plan now fi 2010.

Once the year start near the middle, is not a puzzle or riddle, it's easy to comprehend. It means wi stop idle and fiddle, start juggle and bubble 'cause year-end is around the bend. As soon as we March into April we May as well tell June and July hello and greet the August arrival of her sisters to remember, September, October, November and December.

But I love April. Why? Here, where I am in foreign, it starts getting a little less cold; and this is my birthday month. Don't mind the fact that they call the first day a fool's day, I know quite a few people who're definitely not fools, and celebrate birthdays today. Well, not all of them celebrate it. Some just mark it or observe it, others regret it, and some avoid it.

Well, this year, I plan to do nuff things wid it. One of those things will be my final stand as a stand-up comic. The show's scheduled for the end of this month. And I shall speak things that never yet been spoken, and poke some fun that has never yet been 'poken'!

Yes, I'm walking away from it. And I feel like a batsman, ending his innings not out and his team's winning. I'm leaving a thriving genre. I don't feel like a rat fleeing a 'pap-dung' ship. Comedy is big now. Three major comedy shows happened on the same night last Sunday, and none flopped.

good time

Gunter had 'Mi Nah Laugh', Ragashanti had 'Mix-up & Blender' and Ellis International had 'Portmore Crack-up'. From the reports I got, every promoter got a crowd, and all the crowds had a good time. So you see comedy shows are clearly the next big thing in Jamaica, with or without Blakka.

Yu waan come to mi birthday bash? box-mi-back@hotmail.com