Bob Bledsoe is not just a stand-up comedian and actor who has been seen on The WB’s Pepper Dennis, Comedy Central’s Trigger Happy TV and CBS’s Citizen Baines, but he’s also my friend. Well, at least on MySpace he is.

When I first saw Bledsoe perform live, he was gut wrenchingly hilarious. I know that sounds like a movie trailer quote but it’s true. His timing was dead on, his stage persona was refined, even the pauses in between the deliveries seemed brilliant.

Currently, Bob can be seen on the new break away hidden camera show on BET called, Socially Offensive Behavior, airing Wednesdays at 10 pm. He has also been working on shooting a Hallmark Channel original movie called, “Sharkswarm,” starring Daryl Hannah. In the meantime, please have a look at this video featuring Shark Swarm’s Bob Bledsoe performing at the Icehouse.

It came as no surprise to me that America gave Ralph Harris his walking papers last night on Last Comic Standing. Harris’ previous set was mostly comprised of a drawn-out impression of a drunk uncle that very closely resembled Damon Wayans’ character, Anton Jackson from In Living Color. Still in the running, are Amy Schumer, LaVell Crawford, Jon Reep, and Gerry Dee.

Out of the finalists, Amy Schumer is my favorite but I don’t think she’s safe from elimination after last night. Schumer’s bit about not having to fake orgasms to her one time mime boyfriend bombed. I thought it was a great joke and I’m assuming the punch line got lost in translation between how she probably delivers it in a club versus how she had to perform it on primetime network television. Unfortunately, I don’t think the general voting public will consider that when phoning in. Amy, if you’re reading this, I think you’re awesome and I think that audience was retarded.

Apparently Jamie Foxx is in talks with Showtime, to produce a new sketch comedy/improv show, along the lines of In Living Color, which helped boost Foxx’s career in the early ’90s.

Comedy big-wig, Gary Abdo, brought Foxx’s manager and a Los Angeles based casting agent to Atlanta’s Uptown Comedy Corner for four hours a night, Sunday and Monday, to find new talent. They came to Atlanta specifically to see Blacktop Circus — the nation’s leading all-black improv troupe — perform, and ended up watching over 50 local and regional talents as well, including Corey “Zooman” Miller, Ronnie Jordan, Karlous Miller, Byron Bowers, Double D, Chris “Smokey” Jones, Big Sean Larkins, Honey Bunz, Pat Brown, K-Dubb and Foodstamp.

Check all of the Atlanta comedians out on myspace to see their clips.

Despite my best efforts in the 12 seconds I searched on YouTube, I cannot find the KFC commercial, wherein a female office worker allays her co-workers’ fears about her bringing a knife to her cubicle by proclaiming that she’s simply having a KFC lunch: “It’s real food,” she says, “which requires a fork and a knife.”

You may be familiar with comedian Patton Oswalt’s now well-known bit about KFC’s “Famous Bowls.” You know, the ones: KFC dumps fried chicken parts in mashed potatoes, gravy and cheese and serves it all up in one large non-biodegradeable bowl. It’s a meal that can, arguably, be enjoyed without the use of the aforementioned kitchen tools.

Without the video of the new KFC commercial embedded here, I realize this post isn’t as interesting as it could be. So for now, you have two choices: You can click here and then click on “view latest TV commercial” or you can take my word for it. There’s actually a new KFC commercial that sounds as though it’s a direct response to Patton shitting all over their food and their past marketing strategies.

I’ve thrown up the Patton bit below. It’s your job to find me the KFC commercial I’m talking about so I could just embed the damn thing here. Deal?

Bob Saget likes to swear during his set - profusely. Last night, I watched my recording of Saget’s new HBO special, “That Ain’t Right,” and it’s true, it wasn’t right. Not for stand-up anways.

I’m no math wizard (so don’t expect me to show my work here), but I’d say 90% of Saget’s material was non sequitor vulgar langauge, void of any set up or delivery of a punchline. (Clever website title placement.) The remaining 10% was material based around either “Full House” or “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

This isn’t to say that I never laughed because I did a few times. Sometimes his shok and awe strategy to humor works. I guess I’m just more into material that is cleverly constructed rather than loaded with dirty 4-letter words (although at one point I think Saget pulled off a rare dirty 7-letter word.) Comedy doesn’t have to be dirty or clean to be funny. It just has to be funny and I think that is what his special was lacking.

If you have seen Bob Saget’s, “That Ain’t Right,” let me know what you thought. Was it funny or is it just me?

Whether you’re familiar with the Opie and Anthony Show, never heard of it, love it or hate it, you can’t deny what it’s doing for stand-up comedy— and that is creating a level of excitement – not to mention and amazingly unique type of excitement for the art form – not felt in a long time— or at least not since the inaugural run of the Traveling Virus Tour last summer.

As only one stop remains – Sept. 15 in Camden, NJ – the Virus tour arrived at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ on Aug. 25, where its participants produced a rock ‘n’ roll infused comedy show for 12,000 anxious fans.

With a rotating cast of well-known comics offering the obvious main events of the night in each city – this night featured Rich Vos, Bob Kelly, Otto & George, Patrice O’Neal, Bob Saget, Louis CK, Lewis Black and of course, O&A third mic man Jim Norton – the tour excels at giving its ticket holders a truly memorable event.

Before the show, thousands of fans milled about the O&A village (the area of the arts center after you cross the main parking lot but before you get to the amphitheater), where a Drown-the-Clown booth was always busy with eager pitchers, the Stress Factory was peddling incentives to go to their comedy club in New Brunswick, NJ, sideshow performers tried to knock a cigar out of a guy’s mouth without knocking is head off his torso and Norton was signing his New York Times best seller Happy Endings and posing for pictures.

As the crowd made their way to their seats (or their patches of lawn) they were treated to two strippers flanking the giant stage, dancing to Motley Crue, Kid Rock and the like.

In addition to the comedy, fans enjoyed huge-screen-projected O&A show highlights featuring the show’s twisted cast of characters: they saw No Filter Paul shitting an oversized diaper, intern Pat Duffy brushing his teeth with dog feces, Pat from Moonachie spewing what seemed like gallons of fire-hose projected vomit onto Duffy’s face and E-Rock leaving an amazingly detailed red handprint on Penthouse Pet Justine Joli’s ass after slapping her mighty hard.

In the end, these things were just hilarious respites between stellar stand-up comedy, which we’re actually not going to review here; click around for a few minutes on Punchline Magazine and you’ll see interviews and reviews on most of the aforementioned comics. Suffice it to say, O&A doesn’t invite shitty acts on the road with them.

For those not obsessed with stand-up comedy, a tour like this exposes even the most reluctant to excellent comedy. Even those uninterested in stand-up would love a show like this—if not for the comedy but for the sense of community the Virus tour promotes. And for those truly dedicated fans of stand-up, a show like this only reinvigorates their passion for the art. Sure, you could see half a dozen comedy shows in a month, but not one of them compares to a spectacle like this.

Through their friendships with some of the country’s best comedians, the constant presence of those comics on their show throughout the year and the Virus tour – which will hopefully continue to be a yearly event – Opie and Anthony continue to be – whether purposeful or not – two of the biggest champions for stand-up comedy.

If you pay real close attention to these electronic pages, you’ll remember that about two months ago, I was bitching about the fact that comedian Tom Rhodes, one of my favorites of all time, rarely seemed to hit the New York tri-state area during his many world tour dates.

I’m almost ashamed to say I’d never seen the man live; but I have his two albums - reviewed one here - and nearly know them by heart. But last night, I finally got the chance to see it all in person as I caught his late show at Comix in Manhattan.

Rhodes put on a great show, to say the least. Besides him being an amazing talent on stage, Rhodes has an amazing presence, an aura that surrounds him off stage. He’s got this interesting contempo-hippie vibe; like he’s this well-spoken, polished guy but he’s very into living life, loving life and really embracing life and all of its inhabitants.

I know comedian Judah Friedlander is known as the “hug guy” from that Dave Matthews video, but really you haven’t lived until you’ve been given a sturdy hug and shoulder pat from Tom Rhodes.

I spend a fair amount of time in several different comedy related forums online. One thing I have come to learn is that there seems to be an endless supply of teenagers who are aspiring to break into the stand-up industry. For the most part, this eclectic group consists of sad hopefuls who really love watching comedy but don’t understand what makes something funny or how to do it themselves. They love quoting Dane Cook and have massive archives of themselves doing stand-up in front of an audience of one - their web cam.

Occasionally, I’ll see someone who (although VERY green) seems to have that certain rhythm, that je ne sais quoi that shows they aren’t there yet, but they’re working at it. And working hard. I decided to run a short series of features based on the “kid comedians” who I think have the guts, spunk, and moxie to make it. The first of these young up and comers I would like to introduce is Chris Palmieri. Chris, 17, started writing comedy in 2003 and first performed on stage in 2005. He is very active in online forums, Myspace, and Youtube, and always looking for someone with more experience to view his set and give him feedback, no matter how harsh the criticism may be. I have seen three of his clips to date and can honestly say that he applies the notes he’s given and works hard to improve each time.

Yes, he looks a little geeky (or Weird Al Yankovicy) but with the amount of drive, ambition, and originality this guy has, he’s sure to achieve success. Take a moment to check out Chris Palmieri on Myspace, watch his clips and give some notes. It might not be the best set you’ve seen, but you just might admire his effort as much as I do.

Although punchlinemagazine.com is clearly the greatest publication around, I do read others from time to time, one of which is High Times. While excitedly thumbing through my newest issue, I saw an advertisement for travel packages to Amsterdam from Nov. 16-23 to attend the world renowned Cannabis Cup.

The reason all of this is relevant to punchlinemag readers is because included in the week-long package are tickets to the 420 Comix show, featuring Doug Benson, Tom Rhodes and Dan Gabriel. Now I believe that this show should DEFINITELY be covered for all the Punchline Magazine people who like their comedy with a dose of THC, and I am bravely offering my services - granted the editor-in-chief Dylan Gadino will pay for my airfare.

Anyone and everyone, please write-in and comment on this blog post in support of my being sent to Amsterdam on Punchline Magazine’s dime– for the sake of comedic journalism, of course.

As any dedicated fan of Punchline Magazine could tell you, we announced only a few short days ago that we’re giving away tickets to see the one and only Todd Barry at Chicago’s amazingly awesome Lakeshore Theater. You don’t believe me that it’s awesome? Would we, Punchline Magazine, be sponsoring a show that wasn’t? Need more proof? Take a look at their frickin’ upcoming shows. I dare you to find a venue rolling out better quality comedy on such a consistent basis.

So these five citizens and one guest each – Ryan Budds, Kevin Stanton, Joey Dundale, Jay Spaulding and Stu McCallister – are all going to the big Todd Barry show at Lakeshore on Saturday, Sept. 8.

And we’ll be there too, giving out free stuff and kissing your babies. So if you didn’t win tickets and you live in the Chicago area or are willing to travel hundreds of miles to see Todd Barry – he’s worth it – then make sure you get there!

By the way, I wanted to say thank you to The Bastion, Comedy Central Insider and Zulkey.com for getting the word out about our little giveaway.