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Jason English
Friday Happy Hour: Fortune Cookie Wisdom
by Jason English - May 1, 2009 - 12:11 PM
bloghead_fridayhappyhour1.gif

brian-regan.jpg1. Last night, I went to see Brian Regan at the Community Theater in Morristown, NJ. He puts on a great show. What strikes me about Regan is that he’s not more famous. When I heard Brian Regan Live in 1997, I would have bet my work-study paycheck that he’d get his own sitcom or HBO series – or at least not be playing Morristown on a Thursday twelve years later. Tell us someone who you think deserves to be more widely appreciated. (Comedians, authors, weathermen, etc.)

2. Let’s stick with the comedy theme. Who’s the best stand-up comedian you’ve ever seen live? If you’ve never seen anyone notable, who’s on your I-want-to-see-them list?

3. The other night I found an odd message inside my fortune cookie: “Money or Love? OR NEITHER?” (All caps.) On the other side of the slip, the fortune cookie copywriters helpfully informed me of the Chinese word for “milk.” What’s the strangest fortune cookie wisdom you’ve ever received?

4. After years of dedicated service, my wife and I recently canceled our Netflix account (and immediately reserved a dozen DVDs from our local library). What’s on your DVD rental list for May?

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Comments (69)
  1. 1 – I’ve always wondered the same thing about Regan. The guy who wrote ‘Indecision’ — Benjamin Kunkel. I thought he was going to be the best voice of his generation. Has he even written anything since then? (I guess I’m not actually answering your question here.)

    2. I’m lucky enough to say I saw Mitch Hedberg once.

    3. “Not all wisdom comes from cookies.” Who knew?

    4. I had a crazy 2008, working two jobs most of the year. Well, I’ve recently been laid off from one, so I have a lot of movies to catch up on.

  2. I also think Brian Regan is great…however Jim Gaffigan is my pick for best comedian I’ve seen live. The strangest fortune cookie fortune I ever received was “you and your wife will be very happy together”…I’m a very straight woman??? As far as rentals…I have “Rachael Getting Married”, “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Man on a Wire” on my list…to name a few.

  3. 2. I’ve never seen any stand-up comedians in person. (Unless you count “Weird Al” Yankovic, which I don’t.) I’d love to see Steven Wright, Jim Gaffigan, Jeff Dunham and Lewis Black in person, though.

    3. All my Panda Express fortune cookies have been pretty mundane. I loved one of Letterman’s top-tens about strange fortune cookies: “That meal you just ate was loaded with MSG.”

    (Also, I love the xkcd that suggests that, instead of adding “in bed” to the end of fortune cookies, you should add “except in bed.”)

    4. I currently have “The Wrestler” from NetFlix. Next on my queue is “JCVD,” where Jean-Claude Van Damme basically mocks his career. After that is “Milk,” then “Rachel Getting Married,” “Let the Right One In” (curse the poor subtitles!), and “Claire Dolan.” On my library holds, I’ll probably be getting “Rachel Getting Married” and “Quantum of Solace” soon.

  4. Aaryn – no kidding, I had that EXACT same fortune cookie -“you and your wife will be very happy together.” Ummmmm….
    I have it memorized because I still have it and bring it out at parties ;-)

  5. I have a fortune that says “You are the greatest person in the world.” And they’re right!

  6. 1. Singer/songwriters: Rufus Wainwright, Gregory Page

    2. Only been to a comedy club once and I didn’t see any one famous or particularly notable.

    3. None for me but I love that Simpsons episode where Homer gets the “You will find happiness with a new love.” Cut to the back room where they are just going to open the barrel of “Stick with your wife.”

    4. Not much – already rented “Slumdog”, “Marley & Me”, “Wall-E”, and “Bottle Shock” (great indie film). Not much else out there I want to see in terms of new releases. Daughter wants to rent “Madagascar 2″ though.

  7. I once opened my fortune cookie to read “Come back later – fortune cookies need sleep, too!!”

    It still makes me mad when I think about it a few years later.

  8. 1. Jim Gaffigan
    2. Dana Carvey (back during the Church Lady days)

    3. I keep 3 fortunes in my wallet that I consider keepers: a) “You laugh now, wait till you get home.” It has the Chinese word for girlfriend on the back. b)”If you never change your mind, why have one?” It has the Chinese word for duck on the back. And my favorite c)”Come back later..I am sleeping. (yes, cookies need their sleep, too)” It has the Chinese word for March.

  9. 2. I saw Dave Chappelle do stand-up in 1997, at Salisbury State University in Maryland. Back then on the fliers his biggest claim to fame read: “From the movie Robin Hood: Men in Tights.”

    3. The best fortune cookie message I got read, no kidding: “You will buy a nice pair of slacks.”

  10. 3) “The best is yet to come” Well I sure hope so, or what is there to look forward to?!

    4) I have The Reader at home.

    Next up in my queue:
    Bride Wars
    Milk
    The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

    And some I may delete: Twilight and Tropic Thunder

  11. I once got a fortune cookie saying “You like Chinese food”
    no kidding….

  12. 1. Brian Regan’s up there. As far as authors, I always thought Jeffery Deaver was much better than many of his peers who get more press. The ABC show “Notes from the Underbelly” was far funnier than most sitcoms still on…

    2. Tommy Davidson (from In Living Color) was unexpectedly hysterical live. And mock Carrot Top all you want, the guy does put on a great live show.

    3. It’s very poetic, and taped to my PC monitor at work: “Time flies. Suns rise and shadows fall. Let time go by. Love is forever over all.” I’m thinking of adapting it into a song, since I inadvertently meditate over it every day. On the back: Learn Chinese: STRAWBERRY!

    4. Iron Man. The Dark Knight. We’re a bit behind…

  13. 1. Singer/songwriter Gabe Dixon
    2. Jon Stewart about 5 years ago. Would love to see Jim Gafigan
    3. I am know at work for getting the worst fortunes my two faves are “Some like it hot eat more kung pao” and “Emotions can be sweet and sour, so can your meal”.
    4. Rachel getting married and Slumdog

  14. 1. Mitch Hedberg (RIP), Dominic West, Wendall Pierce, Clark Peters…basically all of the cast members of The Wire…that show didnt get enough credit
    2. Mitch Hedberg (RIP), Dave Atell, Lewis Black (all three on the Insomniac Tour).
    4. JCVD, Religulous, Special, Quantam of Solice, and about 350 other discs on my queue

  15. I have two fortunes that I have kept because of their unintended hilarity. One says “Today, be cordial, but don’t go out of your way to be friendly.” and the other says “Today is a good day to end all the pain.” Thankfully, I’m not sucicidal.

  16. Brian Regan is very famous. He may not be on the level of Chris Rock or Jerry Seinfeld, but he’s very well known inside and out of comedic circles. (How many one-man specials does he have under his belt?)

    And comedians at all stages of their career will play small dives or huge concert venues.

  17. I got a fortune a few years ago that said, “Your problem isn’t a lack of ability but a lack of ambition.” My boss taped it to my desk.

  18. 1. They pop up in cameos here and there, but I’d love to see Jon Glaser and Jon Benjamin get more attention.

    2. Paul F. Tompkins and Dana Gould.

  19. Jason–

    2. I got to see Bill Engvall live a few years ago! He is absolutely hilarious and keeps his audience laughing at life and its quirks, among other things. I’d love to see the Blue Collar Comedy Tour someday instead of just reliving my favorite bits via Comedy Central!

    3. The strangest fortune I got was a blank one. The owner of the restaurant gave me another one and it too was blank! What that means I can’t say…but it was very odd to get a non-fortune fortune cookie. Has anyone ever gotten a fortune cookie with NO fortune in it?

    4. Regarding the movies I have gathering dust on top of my TV are my Blockbuster.com rentals of Milk, High School Musical 3 and the second disc of the John Adams HBO mini-series. I’ve had them for a few weeks now and just haven’t been in the mood to ‘commit’ to watching them! Up next in the queue are Frost/Nixon, Slumdog, Doubt and Sex and The Single Girl (a hilarious ‘romp’ with Natalie Wood and Tony Curtis!).

    Have a fortune cookie kind of weekend!

  20. 1. I LOVE Regan . . .But I think John Pinette is hilarious . . . “I say nay nay!”

    2. I saw Eddie Izzard in New York about a year ago. AWESOME. “Why do we poo?”

    3. “You are alone.” (I’m not kidding)

    reCaptcha: likeable low

  21. 1. Zach Galifianakis. I loved his short-lived talk show on VH1. He and the rest of the Comedians of Comedy are all great and underrated (Maria Bamford especially). Oh, and Nick Swardson’s another great stand-up and actor/comedian that deserves more widespread popularity.

    2. Lewis Black, Jon Stewart. Would love to see Jim Gaffigan live and am sorry I never got the chance to see Mitch.

    3. My brother got one that was blank! My personal favorite, which I kept, says “You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth.” My husband got a kick out of teasing me about that one. :o)

    4. I just go through the upcoming week’s HBO schedule once a week or so and DVR whatever looks good.

  22. George, I got the same fortune cookie once!!! Just like yours, it read ‘You like Chinese food.’ Well no kidding.

    :-)

  23. Stephen Lynch is hilarious. He sings his entire act.

    My favorite fortune said “You just ate Sparky.”

  24. 1. For all you lovers of Jim Gaffigan. Watch “My Boys”. He’s super funny on it and always makes me laugh!

    2. I saw Carrot Top (before he looked really odd) and he was hilarious! I also saw one of the Last Comic Standing tours which was pretty darn funny.

    3. I just got chinese food and my fortune said: “The angry man opens up his eyes and shuts up his mouth”. What?!

    4. Nothing big I want to rent, but I’m dying to see the next Xmen movie and the new Harry Potter!

  25. Gaffigan! I love him and his bacon humor!

  26. I LOVE Brian Regan… pretty much my whole family does. I listened to Brian Regan Live probably about 30 times, and then sophomore year of college I got to interview him for the school paper. Twas incredibly trippy to hear the voice I’d heard so many times interacting with me.

    With that said…

    1. I think Ryan Adams could definitely be more well known. Yes, he does have a top 10 album in Easy Tiger, but he seems to top out at about 200,000 albums for every album. He should be headlining massive venues, not doing small sets. Although that does allow me to get right up to the stage for the shows I do see.

    2. I saw Mitch Hedberg twice, and he was hilarious both times. Although his wife opened for him both times, and she was a comedy vaccuum. Twas a tragic loss when he left this world.

    Oddly enough there’s a parallel between my #1 and #2. At one point on his website, Ryan had random things he liked, and one of them was a picture of Mitch. There was actually a little bit of talk about them doing a comedy/musical tour, which I would have seen many many times, but the concept of it fizzled out.

    3. I know I had a Winnie the Pooh quote once.

  27. 1. I’m going to second the motion for Jon Benjamin. I have adored him for ages it seems.

    2. The best comedian I’ve seen live was David Cross – without a doubt. He performed at La Zona Rosa in Austin maybe 7 years ago? I was literally doubled over in laughter. He made fun of me at one point because I just couldn’t stop laughing. He’s grand.

    3. “Buy the red car.” That’s horrible advice. The two I have in my wallet say “You will have good luck in the Spring,” with the Chinese phrase for “in the future” on the back and the first lucky number is 13; the other says “Determination is the wake-up call to the human will,” with the Chinese for “good temper.”

    4. The top 5 on my queue are as follows:

    JCVD
    Happy-Go-Lucky
    Rachel Getting Married
    Blood for Dracula
    Re-Animator

  28. Jeff Dunham was freakin great! I keel you! LOL!

  29. 1. I’ve always wondered why Jan Hooks never got more work during/after SNL. The women tend to get the shaft after their stints on there (Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Julia Louis-Dreyfus being notable exceptions).

    2. Hands down, probably never see anyone like him ever again live: Bill Cosby. Even his recylced routines that I’d heard hundreds of times on HIMSELF or his albums sounded fresh and hilarious.

    3. I really hate that the fortunes have become common-sense statements or “old chestnuts” now. Tell me if I’ll win on those lottery numbers already.

    4. No rental queu for me.

    3.

  30. 3. “Within the coming 5 months you will find 3 missing socks”

  31. The funniest fortune cookie I ever received stayed in my wallet for years until it was ruined by an unfortunate accident with a pool, “Help! I’m being held prisoner in a Chinese bakery.”

  32. 1) I Love Brian Regan, his sketch about PB&J in the same jar is hilarious, I nearly fell on the floor when my roomate actually bought a jar of it.

    2) I would love to see Joel McHale from The Soup

    3) Fortune Cookie: “you’re pretty”
    and its always fun to get the same fortune at the person you’re with

  33. Regan is awesome…..Pablo Francisco is my favorite live performance. That man works his arse off on stage and is funny to boot. He sweated through a shirt and 2 towels during the show I saw.

    As for who should be more famous? Crack the Sky. Sure, not a person, but they are an ultra talented band from the 70’s/80’s…..They got caught up in a bad record deal early in their careers and never really got the pub they deserved. They still play and make records, but don’t have a big following. They deserved much more.

  34. 3. Two that i got nearly back to back: “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” then: “To err is human, to rub it in is divine.” unfortunately, i’ve lost the second one, so it just lives on in my memory. my very favourite one is: “Digital circuits are made form analog parts.”

    4. i currently have the original Japanese Godzilla “Gojiru” movie. coming up (that i remember adding. i add stuff to my queue and then forget about it, so every new disc is like a surprise):
    Vanity Fair
    the entire Carl Sagan “Cosmos” series.

  35. 3. You may redeem this fortune for a ride on the Galactic Overlord’s spaceship…. have to keep that one just in case the Galactic Overlord shows up.

  36. 1. Kathleen Madigan (Comedianne)
    2. I sooo miss my Satellite radio. We’ve loved to see Mitch Hedberg and I saw Freddie Soto (”Regardless”)before he passed. But I think Gabriel Iglesias is sooo hilarious! I would looove to see John Pinette, Jim Gaffigan (Hoooot Pocket), and Alonzo Bodden.
    3. “you will go far”
    4. Bride Wars (even though i saw it at the movies.)

  37. 3. Barb, I got that exact same fortune about a month ago.

    My favorite weird fortune said, “You would make an excellent lawyer.”

  38. 3. My fiance had the exact same “love, money, or neither?” fortune cookie two weeks ago, right down to the word for milk on the back! We both thought it was rather disturbing…

  39. 3. “Keep your eyes open – someone is watching you.” Talk about creepy…

  40. 3. The best fortune I ever saw was, and I am not kidding, “There is no such thing as an ordinary cat.” Take that as you will.

    4. I just got into Netflix because I tend to keep DVDs for a long time past the due date.

    Repo! The Genetic Opera
    The Spirit
    Milk
    Legend of the Black Scorpion
    The Last Supper
    The Reader
    John Adams
    Darkwing Duck, season 1
    How I Met Your Mother seasons 1,2, and 3
    And many many more!

  41. 1. The band Splitsville

    2. Gabriel Iglesias

    3. Carolyn–I got a blank one once, too, But the best one was, “You will be totally dependent on a loved one.” Immediately afterwards (taking the wrapper to the trash), I fell and broke my ankle. And I was totally dependent on a loved one. At least for purposes of movement.

  42. 1. I agree about Brian Regan. Other under-appreciated people? Wow, where to even start?

    2. Brian Regan. I got to see him a couple ogf years ago and he really is the best comedian i’ve seen live. My grandparents and parents had old Cosby and Smothers Brothers records, however, and so I grew up listening to comedy that was about everyday stuff.

    3. “You will get some new clothes” – wait, are you saying i *need* to get some new clothes, because i really like this shirt, you know?

    4. More “No e in”, with not much free time, a few anime episodes a week are about all i can fit in right now.

  43. 1- I think custodians need to be appreciated on a more regular basis. They do crappy work and most people just ignore them.

    2 – Patton Oswald was pretty good, as was Kristen Schaal (though she wasn’t doing stand-up so much as a one-woman show).

    #3 – One of the best fortunes I got was in French (so we’ll see if I can remember it correctly…which I probably can’t as I gave up French 10 years ago)

    “Que Beethoven fait-il maintenant?
    Il décompose.”

    (”What is Beethoven doing now? Decomposing.”)

    Ba dum dum!

  44. 3. I keep all my fortune cookies in my billfold, and after a few months put them in random places for other people to find. I like to think the fortunes pertain to their life better than they would just pulling them out of a cookie.

    I’ve kept one for about a year that says “If you’re still hungry have another cookie.” I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of it…

  45. 1. The Sklar Brothers are absolutely hilarious. They don’t do the crazy man/straight man bit like you’d expect of other comedy duos, they’re their own brand of crazy and it works perfectly.

    3. ‘A short man will soon enter you life’. At 5′2″ I was like “shorter than me? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?’

    4. I’m trying to find a DVD set for ‘Shin-chan’ My roommates need to experience the weirdness of Shin-chan!

  46. I saw Bill Cosby at Harrah’s Tahoe in about 1968, and he was the best. He said he’d lost too much before the early show, so he was just gonna hang out at the mike for as long as the booze kept coming and anybody could stay if they wanted. His non-sequitor streams of consciousness were hilarious.
    Steve Martin was a close second.

  47. 1. Singer/Songwriters: Chris Trapper and Matthew Ryan

    2. Stephen Wright. Amazing.

    3. Can’t remember anything specific.

    4. Slumdog Millionaire

  48. 2. Jerry Seinfeld. I thought he was funny before the show, but I left the show out of breath from laughing.

    3. “You’ve always wanted to climb a mountain.” It reminds me of a Bazooka Joe comic where the fortune was “This is someone else’s fortune.

  49. Well, I guess I’ll be looking up Brian Regan. Love a good comedian. Used to like Mike Birbiglia but haven’t kept up.

    I also just LOVE Bonnie McFarlane. We have a similar sense of humor – silly and a little on the dry side.

    Actually Traitor was a pretty amazing movie. I’ll second (or 33rd) Slumdog. But lately I’ve gotten pretty good at turning movies off before they are done because I deem them not worth knowing the end.

  50. My uncle once got a fortune cookie that said, “Next time, order the shrimp.”

  51. 1. Dash Rip Rock – the greatest bar band in the world.
    2. Saw John Pinette. I peed my pants. Would like to see Bill Cosby.
    3. Can’t remember.
    4. Animaniacs disc 3 & 4.

  52. 3. I got this one when I was seven, “you will marry a mariachi player.” It still creeps me out.

    4. I really want to watch Man On Wire and Let the Right One In.

  53. 3. My sister once got one while on a date that read something like, “You will find love when winter comes.” The funny thing was the last name of the guy she was out with was Winter. That was several years ago, and they’ve been happily married for about 9 months now.

  54. 2. Judy Tenuta; 1989 maybe?
    3. “Very soon, and in pleasant company.” :^)
    4. All from the library, all free!

  55. 1. Being into theater, I’ve always wondered why Ray Cooney wasn’t more famous. You should also check out “Squirrel Lake” by Brian Mitchell.

    4. I’m rewatching the early seasons of ‘24′. Excellent stuff!

  56. 2-Do the Smothers Brothers count?

    3ish-I still have the Hershey Kiss flag that reads “Ouch”.

  57. 1. Jonatha Brooke is an amazing singer/songwriter…have yet to meet anyone who is familar with her talent.
    http://www.jonathabrooke.com

    2. Lewis Black is a stitch…saw him live and met him after the show and after I told him I teach middle school, he said “Well, youre f*cked!!” But seriously thanked me for what I do and shook my hand. A great guy and a healthy way for me to be angry and happy at the same time!

  58. 1. I think people who work in malls are under-appreciated. I speak from experience and I say to the masses that store employees are not your babysitters!

    2. I have had the GREAT opportunity to see both the wonderful Eddie Izzard and the wonderful Jeff Dunham. I also attended the Eddie’s After-the-Show Q&A. I was supposed to go see Spinal Tap/The Folksmen on the Unwigged and Unplugged Tour they’re currently doing, but the fates decided not this time. ): However, I did meet another cast member of the Guest mockumentaries, Ed Begley, Jr. For the record, he’s incredibly nice and incredibly tall. :)

    3. I can’t recall any strange message, as I don’t eat Chinese food much, but I do have one saved in my wallet from nearly a year ago that I liked. “Love is like war; easy to begin but hard to stop.” I also learned how to say “October”.

    4. DVD queue for May is basically anything that tickles my fancy. I know that a movie called Stay is on there. I managed to catch bits and pieces of it the other day and really liked it.

  59. 1) Personal Support Workers are underappreciated. I know this isn’t in the vein of comedians or artists who should be viewed more or authors who should be read more but if you have ever had a loved one taken care of by a personal support worker or a home support worker you’ll know that they are the most amazing underpaid people.

    2) Comedians…Bill Hicks before he died. Saw him 4 times in a row. I was waitressing and he was BRILLIANT.. Also loved seeing, Lewis Black, John Stewart, Janeane Garofalo, Greg Proops
    Saw Lewis Black last week and laughed so hard I honestly worried I might miscarry.

    3)No fortune cookies of interest but got a horoscope yesterday that blew my mind..It told me to stop fussing over stupid things or I would make something small turn into a catastrophe..As I was in the hospital for blood pressure it seemed very appropros.

    4) Rashomon and the 7th Samurai.

  60. Gallagher is the funniest comedian I have ever seen. Equal to or maybe better that Richard Pryor.

  61. 1 – I’m stunned that these people aren’t more famous, but they are appreciated and beloved by those in the know: Maria Bamford, Eugene Mirman, Jon Glaser, Jon Benjamin, Brian Posehn, Zach Galifianakis

    2 – I’ve been fortunate to see these people live: Jon Stewart, Jim Gaffigan, Tom Wilson (Biff from Back to the Future), Louis CK, Nick Swardsdon, Maria Bamford, Doug Benson. I got to meet Tom, Jim, Louis, Doug and Maria. I gave Louis CK a hug and had a cool conversation with Maria Bamford, who is insanely cool.

    I’d LOVE to see Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Eugene Mirman, David Cross, and Kristen Schaal. I’d also love to see Louis, Maria, Nick, and Jon again, especially Louis and Maria. Much love for comedy!

  62. Forgot to mention Demetri Martin, Sarah Silverman, Dave Attell, Todd Barry, Daniel Tosh, and Brian Regan (duh!) as people I’d love to see live.

  63. 2. Not live, but I saw Howie Mandel on an HBO special in the early 80s. I was truly ROTFL. One of the funniest routines ever.

    Also, more recently I heard a Wanda Sykes prank call to a Honda dealer service department. Also piss in your pants funny.

  64. 3) Once, when I was in high school, my dad got a fortune cookie that said “you will participate in a gala affair.”

    In the noisy restaurant, when he read it, I thought it said “you will participate in a gay love affair.” I thought it was pretty racy for a fortune cookie, but it’s one of my favorite fortunes I’ve ever seen to this day.

  65. Saw Stephen Wright back before he was “Stephen Wright” – amazing!

  66. I think the best and most underrated live comic I have seen is Lavell Crawford. I swear I laughed so hard it literally hurt! People in the audience were begging him to stop making them laugh.

  67. Oddest fortune cookie? 09-44-21-10-19

  68. 1. I think Louis C.K. is the funniest comedian working…

    2. Bill Burr in 2007

  69. Strangest fortune cookie I ever got, “You like chinese food.” huh. who’d have thunk.

    best cookie quote, “Why would anyone want to make a cookie with a chewy paper center?” -Kuzco from Emperor’s New School.

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