Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.

Sixteen months ago I was directionless. 

I had moved back from London, England where I had been living and working as a missionary for six months to my home town. I decided it was time to move on to something, anything different and that meant Winnipeg.

I worked as a delivery driver, made new friends, starting listening to more comedy than evert before, and felt like maybe I was turning into a person I wanted to be. 

A good friend pushed me to take a hard look at myself, and move forward in life. It wasn't that I was particularly stuck I think, but it's easier to turn the wheels if the car is moving, right?

I realized the thing I love most about my passions is telling a story; D&D, all the video games I play, and my passion for comedy all pointed me towards a life where I wanted to be able to tell stories for a career.

I started Creative Communications having graduated high school five years prior and never pursuing post-secondary education. It's been some of the most challenging time in my life.

Now, I'm really not a person who likes to overspiritualize things in my life BUT I do believe my life has a plan and purpose, and I do trust that there's more to life than just living.

My teachers have taught me a buttload about storytelling (and other stuff too) and I've still got a lot to learn, but you know what? I'm starting to see my life as a story being told. 

I know, I KNOW that's a brutal cliche, but I mean it sincerely in this case. The offers I've been given this last year—real tangible offers to write about things I'm deeply passionate about—are a direct result of my efforts to find the next chapter in my life.

I don't know what's next. This summer, next year, after that...

Will I find my dream job? Will I become a national sensation? Will I find that special gal and settle down?

I don't know, man.

But I'm excited. And that's enough right now.

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Photo Essay - C4 Wonderland

I had the opportunity to shoot a photo essay as part of my Journalism course.

I'm still gaining experience as a photographer, so I searched online for events in Winnipeg that seemed interesting and were  within my time frame. I was elated to find that C4 Wonderland (essentially a mini version of Central Canadian Comic-Con) was on.

I've never felt more comfortable talking to strangers than I was here, because these are my people: nerds, geeks, and gamers.


Jason - Essay - 1 - Scene

People mill about at C4 (Central Canadian Comic-Con) Wonderland at the Viscount Gort Hotel, taking in the sites and shops.

Jason - Essay - 2 - Medium 

Gamers are packed in tight to face off against each other in a variety of games in the gaming lounge sponsored by All Your Base Online at C4 Wonderland.

Jason - Essay - 3 - Portrait

Emma and Joey McCorrie show off their best action pose as "Spider-Man without his mask" and "my own hero, Invincible Man."

Jason  - Essay - 4 - Portrait

Joshua Cook—as Garrus from Mass Effect—poses to let a convention goer take a photo. " I've been cosplaying for about 10 years. I made this costume in about two weeks from EVA foam."

Jason - Essay - 5 - Detail

Stacks of classic Nintendo Entertainment System games take up a sizeable portion of Cobra Collectibles' table.

Jason  - Essay - 6 - Action

A young fan records a short, selfie-style interview with Jason Faunt, the Red Power Ranger in Power Rangers: Time Force.

Jason - Essay - 7 - Medium

"These days, the name 'Comic-Con' is almost a misnomer. There's only a few of us that still sell comics at these things." - Nathan Laherty, running the booth for Raven Toys, Comics & Games (not pictured).

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Star Wars

Normally I post something about some comedy I watched recently, but nothing in my brain is functioning properly after I watched the new trailer for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Here it is for your viewing pleasure, I hope it excites you as much as it does me.

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Austin Powers Totally Holds Up

I watched all three Austin Powers movies on Netflix this weekend, and you know what I learned?

They totally hold up.

That's right, I threw it back and watched International Man of Mystery, The Spy Who Shagged Me, and Goldmember and they still made me laugh.

These movies are silly and ridiculous, but like Airplane! (which is the most timeless comedy in existence) the jokes are so slapsticky and vaudevillian that the comedy is not lost.

The adventures of the James Bond parody fighting against Dr. Evil—whose voice is just Lorne Michaels turned up to 11—are full of throwback gags to classic spy thrillers. 

Incredibly specific henchmen, femme fatales with names like "Ivanna Humpalot" and "Felicity Shagwell", and giant "laser beams" still make me laugh like they did when I was 10 years old.

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The Battle of Cute and Deadly

Hello friends,

One of the best parts of my life right now is my gig writing at Geekdom House. On Fridays, we post fun, silly articles.

I want to present my current favourite of these, posted today: The Battle of Cute and Deadly.

Tired, old Yoda was strolling along
through the Dagobah swamp like nothing was wrong
when suddenly Mega Gnar popped out of the mist
and pummeled into Yoda with his great, big fist
Yoda force-shoved him back, Gnar landed on his feet
Gnar leapt away through the air as they both felt the heat
of a lightning bolt crashing between them on the ground
and Pikachu came tumbling through the air with the sound
of “Pika!” he cried as he zapped Gnar away
then “Kupo!” Mog the moogle chose to join in the fray
for a moment there was silence, when from out of the fog
sinking teeth into Mog’s ear was the Rabbit of Caerbannog

Then River Tam, Skull the Troll,
Reepicheep, Krtek the mole,
Mogwai Gizmo, the Duck of Doom,
May Chang’s panda and Rocket Raccoon
shouted “for Narnia!” and “Bring the pain!”
and “I can kill you with my brain.”

Killua Zoldyk sauntered in with a sigh
dodging every strike like it was easy as pie
Gizmo tried with a leap to jump on his head
Gnar was standing by a tree and looking kinda fed
Nibbler toddled in, confusion on his face
Skull the Troll aimed to smash his head in with a mace
Then Nibbler bared his teeth, they were ready to rend
And he gobbled up the group entirely. So satisfied.

The End.

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Roustabout: Making the World A Better Place The in the Dumbest Way Possible

Kurt Braunohler is a comedian I love and he did something hilarious and meaningful this last year.

He jetskiied 200 miles of the Mississippi in seven days to raise $35,000 for Heifer International.

He recorded the whole thing an it's up for free on Comedy Central's website and YouTube.

Here's the first of nine episodes, the whole thing is about an hour and you should definitely watch it.

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Bo Burnham: what

Bo Burnham's first hour-long special what has been on Netflix for around two years now and I can not think of a more fitting name for it.

I started watching it when it first came out and was immediately turned off. If you're not familiar with Burnham, he first rose to popularity on YouTube as a teenager with some wholly original, if strange, comedy. I really didn't like his YouTube stuff so I was not coming into this with high hopes.

I really didn't like what the first time I watched it, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. I went back to watch it and it has become one of my favourite stand-up specials to listen to whenever.

To be fair, it's closer to a one-man show or performance art than conventional stand-up, but it is safe to say you won't find anything quite like this on Netflix.

He does weird joke songs like "Hashtag Deep", weird tongue-in-cheek parody poems like "I F**k Sluts", and his opening and finale bits are quasi-pantomime bits set to strangely specific music.

If you like comedy that's not traditional brick-wall stand-up, and think you have a brain that can process the difference between a stage persona and someone's real personality, i would highly, HIGHLY recommend watching Bo Burnham: what.

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