[FIPS Was There...] @DadBoner and Friends at The Bell House

Image via Amazon.comThis whole thing is for good people like you who "get it." It's all fun. I like fun. I like shit like Transformers movies and wrestling. And Chili's. And people who aren't too good for shit that's just fun for fun's sake. I surround myself with them. It makes for a happy life.

- Mike Burns - Creator of Dad Boner during an AMA on Reddit this week

Sometimes we -- not just you, I'm including myself here -- yes, we here in Brooklyn get too caught up with what's new and cool. Or, ironically cool. Just cool. However, sometimes I find movies or music or books I'm supposed to like for their artistic value or influence on modern media or to impress women...to be boring. Bon Iver or Moby Dick or a Darren Aronofsky film. I'd rather get dropped in a dunk tank of my brother's spunk. I let people think I'm a cool writer artist, they don't click the links, but I actually spend my work day watching Macho Man promos and Big Country videos. 

If sometimes you feel that way too, then Mike Burns created something for us. He started a Twitter feed, @Dadboner, under the name "Karl Welzein." He kept his involvement a secret even as it went viral and expanded to over 100,000 followers. Eventually, Deadspin did what they do best and outed him. On the surface, Karl's story is a sad one. It's about a man losing his family, his self control, and possibly his mind, back in that hometown you probably forgot about when you moved to the big city. It's more than that though. It's a person saying "Fuck it. I'm going to make the most of my situation. I'm going to have fun anyway." Burns' alter ego Karl Welzein has turned into the classic American antihero. 

He wrote a book as this pseudo self, and is now doing readings with other comedians. Burns opened the show by saying how much he loved New York. Then he told a Brooklyn audience how smart they all are. In wrestling parlance that is called a cheap pop. More wrestling parlance, I admittedly marked hard for it. Then he read a passage from the book. The next three comedians followed the same formula. I was worried that the crowd might be a little dead from a straight book reading but the brief comedy sets kept everybody loose and engaged. It helped that the comics were so good but overall, I thought it was a great way to do the show. I had fun.

You should buy this book. Follow the Twitter, too. I'd tell my family and friends, but I'm worried they might see too many parallels between Karl and me. Probably try to get me into some know-nothing rehab. Counting your days of sobriety is a lot easier when it never gets more than one hand, you guys. Besides, the other hand has to be free in case I need to tug one out. I'm kinda bombed. I love you guys.