By Brad Friedman on 8/6/2006, 9:46am PT  

Blogged by Brad on the Road from Minneapolis/St. Paul...

Just a quick personal blog item to touch base from out here on the road. I'm currently in St. Paul for just a few more moments. We drove up Friday (from St. Louis) to tape two episodes of John Forde's Mental Engineering for PBS. Not certain when these episodes will air (some time this fall, I believe) but I'll try to let you know when I find out.

I was honored to sit on a four-person panel with the brilliantly hysterical comedian Tom Rhodes, the delightful and smart media literacy professor Renee Hobbs from Temple University and the lovely and deviously clever actor Desi Doyen (DISCLOSURE: Desi is also my girlfriend)...

The taping of the show, which analyzes and dissects television commercials, was a blast and a nice change of pace. Got to beat up a whole new bunch of people for a while (Budweiser, Dow Chemical, Hummer, etc.) And yes, I still managed to get in a shot or two at the America-hating Diebold...and friends.

As Forde put out the word that I'd be in town and invited folks by to say hello at the taping, I was also honored to meet a few blogging colleagues including Mike Tronnes, editor of the superb Cursor.org, radio-host/blogger Anne Nicolai of Night and Day (she blogged about our meeting here) and Photoshop champ, Tild of Tildology.com (who also quickly blogged our meeting here.)

After the taping Tom invited us to catch his show in Minneapolis at the ACME Comedy Club. He killed. He's based in Los Angeles, so I look forward to seeing him again whenever we all manage to make it back to the left coast at the same moment.

No time before getting tossed out of this motel to say more than humble thanks to all of the folks in both St. Paul and Minneapolis who were so generous and welcoming up here. It's a great town and I hope to be back. Even if Al Franken, who broadcasts from here, apparently still doesn't wish to have me on as a guest.

And...oh...a quick note to all of the Guest Bloggers who have been keeping things rolling here at The BRAD BLOG in my "absence". Especially to Winter Patriot who has been kind enough to remind folks that your donations are greatly appreciated and needed here in order for us to keep going. He's doing a much better job than I ever do at reminding folks of that, and seems to be raising more money when I'm gone than when I'm actually here and blogging regularly. Should I take the hint? ;-)

Thanks all. Still on the road until at least the end of the month, but I suspect I'll be blogging sooner and more than I might like along the way before returning to Los Angeles...eventually...

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