Yes, he spells his name “Dav”.
When Dav was in high school, there was a history assignment which required them to design and draw an Egyptian pyramid in which we would want to be entombed. His was fairly elaborate with hidden passages, traps, etc., plus a large spinning neon sign that read “DAV” (there was a line over the “A”). It sort of stuck with him, and he uses it as a state name of sorts.
Dav grew up in … Read the rest...
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/interview-dav-wallace/
Jason is originally from New York, but spent several years in Austin after graduating from college. He lives in Seattle now, where he works in IT, plays softball, and runs marathons, when not punning.
He’s done some stand-up comedy in the past, and always jumps at the chance to sing karaoke. He believes this helps him feel comfortable with a mic in his hand in front of an audience.
Brian: When did you first become interested in puns?
Jason: At … Read the rest...
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/interview-jason-epstein/
Benjamin Ziek is good at coming up with puns quickly. Very quickly. In his rookie Pun Off in 2009, he came in 2nd in Punslingers. Then he won in 2010.
He defended his title in 2011.
This is our second interview with Ben. We first interviewed him a year ago, after his 2010 Punslingers win.
Brian: Anything new in the personal life? Have you managed to sell a TV game show yet?
Ben: My friends and I have officially … Read the rest...
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/interview-ben-ziek-2/
Gracie Deegan won Punniest of Show at the 2011 O. Henry Pun Off. Not bad for a first attempt! Her skit punned the Middle East.
Gracie was born and raised in Abilene, Texas the “big” city in the “Big Country” out in West Texas. She says it was a pretty mundane town, so word games were a good way to pass time. Her mother, an English teacher, instilled a love of words and reading at an early age.
Brian: … Read the rest...
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/interview-gracie-deegan/
In addition to shooting video at yesterday’s O. Henry Pun Off, I also took some still photos. Here’s a selection.
[nggallery id=1]
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to stay for the second half, so I don’t have any pictures from Punslingers.… Read the rest...
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/o-henry-pun-off-photos/
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/punniest-of-show-results/
With just a week until the Pun-Off, Gary Hallock has this update.
… Read the rest...YES, you’ve been procrastinating long enough. It’s now down to the wire and this is your FINAL chance to get in on the …
PUNSTER WARM-UP GATHERING – Friday, MAY 13 (You feel lucky, punk!?)
6:30 – 10pm – OPAL DIVINE’S FREEHOUSE – 700 W. 6th St. – Downtown Austin.This lively pub/grill is in the heart of Austin’s entertainment district and has a very nice private space
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/final-friday-warm-up-gathering/
From Pun-Off guru Gary Hallock:
It has been brought to my attention that some punsters actually DO have a social life and may not have every Friday evening free. Tough as this is for me to believe, I’m going to take this leap of faith and call the bluff of those who have been using this excuse to avoid me.
This week’s FRIDAY PUNSTER WARM-UP will be held on…THURSDAY – MAY 5 –
6:30 – 10pm – OPAL DIVINE’S FREEHOUSE… Read the rest...
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/special-thursday-punster-warm-up/
A Friday in April means it’s time for another Pun-Off warmup. This from Gary:
… Read the rest...6:30 – 10pm @ Joe’s Place – 1814 East Martin Luther King Boulevard – Austin, TX
This week the Punster Warm-Up moves to the east side. By special suggestion of Bert Piboin, the longest surviving contestant the Pun-Off has ever seen, our roving troop will be paying a visit to Joe’s Place on MLK @ Chicon
Target gathering time is 6:30 thru 10pm. Joe has good
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/weakly-punster-friday-warm-up-april-29-2011/
Gary Hallock just released the following:
… Read the rest...We had a cozy little turnout last Friday for our first gathering in the Friday warm-up series. Or group of hard corpses were visited by veteran competitor Bert Piboin and 2010 MVP winner, Jacob Dodson who has been so emboldened by his good showing in last year’s Punniest of Show event that he’s decided to go for the PunSlinger trophy this time around. Well, these Friday warm-ups are definitely the pathway to greatness. Just
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/friday-punster-warm-up-april-22-2011/
Gary Hallock has the following update regarding the upcoming O. Henry Pun-Off:
… Read the rest...Greeting Pun-Off contestants,
Those of you who have competed in the Pun-Off before are likely familiar with our FRIDAY PUNSTER WARM-UPS. Each week of the month prior to our contest, we host an informal gathering of contestants and other fans of the event. You need not be a confirmed competitor to participate or benefit from these opportunities. Even if you’re only doing Punniest of Show you’re still going
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/friday-punster-warm-ups/
The O.Henry PUG (Pun-Off Guru) Gary Hallock has made the first announcement regarding the 2011 O.Henry Pun-Off:
… Read the rest...Much to my own surprise, the registration page for the 2011 O.Henry Pun-Off is now officially open, right on schedule. (Contest is Saturday, May 21) Please click on the link below to be taken directly to the registration page.
While you’re there, please take a moment to consider also attending our PUNY dinner at the Spaghetti
Warehouse on Friday evening before the
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/o-henry-pun-off-registration/
Ben had a good afternoon at the 2010 O. Henry Pun-Off. He scored a respectable 29 points in Punniest of Show and took first place in Punslingers.
Originally from New Jersey, Ben lived in Pennsylvania, and finally moved to Southern California in 1999. He’s been working for the past eight years as a night auditor at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel, but previous gigs have included demonstrating toys at a Toys “R” Us and being a pro wrestling ring announcer. … Read the rest...
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/interview-ben-ziek/
Jacob Dodson took second place in Punniest of Show at the 2010 O. Henry Pun-Off by punning on Austin street names. He was also given the mmMVP Award, which is determined by vote of all the contestants.
Twenty-one year old Jacob has been living in Austin for eight years, and just graduated from UT with a degree in English. He’s looking for employment, should anyone need a punster who can write.
Brian: How did you first learn about … Read the rest...
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/interview-jacob-dodson/
Justin Golbabai and Kelly Dupen took first place in Punniest of Show at the 2010 O. Henry Pun-Off. Their skit explored the relative merits of meats and vegetables, and was, IMHO, brilliant.
Kelly has lived in Texas for many years, but lived in California, Tennessee and Washington while growing up. She graduated from the University of Dallas, a Catholic liberal arts college in 2006. She majored in art, and is currently working as a freelance illustrator while pursuing an … Read the rest...
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/interview-justin-golbabai-and-kelly-dupen/
The McClughan Memorial Most Viable Punster Award (mmMVP) is given by contestants in each year’s O. Henry Pun-Off to the “most viable punster” in the contest.
For the 2010 Pun-Off, Gary Hallock said:
… Read the rest...By a vote of his peers, P.O.S. silver medalist, Jacob Dodson also won the coveted mmMVP trophy. We can’t say he walked away with it because he laughed early due to a case of premature jocularity. The award was accepted in his stayed by event producer, Gary
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/o-henry-pun-off-2010-mmmvp-award/
The Punslingers portion of the 2010 O. Henry Pun-Off consisted of 32 contestants competing head-to-head. Contestants take the stage in pairs, and are given a topic selected randomly from a list of traditional topics. In turn, each player has five seconds to deliver, or begin delivering solid puns. This goes back and forth until one of the two either exceeds the given five seconds or accumulates three non-qualifying attempts.
The loser is eliminated, and the winner proceeds to the next … Read the rest...
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/o-henry-pun-off-2010-punslingers-results/
Mother-daughter team Judy Dean and June Morris were rained out last year, but they returned with the same routine this year and took third place. Here is their entry.
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/video-punniest-of-show-3rd-place/
Jacob Dodson took second place in the Punniest of Show portion of today’s O. Henry Pun-Off. Here is his entry.
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/video-punniest-of-show-2nd-place/
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/video-punniest-of-show-1st-place/
Today’s O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships lead off with the Punniest of Show competition, where contestants had ninety seconds to present prepared punnish material. At 90 seconds, a whistle was blown, and if the contestant was still going when the bell was run at 120 seconds, he or she was disqualified.
Each contestant was given scores from one to ten by the six judges. The highest and the lowest scores were thrown out, and the remaining were summed for a … Read the rest...
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/o-henry-pun-off-2010-punniest-of-show-results/
Punsters United Nearly Yearly (P.U.N.Y.) has announced their Punster of the Year (P.O.T.Y) for 2010, Steve Brooks.
From the announcement:
… Read the rest...Steve Brooks came to his first Pun-Off in 1992, and he won it the following year, with his rewrite of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address using the names of Texas towns. Routines like “Tex-Mexistentialism,” “Carstianity,” and “Inhale to the Chief” have added to his trophy collection. He keeps up the wordplay in songs like his New-Age Western “Yoga Lady,” and even in
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/2010-punster-of-the-year-steve-brooks/
Gary Hallock, producer and emcee of the O.Henry Pun-Off, has an update for participants in the Pun-Off competition.
… Read the rest...Hello again Pun-Off contestants, (and innocent bystanders too)
I certainly don’t want to discourage anyone from participating to the fool list in this year’s O.Henry Pun-Off World Championships, but I am compelled to remind everyone that we have a very fool slate of contestants this year. If there’s some chance that you’ve only entered the contest on a whim and are starting
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/pun-off-registration-cold-feet-anyone/
Gary Hallock chimes in with info on this week’s O.Henry Pun-Off pre-event.
… Read the rest...Hello again Punsters,
Last week’s warm-up at Opal’s was simply divine! This was just the sort of gathering I’d been lounging for all along. Over the coarse of 4 hours we collected a total of 17 people who came just to agitate and entertain me. (Isn’t that what it’s all about?) We made many new friends and passed around quite a few PunSlingers trial topics. Several of our
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/this-weeks-pun-off-warm-up/
All the posts from the old site have now been entered here on the new site. Many thanks to AWPI for years of hosting.
A number of duplicates were found in the conversion process, but anything on the old site should be found here. Using the search box (right hand column, towards the top of the page) is probably the best way to find your old entries.
We do now have the ability to do page-specific redirects from the old … Read the rest...
https://shaggy-dogs.briancombs.net/site-conversion-is-complete/
