Carlos Mencia Stands Up
|
Carlos Mencia is a stand-up comedian well -known around the country. Whether it’s a man on the street interview, studio comedy, commercial parodies, or nationwide tours, Carlos has an extraordinary ability to connect with a diverse audience. Mencia was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on October 22, 1967. He was the 17th out of 18 children. He was three months old when his parents sent him to Maravilla, the Projects in Los Angeles, California, to be raised by his aunt and uncle. As he became a teen, his parents moved him back to Honduras so he wouldn’t get caught up in gang violence. Not long after, Carlos moved back to Los Angeles where he showed such advanced knowledge that he was immediately promoted to 10th grade. And then he successfully graduated from Garfield High School. Carlos now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Amy, and their 2-year-old son, Lucas. Mencia began his career doing stand-up comedy at The Laugh Factory. He then became a regular at The Comedy store where his career took off. In 1994, Mencia was chosen to host HBO’s Latino comedy show Loco Slam. After doing a couple shows he went on a successful tour in 2001 with Feddy Soto and Pablo Francisco. He then put out a solo album, Take A Joke America, which led to his star performance on Comedy Central Presents. At the end of 2004 Comedy Central talked with Mencia about creating his own show. In March 2005, they announced Mencia’s own half-hour comedy show, Mind Of Mencia. The show mixed Mencia’s stand up comedy with sketch comedy, much like the highly popular Chappelle’s Show. The show’s second and third season became Comedy Central’s second highest rated program. Maxim recently named Mencia as the 12th-worst comedian of all time, although television viewers themselves had voted him into 2nd place of the Top 25 stand-up comics in Comedy Central’s 2006 “Stand Up Showdown.” I personally find Mind Of Mencia hilarious! He is good for making jokes about ethnicity a lot, but he is not scared to make jokes about Mexicans too. You can catch the show on Comedy Central or go rent one of his four DVDs.
|
|
|
| Book Reviews
|
By Kiah Elmer and Tegan Shelton
|
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, author of many books, including In the Forests of the Night, Snakecharm, Hawksong, Wolfcry, Falcondance, Demon in My View, and Midnight Predator, is fairly new to the writing scene to have published as much as she had. She published her first novel, In the Forests of the Night, when she was only fourteen years old and has since astounded her readers with many more books that are written quickly but of fantastic quality. Hawksong, the first volume in her Kiesha’ra series, is the story of two people, an Avian shapeshifter, Danica Shardae, and a Serpiente shapeshifter, Zane Cobriana. Their worlds are at war with each other and have been for so long that they do not even know why they are still fighting, just that they hate each other. Danica, heir to the Avian throne, is the narrator of this first volume. She is sick of the bloodshed and all of the death that has come from this ongoing war. She is willing to do anything to stop it, and, in her wish to stop the war, accepts Zane Cobriana, who is the leader of the Serpiente, as her pair bond. Zane is just as willing to stop the war as she. The two pretend to be in love to encourage their kinds to come to peace and to accept one another, but in the midst of it all, they actually come to love each other for real, which is something very unexpected for the both of them. Snakecharm, the second volume of Atwater-Rhodes’ Kiesha’ra series, is from Zane Cobriana’s point of view. He is very happy with his life with Danica and would trade it for nothing. The only worry that he has, is that Danica is carrying his child to carry on their royal line, and their child’s future is very uncertain. Their people are upset because they have not learned how to accept each other yet, and are very nearly sickened by the prospect of a mixed-blood child ruling them some day. This causes distress among everybody, but especially Danica and Zane. One day, an ancient falcon called Syfka shows up claiming that one of her people is living among Zane and Danica’s people, disguised from its normal form. The falcons are more powerful than the Avians and the Serpiente put together, but Syfka does not seem to want to fight, she just seems very disapproving of Zane and Danica’s joining. Syfka is also disgusted with the thought of a child with mixed blood, and everything escalates from there. Syfka’s ongoing search for her falcon continues and stirs up a lot of controversy between people. Problems arise as well as hidden secrets that will shock readers. The end will leave readers thirsting for more. The Kiesha’ra series is a very interesting one and a series that we would recommend to all readers who love fantasy. Atwater-Rhodes is an awesome storyteller and she continues to amaze us with her ongoing work.
|
|
