Spring is finally here. I am in an awesome mood. I ran a total of 11.5 miles in the past 3 days. I had Chipotle for dinner. Hallelujah.

Meanwhile, Genevieve Wellington Mathers wasn’t feeling well today, so her “little sister” Leetha Wellington Mathers decided to take her place for an episode of Spam Story Hour.

I lurve comedy bits and I do what I want.

Werd.

I get a lot of really weird spam emails and spam comments. Some of them advertise the usual “enhancement” drugs, but others try to pretend like they are an actual piece of correspondence – yet, they fail to make any sense at all… or just sound ridiculous.

So, thus, SPAM STORY HOUR with Genevieve Wellington Mathers was born. Still some kinks to work out, but I enjoy my own comedy bits.

PS: Do you ever get those spam comments and/or emails that try to sound like actual comments or emails? Got any good ones? Send them to me! I’ll read them like a love letter for you.

Meanwhile, enjoy the first episode.

Word.

Sometimes we forget the correct etiquette and proper manners for Facebook usage. In case you HAVE, in fact, forgotten the rules, here is a short 1950′s-esque video to remind you. Enjoy. (I wish I could do my hair like Alice…)

If you can’t see the video, click here.

Most of you know by now that in addition to being extremely passionate about writing and social media, I am a comedian. I have always loved comedy. I can remember as a kid staying awake way past my bedtime, just so I could watch Saturday Night Live. I would watch old clips of Gilda Radner and Jane Curtin and think to myself, “Wow, I want to do that.”

I'll admit it. I'm a ham.

Comedy has influenced my entire life.

One of my earliest memories that I have is: I was two years old, sitting at my kitchen table eating dry cheerios and I stopped to look around. My mom said to me, “Honey what’s wrong?” I said, “Mom, where are the cameras?” This was a completely honest and heartfelt question. I honestly believed that my life was like an episode of The Truman Show (Even though that movie hadn’t even been made yet, that’s what I thought my life was. I thought I was on T.V. and on stage all the time).

I began acting in elementary school, and always played the comic relief. I started writing sketches and bits and putting on little plays for my parents or my friends. When I was in drama in middle and high school, I would always write a sort of “sketch revue” and try to have one of my sketches featured at an assembly or something like that. I performed all the time.

Then it came time to choose a college. I had been offered golf scholarships to a couple of large division-1 schools. [CONFESSION: Yes, I have played golf my entire life. Yes, I was the only girl on the golf team for a long time. No, I am not a loser. No, I am not better than Michelle Wie.] Well, I knew that golf wasn’t my true passion… comedy was (is). I went to visit Christopher Newport University and I heard they had a sketch comedy troupe. I went to see a show and fell in love. I was not going to go to another school. I WAS going to go to CNU and join CNU TONiGHT and be a writer and performer and be awesome. And I did.

Then in college, I took my first class in improvisation at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater in New York City, NY. I got bit by the improv bug. The feeling of ultimate positivity, being totally in the moment, and completely without a script was the most freeing thing I have ever done – and I have never looked back. I even moved to North Carolina to take classes at the DSI Comedy Theater. Improv is addictive.

I share this with you because of all these experiences (and the ones I have yet to experience) have helped to shape who I am and shape my perspective. Maybe it will help you understand me more. Maybe it’s just a good story. Maybe this is a waste of your time. Who knows?

But as I have come to love comedy and love writing and LOVE improvisation, I have come to totally and utterly admire these two women: Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch. They are incredible writers, incredible performers, and incredible women. They have truly influenced the entire industry to prove that YES, women ARE funny.

[I also totally love and admire Amy Poehler, but she isn't in this video. But it's okay. SIDE NOTE: I met Amy Poehler the summer after I graduated from college when I was taking comedy classes in NYC (PICTURE PROOF HERE). I think I was able to say a total of ten words to her. I totally froze. I suck.]

I haven’t seen this video in a long time! This is an awesome clip from an ABC news interview with Tina and Rachel from A LONG time ago. In the interview, they talk about their hilarious two-woman sketch show “Dratch & Fey.” Thanks @callmeKP for the link. They also talk about the stigma that comes with being a woman in comedy and how they have worked to combat that stigma. If you can’t see the video, click here. We can learn a lot from these women, no matter what field of “expertise” we are in.

QUESTION: Do you think that the battle that many women have had to face in comedy is similar to a battle women have had to face in business? Do you think the “male-dominated comedy business” and “male-dominated business-business” are changing? What progress have we made? Women in the United States STILL only make 78 cents to every man’s dollar for the same position and same work. I want to hear your thoughts.

Word.

This week seems to be sending me inspiration left and right. First my small talk post, now this week’s tip of the week! I was reading Chris Brogan’s blog (say THAT 3x fast) the other day, and he had a great post about the questions that we should ask ourselves and our business – especially with regards to social media.

As usual, his post brought up some great points and I got to thinking about each question and the impact it had on my business. (I’m not going to regurgitate all 7 questions here, you can check out his post by clicking this link).

Then I realized a question was missing. It got me thinking and here is the question I have posed:

When it comes to our practices, whether those be business, branding, or marketing, how are we differentiating ourselves from the pack? In essence, what makes US unique?

I know not all of you own your own business, plan to own your own business, or are even passionate about being an entrepreneur, but my point is that this theory can be applied to any of us, no matter our role. We are all, in and of ourselves, our own “business.” Our personal brand is our business. How we market ourselves, how we represent our brand, and how the world sees us, are all part of our overall “business plan.”

But in this day and age, it is easy to get lost in mix and mass of content out there. For example, when looking for a job, how do YOU make yourself stand out above the other hundred-or-so applicants? Or if you’re a business, how do you make your business stand out against your competitors?

The short answer is to find that unique angle or perspective that differentiates you from the pack.

The long answer is, unfortunately, that can sometimes be difficult.

For me, it has been a challenge. I am passionate about social media and marketing, but so are a gazillion other people out there. So how do I make my brand different than the rest? I don’t want to be better than anyone, but I do want to stand out and I want people to know my name.

My other passion, comedy, was something I thought for a long time that I had to keep separate from my social media brand. Then it dawned on me: Why do I need to separate the two? They are both part of me. Why not combine them? Which is where I came up with the idea of THE Molly Buckley – where I put the MEDIA in comedian.

I am who I am and I’m going to own it. THAT makes me different. THAT makes me unique.

So, my tip this week – is to find out what makes YOUR brand unique. From what angle do you approach your business so that you can stand out from the crowd? What makes your business special?

Find that niche and OWN it. Be the rockstar you know you are. What do YOU think?

If you can’t see the video, click here.

Word.

Yes, this exists.

For this week’s Thuper Therious Thursday, I thought I’d share this incredibly scary, adorable, weird, funny, [insert adjective here] video by @iJustine. iJustine is a blogger, vlogger, tech geeker, and tweeter. I have to give her credit, although it’s cheesy, it covers the entire Twitter spectrum. Hashtags and all.  Anyway, enjoy!

If you were to write your own Twitter song, what would YOU call it? It can be an original or a spoof.

One of the most famous television hosts, Soupy Sales, passed away last week – October 22, 2009 – at the age of 83. I remember my dad telling me when I was a kid about Soupy Sales and how he used to watch Lunch with Soupy Sales everyday. Although I, personally never had the opportunity to watch Soupy, I still know what he did for television and what he did for comedy. I wanted to share this video on my comedy blog because I think it really is a testament to his charm, his wit, and of course, his hilarious New Year’s Day stunt in 1965. Enjoy!

All for now.

I’ve been hiding this from the world. Not many know this about me. For a long time, my parents didn’t even know. Well, my mom didn’t know, but my dad, deep down, he knew. My sister knew, because I’m close with her. My best friends knew, because they confronted me when I wasn’t cheering for their team. The more I’ve thought about it, the more it has eaten me up inside. And it’s time that I told EVERYONE.

I ALWAYS banked on Bernie.

That’s right, people. I’m… a CLEVELAND BROWNS FAN. Phew! I feel so much better now. Man, does it feel GOOD to get that off my chest! I’ve been afraid for a very long time to admit to the entire WORLD that I’m a Browns fan. Those closest to me always knew that I LOVE me some Bernie Kosar. (By the way, we need him back. I don’t care if he is like 50 something now. He was the best thing to ever happen. to us. ever.). I love me some Brown and Orange. I love me some Dog Pound. I hate me some Ravens.

You know, people have asked me, “Molly, when did you know?” And I say, “I’ve always known.” I’ve been a Browns fan since the day I was born. It’s not in my control. There have been Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays, where I have sat home crying by myself wishing I loved another team. But I don’t, I can’t. No matter how much I beg God to change me, he won’t. I love a horrible football team. It’s in my blood.

We weren’t always horrible. In fact, before the damn Super Bowl existed, we were good. REALLY good. How good? This is how good:

We were DIVISION Champions:

• AAFC Western Division: 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
• NFL Century Division: 1967, 1968, 1969

(and when we had the BERNIE, we were good!):

• AFC Central Division Champs: 1971, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989

We were even CONFERENCE Champions:

• NFL Eastern Conference: 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969
• NFL American Conference: 1950, 1951, 1952

And then, there were the NFL Championships (this was the equivalent of the Super Bowl before the Super Bowl existed):

• AAFC Champions: 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
• NFL Champions: 1950, 1954, 1955, 1964

We’ve, of course, been to the playoffs. But that’s neither here, nor there.

You know, there was even a time when I couldn’t love any team. I call those the DARK AGES. From 1996-1999 when the evil, EVIL, Art Moddell SOLD my beloved Browns to Baltimore to make an even more evil thing, THE BALTIMORE RAVENS. This is why I hate the Ravens, Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, seafood, piers, and Baltimore at large. They stole my team. My players. And then they even won the Super Bowl with them. Have the Browns won a Super Bowl? No.

I don’t want to talk about that.

[*SIDE NOTE: By the way, I put up with the Ravens now because a good friend and sorority sister of mine from college is now a Ravenette. Yes, I know an actual Ravenette. So I deal. ]

But now, we’re back. We (the BROWNS) came back in 1999. And we came back not strong. In the 10 years we’ve been back, we’ve had 6 coaches, like 18 offensive coordinators, and a gazillion quarterbacks. We’ve been to the playoffs ONCE since we’ve been back, and that was a lucky shot. I think the Steelers had jaundice that day or something – so that was like beating a kitten in a poker game.

And that leaves me to where I am today. Loving a team that nobody loves. Well, my dad loves them, and this random guy I knew in college loves them. But it’s hard. It’s like being married to a crack addict. You know that they need to get off the crack, and it tears you up inside, but you can’t leave them. … Man, that is a horrible analogy.

You know what I mean. We are heading into Week 7 and the Browns are 1-5. Great.

But I don’t care. I’m going to sport my vintage KOSAR jersey and be proud of who I am and who I love.

Nothing can stop me.

Not even you, Chris Cooley. You sexy Redskin.

All for now.

You guessed it. (Actually, you probably did not guess it). The SNUGGIE mania is back, bolder, better, and booklightier than ever. As I was working early this morning I had my TV on in the background to serve as, you know, “white noise.” And suddenly IT came on the television screen. The new and revised SNUGGIE commercial.

Whether or not we want to admit it, the Snuggie was, in fact, the number ONE gift for Christmas last year. And being that it is already October 12th, the Snuggie corporation is trying to think of a new way of promoting the SAME product they sold last year to make it, once again, the number one gift for Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, whathaveyou. Except this time they have chose to spice up their marketing with more Snuggie colors, patterns, and a DOG snuggie option (I covered my feelings about this in an earlier post). This new commercial even features HORRIBLE dancing. I mean, bad. Really bad raising of the roof.

Please note at 1:01, the only man in the stands NOT wearing a Snuggie is obnoxiously shivering, yet he is wearing an ACTUAL coat. Just thought I’d point that out.

It can’t be true. No, it just can’t be. My whole life (well, since July of 1994) I have lived in a fantasy world. Of SEAL. A one-named man whose sultry voice, inspiring lyrics, and scarface, have inspired me to sing karaoke many, many a time.

SEAL will always be SEAL to me.

But all of this was created in an image. No, not God’s image, Molly Buckley’s image. To me, he is SEAL. Nothing more, nothing less. An attractive, wonderful, smart, African-American man named after an adorable sea creature, thing.

This actual seal is reacting to the realization that SEAL has a last name.

And now it’s all RUINED. Heidi Klum, Seal’s amazingly hot wife (which I am totally comfortable admitting) has announced that she is going to finally take on Seal’s last name. This came as a total shock to me. I mean, he doesn’t have one, that’s why she never took it to begin with. But, alas, I have been duped. He does. And it is: SAMUEL. HIS NAME IS SEAL SAMUEL. ohmahgod.

Heidi Klum will now be Heidi Samuel.

Seal is now Seal Samuel. That is quite possibly the worst last name for a man named Seal ever.

THIS JUST IN. It’s OHmahgod, BREAKING NEWS.

I have been just informed that Seal Samuel is, in fact, his name… but only PART OF IT. That’s right, folks. Seal’s FULL NAME IS:

Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel

Say THAT three times fast. No wonder he only went by SEAL.

I have to admit, that YES, I am disappointed in him. For lying to me all these years. He has now been rebirthed, in my eyes. He is no longer Seal. SEAL is dead to me. He is Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel. Forever and for always.

True dat.

I’m going to now include the BATMAN FOREVER video version of Kiss From a Rose to mourn the deal of SEAL as I knew him. Enjoy SEAL with an open chested black silk shirt. I know I do.