Seth K. Thomas

I have never been a fan of roasts. I don't really get them. I guess it's funny to talk mad smack about a person and they sit there and take it? I guess it's a chance to give somebody the business? I don't know what the appeal of it is. But also to go so far as to have writers for a roast so that the person delivering the jokes isn't even connected enough to have their own jokes about the person; that's even more weird to me. Like I would sit and have my homeboys bag on me for hours cause ultimately, I know it'll be based on shared experiences and the undertone is love. But a stranger, with a writer? A writer that don't know me? What are you going to say? And how could it possibly relate to me except for it to be based on stereotypes that one would think are associated with me. I saw a clip of a roast battle and the two didn't know each other at all and so all the jokes were based on race and outward appearance. It was trash in my opinion and the targ...

So, clearly, I'm at one a month with my weblog. This is ridiculous. I have to do better. But what I'm not going to do is make every post about my bad blogging habits so moving on... I have been substitute teaching these last few weeks and I have been reminded why I swore I would never teach again. I have done way more behavior management that teaching and because of my commitment to not yelling at children, I have softly and politely said "please sit down" more times in two weeks than I have in five years.  I get it. I remember me in middle school and I was a nightmare. I think back now to those teachers I had and feel so bad. Back then, I thought they were old as heck but I know that they were just young adults trying to do their job and every day they had to come to work and deal this little a-hole. I think the major difference between me and the kids I'm managing right now is that I did my work. I was an A student who misbehaved. These are D students misbehavin...

Last year, when I was living in Los Angeles, I was producing a show called the Saturday Night Revue, and I was supported by an amazing manager, Mary H. Mary is an old friend from Chicago who, aside from being a great stage performer, is an amazing stage manager and tech. I believe tech is one of the most important components of live shows, especially sketch comedy shows, and I was super fortunate to have Mary on the team. My producer brain is firing on all cylinders at all times, and almost every time I had an idea about the show, I was shooting Mary a text. It could be morning, midday, or evening. Idea comes in, text to Mary goes out. Finally, Mary hit me up and was like, "I don't have the bandwidth for this. There needs to be some control with the messaging." In that moment, I stopped and did something I had yet to do. I thought about Mary on the receiving end of these messages.  Text has a certain level of immediacy, and to them, nothing I was sharing had urgency. Also...

The signature for my email is visit this site, and every time I send an email, I ask myself, " What am I sending people here to see? I have fallen all the way off with the Daily Highku (sorry, Lori), and I probably need to get back to that. I should also just blog. Like, use this as a real web log. Like "I had coffee today, and it was delish." Seriously, though, I live in Dallas, Texas now, and everyone is like, "How's Dallas?" and I'm always like, "It's cool," 'cause really I have only seen a small part of Dallas. I haven't started working yet, so the only places I go are church and the comedy club. Duality, am I right? The comedy scene I frequent is really cool. Really young. I'm older than everyone there, including the club's owner, and that's really exciting. I feel like I found the comedy fountain of youth. The improv class has me on my feet again, exercising a muscle that hasn't seen a gym in years. There are ...

It's been a long time since I last posted to this weblog, and I am super conscious of it now because my email signature guides people to this weblog. I admit the Daily Highku has stalled. I haven't written one in months. I should write one now. I'll post that.  So, what's going on with me? Well, I have moved to Dallas, Texas, and I have been adjusting to the move. Why Dallas? Well, I got married in October of 2025, and this is where my wife lives. I was in Los Angeles, and we decided that my coming here was better than her going there. And the gas is so much cheaper here. I haven't really gotten out much. I spend most of my time rehearsing for my show in Toronto, which happens in March. I have started taking improv classes at the Dallas Comedy Club, and that has been exciting. It's a long form 1 class, and even though I am familiar with long form improv and I have done it and taught it, I have never really gone through a full course and course structure. I'm...

I have a lot of fond memories of New York. I was born in Connecticut, and when I would visit my grandmother and grand-aunt in Stratford, going to New York was always a treat. Later, when I was in university, I made several friends who lived in New York, and I would visit them often on my way to or from family visits in Connecticut. My grand-aunt took me to a Yankees game once at old Yankee Stadium. I remember catching a foul ball, dropping it, and reaching down to get it, and the man in the seat in front of me was reaching under his seat, scratching my head in an effort to get me to release the ball. My grand-aunt bopped him over the head, and he stopped scratching me. There’s a picture somewhere of me holding up that ball. I remember being at a store on Broadway and asking about a large Zippo lighter that said NYC on it. The man said it was $45. I then asked about the smaller one. He said it was $45. I then inquired about the larger one, again, and he said it was $60. That seemed like...

  Please Donate $1 To The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival DONATE 2 TO SKETCHFEST I am asking you to help support my favorite sketch comedy festival with a donation of just $1. As you know, I am a sketch comedian who travels domestically and internationally with my one-person show. No place has been more important to my journey than the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, also known as TO Sketchfest. In 2024, after being selected randomly to participate, my show won the Producer's Pick Award. In 2025, I was honored to host the Best of the Fest Award show. Additionally, in 2025, with your help, I was the top fundraiser for the festival, raising over $ 2,000. And I am now the face of the marketing campaign. This time around, I am trying to double that goal. To do so, I am calling, texting, emailing, and creating TikTok videos in an attempt to support this amazing festival. So, please donate a dollar or five to the festival. Every donation is tax-deductible, and, depending on the exchange r...

Here is the description ripped from the Amazon page: This book starts with a way to think about comedy and then guides you through concrete strategies for making your work smarter, richer, funnier. Libera covers everything from generating material to revising and performing to fostering social connection through comedy. In the book’s final section, Libera draws from her personal life to make a profound case for why future comedy writers should consider the ethics of their art and their responsibility to their fellow human beings in the audience. Readers won’t just be funnier because of this book—they’ll be better people. https://www.amazon.com/Funnier-New-Theory-Practice-Comedy/dp/0810149362 Anne Libera is absolutely brilliant! She is a master of the art of comedy and the most influential person in my comedy matriculation. I will forever identify as a "Student of Anne." Here's Anne's bio ripped from the Columbia College Chicago website: Anne Libera is the Director of ...

I have a book called Great American Short Stories - and no, mom, I did not steal this from your house. My mother swears that I steal all her books, and rightfully so. I have pilfered some texts in the past. However, I got this particular book of short stories from one of those take-a-book-leave-a-book structures in the front yard of somebody's house. I left Twilight. Anyway, the first story in the book is Rip Van Winkle . I had never actually read Rip Van Winkle before. The only thing I knew about Rip Van Winkle was that he “fell a-hella-sleep;” and considering the context in which Rip was mentioned in the Run DMC song, I associated Rip with fairy tales and nursery rhymes. So I was pleasantly surprised by the short story.  I love the way Irving told the story of Rip and the conventions used. For example, the story begins pre-revolutionary war and ends post-revolutionary war, and this is shown by the picture in front of the pub Rip frequents. Before the long sleep, the portrait w...

I once participated in a stranger book exchange on Instagram. I received a book called The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power by Deirdre Mask. I found it to be a fascinating read. Consider the first few lines of the introduction: "In some years, more than 40 percent of all local laws passed by the New York City Council have been street name changes. Let me give you a moment to think about this." I took this moment and then dove into this book headfirst. I am a sucker for a good book, and The Address Book is good. Mask travels to Kolkata, Haiti, Philadelphia, Korea, Iran, South Africa, and other cities worldwide, delivering on the book's title. One thing I found fascinating in the book, cause I love words, is what3words.com . As I found out in the book, there are efforts to tackle the lack of an address issue that is huge in the world. One of the solutions is the address system what3words. The system divides the world into sq...

Counting down the days and nights The love and happy that lies ahead Seems to outweigh today's joy  

When I hear the word "nerd," the thing that comes to mind is someone deeply entrenched in an item's information. Then I picture Lewis from Revenge of the Nerds . Then, as my thoughts continue to race, I imagine computers, comic books, Dungeons and Dragons, and all four seasons of The IT Crowd. When I was reading my dictionary and came across the word "nerd", I was slightly taken aback by the definition. "A gauche person." Thanks to the last great American dynasty, the word gauche is present in the consciousness, so I am aware of the adjective's definition. Using substitution property, a person lacking in ease and grace of manner, awkward and tactless, is – by definition - a nerd. What caught my attention was the lack of reference to genius. Nerds are almost always represented as highly intelligent, brainy, brilliant people. However, according to ole Oxy, what made one a nerd was not the brain, but the behavior. Which made me wonder... were Compton ...

Trying to be honest one Job got me lying to cover mess Conflicted for the paper  

Did you know that over a million pieces of art are in the public domain? Museums offer thousands upon thousands of art pieces for free use under the Creative Commons Zero or other Creative Commons licenses. The National Gallery of Art , The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) , The Smithsonian , The Art Institute of Chicago , The Cleveland Museum of Art , and The British Museum are just some of the institutions that offer free art. The digital images can be accessed, shared, and reused without seeking permission as they are released into the public domain. For the casual art lover, these images are available for decorating the home and/or office. For the hustler, these are terrific images for an Etsy or Spring shop selling t-shirts, hoodies, pillows, blankets, mugs, and all kinds of products featuring fine art. For the educator, this is an amazing way to introduce others to museums and art. Take a moment today to visit a museum online. Download some images and bring more fine art in...

So scared of brand new people Security found in old, old friends Maybe one day that will change  

"Hold please" means you need to hold You need to stop talking to me, sir I can't hear you, you're on hold

I am a cash flow check point River flows past my banks to others My open hands catch a drop

Open up to reveal true self True self is a terrible person Should not have opened that door  

She did not get on the bus Funky man extra funky today Tuesday is not like Monday

Changing Seasons Hillary Reynolds I love beautiful music. I love independent music. And I especially love beautiful independent music made by friends. So, I'm excited to share my new favorite album,  Changing Seasons  by Hillary Reynolds, a gorgeous independent album created by a friend.  I had the pleasure of performing at a variety show called the Parachute Show, held in Hillary's backyard under a huge, colorful parachute. It was there that I first met Hillary and got to experience her amazing voice and equally amazing songwriting. I immediately wanted more music. Not long after meeting Hillary, she dropped a video for the first song off the album,  Can't Turn Off My Mind  (watch  here ). If the goal of dropping this single was to create anticipation for the album, it worked.  Changing Seasons  dropped at 9 pm PST on August 7th, and I listened to it three times before going to bed. I love this album. It stays in rotation. Changing Seasons  ...