[posted 2-19-06] Feliz Ano Nuevo. It's going to be hard to top last year. First of all, a colossal thank you is in order to everyone who purchased copies of A Cynic's Guide to a Rich and Full Life. Since this past August, I've gone through 1500 books. Sweet. My appearance on Bob and Tom was responsible for about 500 of those little black clouds in paperback. By the way, both Bob and Tom were/are super-nice fellas, and the whole experience was a highlight in my fledgling career. I'm already working on a Volume Two, and if all goes well, I'll have a publisher who can get this thing a little national distribution. My episode of Premium Blend on Comedy Central aired on January 6th. You can watch a clip of my first two jokes on the CC website. Oh, the mediocrity! They cut out two of my favorite jokes, but who am I to complain? At least I'm on the television box. What else. The lovely Lizzy Morrow, author of The Girl on the Moon - A Diary, interviewed me for the pop culture website, frycookonvenus.com and can be read on my blog on myspace. It's everything you've never wanted to know about Mario, and much, much, too much more. That's about all. My calendar is filling in quite nicely, including my first co-headlining gig at Capital City Comedy Club here in Austin. I'm also working on (writing for) kind of a secret project for a new animated series that may or may not get picked up. Details to come, if any. Hugs and hickies, mario old news 6-05