Pheaturing Howie Mandel

 

Hello, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Friday... how are you? On a Southwest Airlines flight from Sacramento to San Diego, California, a flight attendant lost her two front teeth and sustained injuries to her face when a passenger attacked her on Sunday. The story made national headlines two days ago when video footage capturing the in-flight altercation was published by local news outlet KGTV. The video was filmed by San Diego resident, Michelle Manner. The vide video shows a female passenger... who has since been identified as Vyvianna Quinonez... punching a female flight attendant over and over. “I was shocked at what was going on,” Manner told KGTV. “ I could tell that her teeth were loose when she was back in the cubby, and her face was bleeding pretty bad.” In an initial statement from Southwest Airlines, a spokesperson could not confirm whether the incident was related to mask-wearing. “Our reports indicate that a passenger physically assaulted a Flight Attendant upon landing on Flight #700 from Sacramento to San Diego Sunday morning,” Southwest spokesperson Chris Mainz told ABC 10 News San Diego. “The passenger repeatedly ignored standard inflight instructions (tray table in upright position, seat belt, etc.) and became verbally and physically abusive upon landing. Law Enforcement Officials (LEOs) were requested to meet the flight upon arrival, and the passenger was taken into custody. We do not condone or tolerate verbal or physical abuse of our Flight Crews, who are responsible for the safety of our passengers.” Since the video’s release, Manner and other witnesses on the flight have been weighing in on the incident, helping piece together how the attack unfolded. As Manner told Sacramento news outlet KCRA 3, it all started when a flight attendant told passengers to put their mask on their entire face, and not just near her nose. “They ended up in a screaming match,” Manner remembered. “It ended with the flight attendant saying that she was going to go call the captain.” Susan Stidham, who was also on the flight, had a slightly different take: “Apparently what she did was stood up and took off her seat belt and the flight attendant told her to put it back on and she attacked her,” Stidham told CBS Los Angeles. Another passenger, Taro Arai, took the story from there. “…they start shoving each other and the next I saw was ‘Don’t touch me!’ They start yelling, the lady stood up and pound! She just knocked her out on the floor.” Arai told reporters. According to Arai, a man sitting near the passenger intervened. “He said, ‘You can’t do that! Don’t do that! You can’t do that,'” he remembered. “The flight attendant in the back bleeding everywhere, looking at us from the hallway. It was like a horror movie to me.” The injured flight attendant was reportedly escorted off the plane for a medical evaluation before paramedics took her to Scripps Memorial Hospital. Quinonez was arrested by Port of San Diego Harbor Police officers and is now facing a felony count of assault inflicting serious bodily injury. She is scheduled to return to San Diego for a hearing on September 30th. Lyn Montgomery, president of transport workers union TWU Local 556, told CBSLA that these kinds of incidents are a growing concern for flight attendants. “Since April 8th to May 15th alone, 477 incidents were reported on Southwest Airlines,” said Montgomery. “Nationwide, since the beginning of the year, it’s been 2,500.” She added, “I think we could probably say it has to do with the COVID-19 quarantine orders, the requirements to wear masks and also, perhaps, the civil unrest in the nation. In a letter to Southwest CEO Gary Kelly, Montgomery said the flight attendants union was seeking several safeguards from the airline to protect employees from similar misconduct incidents... including increasing the number of federal air marshals on flights and request that they “get involved and take action” when crew members are in danger. According to Montgomery, the union also wants to airline to be consistent in its policies and maintaining its restricted travelers list. “No passenger should be removed from one flight only to be permitted to board the very next Southwest Airlines flight after a noncompliance incident. We ask that you take a strong stance to ensure that unruly passengers are not welcome to travel with us. Period. Full stop.” According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), there have been 2,500 incidents of unruly behavior from airline passengers this year, including 1,900 cases in which passengers refused to wear comply wide the federal government’s face mask mandate.  

After two years in office, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot announced last week that she would no longer sit down for interviews with white reporters. In an apparent attempt to call out systemic racism, Lightfoot promised that she would only speak directly with reporters of color from now on. But that bold announcement has drawn an extremely mixed reaction within the city. After Mary Ann Ahern of NBC broke the story, the mayor’s office published a two-page letter on May 19th, in which Lori Lightfoot described her disappointment with the “overwhelming whiteness” of Chicago newsrooms. As a black woman herself, Lightfoot identified her administration as one breaking with the status quo: a black, female City Treasurer, and a Hispanic City Clerk, in addition to a majority non-white City Council. But the City Hall reporters, she says, do not match that standard of diversity. The political news media in Chicago, Lightfoot writes, is “practically all white. Many of them are smart and hardworking, savvy and skilled. But mostly white, nonetheless… I hope you find this as unacceptable as I do.” (The letter also states that there are “zero women of color assigned to the City Hall beat” but WBEZ quickly refuted that claim; two of their station’s three City Hall reporters are WOC.) In response, Lightfoot said she would decline to sit down with any white journalists from now and accept one-on-one interviews strictly with people of color. Lightfoot’s decision came as a surprise to most Chicagoans. And though you might expect a smattering of support, Lightfoot was not exactly celebrated for championing journalists of color. Rather, Chicago media outlets resisted applauding the move while the National Association of Black Journalists released a definitive criticism. Coming up on the two-year anniversary of Lightfoot’s mayorship, Chicago has been vocal about demanding more from the politician. On May 20th... the day after Lightfoot released her official statement about local media... 40 different active community groups (including the Chicago Teachers Union, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, etc.) gathered in the Logan Square neighborhood to protest Lightfoot’s inadequate governing. Publicized as a “public report card,” attendees carried signs that gave Lightfoot a big, fat F for criteria such as policing, education, environment, housing, and more. Rather than argue discuss the semantics of Lightfoot’s recent call for social justice, these Chicagoans were more interested in hearing how Lightfoot will combat life-and-death issues like rising gun violence, excessive policing, and the ongoing global pandemic. Naturally, though, political reporters reacted more directly to Lightfoot’s journalistic pledge. The National Association of Black Journalists released a statement saying that while Lightfoot is shedding light on an important issue, the NABJ simply “does not support excluding any bona fide journalists from one-on-one interviews with newsmakers, even if it is for one day and in support of activism.” Lightfoot’s announcement about prioritizing brown journalists also received negative coverage in the city’s primary paper, The Chicago Tribune. But that is just the latest in Lightfoot’s ongoing feud with the long-standing publication. After a report in The Chicago Tribune condemned Lightfoot’s failure to relax parking tickets from the start of the pandemic, the mayor wrote in a series of leaked emails, “I urge members of the public, the next time the Tribune comes out with some big expose or a screaming headline... please consider the source,” Lightfoot wrote in a September 22nd email… "I have and that’s why I have canceled my digital and print subscriptions to the Trib.” It’s an unusual stance for a Democratic politician within the state of Illinois to combat the popular news source so openly. “Her behavior is much like that of our former president with his constant media feuds. Instead of worrying about the color or ethnicity of who comes calling, she should focus on the endless violence that plagues Chicago on a daily basis,” wrote one concerned citizen in a letter to the editor. The Chicago Tribune reporter Gregory Pratt, who is Latino, was actually pre-approved to conduct an interview with the mayor. But he canceled the meeting in light of Lightfoot’s announcement. He opened up about that decision on WGN, saying, “The need for diversity is real, no question about it… but the answer is not to do fewer interviews with people on the beat or to refuse people who are responsible for telling Lightfoot’s story for their publications. The reasonable thing would seem to be to do more interviews… it’s more of a stunt.” Thomas Catenacci, who writes for the ultra-conservative The Daily Caller, has reportedly moved forward with a lawsuit against Lightfoot after his interview request was denied. According to TMZ, Catenacci has asked a judge to forcefully end Lightfoot’s new policy saying that it violates his rights of Equal Protection under the law and his rights as a member of the press under the First Amendment. For context, The Daily Caller was co-founded by Fox’s Tucker Carlson in 2010. Since the controversy began last week, Tucker has slammed Lightfoot on-air, calling her “a monster” and comparing her to a Nazi “pulling the right ones out of line for punishment.” And though the litigious move... coming from such proud Republican publication... is likely a trolling tactic, the case has drawn attention to the infeasibility of Lightfoot’s plan for the City Hall press corps.

On Wednesday, nine correction workers... including seven correction officers and two correction employees... were arrested for allegedly smuggling razors, scalpels, illegal substances, cell phones, and other contraband into a New York City jail. In newly released documents from federal prosecutors with the Southern District of New York, prosecutors accused nine guards and employees of the New York City Department of Correction of smuggling contraband to prisoners in exchange for cash bribes. The nine employees currently or previously worked at the Rikers Island Jail Complex and the Manhattan Detention Complex. “These defendants were responsible for maintaining a safe and orderly environment in New York City’s jails,” U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in the statement. “Instead, as alleged, they abused their positions to enrich themselves by smuggling weapons, drugs, and other dangerous contraband in return for thousands of dollars of cash bribes. This alleged activity violated the defendants’ duties, and endangered the inmates they were charged to supervise and guard.” Department of Investigation Commissioner Margaret Garnett said in the statement that the charged crimes reflected “the pernicious and damaging impact of corruption.” She added, “Correction officers and staff should protect the integrity of the jails, not promote lawlessness and violence by accepting bribes in return for trafficking drugs, scalpels, razor blades, cell phones, and other contraband... all highly valued, illegal items that undermine order in the jails and compromise the safety of other correction officers and inmates.” According to the indictment, three correction officers... including 35-year-old Miguel Compress of New York, 45-year-old Temaine Pelzer of Brooklyn, and 60-year-old Brian Harrell of Pelham, NY... took more than $20,000 in cash bribes from prisoners at the Manhattan Detention Complex (colloquially known as “The Tombs”) in downtown Manhattan. In exchange, these three guards allegedly smuggled to prisoners scalpels, smokable synthetic cannabinoids (often referred to as “K2” or “Spice”), cellphones, and cigarettes between 2019 and early 2020. FBI agents also busted four guards... including 33-year-old Dariel Diaz of Reading, Pennsylvania, 25-year-old Rashawn Assanah of Queens, 33-year-old Robert Balducci of the Bronx, and 32-year-old Johnathan Garrett of Brooklyn... at the Rikers Island Jail Complex smuggling in contraband more than $25,000 in bribes in 2020 and 2021, the indictment claims. In the document, the feds also accuse a Department of Correction counselor... 41-year-old Tameka Lewis of Brooklyn... accused of taking more than $40,000 in bribes from at least in or about June 2019 up through and including in or about September 2020. To prisoners who bribed her, the counselor allegedly smuggled K2 and other contraband into the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island. According to the indictment, Lewis accepted bribes in the form of Cash App. In addition, the indictment names a Department of Corrections exterminator... 34-year-old Jasmine Reed of Norfolk, Virginia... accused of smuggling in K2, marijuana, and other contraband in exchange for an unspecified amount in cash bribes between August 2019 and February 2020. Five employees were arrested in New York, one in Pennsylvania, and one in Virginia, according to the indictment. If convicted of charges including conspiracy, bribery, honest services wire fraud, the employees could each face a maximum of decades in prison. However, convictions in these kinds of cases usually result in prison sentences of less than a decade, reports the Associated Press. According to the NY Daily News, the bust comes weeks after a federal report criticized the NYC Department of Correction for “deeply dysfunctional” management and high rates of violent crimes. City Correction Commissioner Cynthia Brann has resigned and will leave her job at the end of the month, reports the Daily News. The exact reason behind her early departure is unknown.

Many of us fall victim to getting caught up with the validation social media and the Internet can give us. People posts all kinds of wacky and crazy pictures and videos to get attention, and I truly applaud those who have never let their online presences to dictate their self-esteem. Take this idiot for example. Gaurav Sharma is a famous YouTuber in Delhi, India, who was recently arrested by Delhi police after posting a horrifying video on his YouTube channel. The video shows him tying several helium balloons to the back of his pet dog and letting it soar into the air. The 32-year-old shot the video last week in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar and posted it to his channel that has over 4.15 million subscribers, according to the Indian Express. Many criticized the obvious animal cruelty, and he ended up taking the video down. However, he tried to explain that “all safety measures” were taken while making the video. Malviya Nagar police arrested Sharma after officials from People for Animals Society filed a complaint against him, and DCP (South) Atul Kumar Thakur explained, “We registered an FIR under sections of the Disaster Management Act and Prevention to Cruelty to Animals Act. The accused, a resident of Panchseel Vihar in Malviya Nagar, was arrested, but released later on Thursday evening, as it is a bailable offense. He told us he is a YouTuber and made the video for his channel.” Firstly, there is no superficial self-esteem you can get on the Internet that is worth putting anyone or any being in danger. I know there are hilarious videos out there of people clumsily getting hurt or pulling pranks-gone-wrong on each other, but how could you seriously feel okay sending a helpless dog up there just for the views and comments? I wish the dog would’ve urinated or pooped on this guy mid-air as payback, and that would definitely be worth seeing online.

GOP Florida Congressman Rep. Matt Gaetz stated that he plans to run for the presidency in 2024 if former President Donald Trump decides not to run again. The congressman announced in a text message to the New York Post. He wrote, “I support Donald Trump for president. I’ve directly encouraged him to run and he gives me every indication he will. It’s Trump doesn’t run, I’m sure I could defeat whatever remains of Joe Biden by 2024.” The comments come after Gaetz’s associate, Joel Greenberg, pleaded guilty last week to 6 federal charges, admitting that he knowingly solicited and paid for sex from a minor. Several legal commentators stated that Greenberg taking a plea deal may be a problem for the Florida Republican, who has a close connection to his dealings. Gaetz has not been charged with any crime and has denied all the allegations. Gaetz’s involvement in presidential politics comes time for an action that will likely be determined by the outcome of the federal investigation going on into his involvement with Greenberg. According to a New York Post, several claims were made saying that Gaetz wants to run for president to help out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican. DeSantis is considered by several politicians on the list to be the Republican front-runner if Trump decides not to run in the presidential election. A source told NYP that, “Mr. DeSantis might, like someone else on the debate, stay until you can torch his opponent and lay down ground cover for him.” During an interview with Fox News’ "Mornings With Maria," former President Trump was asked by Maria Bartiromo about his plans for his presidential run to which he responded by saying, “Yes, 100 percent.” He stated, “And the polls show that everybody wants me to do it. One hundred percent I’m thinking about running, and we will, I think, be very successful." He also made similar comments to Candance Owens during an interview on the "Daily Wire Talk Show." He stated, “The answer is I’m absolutely enthused. I look forward to doing an announcement at the right time. As you know, it’s very early. But I think people are going to be very, very happy when I make a certain announcement.” 

If I had a TARDIS I would try and meet Lyndon B. Johnson but knowing my luck he'd be too busy yelling with JFK trying to stop him.

Lyndon B. Johnson was yelling at the pilots of a nearby plane to cut their engines so that John F. Kennedy could speak. Kennedy is seen trying to calm him down. This was taken during the 1960 presidential campaign in Amarillo, Texas. In the fall, Johnson campaigned intensely, conducting a memorable train ride through the South. He also pressed for a joint appearance of the Democratic candidates somewhere in Texas. They arranged the meeting at the airport in Amarillo, where campaign advance men stopped all air traffic during the brief ceremonies so that the candidates could address the crowd. But they had not counted on the Republican-leaning airline pilots, who deliberately ran the engines of their planes in order to drown out the speakers. At the close of the ruined appearance, a photographer snapped a concerned Kennedy placing his hand on Johnson’s shoulder, trying to calm his angry, gesticulating running mate. Then, just before the election, Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson were jeered and jostled by a hostile crowd of right-wingers in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy made light of the noise during his speech, quipping “That is dick coming in” Richard Nixon was also campaigning in Texas that day and “They can’t stop the truth anyway. I don’t care how much that engine warms up.” Any stroll through a store would have you believe that "pink is for girls" and "blue is for boys" are the associated gender roles are the very backbone of our society. Products from nail clippers to hand lotion are assigned genders when last time I checked, inanimate objects don't have gender identities. Like this toothpaste for example...

If you're looking for a graphic design job, you may want to contact whoever employed the people responsible for this following design fail. They are most likely hiring.

Normally it's an honor when someone names their child after you. But what if that someone is your recent ex, who cheated on you in order to get pregnant? A man has emailed the Phile to ask if he's in the wrong for confronting his ex about her plan to name her baby after him. He thinks it's weird; she thinks he shouldn't get a say in her baby's name. 

"We split up 2 months ago after I found out she was cheating on me. This was a few weeks before she was about to give birth to a son I thought was mine. Just thank god I found out before and was able to refuse signing anything that could’ve dragged me into being his legal dad. We did a paternity test and turns out he’s not mine. So we broke up and I moved out of our apartment. Back when we found out we were having a boy she wanted him named after me so I guess that’s what she ended up putting on the birth certificate. I didn’t have a clue, only found out because some friends have told me she’s calling her kid Jr. And her friends confirmed she still has him by my last name because they’ve told her she should change it. I called up my ex to ask why she has him named after me when he’s not my kid. My ex told me it’s his name now too and he’s not my problem anymore so I have no say in what she calls her son. So yeah I said she’s right, but I don’t see why give him a surname he doesn’t even have a familial connection to and why not give him his actual father’s name. Supposedly she doesn’t know who the biological dad is and at least this way he has a connection to someone at least. I just said that’s probably gonna fuck him up having him named after someone who’s not even his dad. My ex told me to go to hell and hung up on me. Her family was already giving me shit before for just leaving knowing damm well he’s not mine, but now her mom is giving me more for judging her parenting when she’s just trying to make the best of the situation now that her son doesn’t have a dad anymore. That I’m free to walk away but I don’t got a right to tell her what’s good or bad for her son when I’m not gonna be involved. So I’m just wondering now if I was wrong for voicing that opinion in the first place. It just seems crazy and weird to me." This is incredibly weird, and he should maybe seek legal action. If I had to guess, I’d say there’s a good chance she’s going to tell him, someday, that you are his dad and that you abandoned the two of them before he was born. It would be wise to keep that paternity test in a safe place in case he comes looking for the man he thinks is his deadbeat father someday. You may be in for a very difficult conversation someday in the future with a kid who isn’t yours but who has always been told he was. It's good you voiced your opinion because you have every right to. She completely deceived you!!! Then naming the baby after you knowing damn well he's not yours. Those actions are truly fucked up on so many levels. She is going fuck him up mentally when he finds out the truth if she keeps the last name. Her family needs to stop coddling her. Making the baby a Jr isn't going to change the fact that she doesn't know the dad. That label isn't going to magically change his paternity results. She could have given the baby her own last name. Not knowing the father isn't an excuse to do that to you. Be thankful you found out when you did and that you're out of that situation. Keep a copy of the paternity test. I don’t know what the intention of your ex is but she’s potentially setting her son up for a future of confusion. I would definitely keep a copy of the paternity test just in case. So there you have it: the mom is in the wrong for doing this. And no matter how weird your relationship with your ex is, be thankful it's not like this! If you have a problem you want my opinion on then email me at thepeverettphile@gmail.com. 

Hahahaha. If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, let's take a live look at Port Jefferson, New York shall we?

Looks nice there as usual. Now for a story from...

An 11-year-old girl was caught on video fighting off a knife-wielding sex offender who tried to kidnap her at a bus stop. The girl was waiting for the bus when the man approached her on the morning of May 18th. According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, “Around 7:00 this morning, a white Dodge Journey pulled up to an 11-year-old girl waiting at a bus stop on Old Corry Field Road and Perdido Street. As you could see in this video.” Law enforcement decided to release surveillance footage that captured the incident. Through a statement, they also wrote, “A Hispanic male exits the vehicle reportedly armed with a knife. The suspect then grabs the little girl and a struggle ensues. She was able to fight and break free from the suspect’s grip. She is safe and with her family. If you have any information about this incident, call the ECSO at 850-436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at 850-433-STOP.” The 30-year-old sex offender from Florida was reportedly identified as Jared Paul Stanga. Police said that he is now in custody and has been charged with the attempted kidnapping of a child under 13 and aggravated assault and battery. Police stated that he has an extensive criminal past including several charges against children, suggesting his intention to commit a heinous crime. Through a press conference, Sheriff Chip Simmons stated, “I cannot help to think that this could have ended very differently. Had this 11-year-old victim not thought to fight and to fight and to just never give up, then this could have ended terribly.” According to the Washington Post, this isn’t it wasn’t the minor’s first run with Stanga. Two weeks before the incident, the man had allegedly approached her at the same bus stop and began to speak to her in Spanish. The girl quickly walked away and then reported the incident to her mom, her school principal, and teachers. For the next two weeks, the girl’s mother accompanied her to the bus stop. But Tuesday morning was the first day since the incident when her mother was not there with her. Simmons stated, “We believe that this person has either been watching her specifically or was walking around, looking for an opportunity. Either way, it’s bad. His intent [was] to get her into his car and from that point on, we have no idea what horrors would have awaited this poor little girl.” Authorities say that after the young girl’s family reported the incident to Law Enforcement Officers, around fifty officers from the sheriff’s department began intensive black work Stanga. The officers knocked on several doors, surveilled possible suspects, and stopped any white SUV that passed by. Officers eventually identified the kidnapper as the owner of the vehicle even though it appeared he had recently painted it. Simmons stated that other videos also helped identify him as well, including security footage from a grocery store after the attempted kidnapping that showed his arms covered in the blue slime that the girl was playing with. Officers arrested him at his home located in Pensacola without incident.

The 151st book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...

Richard will be open the Phile on Monday. 

Today's guest is a Canadian comedian, television personality, screenwriter, actor, producer, director, entrepreneur, game show host, and author. He created, voiced, and starred in the FOX children's cartoon "Bobby's World," and has been a judge on NBC's "America's Got Talent" since 2010. Please welcome to the Phile... Howie Mandel!

Me: Hey, Howie, welcome to the Phile. How are you? 

Howie: I'm great, Jason, staying safe, and not touching anybody. 

Me: So, I never knew that you were in the movie Gremlins, Howie. What did you do in that movie? 

Howie: Well, I'm the voice of Gizmo. 

Me: What? How did you get that part? 

Howie: I got the part because that's actually the recording is my father dropping me off at preschool. So, it was amazing how much I had in common with the character I got cast as. I'm like Gizmo but with less hair. 

Me: Less hair and people shouldn't microwave you. 

Howie: Right. What people don't know, maybe they do, but I not only did the voice of Gizmo in Gremlins but I also did Bobby in "Bobby's World" which almost the exact same voice. And I was Skeeter in "The Muppet Babies" which is actually also the same voice. 

Me: Who was Skeeter? 

Howie: Scooter's little sister. 

Me: Oh, that's right. That's a lot of characters out of one voice, Howie. 

Howie: That's the beauty. One voice, three jobs, that's productivity there. 

Me: I have to admit I have never seen "Bobby's World." Most of the time you are our own self either on "America's Got Talent" or "Deal Or No Deal." Were you always comfortable in your own skin even when you were a kid? 

Howie: No! I'm not comfortable in my own skin. Now at this age, I'm in my mid 60s now, I'm kind of comfortable with this comfort and I'd let it be known its not new I have mental health issues and I'm really awkward and I have social anxiety and depression and OCD so I'm never comfortable. I just feel really blessed that everything I was punished for or got expelled for or gotten in trouble for its what I seem to get paid for and what was considered a problem as a child has given me a career as an adult. I feel really lucky and I cannot believe that til this day that anybody has any interest in seeking with me, spending time with me or watching anything that I do. So I'm thrilled. 

Me: Conan O'Brien's dad once told Conan that he was famous for something that should be treated. Do you feel that way? 

Howie: That's a very funny line. I love that line. But I am. It's real and it's not a joke but I hope that it inspires people who are struggling each and other day to just continue to fight and go for it. That's what I do each and every day. 

Me: When do you ever feel comfortable? 

Howie: The close I come to feeling any kind of comfortable whatsoever is at least when I'm home is on stage doing stand up. 

Me: When did you first start to do stand up? 

Howie: It was a dare by a friend at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto. 

Me: Do you like doing stand up? 

Howie: Yes. That kind of mind numbing fear that comes after the moment somebody says, "Ladies and gentlemen, Howie Mandel." Then I'm out there in front of... strangers who are waiting for me to tickle their fancy is what brings me into that moment, that "now." Anybody who suffers, or any human, we're always worried about what might happen in the future or our minds go back into "you're not going to believe what happened to me yesterday" or "last year." But if anything nothing keeps me in the moment more than trying to juggle not being humiliated in front of thousands or hundreds of strangers. That's my comfort zone. That's the only place where I don't have any lines to recite, I don't have any marks to edit, I have no editing to do, that's home. And it kind of informs everything else that I do in life. Whether I'm a game show host or voice overs, whatever I'm doing I use all the tools that stand up continues to teach me today. 

Me: So, you like being on stage as a whole? 

Howie: Any time I could get stage time I use it. Even when I'm doing concerts and casinos and theaters, if I'm staying in town over night I'd say, "Is there a comedy club nearby I could just drop in and go in without a plan and see if something hits me." 

Me: Has being on family friendly TV shows influenced your comedy at all? 

Howie: Hmmmmmmmmmm. Not my pure stand up... no. Ultimately I approach stand up the way I always did. Not because I'm doing other kinds of work such as being on family friendly television. It doesn't influence that. What does influence that is our world now. Our environment is much different than when I started in the 70s as far as political correctness in that. 

Me: So, who were your comedy stand up influences, Howie? 

Howie: My biggest inspiration in comedy once I started was Richard Pryor. I came out to L.A. and I watched Richard Pryor come on stage every night and put together the "Live at the Sunset Strip" album. He's the one that kind of informed me indirectly that my stage time is a great workshop to kind of find that line, step over that line, step back, know where that line was. 

Me: How was doing comedy back then different from doing comedy now on stage? 

Howie: It was kind of a free space where I couldn't do anything wrong. In fact when people in life and if they stepped over the line we could go, "I was joking!" "Oh, I thought you were serious." "Just joking" was a great blanket for where we could just try it out. That doesn't exist anymore. Especially with the advent that everybody has an iPhone, everybody could record me, they could repost it, they can take it out of context and I could end up losing my entire career with just one tweet, which is misconstrued or taken out of context. That kind of scares me today. By the same token I will get up on stage at the clubs late at night. That's when I like going. They've seen 85 comics and they're tired and there's eight drunk people who aren't even together and spread out all over the room. It's harder, I want it to be hard for me, I want it to be that way. The value of whatever my notoriety kind of wears off once I've been introduced and they see I have shown up and say, "Hello, I've got nothing. I want to try something new." Even bask in a couple of minutes of silence. Just game it tougher and harder for me. 

Me: I did stand up in the 90s and that's the last thing I would want. Why would you want it to be hard? 

Howie: Because if I know I could get a giggle in a room and that environment then it's something that's going to work. 

Me: Why do you think the audiences have changed? 

Howie: It's market driven. Seinfeld said it best with, "Audiences don't want those kind of jokes that we were telling in the 70s any more, they want a different kind. I'm going to go where the audience is going, the audience doesn't want those un-PC jokes, the audience doesn't want the offensive material, I'm going to give it to them." 

Me: What do you make of the fact that it could be just market driven? 

Howie: Well, this world rotates and time goes on and I'm a different person today than I was. I've been doing this over 40 years. I kind of approach out differently, I didn't know I was a comedian and somebody dated me to do it and get up on stage. I was not pursuing it. So I have faith, and that's why I said it's the most comfortable place. Without thinking about them, what serves them as the audience, that's why I feel lucky. If I can entertain myself and I think it's funny and I'm enjoying myself and I have founded that has translated into a better show for the live audience. To underline that or underscore that people seem to be interested in politics today much more than they were a couple of decades ago. If you look at "Saturday Night Live" today it's very fueled by whatever side they happen to be on... politics. I am not a political comedian. I know that's an easier, more comfortable place to go, it's a big part of the monologues of the late shows. I don't go there, I kind of serve myself which is much more than I serve the audience. I'm not going to do something that I think you're going to think is funny but what I don't think is funny. I've always, just by accident, I've always just kind served myself and I've been really lucky. That's why I feel blessed, I didn't feel that it was a career and when it became a career I didn't think it'll be a career that would serve me for any length of time. Here I am forty years later, I'm doing an interview and you're asking me questions and I got this far serving myself. Yes, I understand the world's different and I'm different but I don't do market research as far as stand up comedy is. 

Me: A lot of the stupid jokes I have on the Phile and TikTok and things I say are just to amuse myself as well. If other people laugh and enjoy it that's good. You're from Canada, right, but got your career started in L.A. I think. Why is that? 

Howie: I always resented that I had to leave home to leave a mark in the business and the living I could make in this business. I was really happy about being at Yuk Yuk's and really thrilled about being a Canadian. Really thrilled about being part of the virtual cornucopia or talent that came out of Canada. I don't think that most people realize, and I'm talking about worldwide now much Canada has sort of influenced and inspired and been part of not only the stand up comedy but him and television. Everything from Second City to "SNL," Lorne Michaels. Canadians are embedded in the international comedy and they don't know it. That's been kind of a burden in my own mind. If you see me on any interviews or whatever I celebrate the fact that I'm Canadian. Any time I get the opportunity to come back and work in Canada I want to. 

Me: That person who dared you to get up on stage at Yuk Yuk's all those years ago, are you still in touch? 

Howie: No! No. I wish I was. At that time in my life I wasn't that social and I didn't have a lot of friends and it was just somebody I was with. I was just this awkward kid who was very different and kind of outrageous and a misbehaver. 

Me: Awe. Thanks, Howie, for being on the Phile. Please come back again sometime. 

Howie: Thank you.

That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Howie for a fun interview. The Phile will be back on Monday with Richard Thompson. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.

Give me some rope, tie me to dream, give me the hope to run out of steam, somebody said it could be here. We could be roped up, tied up, dead in a year. I can't count the reasons I should stay. One by one they all just fade away...