Today in the Chicago comedy blogosphere...

Angela continues with her "improv beginner at IO" blog: "So far what I enjoy and appreciate the most is the nurturing, 'there are no mistakes' attitude that seems to be prevalent at iO. This week we were told to think of class as a safe haven where we should feel free to be reckless and try and fail rather than only making safe choices, taking baby steps and not exploring the full worth of our potential. I find that idea to be of great comfort. There are few times in life when you are told you can do no wrong and know that you will be fully supported no matter which choices you make."

Kumail holds forth on the ten worst date movies of all time: "So you finally got up the nerve to ask her out. Good for you. And she said yes. Better for you. You had a nice dinner, great conversation, and an entire bottle of wine. And then you swung for the fences. 'Wanna go back to my place and watch a movie?' And she said yes. On the first date. She is either a super easy ho-bag, or totally totally into you. Either way, you are in. As they say, sex is on. Unless of course, you pick completely the wrong movie. Here are ten movies you should never ever watch in such a situation."

Steve Gadlin waxes philosophical about different types of laughter, and why Bob Uecker's pasted-on-upside-down-yay mouth is so transcendantly hilarious: "99% of the time I'm laughing, I'm polite laughing. When I'm really laughing, I laugh so hard that I cry. And that's not always a result of how funny something is, rather how badly I needed to laugh at the time. Heavy, heavy laughing is something I need to do a few times a year, or my head falls off."

Chris Burns is okay with you watching his girlfriend on television, but only in this particular case: "If someone comes up to you and says, 'I've been watching your girlfriend' you should want to fight them or tell them to please stop doing that or tell your girlfriend to close her curtains when she's getting dressed, because there's a creepo hanging around. But when your girlfriend is on a reality show called Nashville Star airing every Thursday at 10ET/9CT (mine is, please start watching) you are more likely to simply say, 'thank you.'"

Dan Winter shares his thoughts on the POTUS' State of the Union address: "W’s ordinary dude was the guy who flopped on top of a guy having a seizure in the subway and fell to the tracks just as the train was coming in to the station. POTUS talked of this guy personifying Uhmurrica. Bravery and humility were cited."

kevINda's Inda Craig-Galván is more than a bit annoyed at businesses using MLK quotes as taglines for sales and special promotions: "Someone just e-mailed me Soul Salon Spa's ad for the Dr. King Day Special and I realized the true meaning of the word offensive. It is not a clever marketing tactic. It's insensitive and manipulative and to twist his words and commercialize his legacy. It's even worse when we do it."

- Elizabeth McQuern