--NewCity Chicago writer Mike Schramm delved into the seedy underworld of stand-up comedy in Chicago and came out alive. In his article "The Depths of Humor," Schramm talks to Tony Sam, Robert Buscemi, Josh Cheney, and yes, the Bastion herself. He also includes a top ten list of "Ten Rising Comics To Look For," and "Five Places To Go See Them," which are sure to sure to be the object of finger-pointing and start many more spirited debates across the stand-up scene.

--The Bastion sat in on night two (of eight) of Dave Odd's Comedy Boot Camp last night at the Chicago Center For the Performing Arts. There were about a dozen students in attendance, plus a guest comedian, John Bolger, who answered questions and offered advice to those who aim to succeed as a working road comic.

This week's lesson? "Anatomy of a Set." A breakdown of the place and function of the opener, the first few jokes, how to test the waters and read the audience, working in smooth segues, and more. A few tips from host Dave Odd: "Jokes are never finished, and you should be constantly rewriting." Also, how do you get your foot in the door with a club booker? "90% of success in this business is persistence. What might feel like bugging the shit out of people is actually barely getting their attention." Also, don't approach a club until you have a solid twenty minutes, and wait until you're really ready, because first impressions last.

Toward the end, we participated in a writing exercise involving wringing jokes out of a randomly-assigned page from the Sun-Times, which we then delivered to the class from behind the mic, squinting into the blinding spotlights. Our attempts at inspiring laughter included a snappy zinger about the "Midwest Fishing Report" and its "Fish of the Week" photo. Class was concluded with an open mic, which the Bastion had to forgo, due to the prospect of a long bike ride home in the cold rain, which was made up for by the cookies we swiped off the snack table on our way out.

- Elizabeth McQuern