On Wednesday, I advanced to the finals of the San Francisco Comedy Club's third annual competition (scroll down). This marks the first time I have reached the final round of a competition since the great Heuristic Squelch Leg Wrestling Championship of 2002. Before that, it was the eighth grade spelling bee, when my hopes and dreams of county spelling bees and free t-shirts were dashed by the word "loggia".

You can watch a clip of Wednesday night's show right here, courtesy of Rooftop Comedy. Listen for the sounds of Sean's Dad and Sean's Mom, conveniently seated just below Rooftop's camera. If you like what you see, why not give that clip a nice rating? If you don't like what you see? I think the expression is, "If you don't have a nice star-based rating to give, don't give any rating at all".

The finals are on Wednesday, July 19th, at the San Francisco Comedy Club at 50 Mason. Show starts at 8 PM. Until I hear differently, I will assume that admission is still going to be $10. Since the awkward comedy chaff has been separated from the hilarious comedy wheat, the final round should be the tastiest, funniest night of the whole competition. Each comic gets a full ten minutes to show his or her stuff, with the audience the ultimate arbiter of who will win, and who will be sent to the Masondrome to battle for his life against some of the Tenderloin's fiercest hoboes.

Until then, my fellow finalists and I will pose for photos with the SFCC Competition trophy*, train with fanatical Eastern European jokesmiths in their secret comedy facilities, and talk smack about one another in the media. I plan to focus on how I have been disrespected the whole competition. "Nobody gave me a chance," I'll say. "I remember all the haters. 'Sean Keane is too short'. 'His skin is too pasty and white'. 'He'll never get a suntan or win a stand-up competition'. 'Iron Comic was a fluke'. That's why I say, how you like me now, voice in my head?"

Seriously, come to the show. July 19th. Comedy. Beer. And maybe, finally, I'll get a little bit of self-respect.

*trophy may not exist