Writers should receive a bonus on scripts based on how late they stay up working on them.

Best wishes to Jerry Beck (of Cartoon Research) and Marea Boylan who are today tying the knot, getting hitched, becoming one…pick the cliché of your choice. They're getting married is what they're doing. To help finance the union, Jerry is selling some special wedding postcards designed by the splendid graphic designer, Leslie Cabarga. You can help the newlyweds go out and buy more cartoon stuff by purchasing a set of these cards here.

And while I'm at it, I'll mention that you can see Leslie's fine work — and buy some of his elegant fonts — over at his website. Check out his article and illustrations of the comely Ms. Boop.

And since we're talking about Kevin Meaney…well, we'll make him our comedian link of the day. Put on your big pants, wipe that puss off your face and hustle over to his website. One of the funniest things I saw during the last presidential election — and as you well know, there were plenty of contenders — was a spot on Comedy Central where Kevin talked with children about the Gore-Bush contest. He kept asking three-year-olds, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"

E-mails are asking me about what I described as his "sadly-underdistributed CD." It was called Shelley Berman Live Again, Recorded at the Improv and no, I don't know where you can get a copy, except that it turns up occasionally on eBay. But then, what doesn't? It was recorded at the Improv in Hollywood on February 9, 1995 in front of a star-studded (well, me aside) audience. If you can find a copy, it's really quite wonderful.

Berman did about an hour, not all of which made it to the CD — but all of it was good enough to have been on there. It was a nice mixture of new and old material, all of it delivered with enormous expertise. Harvey Korman was sitting next to me and he was laughing so hard, I don't think he heard half of what Shelley said.

Which reminds me of the one truly funny line of the evening that didn't come from Shelley Berman. When he finished, the audience (mostly comedians) stood and cheered him and then almost everyone began to file out to join Shelley in the bar area and compliment him. But a few people stayed for the next act (at the Improv, there's always another comedian going on) and the guy who was stuck with following Shelley that night was a funny guy I've worked with a few times named Kevin Meaney. He gets up on stage as most of the crowd is leaving and yells towards the bar: "Hey, Shelley! Thanks for opening for me!"

Frank Rich talks in The New York Times about the recent scandals that have enveloped The New York Times. In particular, he discusses the media frenzy and makes some points that are more important than who edits The Old Gray Lady of Journalism. Here it is.

While you're over at Shelley Berman's website, read the story about the little soaps. It's better when you hear him perform it but it's still wonderful to read.

A lot of once-great comedians wind up running on fumes: You laugh, if you laugh at all, not because they are funny but because they were. An exception to this is Shelley Berman, who practically invented the modern stand-up comedy act…in part, by not standing-up. He'd sit on a stool, pretend his fist was a phone and draw you into hilarious, insightful little scenes.

The last few years, I've been fortunate enough to see him live about a half-dozen times and I was in the audience when he recorded his recent, sadly-underdistributed CD. Even doing material off his classic record albums — material I know by heart — he makes me laugh as hard as anyone. He also has an amazing repertory of new, non-recorded monologues…and you know what's really neat? He actually answers questions on the message board over at his website.

Joe Bevilacqua ("Joe Bev" to his friends) is a voice performer — one of the many who studied with the late, great Daws Butler. As mentioned here, Joe has recently co-assembled a book of scripts by Daws. Tomorrow morning (Father's Day) on National Public Radio, Weekend Edition is airing a ten-minute segment on Daws, Joe Bev and how the former inspired the latter in the creation of his series, "Willoughby and the Professor." For example, it'll be heard on KCRW radio in Los Angeles some time between 8 and 10 AM. You can find out more about Joe Bev and hear some of his work, including "Willoughby," over at his website.

Jeff Smith. Bone. Doesn't get much better than this.

Wendy Liebman is a very funny lady. If you haven't seen her live, there's a list of upcoming appearances over at her website. If she comes near you, go. You'll have a good time.

He writes novels and screenplays and plays…but at heart, Jules Feiffer will always be a comic artist. I hope. Here's his website.

About a dozen of you have written to me regarding my theory about those mysterious phone calls. Half of you thought I was right to believe that they're from a computer (or computers) fishing for phone numbers that are answered by humans so that those numbers can be sold to phone solicitors. The other half thought it was the opposite; that they're looking for phone numbers that are answered by fax machines in order to sell those numbers to companies that send out junk fax mail. And it dawns on me that both theories could be right: They — whoever "they" are — could be testing numbers, classifying them as fax or voice, and then selling the numbers in the appropriate categories.

I must admit that I'm mystified at the presumed success of junk mail faxes or e-mail spam ads. I've received a ton of both but never one that I would consider accepting. I mean, I doubt I will ever take a pill that promises to enlarge my genitalia but if I did, it would not be one that came to me via an unsolicited offer from a stranger in Uruguay. The promises of low-interest loans and guaranteed lotto numbers shouldn't fool a spaniel, let alone someone smart enough to operate a computer. But I guess you have to figure that if the offers keep coming, they can't have a 100% failure rate. Someone is responding to them. Here's an article about a lady who ran an escrow company who sent almost half a million dollars of her clients' money to one of those Nigerian scams — an amazing bit of gullibility, especially when you remember that escrow companies are supposed to ensure responsibility in financial transactions.

No wonder 41% of the country thinks we've already found those Weapons of Mass Destruction and/or that Saddam was behind 9/11.

Well, not really. Actually, he once delivered a commencement address at Harvard. But here's the text of Conan O'Brien's commencement speech

Here's what's happened to Paula Poundstone. Sounds like generally good news.

My pal Joe Brancatelli knows all about airlines and travel. Here's a column he wrote about those subjects and a few unrelated ones.