Before she won any Emmys, Kathy was one of the earliest, funniest and most daring members of Un-Cabaret, the revolutionary band of truth-telling, over-sharing, free-wheeling comedians who launched the 'alternative comedy' movement in Los Angeles in the 1990s. (Other OGs include Taylor Negron, Judy Toll, Andy Kindler, Dana Gould, Julia Sweeney, Bobcat Goldthwait, Merrill Markoe, Bob Odenkirk, David Cross, Laura Kightlinger, Janeane Garofalo, Margaret Cho and ringleader Beth Lapides.)

They told all about their career traumas, financial disasters, spiritual crises, family dysfunction and bleeding hearts. As you'll hear in this clip, Kathy's specialty was sex. Graphic, breathtakingly honest, take-no-prisoners-including-yourself sex.

WARNING: This clip contains dirty words and even more disturbing ideas.

This performance, "Pillow Talk", is from Un-Cabaret's first CD "Freak Weather Feels Different".

It is now out of print, but you can download the whole album and get other episodes of the Un-Cabaret podcast here and hear other great performances on the other Un-Cabaret compilation CDs.

Patton Oswalt's new movie, "Big Fan", is all about celebrity and fandom gone wrong.

Celebrity stories are always of inherent interest to an audience. In fact, when I was producing Beth's daily radio show, a big-time radio consultant told us that there are only 4 things people care about: celebrity, sex/love, work and money. We resist defining things that narrowly, but he isn't all wrong.

We admit, there has been a good amount of high-quality name-dropping at the Un-Cabaret. Among Patton's many great stand up storytelling performances is this one about his Hollywood encounter with Elizabeth Taylor:

Hear more Patton performances on the Un-Cabaret compilation CDs, "The Un & Only" and "the Good, the Bad and the Drugly" and on several episodes of the Un-Cabaret podcast on audible.com (including one episode called "Close Encounters" that's all about celebrity encounters). You can also see free video detailing the anatomy of a great standup performance by Patton about falling in love - another one of the 'only 4 things people are interested in'.

Media critic Virginia Heffernan wrote a column recently about rants in the New York Times, but she completely omitted the comedy rant as a category.

A funny rant is a great comedy technique. It was pioneered (I think) by Lenny Bruce and subsequently practiced by other (usually) angry (often) young (almost always) men including Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks (who actually had an album called Rant in E Minor), Chris Rock, Dennis Miller, George Carlin and Lewis Black. Roseanne did some ranting, but it's a harder form for women to pull off because, let's face it, our culture by and large still likes its women nice and easy, not rough.

The Un-Cabaret has featured some impressive comedy rants by brilliant boys like Patton Oswalt, Bob Odenkirk, Taylor Negron and others. (You can hear some great rants on the Un-Cabaret CDs.) It has also provided a forum for some great female ranters like Margaret Cho and Kathy Griffin. Here are two for your listening pleasure:

Beth Lapides offers advice on dealing with other characters in your stories, especially your most important character: you. This rap recorded at the Un-Cab Lab Writing & Performance Workshop.

Audit the workshop this Saturday, April 25 (1-4pm) - or any time - only $10 per class. The workshop meets at M-Bar, 1253 N. Vine LA 90038. Call 323-993-3305 or e-mail info at uncabaret dot com for more info.

At the beginning of each class of the Un-Cab Lab Writing & Performance Workshop, you get a chance to ask questions about your creative process. A couple of weeks ago, someone asked how to deal with the negative voices in her head that distracted her from giving a great performance.

Here's Beth's answer:

Quiet your own voices (and find out what they're trying to tell you). Audit the workshop on Saturdays, April 18 & 25 (1-4pm) - only $10 per class.

Register now for super sale prices on the next session: Saturdays, May 2, 9, 16, 23 (1-4pm). Classes meet at M-Bar, 1253 N. Vine LA 90038. Call 323-993-3305 or e-mail for more info.

Having a hard time writing? Do you feel stopped by writers block or overwhelmed by too many different ideas? Sometimes a different angle on, or a different way in, to the material can help your creative output. We have identified at least 6 different ways of writing. I'm not talking about different forms or genres, but different ways of actually generating creative material.

If one approach isn't productive, try another. Different methods are more effective on different days and in different phases of the project. And some projects may require that you use all of them.

What are the 6 ways of writing? Listen to this excerpt from one of Beth's inspirational raps at the Un-Cab Lab Writing & Performance Workshop:

If you have an Oscar hangover and are feeling a little nauseated by other people winning, here's a drop in the other bucket.

Larry Charles says he wants to be remembered as much for his failures as for his successes -- which may be easier to say when your successes include Borat, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld, Mad About You, Dilbert, The Tick and Religulous.

Anyway, we're granting his wish, and reassuring you that no one wins all the time, by posting a piece of his piece "Fragments of Failure" as performed at Un-Cabaret's Say the Word. You can hear the whole thing next week when it joins the amazing archive of our comedy standup and spoken word performances on audible.com.

Beth starts each session of the Un-Cab Lab Writing & Performance Workshop by taking questions and talking about some aspect of her own creative process in this kind of inspiring rap. Here she talks about the importance of aligning yourself with the right people and the right purpose in your creative work.

"I wish I'd found you guys sooner!" - Jackie M

There are still spots available in the next 4-week session: Sundays, March 8, 15, 22, 29, 1-4pm. Register now for super-sale prices. Audit any classes - only $10 each.

Classes meet at M-Bar, 1253 N. Vine LA 90038 (not Larchmont Blvd.)

Lucky (or smart) us. We've set it up so we get to officially begin again every year. Of course, starting can be hard and there are a lot of different ways to go. The first question is:

What kind of starter are you? A Wader or a Diver?

Listen to this excerpt from one of Beth's raps at the workshop and find out - plus get some advice on what to do about it.

New Years gives you a great chance to invent or re-invent your self. So get ready, set... and go! Whether that means taking the plunge or just dipping in your toe.