Queens Tribune

As Astoria resident and comedian Christian Finnegan sips the whip cream from his hot chocolate and discusses how he “hasn’t made it,” two whispering women at a nearby table inside Café Bar recognize him. Just after he takes another sip, a photographer’s camera flashes, confirming to the onlookers that the cherub-faced guy in the corner table is indeed the guy they’ve seen on the Dave Chappelle show, and on VH1.

With as much confusion as humor, Finnegan explained, “Guys notice me from the Chappelle Show skit and women notice me from VH1.” It’s unclear if there will be such a gender gap in recognizing Finnegan’s erratic hair or plum-sized cheeks after the March airing of Comedy Central Presents Christian Finnegan. (Exact date to be announced.)
“It’s a rite of passage,” said Finnegan of the solo project. “In the community, it means a lot.” The community he’s talking about is the working class comedians and performers who’ve nestled into Astoria.

Finnegan, who authored the recently published Thoughtless Male Survival Guide for www.1800flowers.com, has some, well, thoughtful comments about his career.

First of all, he sheepishly admits to making fewer jokes about his girlfriend. “I can’t, I live with my girlfriend.”

With her safely stowed away (sort of), Finnegan turned his comedic eye on himself. “What’s the part of me that other people can relate to?” His answer so far is his ability to offend and annoy the women he’s most involved with.

The Thoughtless Male Survival Guide is partly comedy routine, part sales pitch. “So when the look of shock and faint disgust on your girlfriend’s face lets you know in no uncertain terms that you’ve screwed up (again), calmly excuse yourself and make an emergency call to 1-800-Flowers.com. By midnight, her ‘real’ Valentine’s Day presents will arrive and you can have a nice chuckle about her thinking you would be so inconsiderate as to buy her an Xbox for Valentine’s Day.”

Although coy about his fame, his girlfriend described how it is starting to have an affect on national security. During a trip to the nation’s capital, “we went to the National Archives and were mobbed by groups of these teen ‘delegates’ in town for the festivities,” she wrote the Tribune in an e-mail.

“We’re standing next to the Emancipation Proclamation and they’re taking flash photography, which is against the law and damaging to historical documents. These kids,” she continued, “were more interested in a guy who makes fun of Lindsay Lohan’s breast implants than the document that ensured blacks their freedom.”

For more information about Finnegan, visit www.christianfinnegan.com.