alison p. tugwell

Southby windows east bound by sisterhood and feasts U haul arts and hearts

“Each March in Austin, 300,000 people fly SX plane SW from China, but only the most activations.” . . . #punevents #punsforever #punsgalore #punsfordayz #sxsw #eventproduction #punnyfoodforthought #punnyfordays #punnyfridays #punnycomic #punnyforlife #wordplay #wordplaywednesdays #wordplaywednesday #wordplays #wordplaymag #openmicfridays #openmicfest #openmicevening #openmicchallenge #openmiccommunity #punsgamestrong #punsgetmeeverytime #pungamestrong #pungame #punspoken

My humor isn’t dry which is why my jokes don’t land towel. . . . #punevents #punsforever #punsgalore #californiapuns #waterpuns #punnyfoodforthought #punnyfordays #punnyfridays #punnycomic #punnyforlife #wordplay #dadjokes #wordplaywednesday #wordplays #wordplaymag #openmicfridays #openmicfest #openmicevening #openmicchallenge #openmiccommunity #punsgamestrong #punsgetmeeverytime #pungamestrong #pungame #punspoken

If we woke up and Tik Tok was banned … . #freespeech #selfexpression #spokenword #wordplay #wordplaywednesdays #wordplaywednesday #wordplays #wordplaymag #openmicfridays #openmicfest #openmicevening #openmicchallenge #openmiccommunity #punsgamestrong #punsgetmeeverytime #pungamestrong #pungame #punspoken

Last night a woman told me she liked my glittering crystal crown and to her shock I took it off and said, “It’s yours.” . 2024 was “Empowered” . May we all lead and leave with love in 2025.

FREE puns?! In this economy?? We had so much pun giving out free fun a few weeks ago on South Congress! #atxlife #southcongressatx #southcongress #atxlifestyle #atxartist #austinevents #poetryevents #punsjokes #austinevents #pungametoostrong #pungames #atxlife #wordplayers #wordplayallday #openmic #punnyjokes #rambler #austinliving #dadjokeoftheday #punsforlife #punsofinstagram #spokenwordartists #texaspoetry #wordplayisforeplay #openmicthursday #openmichouston #openmicsundays #punspoken

Puns are polarizing … they’re not for everyone, and the same is true for both me and you. The sooner we can accept that the better … but they’re polarizing the way cilantro is. People either love it or hate it, but not enough to swear you off as a person, they just might dip elsewhere when it’s around. There are few things besides paid ads that get you data that quickly than a good old fashioned dad joke. My people are the ones that love them and *love to hate them.* A family stopped by while I was giving away free puns and the son was in a wheelchair. He had a stuffed animal that looked like a big gray furry pig with fangs. I said, “What is this?” He said “a boar.” And I said “Really? He seems so interesting!” When it landed they all groaned, “That was really bad!” The kid said, but couldn’t help but smile. What else is so bad it’s good? DRUGS? CHEESY MOVIES? BLUE CHEESE? “That’s what I love about puns,” I told him laughing at his reaction, “The more you fail the more you succeed.” It’s a good life lesson. If something isn’t worth being bad at for awhile it’s probably not worth doing at all. I’ve been punning for a good long time, but my puns are still pretty wretched. And I’m OK with getting better at being bad.

I never thought I’d be buying my first place by myself. I envisioned the homebuying process as comparing countertops with a counterpart, shopping for armoirs arm-and-arm with a handsome husband. I’d own the window treatments, he’d run point on making the numbers work. But while some fantasies may fizzle, it creates space for new possibilities. Just like when something breaks, it also opens. When I found myself needing a new place to live, my parents said, “We’d love to help.” My best friend, Bridget, a realtor, introduced me to Katherine, a loan officer. They said “We’d love to help.” These women anticipated every step, walked me through the line items and options with patience, tenacity and care. They made it easy. A new little dream took flight. I never thought I’d buy my first place by myself. And I was right. 💝

HOW TO WIN A PUN COMPETITION By @alitugwell who Can Finally Write this First-(Place) Hand This past weekend, my friend and Punspoken past punner-up, Steve Lovelace, held the first Dallas Pun Competition, Full Groan at the Dallas Comedy Club. I took gold for the monologues and silver for Punslingers. This was my very first time placing first in the sport of competitive punning and I entered my first wordplay battle in 2016 at Punderdome in NYC … it took me (counting on fingers) eight FULL years to get the #1 spot, and I have some takeaways. But my #1 Tip to Be #1? Start Before You Are Ready (or Trained) The first time I entered a pun-off of any kind was at Punderdome–my friend had brought me along as a spectator knowing that as a word nerd I would appreciate it. I went up and asked the check-in attendant what it took to compete in something like this and she said “We have ONE number left to compete, do you want it?!” and I had an out-of-body experience where something took over my arms that reached out to grab it and my mouth clumsily formed the words “Yesss.” Did I do well? No, I think I got ONE good pun in on the topic of “Game Shows.” But it got the fire burning in my belly to get better and rise to wordplay royalty with the likes of “Words Nightmare,” and “Jargon Slayer”, the monikers of past Punderdome champions. Yes, you can invest in a class. Or you could just show up to an open mic and start doing the damn thing. Again and again and again. Every master of their craft was a first-timer at some point. . . . #punevents #punsforever #punsgalore #punsfordayz #punsfodays #punnyfoodforthought #punnyfordays #punnyfridays #punnycomic #punnyforlife #wordplay #wordplaywednesdays #wordplaywednesday #wordplays #wordplaymag #openmicfridays #openmicfest #openmicevening #openmicchallenge #openmiccommunity #punsgamestrong #punsgetmeeverytime #pungamestrong #pungame #punspoken

Had a punderful weekend celebrating the punbelievably punny, beautiful, creative, giving, and kind @alitugwell ❤️ She throws one of the best produced comedy events in town, @punspoken_event 🎤 I highly recommend following and attending the shows. Laughter truly is medicine and I feel happier after each one 🦋 Happy birthday Ali, proud to call you my friend 🫶🏻👯‍♀️

Omaha is not just another beach vacation. I brought a swimsuit that I won’t wear. It’s 50 degrees F, I don’t know what it is in C, and when my dad’s father came in on these shores in the June of ‘44, it wasn’t sunny. Grandpa was funny, in both of the ways people use that word— funny funny and funny odd. He used to move his ears back and forth, back and forth to make me laugh, while I crawled on hands and knees. I didn’t know to ask. But dad said it didn’t matter ‘cause he didn’t talk about his year here in France. He preferred to spend holidays executing the perfect Bloody Mary than open the landmine of conversation about bloody foxholes at St. Mère Eglise. My dad excavates his journey anyway, finds a way to know him better by tracing his steps for those first few weeks. It took Grandpa days to cover the same route that took us minutes. He went slowly back and forth, back and forth, brushing the ground for mines while he crawled on hands and knees. We walked the paths between the marked and unmarked graves of his brothers. White crosses in rows against the green like the picket fences of their descendants. I know now why Grandpa was funny odd. He, and 16 million like him, gave up being normal so we could hope to live it. To have cocktails and holidays on beaches like this. And on beaches nothing like this.

Please join us for PUN(ch drunk) LOVE for Amplify Austin 2024! We’ll be going live with some of our most talented punformers this Wednesday and Thursday. Tune in to our Youtube @Punspoken to watch and keep reading for what to expect! Wednesday, March 6th: 7:30PM - 9PM CT We Kick it off with the Craft Cocktail Hour You’ll learn how to make the: 🍸Amplifai Tai (Made with Tito’s Vodka) 🍹Titotaller (Mocktail) *Write “#lovetitos” in the Checkout Page for Your Donation and Tito’s will Add $25 to the Total!* Punny performances from: -Carolyn Kelleher will perform her killer, award-winning set that will have you laughing..to death. -Crops will perform his spoken wordplay that earned him the title of Punspoken’s ‘Most Valuable Punner’ in June 2022. -Lisa Sperry will perform a cheesy piece that will pair deliciously with your favorite pinot Thursday, March 7th: 3PM - 4PM CT We do a ‘Happy Hour’ Pre-Game with ‘Name That Pun’ on the Themes of LOVE + ALCOHOL and Invite Special Performers -Steve Lovelace will give us ‘food-for-thought’ and quip on our childhood breakfast meal -Blake Bauserman will wow us with an award-winning performance that will get you pop megastar-struck John Sizemore is giving star power from the POV of Texas’s state flower -Francis McGrath will be getting five-stars after you hear his worst Amazon reviews Don't miss it! #punevents #punsforever #punsgalore #punsfordayz #punsfodays #punnyfoodforthought #punnyfordays #comedyatx #punnycomic #punnyforlife #wordplay #wordplaywednesdays #puncompetition #wordplays #wordplaymag #punoff #openmicfest #openmicevening #openmicchallenge #openmiccommunity #coldtowne #punsgetmeeverytime #pungamestrong #pungame #punspoken