A few weeks ago, my best friend Kylee made an off the cuff remark to me about “Sh*t My Dad Says”, the Twitter account that is currently taking the internet world by storm. And even though the site currently boasts more followers than Lauren Conrad’s, at the time I had never actually heard of it. This shocked Kylee to no end and she commanded me to sign onto the internet immediately to check the page out. Well, let me tell you, I absolutely loved what I saw. Sh*t My Dad Says is penned by 29-year old screenwriter Justin Halpern, who regularly posts the unconventional, and absolutely hilarious, musings of his 74-year old father, Sam. As he says in his Twitter bio, “I’m 29. I live with my 74-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down the sh*t that he says.” I was shocked that Kylee, a self-proclaimed Twitter-hater, was actually following someone’s feed, but as she explained, “Sh*t My Dad Says is the ONLY reason Twitter should exist!”, which I think is just about the best compliment ever. I’ve been a loyal follower of Justin’s ever since that conversation with Kylee, as has my fiancé. So, when I heard that the Twitter-star would be doing a reading at fave bookstore Vroman’s on May 12th, I immediately called up the Grim Cheaper and made plans to attend.
For those who aren’t familiar with Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin’s dad offers a completely unique – and extremely amusing – take on life. More than that, though, upon closer inspection, his bits of advice are also extremely wise and even profound. And while I’d be remiss if I didn’t warn that the guy drops more than the occasional F-bomb, his fresh – and profanity-laden – brand of blunt common sense is thoroughly enjoyable to read. Just a few of his musings include:
– On the first day of kindergarten – “You thought it was hard? If kindergarten is busting your a**, I got some bad news for you about the rest of life.”
– “I lost 20 pounds . . . How? I drank bear piss and took up fencing. How the f*ck you think, son? I exercised.”
– “No, I’m not a pessimist. At some point the world sh*ts on everybody. Pretending it ain’t sh*t makes you an idiot, not an optimist.”
– “You worry too much. Eat some bacon . . . What? No, I got no idea if it’ll make you feel better, I just made too much bacon.”
– On waiting in line to see Jurassic Park: “There is no movie good enough for me to wait in a line longer than the run time of the movie. Either we’re seeing something else or I’m leaving, and you can take a cab home.”
See what I mean – hilarious! Justin’s dad reminds me so much of my own father, that I just had to share the site with him. My dad took one look at it and said, “You know, I should really start my own Twitter account. Can you show me how to do that?” I politely declined, though, because while my dad is no doubt hilarious, the man has absolutely no filter, or shame for that matter, and it scares me a bit to think about what sort of things he would post on a Twitter feed. 😉
During the Vroman’s event, Justin, who is absolutely HILARIOUS in person, read a chapter of his book and answered the audience’s many questions about how the Sh*t My Dad Says Twitter account came to be. As it turns out, Justin had actually been recording his father’s musings in a notebook for years, long before there ever was such a thing as Twitter. After moving back home at age 28 following a break-up with his long-time girlfriend, Justin began posting his father’s bits of wisdom as his daily away message on Google Talk. And then one fateful day a friend suggested he start tweeting those quotes. Justin followed that sage advice and in August of 2009 opened up “Sh*t My Dad Says”. For the first two weeks the site had only 5 followers. Then, on August 14th, one of Justin’s good friends, the author of the fake Michael Bay Twitter page, sent out a “Follow Friday” tweet (in which twitterers can suggest other feeds their readers might enjoy) which mentioned Sh*t My Dad Says. Within hours the site went viral and it now boasts over 1.3 million followers – a number that grows exponentially each and every minute. Within a week of his site blowing up, Justin was fielding offers from book agents, book publishers, AND network executives! Today, less than ten months after his first tweet, he has published a book (which debuted at Number 8 on the New York Times bestseller list) AND is the co-executive producer of a television show (along with his writing partner, Patrick Schumacker, and Max Mutchnik and David Kohan of Will & Grace fame) called $#*! My Dad Says (or Bleep My Dad Says, the network is not yet sure) which is premiering this fall! The series will star non other than William Shatner as Justin’s dad (an actor who I actually can’t picture in the role, but being that I’m not a casting director, I guess that’s not really my call). Overnight success? Well, yes and no. While Justin may have gone from total obscurity to having over a million fans in a matter of weeks, he had actually been pounding the Hollywood pavement trying to make it as a screenwriter for over seven years before all of that happened. Which begs the question, when are the book agents and Hollywood producers going to start knocking on my door? 😉
Justin could NOT have been nicer – or funnier – during the reading, and not only did he pose for a photograph with me and personalize the book I purchased for my dad, but he even added the following inscription: “Don, I’m sure you can probably relate to some of the stuff in here. Hope you enjoy the sh*t my dad says! Justin” Like his Twitter page, Justin’s book is absolutely HILARIOUS. Actually, come to think of it, it’s even funnier. If you are at all a fan of his Twitter site, pick up a copy of the book. You will not be disappointed! You can watch an interview with William Shatner and see a few clips of the new series here.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: Vroman’s Bookstore is located at 695 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. You can check out their upcoming celebrity and author events here. You can purchase Sh*t My Dad Says here and you can follow Justin on Twitter by clicking here.
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