Todd Stowell Online

NEW YORK (AP) -- Comedian Dave Chappelle wants to set things straight: "I'm not crazy, I'm not smoking crack," he tells Time magazine in an interview more than a week after his hit Comedy Central show was suspended and the rumors started to fly.

"I'm definitely stressed out," said Chappelle, who took off last month to South Africa for a "spiritual retreat," leaving his fans -- and even his agent and publicist -- wondering where he went.

"You hear so many voices jockeying for position in your mind that you want to make sure that you hear your own voice," he said. "So I figured, let me just cut myself off from everybody, take a minute and pull a Flintstone -- stop a speeding car by using my bare feet as the brakes."

After Comedy Central announced that the planned May 31 debut of the third season of "Chappelle's Show" had been postponed, the magazine Entertainment Weekly reported that Chappelle had checked himself into a mental health facility in South Africa.

"I'm not in a mental facility," said Chappelle, who also said he did not have a drug problem but had consulted a psychiatrist for one 40-minute visit.

The 31-year-old comedian said he fled to stay with friends in Durban because he wasn't happy with the direction of the show, which is behind only "South Park" as Comedy Central's most-watched program.

"There's a lot of resistance to my opinions, so I decided, 'Let me remove myself from this situation,' " Chappelle said.

Comedy Central president Doug Herzog told Time that the star has "complete creative freedom." He has told staff he believes there won't be a "Chappelle's Show" in 2005, but leaves the option open for the comedian's return.

Chappelle, whose wife and two children live in Ohio, said he hopes to start up the show again, but did not indicate when he would return.

Comedy Central had inked a reported $50 million deal to keep "Chappelle's Show" for two more seasons, and the comedian hinted to Time about struggles associated with the power and fame that come with that kind of success.

"If you don't have the right people around you, and you're moving at a million miles an hour, you can lose yourself," he said. "Everyone around me says, 'You're a genius, you're great, that's your voice,' but I'm not sure that they're right."

Labels: central, chappelle, comedy, dave

Bearskinrug was created in February of 2000, as the personal site of Kevin Cornell. It is currently in its fifth incarnation, and has exceeded beyond its original purpose of housing the pet bear.

The winner of this week's "web site of the week" belongs to "Bearskinrug." It needs no explaination, just go there and be amused.

Labels: bear, rug, skin, web site

I had the opportunity to build this web site for USM and thought I would post their mini-press release and a little about the project.

"The Official Countdown Calendar for Despondent Democrats and Other Thinking People" is hot off the press, and you can now buy it on the web at www.bluefunkproductions.com. Come visit us and see what we've created.

Surf around and tell me what you think. Check out the links page. And, most importantly, buy the calendar! The artwork is original and fun - produced by a handful of illustration students in San Francisco, and two cartoonists. Your Democratic friends...and your discerning Republican friends...will LOVE it! It makes a unique and wonderful gift (hostess, birthday, holiday, teacher presents). Buy 12 or more and the shipping is free. And ten percent of our net profits go to charity, now including a non-profit aiding victims of Katrina.

I had the opportunity to build this site for USM. It is a unique concept and has already proven successful on the web in only it's first week out there. I am posting this for word of mouth. This is a great gift to all of those anti-bush American's out there or people just disgusted with our "lack-of-government" responsibility and want to count down the days until we have a "regime change" in the oval office.

This is a high profile company about to explode on the main stream scene. So check out the site, buy a ton of calendars, and look forward to having someone who is capable of not getting us killed.

Labels: Blue, Bush, Calendar, Funk, Productions