ORLANDO, Fl—For college students that frequent the trendy java joints on a more than often occasion, it is likely you have been exposed to the single most common display of our countries First Amendment; open mic night.
At Rainforest Coffee Co. in Longwood, this weeks past Wednesday night harbored all the usual suspects. From the twenty-something college students coming to drown the days stress with copious amounts of tea and espresso to the middle aged aspiring poets and comedians, open mic attracts them all.
Regardless of who was there and why, this particular Wednesday we were all there to hear one speaker in particular.
In front of a small audience of 11 people not including the venue's employees, Zachary Cook stepped up to the corner next to the fake palm tree, which incidentally was also the stage and addressed his audience.
“ I’m not really sure whether or not he believes what he’s saying, or if it’s just for shock value,” said long time friend of Cook, Dalton Maynard, “either way it’s more than worth sitting through the same old material just to watch the audiences reactions.”
Cook’s act consists of randomly inserted parodies and one-liners amongst a collection of conspiracy theories that easily make your head spin.
"I Like to coat my messages with a layer of sarcasm and humor, it makes the audience feel more comfortable when they think I'm only joking," said Cook following his stand-up.
This particular evening he addressed the imminent threat of human cloning and nuclear war. “Who is to say that Russia is not out there—or Sweden for that matter…cloning genetically engineered humans that are resistant to nuclear radiation,” said Cook.
“The funniest part about his act, is that he never finishes an argument completely,” said Ryan Pugh, “he is much better proving is audience wrong than he is at proving himself right.”
“How is what I am doing any different than those sentimental saps and their poetry readings,” said Cook in response to a heckling spectator, “ I just believe in drawing emotion from my audience in a different way.”
“Whether I choose to sing my sorrows to you in a song, or convince you to avoid watching MTV because it is a ploy by communist to dumb down the American public; either way it makes you think about things critically and draw your own conclusions,” said Cook.
So next time you find yourself and your ears at the mercy of an extemporaneous speaker, consider that you have two options: bravely stay and lend your attention to what they might have to say, or quickly leave before they point out the ambiguous lady’s jacket you’re wearing.
Zachary Cook was born on May 19, 1987 in Maitland, Fl.
All questions, contact ee920@yahoo.com
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