Mini-Chirp with Amy Sedaris

The Warbler cornered über-hostess and entertainer Amy Sedaris during a recent event at The Lab in Belmar. For those of you not familiar with The Lab, it’s a small but impressive art museum. For those of you not familiar with Belmar, it’s Lakewood’s new downtown—sort of a fake city center with overpriced condos upstairs from the likes of Yankee Candle and Baby Gap. (We preferred Villa Italia—the mall that used to be Lakewood’s heartbeat—because of the threateningly fetching Latino gangster girls and the Jolly Time arcade.)

Sedaris was in town hosting the event—a collection of video art by locals called “Ruckus, Repeat, Ruckus: Visual Noise.” The festivities were sponsored by Rubi Rey rum, which Sedaris reminded us was Spanish for “the king of gems.”

Some things we learned about Sedaris: she is small and powerful; she has a proper and firm handshake; she’s a little skittish; she wears cute glasses and has friends who make her fancy party dresses with embroidered messages such as “I like rum.” Overall, she reminded us a little of a friendly housecat that keeps it’s distance but still makes you feel special. It goes without saying that she’s the kind of housecat that’s nice to birds …

What’s your favorite bird?

I like puffin. My neighbor growing up had a little puffin bird that said “no puffin” underneath it, it was like an embroidery. She didn’t want people smoking in her house. I also like cardinals, they are the state bird of North Carolina. Do you have a favorite bird?

The pigeon.
Wow, really? No one ever likes pigeons.

To us they are a reflection of humanity—eating all the garbage we create. Plus, they’re resilient. Sometimes they have one eye, one leg.
I love owls. Is an owl a bird?

Yeah, owls are birds.

I especially like the owl with the graduation cap on his head. He’s so smart