The press release heralds the opening of a new comedy club on Long Island, in Farmingdale. It's called National Lampoon's Comedy House and the plans are for more clubs in (so far, at least) eight locations.

Based on one of the world's most recognized comedy brands, National Lampoon, National Lampoon's Comedy House was founded in 2008 and is wholly owned and operated by Comedy House LLC, whose management includes renowned comedy producer, Marty Fischer, has more than 50 years in the comedy industry. National Lampoon's Comedy Houses first location opened in Farmingdale, NY in June 2008. Additional expected domestic locations include Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City and Philadelphia as well as international locations including Hong Kong, London and Scotland. For more information, please visit www.nationallampooncomedyhouse.com.

The website also says they're opening clubs in Florida, Texas and Atlantic City. But we're particularly interested in the Philadelphia location, as we're minutes away. We're still smarting over the loss of Rascals, a club we headlined on a regular basis, which was only seven minutes from our SHECKYmagazine HQ.

Licensing the Lampoon name sounds like a smart play-- the magazine's association with funny, with irreverence, with a certain sensibility represented by the Animal House movie and the Radio Hour (and all the characters and people associated with those projects like Belushi, Bill Murray, Christopher Guest, Michael O'Donoghue, P.J. O'Rourke, etc.) instantly conveys what the club is all about.