Can you smell what the wok is cooking?

“Yeah, let me have some hot dog-fried rice” is just a snippet from a long line of hilarious quips from comical genius Chinaman. He recently performed at this year’s Autmus Fest, but his material was received by a somewhat sluggish crowd. Either Laredo has never seen anything like Chinaman and doesn’t connect to his jokes or the audience was too distracted to concentrate on his set. Nevertheless, he persevered. New fans gathered around to talk, take pictures, and laugh at and with this one-of-a kind comedian. Calling Ft. Worth, Texas, his home, the Chinaman has traveled all over Texas and the U.S. for over 20 years, sharing his talent for making his audience laugh uncontrollably. Loved by those who know him for his “spot-on'” impersonations of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ozzy Osbourne, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, Garth Brooks and news anchor Tom Brokaw, Chinaman’s grab-bag comedy and personality is unlike that of any other comedian today. While he cracks numerous jokes at his Asian ethnicity, no one is safe from the wrath of his humor; Chinaman pokes fun of all ethnic stereotypes. “With my Fu Manchu, making fun of all of you!” said Chinaman. Among his noticeable trademarks are a beaded Fu Manchu, cowboy hat, Gene-Simmons-like tongue, a tattoo that says KIDWOK and another that reads, “I can’t read Chinese” in Chinese, all adding to his rock-star persona. Along with his comedy, Chinaman has kept busy doing voices for several characters on Cartoon Network’s, Dragon Ball Z (such as Grand Kai), and voices for a defensive driving class online, only in Texas at . The Chinaman’s inspiration for his zany comedy undoubtedly comes from his everyday experiences, his fans, and most importantly, his ethnically-mixed familyOn his CD Dis-Oriented Chinaman, he has included a note on the cover that thanks his relatives “for creating a dysfunctional family without which I would have no material!” And if you’re still wondering at this point why his stage name is Chinaman, it’s because of his Chinese mother and American father.”Well, nobody remembers Mark Britten the next day,” he added. You can check Chinaman out at his website, www.mesofunny.com. He’s also available on MySpace at . If anyone would like a copy of Dis-Oriented Chinaman, send an e-mail to aredoninjas@yahoo.com.