I've never been a big fan of prank phone calls, getting a smiley time morning show host to say Baba Booey isn't exactly a laudable life skill but I've got to admit, if you're going to waste someone's time with a crank call at least comedian Tom Mabe picked the right people.

Basically, his shtick is he keeps a tape recorder by his telephone, and whenever a telemarketer solicits he turns the tables; and while I think annoying annoying people just mean there are twice as many annoying people in the world, Tom Mabe's act seems to have caught on, with him already making three albums and a DVD out of the routine.

While calling him a hero, which his website claims Paul Harvey and The New York Times did is a reach, at the end of the day he's still picking on people making minumum wage; there's no denying telemarketers make an emotionally satisfying target.

Among his hits include "Crime Scene", "Hand Lotion", and I Got an Echo
in My Voice" but it's the "echo in my cell phone" that seems to be
paying Tom Mabe's bills. Here's a sample of his work, lifted from a
radio segment.