Hi friends,
If you're new to these emails, welcome! Every Saturday, I send out a short email with three great things. I've also got some of my upcoming shows featured below. If you know anyone who you think would enjoy this, feel free to spread the word! They can sign up here or to see the archive of past emails, click here.
SHOW UPDATE: I'm in Boston this weekend, exploring a world made of ice and snow. Today's taping of You're the Expert is sold out but there are a few tickets left for tomorrow'sTaste Test Comedy show (which includes free treats from Union Square Donuts and A4). All shows include free heat.
Ok, on to this week's list!
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
Oliver Sacks is one of the greatest writers about science of all time. I read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat early in high school and immediately felt my world expand. I'm not sure that Sacks has always gotten enough credit for his wit and playfulness though. His footnotes, in particular, are amazing. I remember one footnote where Sacks described the first time he "smoked grass" and he kept bringing his hand back and forth to his face, amazed by how perspective changes size. That was just a random personal aside in one of his case studies. I wonder if he and David Foster Wallace ever met and talked about their mutual love for the footnote?
At 81, Sacks recently discovered that he has terminal cancer. This incredible piece is his reflection on that knowledge: My Own Life
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
Am I allowed to put one of my own things in here? I think so. For Valentine's Day, I teamed up with filmmakers Nick Kraus and Daniel Goodman to make this very short and very silly fake commercial for Kay Jewelers. It stars Jo Firestone, who let me fake propose to her over and over again. The whole video is 40 seconds long and really only has one joke in it, but the way Jo takes it all so seriously makes me laugh every time. Hopefully you enjoy it too! Every Kiss Begins With Cake
Here's a real Kay Jewelers commercial that is even more bizarre and hilarious than our fake one. Probably the most ominous and terrifying way to give someone a diamond ever. Kay Jewelers- Storm
1 Interesting Thing:
John Willis was a tough white kid from Dorchester, MA. In another life, he could have ended up like the Wahlbergs. Instead, he became a kingpin in the Chinese criminal underworld. So how did a homeless white kid become known as "Bac Guai" the "White Devil" leader of one of Boston's most notorious Chinatown gangs? That's the story behind this incredible piece of reporting from Rolling Stone. The White Devil Kingpin
Ok, thanks for reading! More details on shows and my full schedule online atwww.chrisduffycomedy.com/calendar/
Have a great weekend,
Chris