Hi friends,
If you're new to these emails, welcome! Every Saturday, I send out a short email with three great things. If you feel like you haven't gotten these emails in a while, try checking to make sure this email is a trusted address so they aren't getting filtered to spam. For live shows, I've got a bunch featured below and a complete list on my website. Feel free to spread the word about these emails! Anyone can sign up for the mailing list online and/or check out the archive with all past emails here.
SHOW UPDATES:
NEW YORK:
Next Sunday, You Get A Spoon is back in NYC for the most positive night of entertainment around. Performances, prizes, and, of course, the greatest spoon of all time. Sunday, January 10 at 7 p.m. at Under St Marks Details/tickets here
SAN FRANCISCO:
SF Sketchfest presents You're the Expert with me, Kristin Schaal, James Adomian, and Eugene Mirman. Saturday, January 23 at 1 p.m. Details/tickets here
I'll also be doing an extended standup set and inviting some special guests to perform with me at The Red Poppy Art House on Thursday, January 21 at 8 p.m.This is a small show in a beautiful venue and it should be a great time. Details/tickets here
LOS ANGELES:
We're going to be doing a You're the Expert taping at the Nerdist Showroom onMonday, January 18 at 9 p.m. Scott Adsit (30 Rock) is one of the panelists and we'll have more fantastic surprise guests. Details/tickets here
You can also see my full schedule up on the website now.
Ok, on to this week's list!
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
Adam Grant is the youngest-tenured and highest-rated professor at Wharton. Grant is a sought-after consultant and a prolific academic. But most of all, he's almost pathologically generous. And he believes that's the key to his success. I just finished his book, Give And Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success, and while it's a little businessy, I thought it was the best book I've read all year. (Sorry! I couldn't resist.) Even if you're only interested in yourself, Grant argues, "focusing on the contribution of our work to other people's lives has the potential to make us more productive than thinking about helping ourselves." And his book isn't just written for consultants, Grant describes examples from teachers to CEOs to the funniest writer on The Simpsons. If you're interested in the idea but don't have time for the whole book, check out this profile of Grant from the NYT Magazine, where in addition to discussing his theories, Grant reveals that he only enjoys going to parties "if they like psychology or magic tricks, then I come alive." Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead?
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
Wayne Federman squeezes an astonishing number of clever setups and brilliant punchlines into this five minute standup set on The Tonight Show. He also manages to play the piano, banter with the audience, and do some impressions. It's all seamless and hilarious. Wayne's been a comedian for more than 30 years and he is a master of the craft. My personal favorite joke here is when he describes the memoir he's writing about his time in Hollywood. Wayne Federman Standup
1 Interesting Thing:
Architects shape our lives with the way they define the spaces we live and work in. But I rarely, if ever, stop to think about those decisions. Michael Kimmelman wrote a fascinating critique of the way buildings affect sound and noise. It's accompanied by a cool multimedia 3-D audio piece where you can hear the ambient sound of different spaces (from Grand Central terminal, a cathedral, a bistro, the Paris Metro, and more). Kimmelman writes that "during the Middle Ages, smell was the unspoken plague of cities. Today it is sound. Streets, public spaces, bars, offices, even apartments and private houses can be painfully noisy, grim and enervating." This is one of those fantastic pieces of writing where after reading it (and listening to the sounds), it's changed the way I walk around the city and perceive the world. Dear Architects: Sound Matters (h/t Jackie)
Ok, thanks for reading! More details on shows and my full schedule online at www.chrisduffycomedy.com/calendar/
Have a great weekend,
Chris