Hi friends,
It's Saturday! Every week, I send out an email with one thing I think is great, one thing that made me laugh, and one thing I found interesting. Feel free to spread the word and share these emails with friends. If you're checking this out for the first time, you can sign up to get these emails here.
Upcoming shows
NEW YORK:
Wednesday, January 4th at 7 p.m. at The Annoyance. Evan Kaufman and I are hosting The Sensible Show with a whole bunch of great stand ups telling jokes. Link
Tuesday, January 10th at 7:30 p.m. at QED Astoria. I'm a guest on Evan Barden's live music and talk show, Repeater. There's a distinct possibility we'll discuss Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." Link
This week's list
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
Scott C. Reynolds is the author of Dream Jobs and a guy people go to when they're trying to figure out how to write a pilot or a screenplay. I've worked with him and he's just a gem of a human being. Scott has a newsletter, Writers Be Writing, with tips and advice for aspiring writers, but for the past couple weeks he's been sharing his process for setting goals and actually achieving them. Since there are a lot of resolutions getting set right now, take a second and let Scott help you. The biggest tip that I've had personal success with is setting goals that are 100% in my control. "Get my own TV show" is a dream I can't control, "Write a pilot that I'm proud of" is a goal that I can do. Lies, Damn Lies, and Goal Setting
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
This isn't new, but it's a classic and I love it. "Question: Do I have to kill the snake? Answer: University guidelines state that you have to 'defeat' the snake. There are many ways to accomplish this. Lots of students choose to wrestle the snake. Some construct decoys and elaborate traps to confuse and then ensnare the snake. One student brought a flute and played a song to lull the snake to sleep. Then he threw the snake out a window." FAQ: The "Snake Fight" Portion of Your Thesis Defense by Luke Burns
1 Interesting Thing:
Here's a potentially hopeful note to end 2016 on. New York Magazine's Lisa Miller documented what she called "an experiment in radical empathy." They brought together more than a dozen people on both sides of the gun debate including "a hunter; two Baltimore cops; a criminal-court judge from New Orleans; a couple of high-schoolers who grew up in the ganglands of Chicago's South Side-- who had agreed to meet face-to-face, tell each other their stories, and try to understand one another's points of view." They listened and then shared a partner's story in their own voice. The participants were skeptical, but the results were pretty stunning. An Experiment in Empathy
Thanks for reading. Happy New Year!
Chris