Happy Saturday! Every week, I send out an email with my upcoming shows, one thing I think is great, one thing that made me laugh, and one thing I found interesting.
Upcoming Shows
EVERYWHERE:
My wife Mollie and her co-author Liz Fosslien wrote a very funny, insightful, and useful book called "No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work." It's out in January but available for pre-order now: Link
SEATTLE:
Thursday, December 27th at 7:30 p.m. at The Annex Theatre. Riley Mulherkar (of The Westerlies) and I are going to be in town and we're continuing our holiday tradition of putting on a night of music and comedy. Link
I'll be announcing a lot more shows in 2019. As always, you'll be able to find my schedule with all upcoming dates online here.
This week’s list
GREAT:
Tavi Gevinson started Rookie Mag when she was 15 years old. Her own writing is always excellent, but Tavi also had a great eye for other contributors. I love the way she described the magazine in 2011, when it was first starting, "Rookie is not your guide to Being a Teen. It is not a pamphlet on How to Be a Young Woman. (If it were, it would be published by American Girl and your aunt would've given it to you in the fifth grade.) It is, quite simply, a bunch of writing and art we like and believe in."
Now, seven years later, Rookie is shutting down. Whether you've been a loyal reader for years or you're hearing about Rookie for the first time right now, Tavi's final editor's note is absolutely worth a read. She talks about issues I've been thinking about for my own work, but far more eloquently than I could. It's an open look at the business of creativity, the tensions between making money and making art, and how sometimes you have to let go. Also, it's very funny (shout out to all the Bryces of the world). Thank You for Growing Up With Us
FUNNY:
Happy Night 7 of Chanukah! Coincidentally, it was also the 7th night of Chanukah when Adam Sandler first introduced the world to his biggest holiday hit. Growing up, this song was one of my favorite parts of the holiday and I still know every word. Adam Sandler's comedy takes me right back to being in middle school and laughing hysterically at something so dumb and yet so funny with my friends at lunch. I didn't love everything in his new Netflix special,100% Fresh, but there were lots of bits that reminded me of that feeling. He's able to make even something like a song about farting in an armchair surprisingly funny (and, weirdly, kind of emotional). My Old Chair
INTERESTING:
Craig Antico and Jerry Ashton worked for years in debt collection before deciding that they'd had enough. They used their insider knowledge to switch sides and create a nonprofit that purchases and abolishes medical debt rather than perpetuating a cycle of poverty. You can watch John Oliver explain how it works here. Or here's a NYT article from this week: 2 New Yorkers Erased $1.5 Million in Medical Debt for Hundreds of Strangers. In my personal opinion, it also makes a pretty badass holiday gift. Because the debt sells for pennies on the dollar, instead of buying family members or colleagues yet another present they'll have to regift later, for a hundred dollars you can tell them that you abolished $10,000 of debt in their name. There's no way anyone else can compete with a gift worth ten grand. You just won Christmas.
Thanks for reading! If you like these emails, please forward to a friend or come say hi at a live show. If you're reading this for the first time (maybe someone forwarded you this email?), you can subscribe here.
Happy Holidays!
Chris