Happy Lunar New Year!
Last night, my friends Julie and Paul invited me to a Chinese New Year's party. We ate an enormous amount of food, sang karaoke with Julie's parents, and did our best to make dumplings with Julie's aunt. Her aunt's verdict on my attempts: "These are VERY, VERY bad dumplings." Harsh, but also accurate.
I hope you have a great start to the year of the rat. I was told I could increase my chances of good luck this year by wearing red underwear. Just passing that info along to you as well.
Upcoming Events
NEW YORK
Friday, February 7th and Saturday, February 8th. I will be back in NYC workshopping a stage show about long term couples and new scientific research on love. Presented by All For One Theater. Free (email info@afo.nyc to RSVP) Link with more info
This week’s list
GREAT:
Jule Hall is a program associate at the Ford Foundation who works on grants advancing "gender, racial, and ethnic justice." He's also a graduate of the Bard Prison Initiative who spent 22 years incarcerated. The New York Times ran a fantastic profile of his Sunday routine. I love it. It's so much better than the standard celebrity talking about their brunch. I hope the NYT does more profiles like this one. Jule Hall Knows the Joy of a Free Sunday
FUNNY:
Michael Cruz Kayne is an improviser, standup, and actor. He's universally known as a great guy and his career is taking off. He also has the most adorable family. This video, where his daughter Willa tells dad jokes to him, is perfect. (For more Michael, you can also catch his late night debut on Seth Meyers here.)
INTERESTING:
If you haven't seen The Report yet, I can't say I'm surprised. It's a pretty tough sell for a movie. "Hey! It's Saturday night! Let's have some fun and watch a factually accurate dramatization of the United States' secret torture and detention program!" Even when it's got stars like Adam Driver, Annette Bening, and Jon Hamm. But the thing is, it's a very good movie. And it's incredibly important to watch. This is a story that we need to know so we don't repeat its mistakes over and over again. You can stream it from your couch. Do it.
(Afterwards, watch the footage from depositions this week where the psychologists who designed the program had to justify it under oath. Then read this shocking ProPublica investigation into how Saudi Arabia's involvement in 9/11 was never fully looked into. Again, we need to pay attention to these past abuses if we want to prevent them in the future.)
Can't say that was the most positive note I've ever ended an email on, but hey, what did you expect when you signed up for a comedian's newsletter? It wasn't investigative reports on CIA malfeasance? Fair enough. That being said, if you do like these emails, please forward to a friend or spread the word. If someone forwarded you this email but you're not yet on the list, you can subscribe here.
Have a great year of the rat, pizza and otherwise,
Chris