3 Things: Bear People, Meeting Tricks, and Bot Farms

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 beautiful Chapel Hill right now. Last night I did Taste Test Comedy here at the DSI Theater, where I told exclusively food related jokes and all the audience members got to sample snacks from local food vendors. I'm flying to Boston tomorrow to host a special Women in Comedy Festival version of the show with jokes from Anna Drezen, Aparna Nancherla, and me, snacks from Clover, and improvised raps about food by Rachel Rosenthal and Evan Kaufman. It should be a blast! Details and tickets here. 

Tuesday in NYC, I co-host Firestone Success Academy with the delightful Jo Firestone. It's a cross between a night school and a cult, where audience members help teach us basic life skills.

Friday, I'm at the Philadelphia Science Festival for You're the Expert with Wyatt Cenac, Zhubin Parang, and Jo Firestone. Details and tickets here.

Ok, on to this week's list!
 

1 Thing I Think Is Great:

You are about to join the Bear People revolution. A wonderful thing about the comedy community is that sometimes everyone will decide they love a little random idea and run with it. Bear People is a perfect example. Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, from the musical sketch comedy group Pop Roulette, got stuck in traffic and made up a short, intensely serious song about taking care of bears. Within days, everyone I know was posting their own very earnest and hilarious covers of the song. The pure unabashed silliness and creativity of it all is what makes me love comedians so much. You know the song really took over the Internet, because Buzzfeed compiled a guide to the best covers. 

1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:

This list of tricks to make yourself look smart in meetings is not only beautifully drawn and hilarious, but a very close to a step-by-step guide for how I graduated college. English classes were all about those discussion sections and boy did "nodding continuously while pretending to take notes" work wonders. If you have ever worked in an office, you're going to want to read these. 10 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings (Thanks to the wonderful Sarah Kay for sharing this with me)
 

1 Interesting Thing:

If you've ever gotten a friend request from a seemingly random person or been followed on social media by a bot, you may have wondered where these fake profiles come from. Doug Bock Clark (real person) has a fascinating piece in the New Republic about the multi-million dollar business of making fake people. The Bot Bubble

Ok, thanks for reading! More details on shows and my full schedule online atwww.chrisduffycomedy.com/calendar/

Have a great weekend,
Chris

3 Things: Men's Hairstyles, Amy Schumer, and Victoria Woodhull

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 Cambridge, MA today hosting You're the Expert. We've got John Hodgman, Wyatt Cenac, and Maeve Higgins on the panel and our expert is Dr. Julie Shah, an MIT prof who studies robot-human teamwork. I think there are still a couple tickets left. You can check byclicking here.

Tomorrow (Sunday), I'm hosting another YTE taping, this time with Eugene Mirman, Elna Baker, and 30 Rock's Scott Adsit. Our expert for that show is Dr. Krista Ingram, who studies biological clocks in humans, fire ants, and bumble bees. Tickets for that here.  I'll also be doing a short (but free) standup set later Sunday night at ImprovBoston, if that's more your speed.

Ok, on to this week's list!
 

1 Thing I Think Is Great:

My complete and utter inability to communicate with a barber is a real failure of my years studying English in college. I always end up asking for a haircut that's "a little shorter, and a little easier to manage." (Coincidentally, also what I'd like from most literature.)  But this week I came across a spectacular e-book, Men's Hairstyles, and now I can just point to what I want. My next haircut might be the Brand New Dad or the Online Banking. I can't decide. Check out all the hairstyles, complete with recommended pairings and origin stories. Men's Hairstyles: Inspired Looks for the Up-To-Date Male

1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:

Amy Schumer is a genius. Her show on Comedy Central is smart and daring and very, very funny. The new season starts this week. In the meantime, Amy visited Ellen DeGeneres to promote the show and this video is one of the most hilarious talk show appearances ever. I will never be able to eat popcorn again without thinking of her. The Unbelievably Hilarious Amy Schumer
 

1 Interesting Thing:

Hillary Clinton's big announcement has had all my politically minded friends abuzz. One of the most interesting pieces I read about Hillary was actually about Victoria Woodhull, the very first woman to run for president. On Election Day, Woodhull couldn't even vote for herself, because she ran in 1872, nearly 50 years before women's suffrage. She also happened to be in prison for running "an obscene newspaper," which is part of what makes her story so fascinating. The Strange Tale of the First Woman to Run for President

Ok, thanks for reading! More details on shows and my full schedule online atwww.chrisduffycomedy.com/calendar/

Have a great weekend,
Chris

3 Things: Wardell, Comedy Bang Bang, and Edward Snowden

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:  

Next weekend, I'll be in Cambridge, MA performing at the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival. It's always such a fun time and I'm really honored to be involved. I'll be sharing the stage with some of my all-time favorite performers like John Hodgman, Wyatt Cenac, Scott Adsit from 30 Rock, and Elna Baker from This American Life.Come check out a show! 

Ok, on to this week's list!
 

1 Thing I Think Is Great:

I don't often recommend music in these emails, mostly because it seems so challenging to describe in words, but I have to recommend Wardell. I bought their album two weeks ago and I've probably listened to it all the way through 12 times since then. I love every song. Sunny, translucent grooves that make me believe it will actually be summer again soon. (Is it weird to use the word "grooves"? I sound like my dad listening to world music at Starbucks) Wardell
 

1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:

Mollie and I took a little road trip this weekend to look at some wedding venues and we almost had to pull the car over because we were laughing so hard at this episode of Comedy Bang Bang. It could not be less suitable for work, so definitely don't start playing this in front of children. But wow, it is amazing. Tig Notaro just crushes and James Adomian's impression of Tom Leykis is unreal. I didn't even know who Tom Leykis was before and I still couldn't stop laughing hysterically. Comedy Bang Bang Live from SXSW II
 

1 Interesting Thing:

Did you know The Patriot Act is coming up for reauthorization on June 1? I didn't, and it's likely one of the most important votes our elected officials will make this year. But you know who did? John Oliver. His segment on government surveillance is hilarious, but also incredibly important. He literally flew to Russia to interview Edward Snowden. The fact that he asks Snowden harder and more direct questions than I've seen in any other interview makes for what I'd argue is the best episode he's taped yet. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Government Surveillance

Ok, thanks for reading! More details on shows and my full schedule online atwww.chrisduffycomedy.com/calendar/

Have a great weekend,
Chris