3 Things: Yayoi Kusama, Mara Wilson, and Elizabeth Holmes
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.
Live shows
NEW YORK:
Monday, September 12 at 8 p.m at QED. Every month, Myq Kaplan puts together a show at Astoria's QED. Comedy, music, freestyle rap... it's got it all. I'll be telling jokes with Phoebe Robinson, Camille Harris, and Rob Cantrell. Link
Friday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Union Hall. My variety show / audience prize giveaway is part of this year's Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival! We'll have music from The Westerlies, poetry from Phil Kaye, comedy from Maeve Higgins and me, and so many prizes. Guaranteed to be the most positive way to spend a night in NYC. Link
Saturday, September 17 at 4:30 p.m. at The Bell House. You're the Expert returns to the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival with Jo Firestone, Hari Kondabolu, a mystery scientist, and special celebrity guests. Link
You can also find my full up-to-date show schedule online here.
This week's list
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
Yayoi Kusama is obsessed with dots. As a visual artist, she's best known for her signature bright spots, often covering a room. I love how joyful and fun her work is. I get turned off by a lot of modern art, because I feel like I'm not smart enough to understand it. But Kusama's work is the opposite. It's an instant aesthetic mood booster. She also lives in a Japanese hospital for the mentally ill, which is by far the most interesting fact I've ever read in an artist's bio. Kusama's latest work is a site-specific takeover of the Glass House in Connecticut. The photos are pretty amazing. It's called "Dots Obsession - Alive, Seeking for Eternal Hope."
If you want more Kusama, you can check out her dot-filled website here, complete with one of the strangest self-portraits on the Internet.
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
Mara Wilson learned about the birds and the bees on the set of Mrs. Doubtfire. She figured out what dating was like on Melrose Place. Her memoir isn't strictly comedic, but the questions she asked as a little kid really made me laugh. Her first question for her mom after hearing about where babies come from: "When you did it, did you say 'Whoa'?"
Here's an excerpt from Mara Wilson's book: Where Am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame
1 Interesting Thing:
Elizabeth Holmes was the world's youngest self-made billionaire. She created a revolutionary medical technology that could perform hundreds of diagnostic tests from a single drop of blood. But then John Carreyrou, a cranky reporter for the Wall Street Journal, started asking some tough questions and discovered it was all a sham. Now, Holmes net worth is $0. Nick Bilton covered the incredible story of the rise and fall of Theranos forVanity Fair. How Elizabeth Holmes' House of Cards Came Tumbling Down
Ok, thanks for reading this! Feel free to find more details on shows and my full schedule online at www.chrisduffycomedy.com/calendar/
Have a great weekend,
Chris
3 Things: Gene Wilder, Kristen Schaal, and Wendy Zukerman
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.
Live shows
NEW YORK:
Tuesday, September 6 at 8 p.m at The Slipper Room. One of NYC's longest running and best comedy shows is every Tuesday night at the Slipper Room. This week, Richie Moriarty and Matt Catanzano are taking over and bringing a night of jokes from their friends. Come see them, me, Aparna Nancherla, Anna Drezen, and more at Simply Unemployable & Friends. Link
Friday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Union Hall. My variety show / audience prize giveaway is part of this year's Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival! We'll have music from The Westerlies, poetry from Phil Kaye, comedy from Maeve Higgins and me, and so many prizes. Guaranteed to be the most positive way to spend a night in NYC. Link
Saturday, September 17 at 4:30 p.m. at The Bell House. You're the Expert returns to the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival with Jo Firestone, Hari Kondabolu, a mystery scientist, and special celebrity guests. Link
You can also find my full up-to-date show schedule online here.
This week's list
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
Gene Wilder was a comedian unlike any other. He was smart enough to make you laugh at the dumbest joke. He was so obviously kind that you loved any character he played. And he was so graceful that his biggest laughs came when he made you think he'd lost control of his body. There have been so many lovely tributes to Wilder's life this week, but personally, I've most enjoyed hearing from the man himself. His 2005 interview on Fresh Air is full of gems like when an 8-year-old Gene decided to cheer his mother up after her heart attack by making her laugh: "It was the first time I ever tried consciously to make someone else laugh, and when I was successful, after peeing in her pants, she'd say 'Oh, Jerry, now look what you've made me do.'" Gene Wilder Explains How He Learned To Get Laughs
(My favorite Gene Wilder bit is when he had Baryshnikov teach him how to dance. If you haven't seen it, it's five minutes of pure enthusiasm and joy: Baryshnikov in Hollywood)
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
Kristen Schaal is one of the funniest people on the planet. What I especially love about her work is how she approaches every part of comedy with an eye to the absurd. For example, in her Comedy Central standup special, she had to deal with a heckler. But it turns out the heckler was a 10-year-old girl who not only mocks Kristen but gets up on stage and teaches her how to actually deliver a joke. It's one of my favorite bits of all time and the kind of thing that I really think only Kristen could have come up with. I think about this randomly all the time and just start laughing. "Bam! Joke Sold!" Kristen Schaal: All-Ages Show
1 Interesting Thing:
Wendy Zukerman is the host of Gimlet Media's new podcast Science Vs. They call it "the show that pits facts against everything else." It's fantastic and I love Wendy. She's funny and clever and has a spectacular Australian accent. She's also able to tackle hot-button issues in a very new way that's both fun and informative. I thought her two-part episode on guns was surprisingly hilarious and entertaining. I'm excited to see where this show goes next. Science Vs Guns (h/t Mollie)
Ok, thanks for reading this! Feel free to find more details on shows and my full schedule online at www.chrisduffycomedy.com/calendar/
Have a great weekend,
Chris
3 Things: Gideon Irving, Matteo Lane, and Chance the Rapper
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.
Live shows
NEW YORK:
Wednesday, August 31 at 8 p.m at Littlefield. Guerilla Science is putting on an event called Sensory Speed Dating, where you can "smell, hear, taste, touch, see, and move your way to a greater understanding of the subconscious processes that drive our behavior and desires." I'm the host and it's not just for singles. Also, your ticket includes free food! Link
Friday, September 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Union Hall. My variety show / audience prize giveaway is part of this year's Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival! We'll have music from The Westerlies, poetry from Phil Kaye, comedy from Maeve Higgins and me, and so many prizes. Guaranteed to be the most positive way to spend a night in NYC. Link
Saturday, September 17 at 4:30 p.m. at The Bell House. You're the Expert returns to the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival with Jo Firestone, Hari Kondabolu, a mystery scientist, and special celebrity guests. Link
You can also find my full up-to-date show schedule online here.
This week's list
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
Gideon Irving is one of a kind. He's a musician who tours the world, performing almost exclusively in strangers' homes. His shows are ambitious and funny and amazing. I truly believe that if he wanted to, he could be playing to crowds of thousands. But he prefers the intimacy and magic of bringing his act to out of the way places and making lasting connections with audience members who are also his hosts. Gideon performed in our apartment last year and it was unforgettable. Now, some of Gideon's magic has been captured on tape by his frequent collaborator, Nate Sloan, who documented their trip through Scotland together for his podcast. Switched on Pop: The Gideon and Hubcap Show
(If you'd prefer to watch a video rather than listen to the podcast, here's a very fun music video that Gideon made.)
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
Continuing this week's musical theme: Matteo Lane is not just a comedian, he's also a trained opera singer. He puts his skills to good use in this hilarious standup set. Matteo is one of those standups who kills every time he performs, but he's also such a genuinely nice and friendly guy. It's a real pleasure to watch him succeed. Late Night presents Matteo Lane
1 Interesting Thing:
Chance the Rapper is one of the biggest musical acts performing today. He's also an independent artist who's turned down every major label. He's a lyrical genius, relentlessly positive, and dedicated to using his fame for good. Chance has everything going for him right now. So how did it happen? Zach Baron has a great profile in GQ. How Chance the Rapper's Life Became Perfect
(P.S. Baron says that it was a questionable decision for Chance to spend months working on a cover of the music from Arthur on PBS, but I couldn't disagree more. I hope Chance does a whole album full of just children's television theme songs. Judge for yourself.)
Ok, thanks for reading this! Feel free to find more details on shows and my full schedule online at www.chrisduffycomedy.com/calendar/
Have a great weekend,
Chris
