3 Things: Meredith Gringer, Diogenes, and Jamie Loftus

Happy Saturday!

It's my birthday on Monday. I'm turning 33 in 2020, which I don't think means anything but also feels oddly satisfying. I love a good doubled number (shout out to the weather and traffic reports on 1010 Wins radio). I used to hate birthdays because there was so much pressure to make sure you HAVE! A! GREAT! DAY! But now, everyone I know goes to bed early, so parties are way less intense. And the idea of celebrating the fact that I survived another revolution around the sun has grown on me. So hey! I made it! You're making it! We're still hurtling through space together. Eat some cake and think of me.

Upcoming Events

LOS ANGELES
Wednesday, January 22nd 7-9 am at Friendship Auditorium. This isn't a show, per se, but I've been going to the delightfully strange LA Breakfast Club every Wednesday morning I'm in town and this week I'm officially being inducted as a member. The breakfast and the program are always open to the public. Read more about it here.

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:
Meredith Gringer is my friend who is the best at bringing people together. She's also my most trusted source for restaurant recommendations and recipes. In 2019, Meredith combined her superpowers with a resolution to have a dinner party every month. She documented the meals, both successful and less so, and if you're looking for inspiration, I very much recommend checking her writing out. Meredith is a great reminder that sometimes the best resolutions are simple and that, despite the many digital ways we can stay connected, there's nothing better than breaking bread with people you love. Dinner Party Resolution


FUNNY:
I would never have expected to be recommending an ancient Greek philosopher as the thing that made me laugh the most this week, but Austin Kleon builds a very compelling case that Diogenes was both absolutely hilarious and possibly the first famous performance artist. Here's a taste: "When a rich man took Diogenes into his house and cautioned him not to spit on the rugs and furnishings since they were very expensive, Diogenes spat in the man's face and explained that it was the only thing there cheap enough to spit on." There's even an incredible link between how Diogenes treated Plato and Dave Chappelle's impression of Rick James, but I won't spoil it. You've got to read to find out. Every Age Needs a Diogenes


INTERESTING:
Jamie Loftus is one of the creative and interesting comedians I've seen perform. She's also got some serious journalism chops. Her new podcast miniseries is a fascinating deep dive into Mensa and other high IQ societies. Basically, Jamie took the Mensa test as a joke, passed, joined Mensa, and then really pissed them off by making some pretty innocuous jokes. From there, the story took some very dark and unpredictable turns as Jamie tried to discover why people who are supposedly the smartest in the world were targeting her with systematic harassment and even death threats. It's a hilarious, wild, and incredible story. Warning: There's definitely some strong language. My Year in Mensa (or available anywhere you get podcasts)


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Have a great long weekend,
Chris

3 Things: Mitra Jouhari, Larry David, and Hokyoung Kim

Happy Saturday!

I've been experimenting with ways to keep myself more productive and focused recently. I'm trying to get sucked into my phone less and to stay on task more. One trick that's been working for me this week is to make sure my "to do" list is full of items that are short and possible to achieve in a day (so more like "write two pages" and less "win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction"). I'm frankly amazed at how well it's been working. It's not like I didn't know that in order to write a script, I'd have to start by writing a scene, but for some reason, I just wasn't doing it. It turns out that all I needed was the pure animal thrill of using a Sharpie to cross completed tasks off a list. It's a hit of pure dopamine.

And if you didn't think that "write intro to this week's email" was on the list, well, you know nothing.

Upcoming Events

LOS ANGELES
Wednesday, January 15th at 7 pm at the Lyric-Hyperion. Matt Porter and I host a multimedia comedy show featuring Demi Adejuyigbe (@electrolemon, writer for The Good Place), Sheng Wang (2 Dope Queens), Rekha Shankar (head writer for CollegeHumor), and Zach Sherwin (The Crossword Show). Ticket Link

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:
Mitra Jouhari is so funny and creative that Amy Poehler is executive producing her new television series. Mitra has written for shows like Big Mouth, High Maintenance, Miracle Workers, and Pod Save America. But Mitra isn't just funny, she's also brave. She's an Iranian-American who is using her platform to stand up to bigotry and warmongering. If you want to do something to discourage our political leaders from armed conflict, Mitra has been posting ways to take action on her Instagram and Twitter, from going to a protest to calling your reps to just amplifying the voices of Iranian-Americans so they know they're supported and not alone. 


FUNNY:
Even the concept of this profile in GQ makes me laugh. Larry David as fashion icon. It's so funny to watch Larry David get put into expensive clothes and photographed. It's so funny to hear him talk about them. But then, the profile ends up being about the blurry line between TV Larry and Real Life Larry and I loved everything about it. I laughed out loud several times. The Incredibly Happy Life of Larry David, TV's Favorite Grouch


INTERESTING:
Hokyoung Kim is an illustrator who splits her time between Seoul and New York. She creates these dense, layered illustrations that perfectly express difficult emotions. You may her seen her work accompanying articles in The Atlantic, The New York Times, or live at Pop Up Magazine. I definitely recommend looking through her Instagram or website. I find her work very moving. One of my favorite illustrations she's done accompanies these short films about immigration: From Here to Home, Five Films about Immigration and Belonging


Thanks for reading. If you 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.

Take care of each other,
Chris

3 Things: Heidi Julavits, Maria Bamford, and Supertrees

Happy New Year!

Or maybe, if I'm being honest, it's more like Slightly Terrifying New Year! We're certainly not starting 2020 off slow. The news is full of imminent war, raging fires, and dark politics. So it feels right for this first newsletter of the decade to be all about survival. Avalanches, mental health crises, climate change... here are some stories of how folks are making it through. 

Upcoming Events

LOS ANGELES
Thursday, January 9th at 7:30 pm Due to a scheduling conflict, this show had to be postponed. New date TBA

Wednesday, January 15th at 7 pm at the Lyric-Hyperion. Matt Porter and I are starting a monthly multimedia comedy show called HOMEWORK. Tickets are on sale now. Link

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 AFO to RSVP) Link

This week’s list

GREAT:
Heidi Julavits is a novelist and a generally anxious person. She channels her fears into plot lines and back stories for her characters. But how do you make sure your writing feels accurate and grounded in reality? To make sure she was getting the details right, Julavits signed up for a course on avalanche survival. This beautiful, funny essay is about how she discovered the real dangers. "I wanted to be prepared for the worst nature could throw at me. But the real threat turned out to be human." What I Learned in Avalanche School


FUNNY:
Maria Bamford is one of my favorite standup comedians of all time. She manages to be hilarious and vulnerable while also staying goofy and kind. There's a misconception that comedians have to be dark and edgy in order to speak truth to power. Maria blows that idea out of the water. This is an amazing short profile of how she's prepping for her bigger standup shows and coping with performance anxiety by meeting with strangers in coffee shops and performing her set for them one-on-one. Maria Bamford Melds Speed Dating and Standup Comedy


INTERESTING:
Martin Luther once supposedly said "Even I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." I find that idea very moving. That we should try our best to improve the world, to make the future better, to imagine a harvest, even if things appear to be falling apart. And it turns out that planting (or caring for) trees might actually be one of our best chances at preventing the world from going to pieces. This piece about the tree species that do the most to mitigate the effects of climate change is fascinating and solutions-oriented. Supertrees


If you 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.

Thanks for reading,
Chris