Hi friends,
If you're new to these emails, welcome! Every Saturday, I send out a short email with three great things. If you feel like you haven't gotten these emails in a while, try checking to make sure this email is a trusted address so they aren't getting filtered to spam. For live shows, I've got a bunch featured below and a complete list on my website. Feel free to spread the word about these emails! Anyone can sign up for the mailing list online and/or check out the archive with all past emails here.
SHOW UPDATES:
SEATTLE:
THIS WEDNESDAY! It's a one-night only, limited edition of You Get A Spoon! I'll be at the Annex Theatre with Bianca Giaever (This American Life), Zubin Hensler, and Willem de Koch (2/4 of The Westerlies). Comedy, short films, music, and prizes! What more could you want? Wednesday, December 30 at 8 p.m. Details/tickets here
SAN FRANCISCO:
SF Sketchfest presents You're the Expert with me, Kristin Schaal, James Adomian, and Eugene Mirman. There are a few tickets left! Saturday, January 23 at 1 p.m.Details/tickets here
I'll also be doing an extended standup set and inviting some special guests to perform with me at The Red Poppy Art House on Thursday, January 21 at 8 p.m.This is a small show in a beautiful venue and it should be a great time. Details/tickets here
LOS ANGELES:
We just announced a You're the Expert taping at the Nerdist Showroom on Monday, January 18 at 9 p.m. Scott Adsit (30 Rock) is one of the panelists and we'll have more fantastic surprise guests. Details/tickets here
You can also see my full schedule up on the website now.
Ok, on to this week's list!
1 Thing I Think Is Great:
Adrian Tomine's graphic novel Killing and Dying blew me away. It's a series of short stories about small moments in regular people's lives. There's a story about a man who breaks into the apartment where he used to live just so he can sit inside. Another story is about a 14-year-old girl who tries standup comedy for the first time. Or a woman who is constantly being mistaken for a celebrity. The stories are simple, but each one packs an enormous emotional punch. Tomine's art is beautiful and he's able to use the graphic novel format to put the focus on moments of silence more than anything a character says. This is one of those books where as soon as I finished it, I went to the library and took out everything else by Tomine I could get my hands on. Adrian Tomine: Killing and Dying
1 Thing That Made Me Laugh:
Cocoon Central Dance Team are a group of young women in NYC who perform comedic dances. When I first heard about them, I was imagining the kind of dances I awkwardly do at weddings to take attention away from the fact that I am profoundly uncoordinated. (I once took a dance class in college and the instructor told me "You have the brain-foot problem. Your brain and your feet are not connected.") But Cocoon Central don't do the sprinkler, or the shopping cart, or the fish getting caught on the line. They're actually amazing dancers and the comedy comes from how unabashed and exuberantly joyful they are. Watching them do their thing is like mainlining happiness. Check out this video of them dancing in a forest and trying to get hikers to join them. If this doesn't make you smile, you are a robot. Cocoon Central Dance Team
1 Interesting Thing:
Junot Diaz visited the Japanese island of Hokkaido to write this article for Travel + Leisure. Since Christmas here in the US has been decidedly not snowy, his description of Japan's snow country is a great way to get a vicarious fix. An added bonus is that Diaz's voice comes through loud and clear. As a result, the article is full of phrases you don't normally associate with a high end travel magazine, like when Diaz describes Hokkaido's setting as "more or less the equivalent of the Earth dropping the mic...forever." Junot Diaz: In Hokkaido, the Ultimate Japanese Snow Country
Ok, thanks for reading! More details on shows and my full schedule online atwww.chrisduffycomedy.com/calendar/
Have a great weekend,
Chris