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First of all, to anyone who sent feedback after my last post: thank you. The outpouring from people who related to what I was thinking, feeling, and saying – including multiple people involved with NIAJ itself! – was bigger than I could’ve imagined. It means more than y’all know.
In the wake of that post, I did a lot of thinking, particularly on how to use this Substack more often and effectively than I had been. Those who’ve been around for a bit know I tried to make a commitment to doing some diary-style writing for subscribers only, like I did during my first years in Los Angeles, but it became apparent to me (and probably to you, too) that I didn’t have the time to get that done the way I did back in my early Angeleno-hood.
But in mulling over how to fuse my worlds of comedy and recovery – a mission I still think suits this newsletter well – it occurred to me that I had a pretty effective model staring me in the face: a gratitude list.
The practice has become a bit trendy these days, thanks to various folks from the “wellness community”1 co-opting it, but the first person to suggest I do one was my first sponsor. I was in a sour mood, and he said, “tell me five things you’re grateful for, right now.” I mumbled out some answers, but did feel better afterwards. I’ve continued the practice in various forms over the past eight and a half years, whether that’s in group chats, solo text threads with other fellows, or in my morning pages. I have learned over time that reminding myself about what’s good is not about suppressing the bad things; it’s about shifting my perspective to see the full picture.
So what I offer you now, faithful reader, is a format change that’ll hopefully help both of us shift our perspectives. Starting today, the Substack formerly known as Captain’s Log is bringing you a rundown of the things made by my friends, peers, and colleagues in comedy that I am grateful to have witnessed with my own two eyes, along with some insights from my journey in recovery, and a little shameless self-promotion at the very end.
Since we’re a good chunk into the year, in this first edition, I’m going to catalog some of my favorite funny things from 2024 thus far, along with a note from a piece of outside literature2 that’s stuck with me ever since I read it.
On to the shoutouts!
THINGS I’M GLAD I’VE SEEN
SAM TALLENT’S WIDE WORLD
You ever wonder what Anthony Bourdain would be like if he leaned into being, as I heard Zack Zucker once put it, going full-on dummy different? Wonder no more. Sam has long been regarded as one of the best working comedians, toiling away in comedy’s punk-rock underbelly for over a decade, finally receiving some well-deserved mainstream recognition in the past couple of years. Turns out he’s also a kickass travel show host. I finally got a chance to catch up on Sam's new-ish travelogue Wide World, and the three episodes filmed in Tokyo not only took me back to a really rip-roaring good time I had there in December as the judge on a Japanese game show, but also made me wish I hadn't been traveling alone so that I'd have other people to share the hentai T-shirts, pig intestines, and theme songs at every train station and FamilyMart with. He also just dropped the first episode in his Paris series, for those of you who are craving hot baguette and cemetery coverage.
IAN ABRAMSON: THE HEIST
Ian's in a really fun place comedically right now. Earlier this month we were on a variety show in Chicago together. In the green room, he's telling me about how most of his sets right now are focused on doing new material, which seems incredibly freeing. And watching his set – full of infuriatingly good comedic misdirections, a large section in the middle where he said no words at all, and a closing chunk of increasingly absurd impressions like "a mailbox receiving a magazine" – made me feel like fun can be achieved again. Watching his new special will make you feel the same way. It’s the gleefully absurd work of a singular voice in stand-up. If you’re not familiar, get familiar.
AMY SILVERBERG’S LATEST COMEDY CENTRAL SET
Amy is my fiancée's favorite comedian, and although I wish that said it all, it probably doesn’t. So here’s some more praise: she’s one of the best writers out there, cranking out jokes that have literary flair and profane underpinnings. This set in particular is a great encapsulation of what makes Amy so compelling: a wide-ranging performance covering topics from baseball caps to girls who make cum their entire personality. Take the time out to watch the whole thing – or, if you’re in a rush, at least go watch the clips from it she’s been posting on her Instagram lately.
ROAST BATTLE: JOSH MEANS VS. SUBAS SHARMA
I’ve loved seeing the resurgence of Roast Battle this year, from ringing in the New Year as a judge at Comedy Mothership to watching the RBL World Championship on my couch to seeing the culmination of a decade of ferocious joke writing on the last night at Netflix Is A Joke fest, where a tournament was hosted. Not to mention the great Belly Room main events I’ve seen this year, including Nate Welch’s title match against Ryan Nesen and Doug Fager’s return to the ring against Julian Fernandez.
But nothing captures the three-ring circus ethos of Roast Battle quite like a match I saw last Tuesday between two Bay Area battlers. Josh came with jokes, but Subas came with that rare charismatic spark of insanity that forced us on board from the jump and kept us hooked the whole time. Did it help that they followed two absolutely dogshit battles? Probably. Was it the kind of performance that Subas could recreate? Who knows. But one of my favorite parts about comedy is getting to witness those lightning-in-a-bottle moments you can’t find in other forms of live entertainment, and this battle filled my bottle to the brim with electricity.
FRANK CASTILLO’S BIT ABOUT A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES
This bit from Frank is so perfectly Frank. Silly, self-deprecating, born in the truth then amplified to a comedic 11. I have loved watching him work it out over the past few months – can you believe the version that popped off on Instagram isn’t even the fully fleshed out version? – and y’all should keep your eyes peeled for the whole thing.
THE RIFF RAFF
Billy Myers III has been doing The Riff Raff for a while now, but this year, it’s proven itself as appointment viewing. Comics and audiences have finally figured out that the repeated claims of “the wildest show in L.A.” are not for nothing. It’s what venues like The Belly Room were built for: shows that are unafraid to let their freak flags fly without trying to cater to the Eastside art-hipster crowd. Make it a point to get to a show if you haven’t – this one needs to be seen to be believed.
HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS
I do not know Mike Cheslik or any of the other members of the team behind Hundreds Of Beavers, but I am glad to know people like them are out there making movies like this. It is to comedy what Mad Max: Fury Road was to action movies. It is insane, scrappy genius captured on celluloid, borne out of the mind of a visionary lunatic. It had me dying in a matinee screening at the Laemmle NoHo 7, doubling over in my seat, crunching the popcorn crumbs on my shirt into tinier and tinier specks. It is not just one of my favorite pieces of comedy from this year, but for my money it’s the best movie I’ve seen this year. It is absolutely worth your time.
A BRIEF DISPATCH FROM RECOVERYLAND
This year, I finally finished reading the copy of Infinite Jest my sister got me for my 32nd birthday.3 People call this book a lot of things – a masterpiece, pretentious, long, very long – but what I never really heard it called until I read The Recovering by Leslie Jamison was a book about recovery. Shocking, given that most of the book takes place in a sober living house. They could give this thing out at meetings all over the U.S. Big Book, meet Bigger Book.
There are a lot of places I dog-eared while reading it, but one portion stood out to me as particularly poignant in the midst of my career adjustments these past few months:
The fear of the pain is many times worse than the pain of the pain, n’est ce —?
WHAT ABOUT ME?
You can find me:
most Tuesdays at the Comedy Store hosting the Roast Battle pre-show
in New York this coming week - full show calendar is here
doing WRONG! in San Diego at Mic Drop Comedy Club on 6/8, get tickets here
Until next time, friends. Thanks for reading, I’m glad you’re here.
a.k.a. hot influencers in athleisure surrounded by plants
what we 12-Step folks call anything that’s not officially sanctioned by the governing body of the 12-Step program of your choice
just in time for my 34th birthday!