Oops, All Recommendations!
The Gratitude List #27
Hello folks! I’m home from the road and merging myself back into life. I realize I haven’t done anything rec-related in a while, so in this week’s newsletter, I’ve got a slew of recommendations for you from the past month or so of things I’ve seen and done. Enjoy!
THINGS I’M GLAD I EXPERIENCED THE PAST MONTH OR SO
DINNER AT EEM IN PORTLAND
Best meal we ate on tour, by far. The Pork Belly Krapow: otherworldly. The Chopped BBQ Fried Rice: sumptuous. The Red Curry with Roasted Vegetables: delicious. The Thai iced tea: delightfully served in a glass that looks like a puffer fish. I don’t know when I’ll be back in Portland but I hope my path crosses with this incredible restaurant again.
THE GOAT CHEESE AND HERB CROISSANT FROM COLVILLE STREET PATISSERIE IN WALLA WALLA
We needed breakfast before a day of thrifting in Pendleton, OR and Walla Walla, WA, and this was what I chose. No notes. Didn’t even mind that my car is still full of croissant crumbs and might be that way forever.
THIS OLD VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH PATRICE O’NEAL
Patrice is legendary among comics for myriad reasons. The clear-eyed approach to human interaction and honesty he has in this interview I stumbled upon is a big reason why.1
BEN PALMER DIPPING HIS TOE INTO DEVIL CORPS
I had the pleasure of seeing Ben working on some new material live this past weekend, including a version of this utterly insane trip down Devil Corps Lane. I guarantee this is just the beginning of what will surely be a really entertaining rabbit hole, so start diving in now.
THE ENTIRETY OF THE REHEARSAL SEASON TWO
No one does non-fiction comedy TV like Nathan Fielder. His new season of The Rehearsal, which ended last night, once again fails to fit neatly into the mold of your average comedy TV show, spilling out into the territory of true, getting-to-the-heart-of-humanity-style art. But don’t worry: you’ll also laugh uproariously.
THE ENTIRETY OF THE STUDIO SEASON ONE
We all know that Hollywood is being reshaped before our very eyes, right? We’ve read enough thinkpieces and alarm-soundings from the trades? Okay, great. Take a break from freaking out about our livelihoods for just a brief moment and watch this masterful satire, which captures the current era of L.A. malaise better than maybe any piece of content out there. And, yes, I did just barf a little bit in my mouth calling this TV show “content.”
“HEAR ME OUT” BY ROBIN TRAN
Robin’s new special is just a top-to-bottom showcase of incredible joke writing, with smart, layered bits and some of my favorite callbacks I’ve seen this year.
“KILL TONY: THE VIDEO GAME” BY PAID VACATION COMEDY
Inside baseball? Yes. Hilarious? Also yes.
DYLAN SULLIVAN’S JOKE ABOUT TIPPING
Few comics create believably absurd worlds on stage like Dylan Sullivan. Shoutout Vershawnda and the Northeast Austin Denny’s.
ROAST BATTLE JEOPARDY (AKA A.J. LEIDIG VS. TOM RYAN)
One of the most creative roast battles I have ever seen, with a gambit that absolutely could have fallen flat on its face. Love it when a big swing leads to a grand slam.
MYCAL DEDE’S JOKES ABOUT BEING A LAWYER
Not only does he write a great Substack, but he’s got a new Don’t Tell set out with a slew of incredible jokes about his work as a lawyer! I’ve had the pleasure of watching him run a bunch of these bits over the past several months and I’m glad they’re out for the whole world to see.
DANA WHISSEN’S UNHINGED/GENIUS IMPROVISED STAND-UP
I ran into Dana, a fantastic Phoenix-based comic I first met ages ago, when I was in Arizona on a quick lil’ road run at the end of April. The algorithm did its thing and I was served up a bunch of clips, including this one, of her fantastic run of fully improvised performances. Follow her and watch ‘em all!
FOUR THOUSAND WEEKS BY OLIVER BURKEMAN
The book that got me to stop worrying about how to optimize my time and got me to think about just using it wisely. “Time Management For Mortals” indeed. If you like this TED Talk from the author, you’ll love the book.
A BRIEF DISPATCH FROM RECOVERYLAND
Burkeman’s book is not conference-approved literature for any of the programs I’m in, but the first step in any 12-step program is addressing that you’re powerless over (insert thing here) and that your life is unmanageable. Time, of course, is one of the many things that I try and fail to manage and control. Remembering that I can’t control time, and that I can only go with its flow, was a very necessary reminder during the past few weeks. After all, I do have just one wild and precious life.
WHAT ABOUT ME?
This week, you can find me:
doing shows in Los Angeles - full show calendar is here
getting ready to host my comedy game show WRONG! at the Comedy Store this Wednesday at 8 PM, get your tickets!2 Never seen WRONG! before? Want to get an idea of what to expect? Watch and learn…
Until next time, friends. Thanks for reading, I’m glad you’re here!
by the way, if you’ve never seen his seminal special “Elephant In The Room” do yourself a favor and correct that immediately
I still have a couple of guest list spots available for comics, so if you want to come check out the show, send me a DM on Instagram.