You Can't Help But Laugh
The Gratitude List #29
On Monday afternoon, I sit on my parents’ couch, watching Grigor Dimitrov play incredible tennis against Jannik Sinner. I’m in full-on “pulling for the underdog” mode. How could I not be, watching a man my age maintain the edge over the world #1 player, a 23-year-old phenom? He’s won a tiebreak. He’s up two sets to love. He’s got a very strong chance of busting the bracket and earning a spot in the quarterfinals.
Then, right after serving an ace and evening up the score in the third set, Dimitrov clutches his right armpit and falls to the ground. The trainers rush over to him, prodding his upper body. Dimitrov laughs. Given that he’s already had to bow out of four Grand Slams in a row mid-match due to injuries, this fresh issue must seem both tragic and absurd.
Many say comedy is tragedy plus time. Usually, there’s a great distance between the tragedy and the time. Occasionally, that distance manages to be short, usually in Russian literature or in your most gallows humor-prone group chat. On this Monday, at Wimbledon’s Centre Court, there is no distance. While everyone else is in disbelief, Dimitrov continues to laugh through the pain.
I’m an easy laugher, because I have what some might consider a tendency to laugh at the wrong time. I laugh at the uncomfortable and the painful almost as easily as the actually comical. I think I’ve conditioned myself to react this way. Most of my job consists of trying to build and break tension, I’d rather laugh the tension away than sit in it longer than necessary.
Maybe this is why, as Dimitrov retires mid-match before a shocked crowd, I find myself wanting to spend hours watching his highlight reels. He strikes me as a kindred spirit. After this, he will sit in the locker room, continuing to get evaluated for his pectoral tear, surely feeling a swirling miasma of fear, anger, and sadness for having defeat snatched away in this fashion. But maybe, if he’s anything like me, he’s finding himself able to laugh at Jannik Sinner being forced to sign gigantic tennis balls from adoring children, shortly after he came just shy of admitting on mic that he probably would’ve lost the set.
I hope you find a little joy and absurdity in your world this week. Here’s some things that might help.
THINGS I’M GLAD I SAW LATELY
THE “DYNAMIC DUO” TASK ON TASKMASTER SERIES 19
Plus a video or photo. And some nice words!
MY COUSIN VINNY
AN ARRAY OF HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FESTIVAL SHOWS
I thoroughly enjoyed the five shows I caught at Hollywood Fringe this June, listed in the order I saw them.
“Songs About Golf: An Evening With The Legendary Sandy McCloud” by Lane Koivu, which wrung an immense amount of laughs out of its deceptively simple premise.1
“Kami Girl: Let’s Go, Tonight!” by Kami Dimitrova, which was silly and sweet and filled me with childlike joy.
“Out There” by Mark Vigeant, which was not only hilarious and pointed, but also maybe the most technically impressive comedy show I’ve ever seen.2
“Todd Macabre” by Ian Bratschie, a spooky good time with plenty of dirty jokes and a surprisingly poignant emotional arc.
“MESSYASS” by Adam Macias, where unflinching vulnerability met pro wrestling met a really fun drunkalogue.
THIS MAGIC TRICK FROM BEN SCHWARTZ
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I love magic so much I was actually sad when, on Sunday night, I learned that the restaurant I was dining at only did tableside magic from Monday thru Saturday. So believe me when I say: magic fan or not, you will be enthralled by this trick I stumbled upon via my finally fixed TikTok algorithm.3
A BRIEF DISPATCH FROM RECOVERYLAND
I’m traveling, which, as usual, means my meeting schedule is way out of whack. Tough timing, since I’ve had a handful of bizarre and frustrating things happen to me in the past couple of weeks. But I’ve made a lot of phone calls, and I’ve done a lot of meditating, and I’ve done my best to keep my side of the street clean. And, like Grigor Dimitrov, I’ve laughed through the pain. Would I have been able to do that without a program of recovery? Probably. Would it have been as easy? Certainly not.
WHAT ABOUT ME?
This week, you can find me:
doing shows in Northwest Arkansas - full show calendar is here
getting ready to host my comedy game show WRONG! in San Diego on the 19th at 10 PM, and in Los Angeles on the 30th at 8 PM. Get your tickets!
Until next time, friends—thanks for reading, I’m glad you’re here.
Lane, if you’re reading this, sorry for referencing tennis so much at the top of this entry
to clarify: I mean “technically” here in the literal “usage of technology” sense, not in the somewhat pedantic sense that feels like it’s being said in italics, e.g. “well, technically, The Bear is a comedy…”
Has anyone else’s TikTok algorithm gone through a weird dip lately, by the way? Like, after a month or so of being absolute dogshit, my For You feed finally started cranking out the hits again. Just me?