Every now and then I run into something that zeros in on my eternal flaw - my inner crack - and tears it wide open. This ad will hang on me like an old coat for weeks. Look closely and you may see tears in my eyes at any moment until sometime in 2016.
It's fine. Don't worry. Just an indescribable, overwhelming, ever-present existential crisis.
This time that thing was a Johnnie Walker ad made by two film students.
If ever there was a real life person who represented my fictional aesthetic, it's this man.
Quirky, odd, and yet surprisingly appealing.
BJ Novak's The Book With No Pictures is one of those ingenious books that I wish I had written.
Same holds true for books like The Day the Crayons Quit, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, and The Quiet Book.
Clever ideas brilliantly executed.
And I am not the only one this thinks The Book with No Pictures is brilliant.
My son can't really read yet, but watching him "read" The Book With No Pictures is testimonial enough.
I am constantly confronted - most recently on my new podcast Boy vs. Girl - with the belief that large scale change is impossible, and more specifically, that large scale change cannot be started by an individual or even small group.
I am often advocating for change in macro segments of our culture. Most recently on the podcast, I have argued for the elimination of the honorifics Mrs. and Miss.
In truth, I would like to see all honorifics eliminated, but since it's a podcast about gender and gender stereotypes, I limited the discussion to gender-based honorifics.
I've also argued on the podcast for the elimination of heels from women's fashion.
The response that I receive most often when advocating for these changes is that one person taking a stand will not change an entire culture.
I don't believe this. I believe that from tiny acorns mighty oaks grow. I think that people are simply afraid to be tiny acorns, either because it's scary and difficult to be a tiny acorn in a forest of conformity or because they do not believe in or embrace change as much as they may claim.
I am fond of saying, "Be the change you want to be." This is a slight deviation of the phrase "Be the change you want to see" because I believe that all change - large or small - begins with individuals. Rather than being the change you want to see in others, be the change you want to be and allow others to see it in you.
It's a way of centering change with the self rather than worrying about the likelihood of acceptance or adoption. If I stop using gender-based honorifics or stop wearing heels, I have changed the world. It may only be my world, but that is the one I live within.
A few years ago I attended a wedding of a friend without a tie. I took a stand against ties about ten years ago and stopped wearing them completely. I find them to be impractical, silly, and a literal (and perhaps metaphorical) noose around my neck. In the crowd of more than 200 people, I was the only man at the wedding not wearing a tie. Over the course of the evening, three different men - all strangers to me - approached me and asked how I managed to avoid wearing a tie.
I explained my position.
All three responded both positively and enviously. All three declared that they would try to wear ties less often.
Have they followed through? I have no idea. But here's what I do know:
Neckties are on the decline. Necktie manufacturers are going out of business. The idea that you might receive a necktie as a holiday or birthday present - once a staple - is no more.
Am I responsible? Probably not. More than likely, the casual nature of Silicon Valley companies, as well as a President who is often photographed without a tie while at work - something once unheard of - has more to do with it than me. But I was ahead of the trend. I was being the change I wanted to be. And perhaps I have even convinced some men to abandon the lunacy of the necktie.
Last year I attended an enormous gala honoring Louis CK. Part of my role in the evening was to perform onstage. I chose to wear jeans, a tee shirt, and a jacket, which was by far the most casual choice of every man who I saw at the party save one:
Louis CK. When he arrived, he was dressed just as casually as me.
Be the change you want to be. And sometimes, a star like Louis will support you.
Change starts somewhere. I believe that it can start in a single person, deciding that conformity for the sake of conformity is not good.
I saw this video and realized that it is a perfect visualization of change over a fairly short period of time. It's also change that I am sure people in their own time would have never imagined. But with each transformation, a person or persons imagined the change, and as a result, the world changed.
You probably thought the devil looks something like this:
Wrong. I have seen the devil, and he looks a lot more like this:
For the record, I don't actually believe that the devil exists at all.
Unless the machines rise up and take over the world. If so, then yes, the Ecolog 590D and the Kesla 28RH might as well be the devil.
I drove by this parking spot, as did every other person at the park. The parking spot closest to the gates of the playground remained empty all day.
Why?
Note the color and location of the chalk: handicapped blue, positioned alongside an actual handicapped parking spot. My mind (and everyone else's mind) registered it as handicapped parking, even though it's clearly not.
Brilliant.
There are few things more exciting than discovery a bit of fan art inspired by one of your books. This was sent to me via Twitter and is entitled 'Budo."
I just love the thought that something I create inspires another human being to also create.
Last month I competed in a Moth StorySLAM at The Bell House in Brooklyn (and won!).
Mashable was there, shooting a story for their website. The result is a beautiful look at The Moth and all it does for the art of storytelling.
It was also great to see StorySLAM manager and storyteller Robin Wachsberger featured in the video. Robin is a fixture at almost every Moth StorySLAM and GrandSLAM, ensuring that things are running smoothly and the event is trouble-free. Seeing her always puts me at ease, and you couldn't ask for a more supportive person of storytellers.
Audience members may not notice all that Robin does, but storytellers do, so it was nice to see her thrust into the limelight for this video.
I've also heard Robin tell stories on the stage, and she is an equally great storyteller.
It's a good video full of excellent advice.
My favorite bit of advice from the video - and one that I am constantly telling people - is the advice of the 47 year old.
People of all ages offer words of wisdom to their younger counterparts in this WireTap farewell video, from CBC Radio One.
Slate's Mike Pesca says a lot of smart things, but this might be the best thing he has ever said. You must listen.
A while ago, I was interviewed by Jeff Rutherford for his Reading & Writing podcast. It's a 30 minute conversation about my writing process, productivity, and many other things.
My most recent appearance on Slate's The Gist features my secret for finding great stories in your life, and even if you're not a storyteller, for changing your life for the better forever.
I'm not sure who is funnier here; The guy lip-syncing the songs or the annoyed woman sitting beside him. Either way this video brought great joy to my heart.
This is the best worst interview ever.
Good Morning Sacramento news anchors interview actress Cara Delevingne about her upcoming film Paper Towns.
In the process, they refer to her as "Carla" instead of Cara, imply that she couldn't be bothered to read the book that the movie is based upon, laugh at her more sincere answers, and then make fun of her, both to her face and (like a bunch of jackass cowards) after the interview is over when she can no longer hear them.
Delevingne admittedly seems a little irritated from the get-go, but these asinine news anchors get exactly what they deserve. Their questions are stupid, their comments are stupid, and their decision to belittle her after she's off the air is disgusting and pathetic.
I loved every minute of this video.
Cara Delevingne Awkward Interview With Good Day Sacramento anchors paper towns Cara Delevingne Awkward Interview With Good Day Sacramento Anchors (FULL) Cara Delevingne clashes with US morning TV hosts in awkward interview The model-turned-actor gets told off by Good Day Sacramento anchors during a difficult live chat to promote Paper Towns The model-turned-actor was up early to promote her new film, teen romance Paper Towns, but her on-camera performance didn't sit well with the hosts.
She's only six. I hope she can adhere to this advice in 20 years.
My friend, Bengi, used to play a game with me wherein he’d try to find someone in the world who I would rather be than me.
We were 19 at the time, living off elbow macaroni and unable to afford to turn on the heat in the winter. I was managing a McDonald’s, driving a 1976 Chevy Malibu, and had no real future, so you’d think that it wouldn’t be hard to find someone –anyone – who I would prefer to be than me, but no. He never did.
Twenty-five years later, I have found that person.
If I could, I would be Jimmy Fallon. In a heartbeat.
There are a million reasons for me to want to be Jimmy Fallon, but they all kind of look like this:
I’ll be showing this clip to my students. Sportsmanship can mean so much when it’s done right.
It’s rarely been done better than this.
Still, I want to know who won the damn game.
From an interview with Malcolm Gladwell in The Guardian comes a few of his more interesting comments:
I don’t know why people think attention spans are getting shorter. Thirty years ago, you could go and get a sandwich in the middle of a Kojak episode, come back and still follow it. Today, if you get a glass of water in the middle of Homeland you have to pause and go back.
Running teaches you about the inherent unfairness of the world. Two people can work exactly the same, in fact, one can be infinitely more devoted and train much harder and not do as well. An object lesson in how unfair life is.
On a personal note, the inability to acceptance that life is inherently unfair seems to be one of the greatest stumbling blocks in people’s lives and the reason why so many fail to realize their dreams. I rarely receive more pushback from readers than when I write about this.
Gladwell also prefers the selfie when someone who has recognized him request a photo, mostly because it’s quicker to take a selfie than get a third party involved to take the picture.
I’m not so sure about this opinion, mostly because I almost never get recognized, and when I do, no one wants a photo with me.
