A Jolly Holiday with Mickey

For me, the true meaning of Christmas is "complimentary refreshments." Plus recs for Crop Swap LA, medieval pet names, and Charles Kellogg, the bird man of the redwoods.

I’m not particularly into holiday parties. I’m not against them, per se, but they’re not my favorite. What is my favorite, though, is free food. I’ve written before about how my passion for not paying for snacks has gotten me into very awkward situations and once even led to someone being genuinely convinced I’d spent time in prison.

You can see where this is going. I attend holiday parties for one reason and one reason only: the free food.

Last night, we got to go to a very magical and special holiday party on the Disney lot as guests of our good friend who works there. Everyone else was overjoyed at the chance to meet Mickey and Minnie, to wander the lot and admire the elaborate decorations, and to experience Disney studios in a way that very few people ever get to see.

I was excited because there were going to be free chili dogs.

They say that Disney is the most magical place on Earth. Well, I’ll tell you this much for sure. It was certainly the most magical vegan chili dog I’ve ever tossed down my gullet. It cost $0. It was, literally, priceless.

Don’t mind if I do!

Why not?

You better believe it.

I learned something very special yesterday. There’s no better word in the English language than “complimentary.” I love to be praised, I love to not pay, I love complimentary.

Thank you, Walt Disney Corporation.

I got a large enough supply of free food that my friend who invited us said it was ok for me to write about going, but probably best if I didn’t use her name. Just in case you wondered whether I still had the magic touch, I do. And by magic touch, I mean eating a quantity of free food so enormous that I cause people to fear for their jobs.

My projects and upcoming events:

LIVE IN SF: Wrong Answers Only at SF Sketchfest - Sunday, January 26th at 7:00 p.m. at the Gateway Theater. Sketchfest is my favorite comedy festival and I’m so excited we’re bringing the show back to Bay Area for it. Come see me, Samm Levine, Aparna Nancherla, and Dulcé Sloan! Tickets are onsale now

PODCAST: How to Be a Better Human (TED/PRX) - I learned a ton about what it means to be Sikh and the lessons of their spiritual tradition from this week’s guest Simran Jeet Singh. Simran is a fascinating guy, with a great sense of humor and deep intellect. It was very cool to get to spend some time talking with him. Check out the conversation here (or wherever you get podcasts).

PODCAST: Fake the Nation - Negin Farsad is one of my favorite comedians to share a stage with because she’s so quick, funny, and smart. I had a great time going back on her politics and current events podcast to discuss some of the news from this week. Splitting the G w/ SE Cupp and Chris Duffy

ARTICLE: Bored Panda - I got interviewed by Miglė Miliūtė for a fun piece about movie jokes that people only understood decades later. It’s kind of oddly formatted, with quotes from me and another person interspersed in a listicle, but the content is fun. Took Me 20 Years and 60 Watches

TED TALK: How to find laughter anywhere - My TED talk is online and on YouTube. Please watch and share! You can find it here

This week’s list

GREAT:

One of my favorite parts about living in LA is the quality and quantity of produce that grows here. You can walk down a single street and pick a lemon, an orange, and a pomegranate off a tree. Neighbors might be growing everything from tiny apple bananas to rare fig varietals to strawberries and passionfruit. Of course, which Angelenos get access to fresh fruits and vegetables is always a fraught question. That’s why the organizers like Jamiah Hargins putting tiny farms into front yards and feeding their communities is such a great and inspiring movement. Growing Food Instead of Lawns in California Front Yards

FUNNY:

This list of dog names from the Middle Ages really got me. I would love to visit a friend’s home and find out they’d named their pooch something like Plodder or Havegoodday. Luckily, the same scholars also provide some good options for naming other pets, like how all sparrows should be named Philip and all squirrels are named Fouquet by default. Medieval Pet Names (h/t Kottke.org)

INTERESTING:

Charles Kellogg was a naturalist who played a major role in protecting California’s redwood forests. The way he did that though, is truly wild. He was born with a genetic abnormality that allowed him to make noises other humans couldn’t. As he put it, “Through a strange whim of Nature, my throat, below the vocal chords, has the same physical structure as that of the bird.” He toured the country in a motor home made from a giant redwood trunk. The whole story is hilarious and amazing. Meet the Man Who Sang Like a Bird and Helped Save the Redwoods (h/t Kate)

BONUS FOR PAYING SUBSCRIBERS:

Paying subscribers make Bright Spots possible! Subscribers get access to special features as well as all posts in the archive. This week, it’s a photo of the Disney Christmas Tree that includes a random person I happened to capture on film taking an enormous bite of a hot dog. Paying subscribers also get my undying gratitude (which never dies). It’s never too late to join them!

That's it for this week. Thanks for reading! Please share Bright Spots with anyone you think might enjoy it.

Complimentarily,

Chris Duffy

This has been Bright Spots, a newsletter.

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…wait, who are you?

I'm Chris Duffy, a comedian, TV writer, podcast host, and both a former fifth grade teacher and a former fifth grade student. I’m currently writing a nonfiction book about humor for Doubleday.