I Recently Learned I Am Vintage

A disturbing encounter with the youth. Plus recs for the NAS letter, Adam Mastroianni's tiny ways to be better, and Patty Smith's stoop coffee.

I’m no spring chicken.

I’ve known that for a while now, partly because I started using expressions like, “I’m no spring chicken.” That’s the kind of old timey saying that spring chickens rarely use. They’re too busy inventing new slang and creating cultural movements.

But despite the fact that I am solidly a middle-aged dad now, I felt like I was keeping my finger on the pulse of popular culture through comedy. One good thing about trying to make people laugh is that you learn what their current cultural reference points are. Also, it’s a business where your coworkers come from a wild range of backgrounds and ages.

All of which is to say that I had felt pretty good about my cultural relevance. Until this past weekend when I went to a friend’s birthday party. This friend, who shall remain nameless, is dating a younger woman and at the party I was chatting with her and her sister. They were lovingly giving my friend a hard time about how out of touch he is. They turned to me, barely able to contain their laughter and said, “He wanted to send out the invite for this party over email! Can you believe that?” And then they both cracked up.

Now normally, even if a younger person is making a joke I wouldn’t make, I understand the punchline. But this time I was genuinely baffled. How else would you invite people to a party?

“By text!!!” They answered, trying to figure out if I was messing with them.

I realized that I had actually received the invite for this party as an image sent via text. I distinctly remember thinking, This is an annoying way to receive an invite. It would be a lot easier in an email.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here, since you are a group of people who are reading this via email. But I want you to know the truth. The youth would prefer if I texted this to them. I think the jokes are inside of my emails, they think the joke is that I emailed in the first place.

All of which is to say, this is the week my finger officially left the pulse of popular culture. Later on at this same party, the sisters saw me posting a photo to BeReal, a nearly defunct social media app, and exclaimed, “Oooh, vintage!”

At that point, I had to leave and go to bed. I wish I was joking, but it was getting close to 9 p.m. and my vintage body needed to put in my night guard, turn on the white noise machine, and get some rest.

My projects and upcoming events:

WEBBY AWARDS: I am nominated for a Webby Award for How to Be a Better Human in the category of best advice / how-to podcast. We’re currently tied for first place and I really, really want to win. I’ve never won an award and we’re so close! Please help us out by voting (it’s free!). Here’s a direct link to vote

LIVE IN LA: Wrong Answers Only - Dynasty Typewriter on Tuesday, May 20th at 7:30 p.m. There are so few opportunities to go to a comedy show that prominently features a parrot scientist. I am here to change that. Please join me and a panel of three celebrity comedians as we learn all about the wild parrots of Los Angeles. Get your tickets now (also available for livestream if you live outside LA and still want to join in the fun).

PODCAST: How to Be a Better Human (TED/PRX) - How do you tell a juicy story? This very fun live episode was a crossover event with Normal Gossip, one of my favorite podcasts of all time. I interviewed the new host of Normal Gossip, Rachelle Hampton about how to tell a great story and how to get the juiciest gossip and then we got amazing stories from the audience including a story about a Maine snowplow coup that must be heard to be believed. Listen here (or wherever you get podcasts).

This week’s list

GREAT:

There’s nothing great about the massive and disastrous cuts to funding for science and medical research. It makes no one safer and in the long run is going to cost us much more than it could ever possibly save. But I think the response from nearly 2,000 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine is extremely well-written and lays out the stakes. You can read the newspaper summaries, but I would encourage you to read the letter itself, which is written in terms anyone can understand. These cuts can be reversed if there’s enough public uproar. I hope, for all our sakes, that this weekend’s protests will be the beginning of a concerted pushback against disastrous policies on so many fronts.

FUNNY:

I always love Adam Mastroianni’s writing and this list of small ways to make the world better is both practical and very funny! The Bluetooth Test and other keyholes to the soul

INTERESTING:

While I think we need to pay attention to national and international issues, I feel like people often forget how important local, grassroots change can be. This story from Supernuclear, about how a couple started drinking coffee outside and ended up creating a whole community in their neighborhood, is a concrete example. Stoop Coffee: How a Simple Idea Transformed My Neighborhood

BONUS FOR PAYING SUBSCRIBERS:

Paying subscribers make Bright Spots possible! This newsletter will always be available for anyone to read for free, but paying subscribers let me make it happen! They also get access to special features as well the entire archive of past posts. 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.

Vintagely yours,

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.