December 1st can also be just another day
Hella Immaculate is thoughts/FEELINGS, peculiar music, and actions to improve our world, from me, writer-performer-comedian Dave Maher.
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Holy shit, what the fuck was yesterday online? I woke up to a feed full of year-end lists, Spotify Wrappeds, references to at least one 30-under-30 list I chose not to investigate further, pictures of apartments fully decked out for Christmas, and the Giving Tuesday onslaught.
These things require too much work to all be ready coincidentally on December 1. “Duh,” you say. Fair.
And these are all fine things (30-under-30 lists aside, though that’s a different essay)! But it was too much for me. On my sixth season of Survivor in under 2 weeks, I’m ready to admit I’m in a depressive phase, and I’m leaning into the pandemic’s smudging of time.
Yesterday wasn’t anything special for me. I’m not ready to recap the year, usher in the holiday season, or do anything else particularly momentous. My efforts on projects and in daily life are scattered. So, rather than force myself to participate in the year-ending, I’m going to tell you what I did yesterday.
People are anointing even tiny actions in quarantine as heroic, and sure, take all the credit you need to get through the day. But I’m not trying to elevate my day into a symbol. I just want to list things I did, and if you’re feeling overwhelmed by this wave of backward-looking sense-making too, maybe you’ll feel like we’re in this together.
My December 1, 2020:
didn’t meditate or write in the morning
watched a couple episodes of Survivor Season 6: Men and Women on Separate Teams in the Amazon in 2003 Being Real 2003 About It
did therapy on my phone because our internet’s been cutting out (even though we switched providers and got the big fatty package), felt heavy after
went downstairs to my building’s entryway to pick up the winter jacket I ordered, tried it on, and it doesn’t look as cool as I hoped but it’s comfortable
used my phone to deposit an unexpected savior of a residuals check for my Chicago P.D. appearance and felt like I’d done a day’s work
practiced piano
looked up the results of the local school council election I organized neighbors to vote in, got bummed, then recontextualized and felt better
made a comforting playlist (see music section)
watched a bunch more Survivor
ordered a pizza
stayed up ‘til 3 writing this
Funny, I knew this was an intentionally mundane list, but I imagined seeing an elegance in it written. Nope! It’s just… there.
I hope you are too.
P.S. I do plan to do some year-end roundup stuff here, but December 1st??? Jesus. If there’s anything you’d like to see along those lines, let me know! Specific type of music list? Favorite essays/topics/fundraisers you’d like me to revisit? I’m open!
P.P.S. I’ve had an unusually high number of people reach out with really kind words this past week. That shit’s my manna, so thank you, especially (of the folks I can remember right now) Steve, Megan, Rory, Meaghan, Laura, and Neil. If I haven’t yet, I’ll get back to you individually!
This Week’s This Is Your Afterlife
My first Edinburgh Fringe was in 2018, and John Spillane played a huge part. Starting around 11am, I’d flyer audiences into his show with him and our buddy Michael Rice. After a couple hours, John would perform, and we’d switch to flyering for Mike. After Mike’s show, we’d flyer for my 4:15pm show. We did that every day, and I loved it.
John performed the single funniest show I saw at that Fringe, and it’s best I send you to one of his recent Instagram videos, like this insane winter leaf-eating jingle, rather than try to describe his comedy. He’s hilarious, he’s a sweetheart, and this is a great episode!
The full episode of “Cartoon Heaven with John Spillane” includes John’s “Kill One Thing” segment, expanded versions of the other segments, and a long, playful intro where we talk a ton about carving out an artistic career you love. All at patreon.com/davemaher.
Wamp Wamp (What to Do)
Watch Natalie Palamides’ Nate: A One Man Show on Netflix. Three shows at my first Edinburgh changed the way I think about and do comedy. Nate’s one of them. It starts funny, then gets deeper and real not as a break from the comedy but as a way to heighten it. Goofy, uniquely engaging, heavy FUN. Can’t recommend a comedy show more, and I’m beyond stoked to see the special.
Relax. Overwhelmed by Giving Tuesday requests, I’m pressing pause on fundraisers this week. Instead, enjoy the break of the following white space before you finish this week’s Hella Immaculate.
Last week we donated $53 to our local food banks!
May I Play You a Sound?
Yesterday, I posted my monthly playlist for Patreon subscribers. This one’s called “Wrapped in Love,” and it’s the musical hug I’ve needed recently.
I included this Stevie Wonder song toward the end. “I don’t wanna bore you with it” is such a unique sentiment in song lyrics and so relatable when it comes to communicating sustained positive feelings. I just love it.
It’s one of a few songs where I imagine the singer as a Higher Power singing directly to me. If you’ve heard it before, listen in that context.
The album it comes from, Songs in the Key of Life, feels silly and unnecessary to recommend, but people are currently freaking out about Catherine O’Hara being the mom from Home Alone and I guess we all have to catch up with culture at some point but man is it ever embarrassing to watch people do it on Twitter. Anyway, the point is it would not be embarrassing to discover Songs in the Key of Life for the first time. In fact, it would be very cool. Also, when I played it on the stereo during one of my high school photo classes, one of the lame skaters (there were also cool skaters) heard Stevie sing something about God and said, “Um, separation of church and state!,” and now that I think about it, my response of amused indignation on behalf of Stevie’s sensitive statement of spirituality might be a pillar of my creative work since, so if somehow you’ve never heard “Knocks Me Off My Feet,” you should!
I loveyou I loveyou I love you,
DM