2 / it is christmas and during christmas we watch asmr
hello all :)
welcome to the second edition of my newsletter, which features shows i am in as well as important and beautiful content from the web, and my thoughts thereupon. sometimes i will also post pictures of cool worms as well, but if that's the kind of thing you are into, don't worry: i won't do that this week.
shows i am in during the next two weeks
December 18 / 8pm – Ellen Degenerous: I Simply Cannot Relate (Union Hall)
you all simply must come to this show, otherwise known as “Ellen Degeneres But Violent”. i went to the rehearsal and was *~*sobbing~*~ with laughter. i literally fell of my chair. rachel is so, so, so funny and her Ellen captures the best of it. i’ll be doing some comedy on it, along with Jaboukie Young-White, but truly, truly, come for Rachel. this work is important. tickets are selling out quick, so get them now!
December 19 / 9pm — DREAD Talks 2: Still Dreadin’ (Eastville Comedy Club)
look to be honest i have no idea what this show will be. it is run by the Brooklyn Eagle, a tiny independent newspaper. it was a bit of a mess last time. honestly not gonna recommend you come, but just want you to know i’m staying busy
December 21 / 9pm — Melissa Aquiles’ Show (Pleasure Chest)
fun show in MANHATTAN in a SEX STORE???!?!?? ok somebody call 911 this is actually inappropriate. i hope they don’t have hand cuffs because that is immoral and god frowns upon incarceration.
December 21 / 10pm — A Late Night Show That Is Also Live (Brooklyn Comedy Collective)
Meaghan Strickland, who in my honest opinion is one of the five funniest people in Brooklyn right now NO EXAGGERATION hosts this fun late night talk show. she’s going to interview me. her mind moves so fast that i would normally be afraid i would end up looking like a fool if NOT for her kindness and warm spirit. this show is always loose goofy and fun.
December 22 / 10pm — The Urban Café Variety Slam (Brooklyn Comedy Collective)
variety show where i am doing a …. CHARACTER?!? i think an old man cockney accent probably, or maybe my grandmother Armande.
December 30 / 6pm — Just A Show (Sunnyvale)
the last of this iconic brooklyn comedy show. not sure who’s on it but there will be a lot of people there and will prob become a party afterwards.
shows that i’m not on but will be very good
December 19 / 8pm — Open Fa La La La Flame (Littlefield)
Open Flame is my fave open mic (it’s all queer…….. u do the math honey) and they’re doing their first show. lineup is stellar, and they got someone from Papi Juice (v cool queer poc party collective) to DJ it as an after party so it literally will become like a lit party after?????? go off queen
December 20 / 8pm — Guy Montgomery Presents - I'm Friends With These People! (Union Hall)
the lineup here is rly best of da best. will be a blast if ur looking for something on this night
December 22 / 7:30pm — Yourself, Your Body (Union Hall)
another dope looking line up. all about our bodies, which everybody (not me tho) seems to have a fraught relationship with. sad ultimately but funny in this case.
online content that i’ve been thinking about
for those who don’t know ASMR (stands for: Autonomous sensory meridian response) is a genre of youtube videos in which people try to make soft little sounds that give you a tingling sensation in the back of your neck, or more broadly, to relax you. it can include tapping, scratching, crinkling, and whispering. ASMR has been around for over a decade, though it only recently has been getting mainstream attention (i.e. magazines asking celebrities to do it on their youtube channels)
personal attention is also a pretty common trigger—my favorite ASMR videos are check-in role plays, where someone with a soft voice very slowly and kindly takes you through all the features of the hotel you’re staying at (here) or takes you through an hourlong skincare consultation (here). a lot of people find these videos super strange BUT if you can get into them they are super effective at evoking calmness. feeling taken care of is the perfect anxiolytic for me, as my brain is too simple to understand that the youtube people are not talking to me directly and telling ME what amenities I can experience during MY luxury hotel stay.
interestingly most ASMR youtubers are women who generally wear make-up to look pretty in a non-threatening way, which speaks a lot on how we commodify and process female care and affective labor, and also maybe suggests that i am actually straight???? you really never know
one of my favorite genres of ASMR is unintentional ASMR. here’s a particularly festive one for the holiday season—a Kiehl’s hand massage tutorial. her voice is so sweet and soft and it makes you feel like someone is gently tending to your hand. (i consider it festive because they play jazz music).
here’s a few more:
a cranial nerve test – given by a handsome and gentle male doctor
alexander technique / posture lesson – from an uptight british woman
lita scalp massage – far and away my favorite, and the video i’ve watched more than any other. lita is a massage therapist and has the sweetest voice. her videos pre-date ASMR, and some even say she was an early progenitor of the form (!!). her videos in general are so lovely and soothing, but this one in particular is terrific. it’s a scalp massage. i downloaded this from youtube when i was 15 and listened to it most nights throughout high school to fall asleep when i was wired off of school anxiety and everything felt so high stakes all the time. hey maybe that’s how you feel and hey maybe Lita can help, that is all i’m saying. the tools for self soothing are out there!!!
pls pls let me know if any of these resonate with you. i love DIALOGUE and i love CONVERSATION this is a FACT.
anyway much love to all – have a GOOD holiday season :)