That Good You Need Part XI
August 18th, 2016
When I was in college, I had the chance to be a part of the Drexel Football Team. All of us on the team thought that was potentially the most hilarious name for an improv team that had ever been conceived, of course, and being part of it was a blast. Sometimes, I regret not spending more time honing that skill, or participating in community improv teams after college, or generally just becoming a stand-up comedian. Much of that is fantasy, but there are times when it feels like a lifestyle that wasn’t that far out of reach.
And then, there are times when it feels like that lifestyle, regardless even of how successful you can potentially become through it, is absolutely and unequivocally for the birds. I experienced one of those times this week, in a movie theater, watching the critically acclaimed Don’t Think Twice.
The film, principally a project of Mike Birbiglia, is about adults in their 30’s striving, and struggling, to make it in comedy. The main goal for most of them seems to be to make it, either as a performer or writer, to the movie’s version of SNL. I’ll leave the rest of the synapsis and all of the reviews to others except to say that it’s quite good and, more than anything else, it’s quite grounded in reality.
My girlfriend and I weren’t entirely sure what to expect, though we knew Birbiglia’s work and so knew we wouldn’t be getting what either of us would strictly call a comedy, but the film still left us reeling. The way it depicts relationships, adulthood, success or a lack thereof, and life in general was staunchly accurate in how much of a mixed bag it presented. We remarked that the movie wasn’t really a happy story, but it wasn’t particularly sad, it was just sort of…honest. It all managed to be very human, even while its characters were struggling to appear as normal, capable people.
It left me reflecting on two things. First of all, how good a film can be when it isn’t afraid to show how fantastically multifaceted life is. Most of our lives are spent in the gray areas, trying to speak up but not too much, trying to look out for ourselves but still care for others, trying not to be selfish but at the same time I mean I am the one who got me here, ok? It’s all such a balancing act that is too often portrayed in a frustratingly simple way on camera. The second is how, no matter what you’re involved with, you’re going to go through seasons of highs and lows. The best thing to do is to keep going, to look for the bright side of things, and to count on those who are close to you. There will be new opportunities, new doors to walk through, and new experiences to have. It doesn’t mean you’re leaving the old ones behind, either, they’ll always be a part of your life, it just means you’re going on to the next thing.
As you can see, Don’t Think Twice had a pretty profound effect on your boy, and I recommend you go see it for yourself. If you think this was a little too deep and full of feelings, just be happy I didn’t write That Good after I watched Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.
But enough about that, let’s talk about the insanity that was the 1904 Olympic marathon! All that and more in this week’s That Good You Need.
Rat poison and brandy: The 1904 St. Louis Olympic marathon
Jon Bois is in my Hall of Fame, as far as creators go. This is long, but if you want to take a wild and trippy ride into what the Olympics were like before it became the behemoth it is today, this is a good opportunity to do so. Funny, educational, and surprisingly poignant, a representation of Jon’s work in general.
Thanks, Jon!
Bliek’s Instagram Account
What is this, here? Is this some sort of joke? Am I literally just pointing you to the Instagram account of someone that I went to high school with?
Yes. Yes, I am. But I’m not on the losing end of some 8-year-old bet that requires me to give shine to Bliek’s #brand. No, I genuinely think that these are some of the most vivid greens and blues I have ever seen.
It doesn’t hurt that these were taken in beautiful Central New York, the place where I grew up, near the Finger Lakes. It’s truly beautiful in the summertime, and you should visit some time.
Feel free to check out Bliek’s Instagram. His account is private, though, so don’t be creep about it, alright??
The GOP’s Chances Of Holding The Senate Are Following Trump Downhill
There is a strong tendency in America to focus so intently on the presidential election that you forget, or at least push far off to the side, the fact that there are many, many other important elections occurring.
The Senate, which holds elections for a third of its members every two years, and the House, which holds election for all of its members every two years, are extremely important in government. Yet, due to practices like gerrymandering and simple oversight by the public, incumbents are reelected at a rate that usually sits comfortably north of 80%. This should not be the case! Certainly, you shouldn’t be replaced simply because you were in office, but you also shouldn’t be reelected based solely on name recognition.
This 538 article is not about that, but it is about something that could change the Senate, and thus substantially alter the political climate. Many people do not consider who is running for the legislature and instead simply vote “down the ballot”, which means they vote for the same party through and through based on which Presidential candidate they prefer. Since there is potential for this presidential election to lean hard to the left, it’s possible Republicans of all sorts could lose their jobs as a result of their party’s presidential candidate.
The moral of the story here is to do some research and give some thought to everything you’ll be voting for this November, not only the presidency. With the way the Electoral College functions, it’s likely your non-presidential votes are far more valuable, anyway.
Buffalo Bills Joke — Joe Pera
This is old, but since I just saw it for the first time today and since football season is approaching, I thought it was appropriate. Every year at this time, many fans across the country begin to feel a bit of a hopeful glow. They check the schedule, size up their team’s opponents, consider how improved their team must be as a result of their peerless offseason, and begin to preemptively count the wins that will surely fall to them.
As a Buffalo Bills fan, this is not the case for me. As the season approaches, I typically only consider all the ways the team is sure to falter. While I will care all too much about each and every game regardless of how hopeless it is, I still hold onto the dream that one day, maybe, perhaps, they will actually make the playoffs.
But, you know, probably not.
Ford’s Road to Full Autonomy
This written by Ford’s President and CEO, Mark Fields, so it is without a doubt written from a biased perspective. Not only that, but it ignores the fact that Ford could fall flat on its face and this plan could fail miserably.
Still, this is an encouraging sign. Automated cars are most certainly coming, and even though there will be resistance and an enormous amount of challenges before we’re able to simply press “Go” to reach our destination, the fact that a major automotive company is attempting to get there on a concrete, publicly announced timeline shows how serious this endeavor is becoming. Let’s hope it is a successful one.
That does it for this edition of That Good You Need. Feel free to comment, reply, complain, and vent out the frustrations you feel about how awful your favorite NFL team is going to be this year. Also, check out some of my other work, such as this piece I did on living in Philly. I’m off to rank the Instagram accounts of all my friends from high school. Until next week.
