Introducing Dumpster Fire Daily-ish

Seven (Or A Few Less) Tiny Things That Made Me Laugh This Week

Feb 06, 2024

This is by request, I promise!

How can we laugh when the world is on fire?

When I lived in Miami, I attended a progressive activist conference where the organizers made the dubious choice to start the first evening's entertainment with an open mic.

You're already cringing, aren't you?

The opening act was, entirely predictably, a Nice White Lady Lady Who Worked At A University. She performed a slam poem that began "and the rats/the rats on Christmas morning…"

You can imagine the rest.

The next person to take to the stage was someone I didn't know well; it was his first time at the conference. He was a physical therapist who specialized in early rehab for children who had been injured by land mines.

He did not perform a slam poem about his work.

Instead, he made loud (admirably loud, in fact) fart noises with his armpit into the mic.

Later, I complimented his performance choices. He smiled.

"Everyone has their own strategies to get through hard days, but hopelessness…" He shrugged. "It doesn't feel like a good option for me."

This is not an argument for ignoring the terrible things happening worldwide.

Everything is indeed terrible.

And this is certainly not an argument against doing what we can to make the world less cruel, on whatever level and in whatever sphere we have influence.

Everything is indeed terrible, and we are often indeed complicit.

But if you're this deep into Kelli Dunham substack land and haven't already scrolled away, you are likely highly aware of the dumpster fire we live in.

But as you're running back and forth from the well to get water to extinguish the fire?

Joking around with fellow firefighters might be the closest you'll get to a break.

With that,

Things That Made Laugh In This Terrible Dumpster Fire Volume 1

Laugh #1 Mychal And The Cat

Have you encountered Mychal The Librarian on your travels around the internet? This person and their library-based, vulnerable, often hilarious storytelling is a balm for my nerdy, book-loving heart. Start here for a funny anecdote told while Mychal gently rocks their happy claw-equipped snugglemonster cat.

Laugh #2: A Cat Who Lives With Me

The other night, I was sleeping (because, night), and my shirt was apparently (at first, I wrote allegedly) scrunched up a little. I woke up feeling a creepy crawly on my exposed skin! I jumped approximately 7.2 feet off the bed before I realized it was Xerox the Cat, rubbing just a few whiskers against me.

I know, I know. Tell me you have CPTSD without telling me you have CPTSD. Anyway.

Laugh #3 Laci Mosley and Jenny Yang Talk Action Park

Y'all, I have been getting such a dopamine rush lately from listening to content about scams! You wouldn't believe (or actually, you probably would) how much commentary there is out there about MLMs, Elizabeth Holmes, and televangelists. Sometimes, all at the same time. But my favorite nonscammy content about scams is Laci Mosely's awe-inspiring podcast. It's hilarious and light-hearted in all the right ways and is a punching-up masterpiece. Check out her discussion about a New Jersey water park that was clearly an orthopedic injury Ponzi scheme.

If you grew up in a pre-safety-conscious world, where bike helmets and set belts were not optional but rather imaginary, you'll recognize Action Park as your childhood in amusement park form.

Laugh #4 New York's Cleverly Punderful Smoke Shop Names

Even my beloved stoner friends are starting to say, "Hey, why are there so many damn cannabis shops in Brooklyn" but the number of shops notwithstanding, I adore the creativity of their monikers. For example, check out this masterpiece near my apartment on (where else) Flatbush Avenue:

Laugh #5 Kate McKinnon Sings Tampon Farm

If any of the cishet dudes at SNL were the focus of this musical sketch, I'd be highly queergrumpy about this masterpiece. With Kate as the focus, it's clearly equal parts satire and autobiography.