I want you to feel as comfortable as I hope to be.
A love supreme.
Right at the beginning of ‘Rothaniel’, Jerrod Carmichael’s HBO comedy special, Carmichael speaks straight to the audience:
“I’m happy you’re here. I’m happy all of you are here. I have so much to tell you. You’re comfortable? You can talk back to me. I want you guys to feel that. This only works if we feel like family. I know the camera’s here and it’s a whole thing. It’s a big night, it’s a lot of pressure. That kinda thing, you know?
I want you guys to feel as comfortable as I hope to be.”
“As comfortable as I hope to be.” That line doesn’t make sense until near the end, where the crowd suddenly becomes a crucial part of the show, engaging Carmichael directly in conversation. Asking him the hardest questions.
“Do you wish you didn’t tell her?”
Recorded at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club, where Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, and Dizzy Gillespie all recorded live shows, there is jazz in Carmichael’s performance. I loved this take: where Dave Chappelle is Miles Davis, Carmichael is more Coltrane.
It was Davis who said: “The real music is the silence and all the notes are only framing the silence,” and in Carmichael’s silences you’ll find one of the most moving comedy shows you will ever see.
John Coltrane - In A Sentimental Mood
In ‘Rothaniel’, Carmichael wears a Rolex Day-Date with a gold dial, Roman Numerals, fluted bezel and a gold President style bracelet.
Until recently, none of this would have meant anything to me. But I’ve recently fallen into a YouTube watch sinkhole from which the algorithms will not let me escape.
It all started when a friend, recently married, remarked that he had always been terrible at marking occasions with gifts. Which got me to thinking, that watches, despite all the advances in digital technologies, remain one of the few timeless ways to transcend the decades in physical form.
What other physical object, art aside, could you buy today and gift to your child two decades from now, with some confidence that it will still work, still hold its purpose, and even moreso, accrue value and depth of meaning through that time?
Appraisal: 1960 GMT Master Model Rolex with Box & Papers
“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.”
- Carl Sagan, Cosmos
The most feared song in jazz, explained
I am obsessed with questions… and how even a single word or a slight rephrasing can elicit diametric responses.
One question that doesn’t tend to work is asking: “What is one thing you believe that no-one else does?” With disappointing regularity, people tend to respond with banal, highly believable responses.
But I recently found not a response, but a life rule, that elicits shock from people every time I say it.
It’s this: I don’t take Ubers unless the driver’s rating is 4.95 or above.
To me, this no ride below 4.95 is non-controversial. Driving is the most dangerous thing we do. Wrapped up in those 4.95 ratings isn’t just good chat, and a clean car. There’s also safety.
As a side-effect of this rule, I am exposed on a regular basis to one of the most extraordinary cohorts of people in society. Think about the kind of patient, caring person you have to be to maintain that rating. We should study these people, and learn more about what makes them the way they are.
They are the best of us.
Margot Robbie Is Magic, I'm Just Doing Tricks
Someone who would definitely be a 5.0 after 10,000 rides is Ronald Gladden, star of the mockumentary ‘Jury Duty’.
The premise, and this isn’t a spoiler, is that Ronald thinks he’s doing jury duty and being filmed for a documentary about the experience. What he doesn’t know is that every other person - the judge, the other jury members, the security that lets him in to the courthouse every day - they’re all actors.
It’s a short series, a warm sugar hit, punctuated with some acutely funny moments (like the paper crane scene). I was left uplifted by it, and Ronald gave me a brief but full restoration of my faith in humanity.
Jayda G | Boiler Room: London… worth it all just for the drop into ‘Both of Us’ around 28:00.
‘Jury Duty’ won’t ever make it to my Mt Rushmore of TV shows but Succession just did.
The show peaked for me at Logan’s funeral. To have those eulogies hold up in a way that was believable… was just pure TV perfection.
When Shiv said, “goodbye my dear, dear world of a father”, I gasped. The perfect line to end a staggering scene.
It is no small pride that in real life Shiv is Sarah Snook, an Australian NIDA graduate. Another podium finish for Australian exceptionalism 🇦🇺🥇
"And there wasn't a room, from the grandest state room where his advice was sought to the lowest house where his news played, where he couldn't walk and wasn't comfortable.
He was comfortable with this world.
And he knew it.
He knew it and he liked it.
And I say amen to that."
- Kendall Roy
Recommended Reading
Reality has a surprising amount of detail
Who will remember how late you worked?
Scar Tissues Make Relationships Wear Out
Inside Rupert Murdoch’s Succession Drama
How to Hire a Pop Star for Your Private Party
Mistakes We Make When We’re Overwhelmed
“There are no solutions, there are only trade-offs; and you try to get the best trade-off you can get, that's all you can hope for.”
— Thomas Sowell
The Story of Radiohead's Best Song
Nils Frahm’s ‘Circling’ was playing when our first son was born.
Frahm is a musical genius, and in 2015 he created Piano Day - held on the 88th day of the year (March 29th in normal years and March 28th in leap years) - to “celebrate the piano and everything around it.”
My friend Sofia has held Piano Day events in Australia for the past three years. Billy Davis’ solo piano set from 2021 remains one of my top-five all-time concert experiences.
At that same Piano Day, composer Luke Howard also played a stunning short set. His latest album Laulasmaa has been on constant repeat for me lately.
Hania Rani - @arteconcert's Piano Day
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days."
- Annie Dillard
Leg hanging off Gold coasts tallest crane! + Police chase and more!
“I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.’”
— Kurt Vonnegut
One way to think about Branches is that it’s a collection the things I wish someone had shared with me. Earlier this year a friend shared that he’d walked the Three Capes Track in Tasmania with his 9 year old daughter, and that it was the best thing they’d ever done together.
Inspired, I went home that night, and booked the walk in for me, and my 7 year old (the Nils Frahm ‘Circling’ one). It was a six month wait to get a spot… but last month we finally walked it together.
45 ks, 2,000 metres of elevation, 4 days, three frosty nights, carrying all our own food.
It wasn’t just the best thing we’ve done together it was simply the best thing I’ve ever done.
Three Capes was shared with me. And I got to share it with my son, who is finally old enough to share these kinds experiences with. And now I’m sharing it with you.
Let’s end with a short PSA.
June is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in Australia. If it wasn’t for early screening (I started at 35, due to my family history) I would have almost certainly had developed undetected bowel cancer by now.
In Life is a Game of Little Windows, I wrote: “It is rare to discover new heroes late in life.” Anthony Ellison, a friend, and an inspiration, is one of those heroes that arrive late in life.
Having been diagnosed with bowel cancer three days before his 40th birthday, Anthony’s shown since what it takes to survive with remarkable calm, and courage, and through his support and advocacy of others with bowel cancer, he’s saved lives.
Back in 2021, on the Funny Business podcast, he said something that’s been etched in my mind ever since: “Now Matters”.
Don’t wait. Don’t wait until it’s too late.