MY FRIENDS ARE SOOO TALENTED!!!
Hey all. As everyone knows, the internet’s best-kept secret is how extraordinarily talented all my friends are. Let’s talk about that for a second.
MY FRIEND SHANNON HARNEY IS SOOO TALENTED!
Shannon writes deeply personal songs and performs them beautifully (example above). I’d describe her music as a three-way mix of Fiona Apple, Joanna Newsom, and a sudden summoning of strength from a wounded bird, so, you know, if you’re into that kind of thing, check her out. (In case it wasn’t clear, I fit squarely in the “into that kind of thing” column.) Shannon’s new album Cat Called is a straight-up fragile masterpiece and it’s available for download and CD here. You can even stream the whole album before deciding whether or not to buy it. (You should buy it.)
MY FRIEND ADAM GOLDMAN IS SOOO TALENTED!
The Outs is a new web series directed by, co-written by, and starring my friend Adam Goldman, but the phrase “web series” feels inadequate to describe what it actually is. The show, which chronicles the highs and mostly lows of a Brooklyn homosexual and his assorted friends and enemies, has already been praised all over the gay internet, but if you’ve ever been a disaffected self-destructive twenty-something, gay or straight, you’ll probably be able to relate to Adam’s darkly funny and surprisingly moving opus. The Outs has released three episodes already that you can shotgun here, here, and here, and there are more coming. There are a few hours left on their kickstarter campaign, so if you like what you see, throw them a couple bucks.
MY FRIEND MATT WING IS SOOO TALENTED!
Have you ever read a news report about Governor Andrew Cuomo and thought, yeah, that’s all well and good but who’s the guy behind the guy behind the guy? Well, the answer is my friend Matt Wing, Cuomo’s Deputy Communications Director. Matt was recently named a Rising Star 40 Under 40, and even if the order of those words confuses me, I can’t quibble with the message behind it, because Matt is the kind of guy you want in government: hard-working, principled and well-informed. He’s one of the good guys is what I’m saying. Put another way: if Aaron Sorkin controlled the universe, all politicians would be like Matt.
MY FRIEND DAN WILBUR IS SOOO TALENTED!
Dan is a stand-up comedian, but unlike most comedians, he also reads books! A few years ago, he combined his two talents and created the hilarious Better Book Titles blog, and now he’s segued that blog into a fantastic-looking book called HOW NOT TO READ: Harnessing the Power of a Literature-Free Life. If you love books, or HATE books, the end of this sentence pretty much writes itself! Go Dan!
