Abel Brainz Digest, Vol. 75 - May, 2025

Hello everyone! 

Spring is springing and I hope all of you are enjoying the warmer weather. 

Let's get to it. 

cool jam update

It's now monthly. Boo :( That means I'll give notes at every jam. YAY! 

The next one is on Thursday, May 22nd at 8pm at St. Paul Methodist Church. 

cool improv stuff

Road Trip last month was amazing. Testament to playfulness and FUN and the birthday celebration is on May 9th! Congrats to Madeline on 3 years of one of the most fun improv shows in Atlanta!!

cool movie and tv show stuff

Piece by Piece had me misty eyed. A very fun lego documentary that tells Pharrell’s life story.

Hacks on Max. I got my late pass and am digging it. Almost caught up to the new eps so no spoilers please!

cool improv thoughts not about improv

This quote from Oliver Burkeman really resonated with me. 

"I think the general point here, beyond the specific question of how to get writing done, is that we desperately want to be saved. We want to find some person, or some philosophy of life, that will spare us the fear or discomfort or self-doubt or tedium that so often seems to come along for the ride, whenever we try to make progress on things we care about. We hate feeling yoked to reality in such an unpleasant way; we long instead to soar above it, in a realm free from problems. And it’s the mark of a bad self-help book, a dodgy spiritual guru or an incompetent therapist that they’ll be only too happy to encourage the illusion that this might one day be possible."

-Oliver Burkeman

It's really easy for me to embrace the quote since I can look back on a 20+ year journey in improv that is still going. I don't know if improv can be as tedious as writing, although there have certainly been moments. I'd love to hear your thoughts about it. 

cool book stuff

The Message by Ta-nehisi Coates - a very well written dose of reality. 

The Sons of El Rey by Alex Espinoza - Only a few chapters in and digging it so far. 

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride - About three quarters thru and the only thing keeping me from reading Sons of El Rey. 

cool improv class stuff

For those that may have missed it, Your Favorite Improv Class is in full swing. The next session starts on June 5th at 8pm. It's 3 weeks with an optional and strongly encouraged "performance" set. Interested? Click HERE to fill out the form. 

Thoughts? Questions? Hit me up! 

Click here for all the past volumez. 

And remember, this labor of love is handcrafted and distilled every week. Click here if you want to show some love and "subscribe." And even if you don't, I'll still send you the newsletter :) 

Much love, 

Abel