Curating a Creative Life as a Storyteller, Scientist, and Business Leader
“Love, or the lack of it, is the root of everything.” ~Mister Rogers, Won’t You Be My Neighbor
Fred Rogers was a life-long Republican. He saved PBS by testifying before Congress. He accepted all people. He cared about the arts, education, and feelings. Imagine the world today if he ran the GOP.
If you need me today, I’ll be on Cloud Nine. I’m honored to share that my book received the Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal in the young adult adventure genre and the Wind Dancer Films award for film and TV production consideration. Thank you to everyone who has cheered me on and encouraged me along this long and winding road. Your support means everything to me!
Congratulations to all the winners! See the full listing by clicking here.
I binge-watched the entire first season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in one weekend. The only times I’ve ever done that are with House of Cards (which also had Rachel Brosnahan) and Gilmore Girls (which was also created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband, Daniel Palladino). Crackling with rich dialogue and shining with heartfelt performances, it’s reminiscent of everything I love about Gilmore Girls. Mrs. Maisel pulled me into a time and a place that I never wanted to leave. I felt the thrill of looking into the long-lost private diaries of a set of characters whom I felt like I’d known forever. It is genius writing.
It’s mostly set on the Upper West Side, my home neighborhood that I deeply love, and it explores the rich landscape of family dynamics, Jewish culture and religion, women’s rights, political activism, racism, socioeconomic disparity, and the coming of age of people, society, and our world. And all of this is framed in the context of what it means to be a comedian, performer, and writer in the gritty Village of New York City in the 1950s.
I found myself rooting for all of the main characters at different points in their journeys. They are all seriously flawed and insanely lovable, champions in their own ways, trying to do the best they can with what they have. Rachel Brosnahan as Midge is certainly our next unsinkable television heroine. Her journey from doting house wife to stage star, complete with her constant note taking and the best wardrobe I could imagine, is one we all want to reach its full potential. Michael Zegen plays Midge’s husband, Joel. In the beginning, I saw him as whiny, needy, and unappreciative. By the end of the season, I completely understood why Midge loved him. And I loved him, too. Tony Shalhoub is the quintessential Jewish father, and is masterfully paired with Marin Hinkle as his alternately reserved and infuriated wife. Alex Borstein rounds out the main cast as Susie, Midge’s scrappy manager. I loved Alex’s characters on Gilmore Girls, and I’m happy to see her stepping into and owning her spotlight in this show.
At the end of the last episode, Midge finally embraces her own identity on stage, Susie acknowledges just how right she was about Midge’s talent, and Joel recognizes his wife’s unstoppable talent. Midge’s parents are still in the dark about their daughter’s budding ambitions. (This secret certainly sets the stage for some explosive moments in Season Two.) And as for me, I was on the edge of my seat wishing the whole thing would never end. Luckily, the show will be filming again in a few short months less than 10 miles from where I live. Let’s hope Amazon gets it to us as fast as Prime shipping.
We forget that Jon Stewart’s time at The Daily Show wasn’t all wine and roses. Personally, I didn’t become a fan until after those first bumpy years so I never knew that it was anything but the societal lightning rod it now is.
I didn’t know Jon Stewart had failed so badly in his early years. I didn’t know that if The Daily Show with Jon Stewart had failed, then he likely would have never been heard from again. I didn’t know any of that when I began the book and in the first handful of pages, on page one actually, he lays all of that out in no uncertain terms.
And that’s why he’s so loved by so many—for his raw honesty, his bravery, his unapologetic, educated opinions, for his desire to be as intelligent as he is funny, for his integrity, and for his uncompromising optimism heavily influenced by his deep knowledge of history. This book, told from Jon Stewart’s perspective and the perspectives of the show’s writer, actors, and producers, is a reminder to all of us that we have all lived through dark days—as individuals and as a society.
It’s the perfect time for this message as we head into what could be another sad and fearful chapter in our nation’s news and government. I miss Jon Stewart’s voice in the national conversation. I didn’t even realize how much I missed him until I read this book. Reading this book was like visiting an old friend: I’m so glad to hear from him and after 444 pages, I am also sad, again, to see him go.
Tonight, Donald Trump and his family were interviewed by Lesley Stahl for 60 Minutes. My first reaction was “I can’t watch that”. And my next thought was “I have to watch that”. I have to bear witness, because as ugly and painful as it may be, bearing witness is vital to democracy and freedom. For reasons I can’t quite share yet because they are still in the fundamental planning stages, it was crucial that I watch that interview. I need to look this man in the eye, albeit through a TV screen, and know exactly what we’re up against. His presidency is about to have an enormous impact on my life and the lives of so many others whom I hold dear. As an entrepreneur, innovator, product developer, writer, and activist, I have to listen so that when I speak and act I do so armed with truth and knowledge. Take heart, friends, the only way out is through, and together we will get through this.
Christa Avampato 