March 2020

Hi guys,

How quickly life changes in a couple of weeks. A bunch of the “bright spots” I wrote about last month aren’t a thing right now. That’s honestly the least of my worries. My worries are for my friends on the front line: doctors, nurses, grocery store clerks. My friends who have lost their jobs (so, most of them). The poorest, sickest and most vulnerable in my community, this country and the world. The general feeling of helplessness and anger at the powerful who seem incapable, or worse, unwilling to act to protect those who need it most. I’m very lucky my day job has allowed me to work remotely. I’m very lucky I’m in a cozy apartment and safe and healthy, when so many are not.

So when I think about the enormous loss of life and livelihood, it puts my own discomfort and grief in perspective. There’s an illustrator/poet I follow on instagram, @lordbirthday who has this really beautiful comic that says “Be sturdy and full of hope”. I don’t feel very sturdy. I don’t feel very hopeful. I feel more and more cynical every day. Perhaps you do too. But I’m attempting to be sturdy/hopeful, because as I pointed out, I’m extremely lucky. Rather than completely despair, as I am apt to do, I’ve been writing and filming projects to make people laugh. It’s not a lot, it’s not saving the planet, but I am self-isolated right now, so I’m choosing to focus on what I can do.

If you need a laugh, here are some projects I’ve worked on in the last few weeks. A little laughter can only help in times like this. Be sturdy and full of hope, my loves.

Peg, a character I filmed before the apocalypse. She knows a little something about grief.

A Witcher parody I wrote with Helena Farhi (Potato of Potato and Button fame) starring our dear friend and Helena’s roommate Steven Czajkowski.

Finally a character I filmed with the help of my friend Anthony Cascio’s farts. You’re welcome, world.

Deirdre Manning1 Comment