The rise and fall of the night owl
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a creature of the night. When I was a child, I stayed up late watching cartoons. When I was a teenager, I watched British comedy (Yes Minister / Prime Minister, Fawlty Towers, Monty Python) and American late-night TV (Late Night with Conan O’Brien was a favorite) until the wee hours of the morning. The void of the outside world combined with the addictive qualities of small screen entertainment made for an intoxicating combination.
In college, and for nearly a decade as a journalist, I would learn to weaponize my night owl tendencies as some kind of productivity drug. I told myself that I was the most creative when it was dark and quiet. I told myself that it was this silence, this utter lack of sound, that made it possible for me to spew forth word upon word upon word.
Of course, I wasn’t always productive during these witching hours. I often stayed up late not working or writing, but chatting with friends who lived in different time zones. When the whole world is silent, the loudest thing in your brain is your own thoughts. For me, that was an electrifying thing. I felt funnier, chattier, more social, more able to let my guard down. The fact that internet chat is so text-focused made it even easier to just let my thoughts sing and soar, without the social awkwardness of physical meatspace.
For the longest time, the night was my friend. Recently, however, it has felt different. With a job and social circle that doesn’t require late nights, my post-midnight experience has been feeling a lot emptier. The silence that was once a comfort, now feels almost oppressive. The looming specter of loneliness creeps into my psyche. My fears, doubts, flaws, mistakes of the past and worries of the future bubble to the surface. When the whole world is silent, the loudest thing in your brain is your own thoughts.
As I can’t quite shake my night owl tendencies just yet, my current remedy is to go back to my teenage comforts of watching TV, except this time it’s mostly YouTube videos and Netflix documentaries. I also find it easier to read books at night since it is so silent. It helps fill the void. At least until I figure out a new sleep schedule.
What I've been watching
The Simpsons (Season 34) on Disney+
If you follow me on Facebook or Bluesky, you've probably already seen me say this, but Seasons 34 of The Simpsons is really, really good. Some background of my history with The Simpsons: I've watched every episode of The Simpsons up until Season 11, at which point my viewing dropped off precipitously. Yes, I did still catch it once in a while, if only for Treehouse of Horror and the occasional standout like Season 23's The Book Job. But by and large, the quality of The Simpsons has certainly taken a dive in the past 20 or so years.
Season 34, however, is different (I've also heard that Season 33 is when the Simpsons Renaissance really began, but I haven't watched it yet). Based on what I've seen so far, it's better than anything the show has done in over a decade. The writing has been funny, ambitious, poignant, heartwarming and fearless. It's not afraid to take chances, to challenge the status quo. It's experimental, not in a weird way, but in a refreshing one.
A big reason for this turnaround, as I understand it, is because the show has implemented a new co-showrunner system where senior writers get to actually produce episodes from beginning to end. In other words, each episode now has a singular vision, versus a story-by-committee thing that they used to do. It has made a huge difference. This Vulture article is a few months old, but it explains some of what's been happening.
So if you stopped watching The Simpsons, and I don't blame you, I encourage you to try afresh, at least with Season 34. The Simpsons really is good again.
See me Live!
I'm in a house improv team at Endgames Improv in San Francisco! We put on a short-form improv show called Feed the God of Comedy every two weeks (think Whose Line Is It Anyway style) at 2965 Mission Street in San Francisco. Our next show is on October 27th at 7 p.m.! Come on by to support local theater and have a good time!
End notes
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