10 Good Things: The secret to getting viral clips, Larry Charles, Ali Wong, and psychics

Plus thoughts on justice, transgression, and how nobody really cares.

💥 Comment from

Walter Vincent

on this post about Larry Charles.

I think anyone who is drawn to comedy really has a problem with injustice. Whether it’s perceived as not grounded in reality or it’s blatantly obvious, we feel like we have to say something.

💥 More from Larry Charles in the NYT: He Laughed Along With Larry David and Borat. Until He Didn’t.

I’ve always been attracted to the transgressive. I tried to bring as much transgression to “Seinfeld” and “Curb” as I could, but there were still rules. With “Borat,” I was encouraged to break rules, to offend, to not worry about the results. I found that to be liberating…There are gentle comedians who can be very successful. But if you want to cut through, if you want people to lose it, to lose control, then I think you need to go to the forbidden places.

💥 In what way are you psychic? From David Perell (

Monday Musings by David Perell

):

A question to ask about successful artists: "In what way is this person psychic?" Almost all the successful ones are. By psychic, I mean that they're tapped into a layer of reality that most people aren't privy to. Their sense of awareness is dialed up in one particular area. This is why they can feel things others can't feel and see things others can't see. For an analogy, think of the light spectrum. There are many bands of light all around us, the vast majority of which aren't visible to the human eye. People feel a deep connection to their work because they were able to articulate something the audience feels / thinks, but could've never communicated on their own.

💥 Sophie Buddle clip philosophy:

She said to pin your hate comments to the top, because that will engender defense by your fans and ultimately argument, i.e. heat.

Up ahead: A killer Ali Wong line, writing advice from Neil Strauss, how to succeed on YouTube, roast advice, and Miles Davis on coolness.