'The Daily Show' Co-Creator Lizz Winstead Needs Your Help

Have had the privilege to spend some time with writer, actor, comedian and activist Lizz Winstead through mutual friends over the years -- and was very sad to read on Twitter that her sister Mary is in the late stages of ALS. (The death of a sibling is a pain like no other.) As we all know, the U.S. health-care system is broken -- so anything you could do to help the Winstead family out would be greatly appreciated. View the heartbreaking GoFundMe HERE.

THREAD: Friends. This is my sister Mary. Last month I came to MPLS to become one of her caregivers during her late stage ALS. Here is the harsh reality. Insurance/Medicare doesn’t cover any of her end of life homecare so our family needs help. https://t.co/CoceILyOEc pic.twitter.com/qkmZeqvSaw

— Lizz "Human Capital Stock" Winstead (@lizzwinstead) July 6, 2020

Pizza Ebowla

New Yorkers, Twitter users wonder why Dr. Craig Spencer went bowling 

Not to defend the guy, but you'd have to have a life-threatening disease to be willing to pay what they charge for a lane in this town.

I love you, Lizz!

Sandra Bernhard Nails It

As if I'm not getting enough nail salon action, the premiere episode of Sandra Bernhard's new Web series, "Comedians Walking & Getting Mani-Pedis," is now online. It features guest comedian Lizz Winstead, co-creator of "The Daily Show" and author of the recent memoir "Lizz, Free or Die," as her partner in Bloomie Nail crime. (And trust me, honey, it is a crime that they turned Bendix Diner into a goddamn nail salon, one of 38 of them on Eighth Avenue!) In this episode, we learn in the most uncomfortable way that Sandra wasn't kidding in "Without You I'm Nothing" when she said her father was a proctologist and her mother was an abstract artist -- and that's just the beginning. Michael recently saw Sandra and Lizz filming on his block (21st between 8th and 9th) and when I asked Sandra on Twitter what she was up to, she told me it was a mani-pedi show. Indeed. I guess my only surprise is that I thought Sandra would be doing the nails, given that she famously started her career as a manicurist in Beverly Hills. I'm pretty sure her pal Serena Williams pitched a nails show last year -- might Sandy be guilty of pedi theft? -- but somehow I doubt it would have been nearly as fun. Check it out:

On the Rag, Vol. 201

A weekly look at what's making news in the free gay rags:

Next magazine's 2012 spring dining guide is online now. Restaurants pay to be in it, but the guy's cute! Read HERE.

Boi Chicago gears up for the Andersonville Midsommarfest. Online edition HERE..

The Scissor Sisters spruce up Frontiers' L.A. Pride issue. Read HERE.

Get Out talks to Lovari about his latest album. Read HERE.

Washington's Metro Weekly catches up with comedian Lizz Winstead, whose new book is out now. Read HERE.

Make Me Laugh

Jason Zinoman wrote a fun piece for the New York Times about the plethora of comedians writing books these days, a phenomenon he traces back to Tina Fey's "Bossypants." (You know, way back in 2011!) If you're considering reading any of these comedic memoirs -- Joan Rivers, Lizz Winstead, Rachel Dratch, Mindy Kaling and Michael Ian Black all have 'em out -- it's a great way to sample the goods, even if I don't necessarily agree with his assessment on the one(s) I've read. Read HERE.

Caption Me / 'Lizz Free or Die'

Have been under the weather the last 48 hours or so -- President Obama's announcement certainly helped cheer me up, though -- but wanted to explain my spotty blogging this week. Not only do I have a cold and fever, my recently recovered left heel seems to have blown out on me again -- it happened at the most logical time of my intense six-week return to the gym: walking to Pret-a-Manger ... to buy a salad -- so I spent an hour on the table at my local podiatrist/abortion clinic getting a new round of cortisone shots and physical therapy. (Not fun.) Hoping to feel better soon ... wanted to run limp out to buy Lizz Winstead's new essay collection, "Lizz Free or Die," which comes out today! Check out this sweet interview from last night's show -- did you know Lizz gave Rachel Maddow her first break, hiring her as a personality for Air America? Watch HERE.

Book Shelf: Kathryn Harrison, Augusten Burroughs, The Blogess & Lizz Winstead

Finished one book and read another since my last post. Also wanted to mention two new and noteworthy titles this week:

A friend recommended "The Kiss" -- Kathryn Harrison's incest memoir -- to me years ago, but I just got around to remembering to read it when I heard she was a guest on Augusten Burroughs' Sirius/XM radio show. "The Kiss" is every bit as nausmerizing (nauseating + mesmerizing) as I was told, a stark and unromantic story that would make Oedipus painfully uncomfortable. (At the "height" of their affair, Kathryn moved in with her father, his wife and their children, aka her half siblings.) It was only as I read this curiously ethereal tale that I realized I had seen her on Oprah years ago -- which makes perfect sense given her pedigree as a writer/bulimic/anorexic/incest survivor. More info HERE.

Watch this clip to learn more about Augusten Burroughs' new self-help book, "This Is How." (I wonder if he and Kathryn had a Fucked-Up-Childhood-Off -- or if he at least gave her a free copy.) Order yours HERE.

My friend Ray Kruger's "45-Love" is for the hardcore tennis fan only, more of a match journal than actual memoir. Although he touches on childhood traumas and ongoing self-image issues, the real joy stems from his point-by-point descriptions of every match he's ever played, with hilarious details of players' cheating schemes, meltdowns and near fisticuffs. And kudos for giving a schizophrenic a ride home even after he'd beaten the nut 6-0, 6-0! More info HERE.

I only know Jenny Lawson because of her hilariously caustic tweets. But apparently she's better known as a Mommy Blogger (really???) and The Bloggess -- "Like Mother Teresa, Only Better" -- whose site has a huge following. (Where have I been?) "Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir" is yet another attempt by a blogger to write a book, only this time I hear it's hilarious -- and selling like hot cakes. ("Even when I was funny, I wasn't this funny," blurbs Augusten Burroughs.) Marketed as of interest to David Sedaris and Tina Fey fans, consider this one high on my reading list. More info HERE.

And finally, comedian Lizz Winstead's debut collection of essays, "Lizz, Free or Die," comes out May 10. As the co-creator of "The Daily Show" and a frequent political pundit, Lizz is another one of my favorite people on Twitter, so I have high hopes for this one. The book says it's about how Lizz found her comedic voice, but having spent an evening with her last year, it's hard for me to believe she wasn't just born this way. More info HERE. To view the book's trailer, click HERE.

Oh, and raise your hand if you "borrowed" my copy of "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim."

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