Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
LAist Loves Mortified -- The Book
()
Teenage angst has become a cottage industry, thanks to David Nadelberg. The LA-based writer, editor and "angstologist" created the stage show Mortified in 2002, where people read/perform entries from the pages of their old diaries, letters, songs, poems and notes in front of an audience. Growing in popularity like a jock in high school, the show has reached other cities besides LA -- Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and New York -- as well as the NPR airwaves.
But now the angst-filed journey has come full circle. Nadelberg has collected and edited a sampling of material for the book Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic. And it's sheer comic genius -- because everyone (and we mean everyone) can relate to these stories. These are the journal entries that were never meant to see the light of day, but we're so glad they did. This collection satisfies the little voyeur in all of us.
The entries are introduced by the adult authors, giving context to the story and characters involved. In one of our favorites, Sara Barron says that she was 12 years old when she wrote a 40-plus page story that she likes to call "The Porn." She wrote this "epic dirty story" as a way of trying to help her navigate puberty. The lead character Jenny Wilkinson (who, the young Sara determined, would be played by Christie Brinkley) spent "forty-plus pages wandering around her suburban town getting humped by varying high school boys."
Support for LAist comes from
In another story, "Rewriting Romance," Alexa Alemanni says that she had a massive crush (read: obessed) on this boy Sam she met at musical theater camp when she was 14. He played the clarinet. They stayed up the whole last night of camp talking -- but nothing ever happened. Then he went back to Milwaukee and she to Denver. And her massive letter-writing campaign to win Sam's heart began. This is letter one, as presented in the book:
Dear Sam,
I was sitting at the bus stop in Denver and there was a man across the street...or maybe across a time zone...playing the clarinet. Coincidence? I think not.
Alexa
And Alexa's letters get better and better.
Mortified the book is worth the read. It's a journey down memory lane for most of us. And it's a lot funnier now then when we were depressed teenagers wearing a lot of black and listening to too much Morrisey.
Nadelberg will be at Vroman's in Pasadena on Sunday at 4 p.m. for a Mortified book signing. There's a live show on Monday at King King, but unfortunately it's already sold out. Check out www.getmortifed.com for more information on other upcoming live shows.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance. -
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
Best of LAist