Hi & welcome to Situation Normal! I’m Michael Estrin. This is where I share slice of life humor and absurdists acts of journalism. New posts (most) Sundays.
I’m intrigued. Tell me about slice of life humor.
Sure! Slice of life humor finds the funny in the mundane, makes mountains out of molehills, and captures overlooked aspects of the human condition. Basically, I write about everything, or to paraphrase Larry David, it’s a newsletter about nothing. Here are some popular Situation Normal stories:
What’s the deal with absurdist acts of journalism?
The news is weird, and I believe that when the going gets weird, the weird turn semi-pro. To wit: I’ve eaten a burrito from the middle, found the courage to tell the truth about Courage Bagels, done yoga with goats, taken a robo taxi and lived to write about it, and eaten at Charle’s Manson favorite burger joint. These stories are crowd-funded by the situation normie community and made available to everyone, free of charge.
Who reads Situation Normal?
Situation Normal stories are enjoyed by nearly 7,000 people who take their humor with a side of humanity and a dash of insight. Each and every one is a situation normie.
And people pay for this?
Yes! People pay to support Situation Normal because they love it. Their support means the world to me for a few reasons:
Paid subscriptions are a huge vote of confidence in me. Thank you for believing in me, I will not let you down!
Paid subscriptions allow me to offer Situation Normal to thousands of people for free. Thank you for underwriting joy for people you don’t even know, that’s a beautiful thing!
Do paid subscribers get anything special?
Absolutely! As a thank you for supporting Situation Normal, paid subscribers receive the following benefits:
A thank you shout out in Situation Normal. I love doing these! Plus, paid subscribers can add a little note when they upgrade, and if they toggle the privacy box on that note, I’m thrilled to tell the Situation Normal community about their support.
Good vibes, redeemable anywhere vibes are accepted.
Fans, celebs, and creditors say nice stuff
“Michael takes life and cuts it up into delicate, tasty slices. Then he eats the rind, so we don’t have to.” — Eli Grober, Here’s Something
“Next to fire, and maybe free refills on drinks, Situation Normal is the best thing humanity has going for it.” — Prometheus
“I loves me this newsletter!” — Anne Kadet, Café Anne
“I don’t care if he’s writing about porn conventions or butter boards (he has, about both), I wanna read it all.” — Alex Dobrenko, Both Are True
“Situation Normal is exactly why I invented the internet.” — Al Gore
“It’s a deeply absurd world we live in, and Michael Estrin is writing about it.” — Sara Campbell, Tiny Revolutions
“Michael combines wry humor with a generous soul that loves to share useful insights along with laughs. You’ll smile AND think, which is a nifty combo.” — Brad Berens, The Brad Berens Weekly Dispatch
“Look, we’re just trying to make a dollar and a cent in this world, and Michael owes us a lot of money, so this newsletter of his better be damn good.” — American Express
“The internet’s 57th best humor newsletter makes history every Sunday.” — Francis Fukuyama
OK, but who are you?
I’m a human being, which I’m told is a selling point in the age of AI. No wait. You probably wanted a bio, right? I got you.
Michael Estrin writes and tells stories from his life that are funny, heartfelt, vulnerable, and sometimes even profound. His essays have appeared in Vox, Narratively, and Tablet. His journalism has won two Maggies and earned an LA Press Club nomination. Michael also wrote a couple books (self-published), including the slacker noir Not Safe for Work. He received his BA from Wesleyan University, and JD from Brooklyn Law School. He studied comedy at UCB.
Michael lives in Los Angeles with his wife and partner in crime, Christina. He is the Chewbacca to her Han Solo. Their dogs, Mortimer and Bodhi, are named after the villains in Trading Places and Point Break.
Situation Normal Community Rules
As Dolley Madison’s husband, Jimmy, once wrote, if people could just be cool, we wouldn’t need rules. But people aren’t always cool. That’s why I put together a few rules for the Situation Normal community.
COMMENT MODERATION
At Situation Normal, everyone’s comments are welcome! Just like John Cusack, you can say anything in the comments, with two exceptions:
If your comment maligns or attacks a specific individual or a group of people, I will delete it.
You are welcome to post links to your own newsletter, blog, song, product, service, or whatever, but ONLY if it’s relevant to the conversation. If it’s not remotely relevant to the conversation, it’s spam, and I will delete it.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Substack gives writers a tool that allows them to recommend other newsletters to their readers. It’s a powerful tool, so I try to use it with care. I recommend newsletters based on the following criteria:
I enjoy reading the Substack.
The Substack covers stuff I think the Situation Normal audience may find interesting. Trust me, that covers more ground than you probably think.
The Substack is updated regularly.
As of this writing, the above rules & policies are the only community guidelines that exist for Situation Normal. With a little luck and a lot of respect, this community should be able to grow and prosper without adding additional rules or policies. All we have to do is…
