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How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Jordan Firstman

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How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Jordan Firstman

Making a comedy-music album based on secrets shared by internet strangers might not seem like an obvious step for Jordan Firstman, who stars in FX’s “English Teacher” and Rachel Sennott’s new HBO show that’s being called the “It” pilot of the season.

But there is nothing about Firstman’s career that feels textbook Hollywood — and that’s what makes him such a compelling figure. That, and all the jokes.

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In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

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The actor-writer-director became “internet famous” (his words) during the COVID-19 pandemic when he started doing impressions on social media of unsuspecting subjects such as an iPhone charger not made by Apple, a man who is 5’11” and banana bread’s publicist (“They’re trying to get me to represent pumpkin pie right now. I’m like, b—, come back to me in four months”). Since then, he’s taken on projects that feel varied and fresh, including playing the lead role in the dark comedy “Rotting in the Sun,” which premiered at Sundance in 2023.

Firstman’s debut album, “Secrets,” released this month, was born out of the pandemic moments when he’d ask his followers to submit their secrets to him via Instagram Stories, and he’d share them anonymously. He eventually turned several of the confessions into hilarious and highly impressive songs (many of which have salacious titles that cannot be published here). “The coolest thing is making art out of life,” says Firstman of the genre-defying album. “This feels like the most direct way I can do that.”

Always gravitating toward good vibes and more jokes, Firstman packs his Sundays with things that bring him delight. His agenda for a perfect day in L.A. includes a boat party, an ice bath and the most glorious spicy shrimp in town.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Midnight: Sunday officially begins

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Are we considering midnight the start of the day? If it’s midnight, we still have a couple hours starting the day, so we’re either at a house party or maybe Chateau [Marmont] till around 2 or 3. I think 3 is the perfect time to go home because it doesn’t feel like you’re lame and going home at 2 just because you’re in L.A. and everyone goes home at 2 in L.A. But you can still sleep till like 10 and have a good night. A lot of my friends push it a little too hard and go till 5 or 6. Not for me. I’m too old for that.

10:30 a.m.: Morning bagels

We’re immediately going to Courage Bagels. My biggest flex in L.A. is that I get to cut the line at Courage Bagels because they like me. I try to use it no more than twice a year because I don’t want to lose the privilege. I’m almost even hesitant saying it because I don’t want them to take it away from me. But I do think we have a good DM rapport. If I had my dream, someone would go pick up the bagels for me and bring them to my bed. But I don’t have a loved one like that right now. So we’ll go to Courage, cut the line, get a Burnt Everything with the salted butter.

Then I’ll pop over to Sqirl just for drinks. They have a good mocha there, and the lavender lemonade is really good.

11 a.m.: A strategic workout

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I’ll go to Rodeo [Athletic Club], my gym in Silver Lake. Apparently, the secret formula to losing fat is — wait, hold on [pulls out his phone] — the 12-3-30 method. It’s 12% incline and 3% speed for 30 minutes on the treadmill. And I watch one episode of either “Sex and the City,” “Girls” or “Entourage,” and that’s 30 minutes. The time goes by because you’re not running. I hate running. So you’re walking, but you still get sweaty and you feel like you’re working out. And apparently it’s better than running. Like, that’s what TikTok tells me, and I believe everything TikTok tells me.

Then I’ll do a couple of minutes in the ice bath. In the past six months, I’ve gotten really into it. I did eight minutes one time. It makes you feel so much better emotionally. It’s really hard to be in a bad mood after you do it.

12:30 p.m.: Party on a boat

My friend John Sharp has a boat parked in Marina del Rey. I’d spend the day there with a bunch of these gay Venice boys. It’s a good, wholesome vibe. And, you know, we’ll do some mushrooms, drink some natural wine. Usually someone will bring some bread and cheese from Gjelina. Then some friends will have people over to their house after, and they’ll order some food. And they’ll make everyone Venmo before the food even comes. And sometimes I’m doing the math and I’m like, wait, I don’t think you guys are even paying [laughs]. That’s the vibe, but we love them for it. And they’re opening their house to us, so we can pay for their delivery. It’s fine. But that’s usually what ends up happening.

3:30 p.m.: Get scrubbed

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On my way home, I would stop at Century Day & Night Spa. If this is the best day ever, I would do a body scrub. Because sometimes when you’re at the gym, you forget to shower. There’s some “bacne” happening, so you really gotta scrub it out. And so we’ll have one of those old, nice Korean men scrub it out.

6 p.m.: Assemble the ideal bite of Sichuan food

So we’re going all the way to San Gabriel Valley now. My favorite Sunday restaurant is Chengdu Taste, and I’m ordering a lot. Hopefully I can get some friends to come. All of my friends are, like, anorexic basically, or have some form of eating disorder, so it’s hard to get people to eat fattening food with me.

I’m getting the flavored shrimp, the crispy chicken with the chile peppers, the eggplant, the tomato and egg soup, the Chengdu fried rice and the green beans. The perfect bite is the Chengdu fried rice — it is so f— good and the best fried rice I’ve ever had in my life. That with a bite of the eggplant, which is really soft and almost souplike, and then with one of the shrimps. Oh, my gosh, I’m getting so excited. It’s like the most insane bite ever, and you’re sweating and it’s beautiful.

8 p.m.: Some quick fun

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If this is my ideal Sunday, a f— buddy or a casual dalliance would come over, and we would have sex. That would be 8 to 8:40. OK, at most, really, 8 to 8:25. Let’s be real. And then he would leave, and then I would watch “The White Lotus.”

10 p.m.: Wind down with a skincare routine

I would do skincare after that. Get all my new peptides that I’m taking filled up. Get those syringes filled. A good mask would be nice, just to look fresh for the next day. In bed by 11.

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Lifestyle

Sunday Puzzle: Words ending in “AC”

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Sunday Puzzle: Words ending in “AC”

On-air challenge

Every answer is a word ending in the letters A-C, as in air-conditioning.

Ex. Person who stays awake all night –> INSOMNIAC

1. 12 astrological signs
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4. Person who’s lost his memory
5. Substance said to increase sexual desire or pleasure
6. Related to the heart
7. Surface for roads and airport runways
8. Light purple … or a flower with this shade
9. Wood finish
10. Temporary camp, as for soldiers
11. Street with no outlet (hyph.)
12. Miscellaneous ornaments of little value in a display case (hyph.)
13. Shrub or small tree with small reddish fruits used as a spice
14. Reference book filled with miscellaneous facts
15. Emergency removal of patients to or from a hospital
16. Superintelligent person

Last week’s challenge

This is a phonetic challenge in four parts. First, say a letter of the alphabet out loud — like B, C, or L. Then name something you might carry around in your pocket. Say it twice. Finally, name a variety of tree. Say these four things in order, and phonetically they’ll name a nice place in the United States to vacation. What is it?

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Challenge answer

Waikiki Beach

Winner

Adam Borden, of Westminster, Colorado.

This week’s challenge

This coming Thursday through Sunday, I’ll be at the 185th convention of the National Puzzlers’ League, which is taking place in Minneapolis. I’ve brought a puzzle by someone else who will also be there — Ben Bass, of Chicago. Take two different articles of clothing and place them one after the other. The result will spell something seen at a baseball game. What is it?

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, DATE DATE at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.

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'Wait Wait' for July 12, 2025: Live in Iowa with Jan Jensen!

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'Wait Wait' for July 12, 2025: Live in Iowa with Jan Jensen!

Head coach Jan Jensen of the Iowa Hawkeyes, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on February 23, 2025 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

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This week’s show was recorded in Des Moines, Iowa with host Peter Sagal, judge and scorekeeper Bill Kurtis, Not My Job guest Jan Jensen and panelists Emmy Blotnick, Faith Salie, and Hari Kondabolu. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show.

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University of Iowa Women’s Basketball Coach Jan Jensen plays our game called, “Let’s Go A’ Courtin.” Three questions about courtship rituals around the world.

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