B.J. Novak Gets 'New Yorker' Cred Points

Professional funnyperson and seemingly perpetual secret-holder B.J. Novak is quite a fancyman — were you aware? It's true! And to prove it, the former Office star has decided it's time to up the intelligent ante and get himself in with the smart set. And what better place to do that than by publishing something you wrote in one of the most prestigious magazines around? It's what all the impressive and respected comedyfolk are doing these days, and B.J. Novak's piece in the The New Yorker shows that he gets that.

Indeed, following in the footsteps of the Current Kings and Queens of FunnyHaHa like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and even Novak's BFF Mindy Kaling, Novak has taken to the revered house of intelligence to rack up some literary cred points leading up to the release of his new book, One More Thing. It's about the invention of calendars! And dates. And, you know, the passing of years. Life stuff! Because who says comedy can't be smart and heady and intelligent while also being funny, right? In fact, it's a safer bet to assume that this recent sea change towards respect for comedy is going to be the norm rather than the exception moving forward.

Also featured in the latest issue (on stands November 4th, for people who still know what newsstands are) is Lena Dunham, whose previous work in the New Yorker discussed puppies. This time it's about delivery food (and also death, because ugh, ennui, etc). So it looks like Novak's taking a seat at the ladies' table — C'est impressionnant!

It's a funny bit of hyperbole dressed up to tell the tale of the man who caused us to organize our whole lives in a series of years, months, days, hours, and minutes — proving that no one has ever really known how to pronounce or spell February, ever. Highlights include:

• "February 28th — I hate this month. I can’t take one more day of it. This month will just have to be shorter than the rest, and if people don’t like it they can go fuck themselves."
• "April 1st — A lot of shenanigans today, like pranks (which are lies for no reason). People say it has something to do with the calendar, which I wasn’t crazy about. But I guess it’s good when your invention takes on a life you never expected. That’s what the inventor of the scarf told me— it was originally supposed to be a weapon."
• "November 18th—Turns out those berries aren’t poison. So now I’m the guy who discovered that."

Some things are universally true — and clear as day when a year is winding down— 365 is never really as long as you want it to be, eh?