The Flip Phone Manifesto
Delivered in January of 2020, “The Flip Phone Manifesto,” is an account of the world as it appears to someone who has never owned a smartphone. The manifesto’s five tenets—defend the imagination at all costs, make reality the default setting, live life at a natural pace, get your dopamine in the raw, and stop the conjuring of false spectacles—are presented as both argument and warning, rationale and rant, offering a possible cure to the comfortable disease of progress. Far from bashing technology, the talk encourages us to re-think our relationship with the digital world, and, if we’re so willing, to break away from cyberspace and return to the here-and-now.
A Prideful Shame: Notes on the Essence of Delaware County
Delco (short for Delaware County) is one of Philadelphia's four collar counties, and while it shares much of the energy and ethos of the metropolis, it has its own cultural identity, its own tough-leathered swagger. In this talk, Dave attempts to define this identity, which, since the debut of HBO's Mare of Easttown in 2021, has become something of a national phenomenon. Hollywood's certification of Delco changed the county's perception of itself, ushering in a strange kind of vanity quite antithetical to the region's long-standing inferiority complex. Amid such a shift, how can a Delco-born novelist write about the "610" without pandering to the hype? Take a trip to the 'burbs and find out.
A Pizza Called Quest
Peter Reinhart, host of the Pizza Quest podcast and "one of the most respected baking educators in America," interviewed Dave about his debut novel, Rug Man. Among other things, they discuss the life and work of Dave’s father, Jerry, the inspiration behind the novel’s protagonist, Frank Renzetti. Frank’s story, says Peter, “skillfully captures the universal and fathomless sense of quest that any dedicated artisan feels for his or her craft.” Thanks to Heritage Radio Network for the fast-rising yeast.
David is head writer of The Minor Prophets, a sketch comedy troupe he co-founded with his good friends, Steve Kuzmick and Gil Damon. Since 2001, the Prophets have written, directed, and produced over 30 short films, including The Most Important Meal of the Day, which has been viewed more than 4 million times on the Tube of You. In 2006, they began working with director/producer Derek Frey, a collaboration that has resulted in seven award-winning shorts. The troupe believes, as does Sergei Eisenstein, that “the richest source of experience is Man himself.” Their body of work, from 4th and 99 to Awkward Endeavors, addresses mankind in full, bringing together its angels and assholes in a comedy of collision.
SHORT FILMS
Awkward Endeavors (2021)
A delusional pizza delivery man puts the moves on his piano teacher, much to the consternation of the woman’s husband, an impotent real estate agent.
Kill the Engine (2017)
Three broken men decide to kill themselves by carbon monoxide poisoning, but the group suicide is foiled when the vehicle of their demise fails to start.
Viaticum (2024)
A priest performing Last Rites is challenged by a hospice nurse who believes her patient should not be absolved of a deadly sin.
The Book Club for Men (2023)
In this six-episode web series, a bibliophile, a surveyor, and a drunk come together each week in a church library to discuss the great books of the world.
Motel Providence (2015)
A cheating counselor working out of a sleazy motel room tests the boundaries of his own advice after a client’s startling revelation.
Sky Blue Collar (2013)
A businessman and a carpet installer enjoy a wild and playful friendship, but when their class-conscious bosses pressure them to steer clear of each other, the Romeo and Juliet of the workaday world must decide what’s more important: how we make a living or who we’re living for.
4th and 99 (2006)
Just minutes after losing the biggest game of the year, all-state receiver Bobby Makefield takes to the turf again in a one-on-one overtime shocker. Driven to the edge by his referee father, Bobby squares off against the winning team’s golden boy and Mr. Makefield’s newest protégé, Tommy Johnson.
