A Berry Good Life
Wendell may have rested in the grace of the world, but he brought a lot of grace to it as well.
Writer. Poet. Truth-teller. What he said in 1990 is even more true today:
Rest in the peace of wild things, Wendell.
Start with scribbles
“Dubbatrubba, what’s your writing process?” — asked No One Ever.
Why, thanks so much for asking, Mr. or Ms. N.O. Ever!
Whatever weirdness oozes out of my brain usually starts as scribbles. Pen on paper. It looks like gibberish.
It IS gibberish. Or maybe shorthand. But after all the scribbles and scratch-outs and circles and arrows, I usually figure out what I really want to say. And turn to the typewriter to whip it into shape. (OK, it’s a computer – sorry to let you down, Tom Hanks.)
The example above was when I was brainstorming ideas for promotional audio clips (i.e. mini-commercials) to be played on Inhailer Radio. They’re playing old episodes of the “97X Rumblings from the Big Bush” podcast that my friend Dave and I have been doing for several years now. You can catch the new/old episodes Sunday nights at 9 p.m. Eastern.
The time slot is a radio dead zone – I know this from experience because back when I worked at the AM oldies/FM country radio stations (WDJO-AM and WUBE-FM respectively) the program director of the country FM station would let me do air shifts during the Sunday night slot. (With the on-air name of “Cincinnati Redd” so kindly bestowed upon me by the PD…) And there was only one possible explanation for his largesse:
But hey, this new/old medium required very little effort on our part. And perhaps it’ll introduce a few new listeners to our labor-of-love podcast, since Inhailer is a kindred spirit of 97X.
The scribbles above yielded two longer promos (you can listen to one below), two short promos, and three mid-episode “cut-ins” (“you’re listening to…). Not bad for a page of paper and some ink.
Your process may be different. (And it’s probably better.) But if you want to write, start scribbling.
0 responses to “Start with scribbles”
What goes around comes around, mile after mile
Editor’s note: Below is a slightly modified version of an email I sent out yesterday afternoon. Posting here in case any of my loyal readers (all three of them) weren’t on the distro list for the email… or in case anyone else stumbles across this post and decides to donate.
Writing is usually my happy place, but this is one I absolutely hate writing.
I hate it because I am asking you to donate to my Ride Cincinnati efforts when gas and grocery prices are taking a much bigger bite out of your wallet. Granted, raising funds for cancer research, education and care is a noble cause. But that’s of little solace when there’s “too much month at the end of the money” as the old country song goes.
I hate it because the reason behind the email is cancer, and cancer is pure evil. It has taken away people I love, and people you love. And other friends and family members are battling it right now.
And I dread it because it’s yet another painful reminder that my friend “LJ” is no longer with us. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in May of 2024. He fought the good fight. No one was braver. No one had a better attitude. But still, we lost him in November of last year.
I hate writing this, but I know in my heart I’ll wind up loving the outcome.
Because of your generosity – even in tough times.
Because it helps. Every damn dollar makes a difference.
Through our partnership with the Cincinnati Cancer Foundation (CCF), Ride Cincinnati fundraising supports local hospitals, nonprofits and community programs that are making a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families.
And because it reminds me that life is beautiful, even when it’s way too short.
24 days from now, I’ll have had as many spins around this globe as LJ got (Lord willin’).
38 days from now, I’m going to spin my bike wheels for 30 miles (knees willin’), to pay tribute to LJ, and keep his memory alive, and to help other folks who are bravely battling cancer with his same strength and grace. What goes around, comes around.
Give if you can. No worries if you can’t. I still love you, and appreciate you.
Thanks!
LJ on the left, with his wife Patty, and our friends Sheila and Art, on a sunset cruise in Florida last fall. We knew it would probably be LJ’s last trip to the beach, a place he loved very much.
Enjoy every sunset…
The non-Shawshank Redemption
In The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne had some great advice for all of us:
“Get busy living or get busy dying.”
The actor who played Andy, Tim Robbins, also has some good advice for all of us in the latest episode of the Smartless podcast:
No matter what age you are, maybe you should take a page from Tim’s book and consider “retiring” from “the daily anxiety of opposing something” as Tim says.
“The idea that you can find your worth and purpose and virtue by hatred is a terrible, terrible idea… ”
Tim’s absolutely right. That hate isn’t helping. It’s dying from the inside out.
“If the first thing you’re doing is doomscrolling about something that will make you feel better about your political beliefs, you might try a little yoga or you might try a little exercise or take a bike ride.”
Yoga. Exercise. A bike ride. Put down the phone. Turn off the cable news. And get busy living!
I hope you have a great day!
The full-brain workout
Scott Galloway is a professor of Marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business, the host of the Prof G and Pivot Podcasts and a best-selling author. His latest book is Notes on Being A Man.
He’s also published a newsletter nearly every Friday for the past 10 years. It’s called “No Mercy/No Malice.” (Or NM2 in Scott’s shorthand.) You can subscribe here.
It was originally a client engagement product for Scott’s company L2.
Before I sold L2, we’d launched a series of media products to create more engagement. Winners & Losers was a video series exploring innovation in the consumer sector, and NM2 was meant to be a newsletter exploring, well, whatever was on my mind that week.
When Scott sold that company, the buyer didn’t want the newsletter. It was orphaned… it turned out pretty well:
NM2 was too salty for Gartner (the acquiring company), and they said it could not be affiliated with the firm, but I could have the IP. A decade later, we have 430k subscribers, and the newsletter is the center of the flywheel for ProfG Media. The tone/aim of NM2 is simple: provide insight and be fearless.
430k subscribers is quite impressive. But getting there took a lot of work. Pen to paper, week after week. I’m biased, but I love what Scott has to say about writing in his 10th anniversary post:
Writing is a full-body cognitive workout. And reps matter more than talent. Amen!
I may never get to 430K subscribers. Or even 43. But the process is good for my brain. And my heart.
Writing is becoming a lost art. You don’t have to be a pro to give it a go, though.
A good place to start is Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages”:
You can learn more in Julia’s book The Artis’s Way. Or you can just do the morning pages.
You also can follow the guidance (and gusto) of Ray Bradbury in his book Zen in the Art of Writing.
Give it a shot. Your brain will pay you back.
Ragging on Ragnar
Mrs. Dubbatrubba and I were supposed to be winging our way to Minneapolis tomorrow, along with our friends Heather, Shawn, Celene, John, another John, (not from They Might Be Giants*), Jon (not at all confusing), Kelsi, Ashley, and a few more folks who are friends of John or John (but not Jon).
We were going to do a 200-mile 12-person relay race:
“Crisp lakes, quaint towns… shaded bike path trails…” sounds delightful, doesn’t it? (OK, other than the 200 miles of running. And to be clear, I’m using the royal “we” – I was just going to drive one of the two support vans.)
We were all set. John (not John) booked the VRBO, the hotel rooms, and rented the vans. John (other john) mapped out the relay legs and all the other logistics.
We’ve run Ragnar races before – they organize the Bourbon Chase in Kentucky and other round-the-clock team relay runs all over the country.
But apparently NOT in Minnesota.
Ragnar cancelled the race on July 13th. Less than four weeks before it was supposed to happen. For… “reasons”…
Sorry, but that’s pretty lame. (And quite nebulous… my guess is they didn’t get enough entries.)
How about “exhausting every available option” BEFORE you collect every team’s entry fee. And if you have to pull the plug, how about offering a full refund to anyone who wants it, instead of just offering a “transfer package” to another Ragnar race. (Sorry, but once bitten, twice shy.)
And because they cancelled less than 30 days before the event, our fun bunch is on the hook for a 50% cancellation fee from the VRBO cabin we rented for after the race. That’s $1800 down the drain. (Unless someone else rents the cabin – I hear Duluth is lovely in August.)
And of course all of us booked flights too. Most had a cancellation fee. Mrs. Dubbatrubba and I were able to get our fee waived and got a full flight credit, but that’s not the same as cash in our pocket. Not to mention the headache and hassle of trying to contact the airline and plead our case.
That’s just for our baker’s dozen. Every other team that signed up has been dealing with similar challenges.
For a race that was supposed to end on Lake Superior, the Ragnar experience has been decidedly inferior.
I know stuff happens. But there was a better way. Ragnar could’ve taken a page from the Kickstarter book – their campaigns are all-or-nothing, and you don’t get charged unless the goal is reached.
In short, Ragnar needed to get their ducks in a row before advertising their “crisp lakes.” Instead, every member of every team is dealing with the headaches, hassles and doo-doo they created.
If you’re considering doing a Ragnar relay, please reconsider.
*They Might Be Giants is a band featuring John Linnell and John Flansburgh…
Leave a Reply