the longest job i ever had was writing social media for the academy

so when bizarre tweets like this pop up, like it did today

i’ll get DMs and texts and etc asking “holy crap man, what was that tweet all about?”

and i have to explain that i havent worked there for years

and for the last half of the time i was there i had to go through extreme scrutiny to get

any

of my proposed tweets and instagram posts through

because i no longer had a boss who could shield me from those who didnt truly

live and breathe social media like i do.

so they didnt get it.

imagine if there was a committee who had the power to tell Led Zeppelin

dudes Stairway to Heaven is too long, can you trim 3-4 minutes from it?

and how about give the album a name?

youre trying to do your thing and be creative and witty

AND trying to gain followers all while maintaining a sense of the brand people love

with a fresh spin that is slightly unexpected

and may i say daring.

so i get it why someone in my old seat would *want* to make this tweet

and i also get why there may not be anyone there now who could give that person constructive criticism as to why they should throw it right in the trash

and i am super grateful that for two years i had a boss who could communicate with me in such a way that we could check off all the boxes:

  • interesting
  • insightful
  • fresh
  • unique to our brand and our assets
  • something others would want to share

when youre dealing with a 90 year old organization that aint easy

especially when the peanut gallery hears Stairway to Heaven and says

this isn’t at all like Whole Lotta Love, what gives?

if i was running the show over there the first thing i would say to the person creating the content is

women have it hard enough,

whore is a powerful word

in context of that movie it means one thing

but out of context, on our feed, even with what you think is a funny caption

it’s easily misunderstood and

should be avoided

in part because

of all the great lines written in the scripts of our overstuffed archives

that one was not one of them.

i went to eagle rock today

it’s gonna be the next neighborhood

i drove around. took pics. drove down to this church that i thought was in eagle rock.

it was actually Garvanza. which i will gladly do later, but not now.

accidentally ran a red light because i was looking at signs and trees and

but all worked out.

got a very unimpressive burrito at del taco that allegedly had beyond meat in it but im not so sure

then went inside eagle rock plaza and met a young lady who was missing a ring finger

too bad because i was gonna propose to her

she works in a vape store. huge store. she told me about how popular flavored nicotine vaping is among young people.

i need to return to interview her for this. beautiful woman.

that mall is a trip. id love the whole Eagle Rock thing to be about people who work at that mall.

it has a grocery store in it thats very… international, lets say. it also has a macys a chuck e cheese and a target

but then it has alot of mom n pop stores inside.

kids everywhere.

it really needs a baseball card shop.

if only.

anyways, it’s hard to believe that this podcast is what im gonna do for the next 14 years but i can think of worse ways to earn a buck.

im in the midst of a traffic jam

and i dont usually believe in astrology but a pretty astrologist

on tik tok

says i shouldnt expect squat out of january

that its all gonna flow like a firehose in february and march

in fact if i tried to establish roots in this month

they would all be destroyed in a few weeks anyhow

and so i should just sit on my ass and not do anything

but thats depressing and not my brand

so she said excercise

and i said fine i wont do squat.

this is my favorite house in the world

all glass house in isla vista

it sits at the edge of isla vista

it overlooks the ocean

it’s pretty much all windows.

it needs a pool and or hot tub

and me.

any time the lottery jackpot gets over $300 million i think this is the first thing i would buy

id like my mom to retire there

but i think the noise in Isla Vista would be too much for her.

so i suppose id have to live there and walk around topless.

had a delicious dinner with a pretty girl

she drove across town to hang

when she arrived she looked around, sat on the couch and said

i havent been here in so long,

but it brings back so many good memories.

after dinner we drove around looking for a good bar to drink at

it was saturday night, after all.

and yeah, COVID killed an Angeleno every 20 minutes yesterday

but this bar had its side door open

and you had to show your vax passport to get in

strong pours

good music

dogs and burgers being grilled

she wore black leather pants

why i love the clash episode 34132423

greatest punk band ever.

and yet look at how theyre dressed.

they make pete townshend (who has 777x more money then they do) look homeless

dapperest mfs in town.

topper has a damn hankie in his pocket

i wanna be punk like them.

in that, i do not want to abide by yr rules

i dont want you to think you know whats coming.

heres whats coming: awesome fucking something.

the clash were the most melodic and at times quietest punk band ever

they defied the term

intentionally? no. but you just cant put them in a box.

i dare you to find the box for me.

or most of the things ive done.

if you did though, heres the stamp they’d have put on it

awesome

fucking

something.

if i was more in touch with my feelings id cry now

i had this super important call today on zoom.

i showered, shaved, put on a nice shirt

even put on pants even though no one can see.

opening was good. middle was decent.

then i was asked a question i should not have answered.

i knew it was a sensitive subject and worse of all, i knew i had a punk rock answer.

not everyones punk rock. this person was super cool, but not punk rock.

i should have answered the question with another question like

“you’re an expert in this world, what do you think?”

instead because this was a tiny bit like a job interview, i was dead set on

being smart.

or at least being perceived as bright.

i did the opposite.

i said the thing i should not have said.

i called a play that was complicated.

that required everything to fall into place perfectly.

if it was a football pass i needed to thread the needle

i did not thread the needle and it all fell apart.

i went on a long walk.

then i accepted a lunch date.

i really wish i had someone to talk with about this but

the truth is, it’s ok.

the truth is, imma do this damn thing even if it’s literally the last thing i do

i may get rich off it, it may put me into debt

i dont care. it doesnt matter. it will get done and when i die this is the thing that people will praise me for.

not that i need praise when im dead

but im gonna say here and now, i fucked up today

it was an unforced error.

i knew the question was coming

and i muffed it.

im gonna watch tv now and think about crying

but do everything except that.

i have a big meeting tomorrow

could be life changing.

could just be another sign that i should just keep doing what im doing, as is.

either way, it’s a 30 minute call.

they say in sales if you are talking more than the customer you’re talking too much.

so what can i say in 14 minutes that will get this to a second, hopefully longer call?

  • what’s in it for them
  • how is this for the greater good
  • are the risks smaller than the reward
  • is it worth the money
  • is it worth the time

so maybe i should figure out how i can spend two minutes on each of those bullet points

even though id rather be talking about anything else

 

 

todays MLKs birthday

im always a little surprised when ppl say they have to work on mlk day

businesses that close for presidents day or memorial day

make their ppl come in on mlk day.

ive worked at a few of those joints.

what more does a guy have to do to earn your respect that you’ll actually honor his holiday?

when i was at LAist i drove around the country and when i was in memphis i stopped by the Lorraine Motel, it still looks exactly the same outside

but inside its a civil rights museum

and they have some deep exhibits.

mlk makes me think you can do everything you can and it still wont change some people.

which is a good thing to realize quickly.

that way you dont waste your time doing things to change people.

instead you should do things

because theyre awesome,

and maybe youre the best person to do them.

busy week this week


monday: covid test

tuesday: see if i can finish the hear in LA redesign to make it look like Medium

wednesday: important zoom meeting

thursday: zoom interview where i advise high school kids about how to deal with public speaking

saturday: hot date (if i dont have covid)