this morning i was greeted by a flurry of emails

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it was all about a job posting for a gig i am definitely qualified for but it might involve a bit of drama and im totally no drama o’busblog.

but what do i do, keep living off my good looks? i would like to get back to work.

because nothing in here is true i can tell you that amber and i have been bickering a bit since i hit the dole. which is also unusual. but then the other day, the day that i remembered that the cubs had won the world series and i should be happy with that for the rest of my life and everything is gravy and relax dude, we suddenly clicked back into gear again and everything was rainbows and butterflies.

you think thats fake but i no lie.

we can turn on anger and madness and bitterness and hate, just as quickly as we can shut it down. we think we cant but we wrong. we are powerful creatures capable of what the children call “magic”, and thus we should use it for good things.

so i just told her baby i dont care about anything other than your happiness and our joy and if you wanna do x y and z and not a b and c, no probs. lincoln freed the slaves. im not going to stand in your way of absolute freedom. you do you and if you wanna include me then great. i have a library of books to read and miles to go before i sleep. and then this weekend happened (even though it fell on a wednesday and thursday) and it was beautiful although i may have broken my foot.

but i have obamacare so i may hobble up the hill and have it removed. i think i need new sneakers. i think i wore out the spring. theres spring in my step, dont get me wrong, but i think it’s gone outta the shoe. maybe i should buy the shoe first then see the doc.

anyways i dont think imma apply for that job because im not here to make anyone uncomfortable. thats not the super power i wanna have. i wanna have the one where i help inspire people to be their best selves. cheesy as that may sound. but it’s true and those were the best jobs ive had.

amber was trying to cook

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even though shes the one working, and working hard, there she was on her weekend trying to cook me a late lunch

fourth of july

rarely does she get holidays off but the veterans wanted the double time so there we were sleeping in

she tried to turn on the stove but it wouldnt. she asked me to light the pilot. we have an old stove so who knows whats going on.

then she went to doing the dishes. but no hot water. i couldnt get anything going so i called the gas company. their number asked me if it was an emergency?

its not like its a gas leak, but i cant shower, do dishes or cook. yes i guess thats an emergency. amber said she was gonna take a nap. her work wears her out. i said, fine i will order some thai food cuz postmates gave me a $10 coupon.

before i knew it there was the gas man, followed quickly by palms thai. no traffic on the 4th i guess. the other day me and this uber drive were talking about how small the city is when theres no traffic. like late at night and on holidays where you can get from DTLA to the beach in minutes. or long beach to hollywood in no time.

gas guy fixed my problem in record time and as he did we talked and his stories just came out of him. am i a great interviewer? no. but people sure as hell like telling me things. he wouldnt stop. told me he had been a gas man for nearly 20 years. we talked about hollywood, beverly hills, bel air, little roads, weird houses, crazy details that youd really have to know to notice. we bonded so quickly and he just leaned against the fridge and told me everything.

“you should write a book,” i told him.

“i can’t write for shit,” he said.

“ever read Post Office,” i asked and told him about Bukowski and asked him if he ever did anything on Delongpre near Normandie. i told him thats where he lived when he wrote a bunch of his best stuff. but it all started with writing about how hard it was delivering mail in East LA when so many names were Gonzales or Hernandez.

“you should try finding the right Kim in Koreatown,” gas man laughed.

“i’m telling you you have a book.”

the more i talked about bukowski the more realized he was inches away from 20 of his books. so i gave him “Women” so he could read his style.

“i dont have Post Office. ive given mine away,” i said, “but i have two Women,” i said and we laughed at how that came out.

i shoulda just written that book with him.

how do you solve a problem like sammy

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once upon a time baseball needed saving.

it had just gone through a meaningless strike that turned off its fans to the sport

basketball had arrived in full force and football filled in the blanks

if anything the baseball strike reminded some how little they cared about the so called national past time.

but then mark macgwire and sammy sosa started hitting massive dongs nearly every day which reminded some how much they love the long ball.

not just that, but in chicago, sammys prowess at the plate helped catapult a not-too-shabby cubs team into the post season, something they hadn’t done in years.

in the north side sammy was king. every time he stepped to the plate it was appointment television. in total good ole #21 slammed 541 home runs as a Cub, breaking none other than Mr. Cub’s team record of 512 set way back in 1971.

near the end of sammy’s career with the cubs, two things happened: he got caught with a corked bat (which he claimed was his “practice bat” and never meant for a game), and he didn’t show up for his last day at work.

and also he has been accused by many that he used performance enhancing drugs – although that has never been proved, and he has denied it. he never once failed a test nor was ever suspended for it despite having a long career.

some say, well what about the leaked drug report of 2013 where sammy’s name was alongside other greats as having failed a secret drug test?

well the commissioner of baseball is now doubting that report. as he should.

which brings us to the weird state of sammy sosa in the hearts of chicago cub fans.

many don’t like him.

some have turned their back on him.

the man who saved baseball from the greatest park in sport is not welcome in the friendly confines because, in part, he just didn’t want to spend an awkward day saying goodbye to the cubs on his last day of the season before he was due to get traded.

and for some reason some cub fans, typically the most forgiving and lovable souls in the world, were so offended that they have not made him feel welcome enough for a return.

and on top of that, the new owners of the team refuse to welcome him back until he apologizes for that last day.

it is the strangest thing ive ever seen, and i specialize in strange fucking shit.

former cub slugger Dave Kingman went to the Lake instead of Wrigley on Dave Kingman tshirt day, in part because he was one the injured list and didn’t want to deal.

but nobody called Kingman an asswipe when he moved on with his life.

perhaps it was because Cub fans were amazed with Kingman’s ability to hit monster homers, but he usually struck out 8-9 times for every blast. Sammy was a real player. And he was quick on the basepaths, and deft in the outfield. we had fallen in love with him and so it hurt when he didn’t say bye.

 

well, i still love him.

i am still grateful.

i am glad he saved baseball and i dont care what he didnt do that one time, and what he may have done those other times. im just happy that he brought a light to my favorite place in the world.

sammy doesnt have to say sorry for shit.

i wanted to quote billy joel, but it’s complicated

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the one question i feel i really blew in my interview was such a simple one

what Brand do you think is doing a great job on social media?

i hesitated because in the grand scheme of things i dont think there are hardly any brands who are doing anything great on social.

not because they’re dumb and im some genius, but because Brands do a few things that prevent them from being good: they hire people who are way too young, and then they don’t let who they hire have the freedom to succeed and fail. Brands create these unnecessary committees that water the good ideas down and all that ends up seeing the light of day are the most basic, safe, tame and forgettable content items that quickly get scrolled by.

to be great means to stick your head above the pack, and so many are terrified of getting their head chopped off if the wrong person says “what the hell’s that?”

and it’s a double edge sword because Social is the one place where Brands can actually speak for themselves, to their audience, any time they want, for a relatively inexpensive price. but it’s also the place where they can inadvertently make embarrassing news if they have one false move.

so are there Brands who have courageously seized the day and rocked the house on social? yes. but so few. i mentioned Wendys and then i stopped because it was seriously hard to think of any others until after the call, naturally.

also, like Billy Joel, when i am creating things, i try not to be influenced by the people who i like because i dont want to accidentally copy them.

with that said, i find my internet inspiration from people you would never imagine. i mentioned Nardwaur earlier today. he taught me to over-research when heading into an interview. he also taught me to let them talk and talk and talk. he never really challenges his guests. and he often has them leaving with smiles (and gifts) afterward.

when presenting things on Instagram, I love Sarah of the Delicious Life.

i know there are lots of instagram influencers with pretty pages but i think she does it so well. and i bet she could do it for clothes or cars or even cannabis. she has that eye.

i wish i knew more about hockey because i think Hockey Twitter is phenomenal. the LA Kings have an incredible team, but i gotta say, the Philadelphia Flyers introduced a new mascot last year, Gritty, who was dead on arrival. it got so much negative press and online hate. he was weird looking he was ugly … what was he? but they stuck with it and let Gritty be weird. they let him be. who lets people be?

and now Gritty is beloved and downright iconic. Overnight! he might be the most interesting mascot in sports, which is saying something because the Chicago Bulls guy is tough to beat.

i asked my friends to tell me who they thought do a good job on social, and they gave me so many cool examples that im like arggggggh why didnt i think of that.

but it did remind me of the one good thing i said about running Communities: the people have all the answers, and if you have nurtured them correctly and made them feel safe to be honest, they will give you everything.

Their best answers:

Merriam Webster dictionary

A24

Netflix

Arby’s

Taco Bell

Pop Tarts

And this is why you should always Poll The Audience if you get stuck when you are playing Millionaire

i had a job interview yesterday for work at a cannabis company

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it went so well.

the guy was laughing, he was right there with me.

when it was over he said he would call the person who this person reports to and set up a time for her to talk with me.

i was so happy. i had researched this company Nardwaur-style. i read everything i could, i watched videos, looked at the HTML of their site in case they asked me about SEO.

and then a few hours later he said she would talk to me today. today! perfecto!

so we talked today. she is very smart, well spoken, she had all the answers to my questions. but it was hard to hear if she actually liked me. and she had to run to a meeting so we had to end it quickly.

the other day i watched this video that made me cry.

it was reactions that Cub fans had when the Cubs finally won the world series.

old men and young women, all of them crying.

i cried too.

when you wait 108 years to grab the golden ring it is lovely but a bit bittersweet because of all the people who lived and died and never got to have that feeling of their team being The Best.

after watching that video the other day it dawned on me that i have already “accomplished” my wildest dreams, seeing the Cubs in the World Series in person topped it. and going to their victory parade is something i never imagined. but there i was.

i have had incredible jobs where we as a team had huge successes, bigger ones than i could have predicted. i have had the best girlfriends, the best friends, i live in an amazing town. i have had a good life.

for months ive been sweating over what the next job will be. will i just work for myself? will i work for someone else? what will people think i am when they look at my resume and talk to me on the phone for a half hour?

do they believe that the success i have had will help them achieve their dreams?

who knows. then theres the wild card that we read in the Bible that the Lord hardens people’s hearts from time to time. mama mia.

so i guess the thing is you have to Trust. if you’re going to believe in God, which i do, then you just have to enjoy the ride even if it takes you down roads you weren’t planning to take, and even if you’re stuck on the side of the road longer than you want.

maybe you’re not stuck.

maybe you’re there because there’s something for you to see.

or maybe this is the time to read those books or podcast with those people or do that thing or get that rest or omg work out or omg go to the library.

maybe you dont know everything and control is an illusion and

maybe you said what is true for you in that interview

and that is all you can do.

the Cubs won the world series.

all of this now is gravy.

relax and enjoy the parade.

why life isnt fair

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in the world of youtube 3.3 million views on a video is a smashing success

and even though this one has that many, i still feel like it should have ten times as much

because not only is it an outrageously great tale

but it’s told well, unexpected things happen,

and it lets us peer into a world i, for one, never imagined existed.

ninja from die antwoord is a national treasure. when his group debuted in LA in 2010, even solid journalists like the LA Times’ Chris Lee wasn’t sure if it was a joke or not. turned out it was so seriously great it had no peers.

a couple years later Ninja’s video vision became fully realized in Baby’s On Fire and it catapulted their career

that video has over 220 million views.

which makes me wonder why the top video of Ninja talking about hanging out with Kanye West and Drake can only pull in a fraction of that.

is it appeal of Yo-Landi? is it that great beat? the funny narrative?

these are the things i think about sitting on my couch waiting to be called up to the pros: why are some great videos only worthy of 3 million views, and why do others get 222 million.

which always gets me back to the most pressing one:

How can MTV continue to avoid music videos when they perform sooooo well on YouTube. clearly there’s an audience. why not return to your roots?

had an interesting job interview

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in some companies the recruiter will be the first line of defense. he or she will place the ad, then you apply, and if you fit the general need, they arrange for a phone interview.

sometimes it’s a video interview. but these are modern times and you won’t have to get dressed up and schlep down to their offices to answer the basic questions which are usually “how much does this pay?” (me) and “piss in this cup” (them).

i prefer the phone over the video because in video you never look well, sometimes you’re tiny in their screen, i overdo it with my hand gestures. and often i feel the need to raise my voice because i fear they can’t hear me.

yesterday the guy asked, “so if you make it to the next stage, i will be calling your former bosses. what will they say they didn’t like about you?”

my first answer was, “sorry, Barry, but i have worked in HR, i doubt they’ll say anything bad. We live in a litigious society and most managers have been trained to either redirect those inquiries to HR or merely answer the two basic questions of ‘did they work there during this time period and are they eligible for re-hire?’ Otherwise they risk the chance of being sued because unflattering chatter that directly leads to someone not getting a job is the first steps to a slander case.”

fearing that might be a defensive / snotty answer – even though it’s 100% accurate, I said, “but I will play your game. Let’s pretend you could read the minds of my former bosses, what bad things would they say about me?”

Barry said, “yes, yes. what would they say?”

And I said, “well they’d probably say that I have big ideas, and lots of them, and that can be annoying after a while if you don’t want to hear big ideas from me. But Barry, big ideas are why there is social media today, and before that the web, and before that personal computers in our homes which led to devices in our pockets that hold all of the world’s information. Without big ideas we would be nothing.”

Then he said, “ok, do you have any questions for me?”

And I did. And that’s when I feel he became annoyed with me. Because he did not have the answers for half of them.

I will be selling oranges on freeway exits very soon.

watched this great doc about former Times columnist Robert Scheer

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heres why i love documentaries: i always learn something.

biggest was i never knew he was the one who interviewed president jimmy carter in playboy when the former peanut farmer admitted that he has lust in his heart.

“And Christ set some almost impossible standards for us. Christ said, ‘I tell you that anyone who looks on a woman with lust has in his heart already committed adultery.’

“I’ve looked on a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.”

– Jimmy Carter, November 1976

from a reporting standpoint it taught me this: you don’t have to have gotcha questions for people. if you are an interesting, educated, interested questioner, and you create a situation where the subject feels relaxed enough to let it all out, they probably will.

the film also talks a lot about the concept of selling out. even though it was originally presented as a 1960s fear, it’s def something i was highly aware of decades later in college. it was the worst thing you could do.

maybe it was the recession, maybe it was college debt, but i have never seen a millennial concern themselves with selling out.

their biggest goal is to be an influencer. ideally someone who receives boxes of goods from companies and films themselves opening them and becoming a human commercial.

if i was six figures in the hole at 23, id be day trading Supreme swag on ebay too.

today seems extremely far removed from what i saw in this doc.

remarkably so.

 

almost went outside today, but thought better of it

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tomorrow i may have to do some walking.

im watching mad men with amber. it’s her first time.

don draper always reminds me that i talk too much and im wearing all the wrong suits.

the drinking is heavier than i remembered it. and the smoking.

was this supposed to be a parody?

before amber moved in i had a bottle of wine or two, a jug of rum, maybe a few beers in the fridge.

these people had entire bars available to them in every room.

gen x may live to 200 years old if we dont ruin the planet first. we dont eat steaks. we pretty much never smoked. drank, but not like what im seeing on tv.

gen x got you obama, and legal weed. dont you forget that. they coulda voted for mccain but didnt. sarah palin could have been a thing for more than a hiccup.

as dylan said, it’s not dark yet, but it’s

getting there.

somehow ended up on the facebook page of the first girl i ever asked to be my gf.

she said no bc she said her dad would killer bc im black.

i cant even tell you how bizarre her page is.

then i saw that she was remembering an old friend who had died a few years go

then i looked at her page.

my entire life is completely different

by miles

compared to what it could have been if i had stuck around in the past.

some people have long chapters

and theres something very special about that.

me, im glad for this.

whatever this is, im happy im in the middle of this

any day.