When we’re artistically open, important new influences arise from the mist. I recently started to take a closer look at Joan Miró’s work and an interest in his life story. I’m not sure what the impact of this will be, but I trust that his visual world is impacting my mind in positive ways. Like exercise, reading books, gazing at art, and hearing music help to condition and restore the mind.

“Wagon Tracks” by Joan Miró

With so much garbage flowing through our media, I feel it’s best to “take the garbage out” on a routine basis. But cleaning is not enough, we also must replace the trash with beauty, elegance, and joy. And when art comes from new or previously unexplored sources, it can help to restore faith and confirm that you’re still growing and learning.

Elon Musk—Is he Batman or The Joker?

The richest man on the planet agreed to pay $44B for Twitter, the social media platform I’ve been hooked on for 15 years. Like a new yoga pose, I can now practice Closing Twitter.

David Burn @davidburn

I've been looking for Twitter's escape hatch for years, albeit unsuccessfully. Maybe, just maybe, Elon's acquisition will be enough for me and for millions of other 'update addicts' to vacate the premises.

Question…Who cares who owns Twitter? Greg Bensinger, a member of The New York Times, editorial board cares. He wrote:

Twitter’s board of directors believes the company would be best served by the ownership of a man who uses the platform to slime his critics, body-shame people, defy securities laws, and relentlessly hawk cryptocurrencies.

Actually, I doubt the board members believe that. What they believe in is money and a premium price for the stocks they hold.

In a twist, reports suggest that Musk won’t go through with the purchase. He also joked on Twitter about buying Coca-Cola in order to add the cocaine back in.

Jane McGonigal’s New Book on Future Casting

Imaginable: How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything - Even Things That Seem Impossible Today is the book I need to read now. I know I'm not alone in this. We're living through extraordinary and turbulent times. Times that call for new thinking to address and eventually solve old problems. Times that call for “Urgent Optimism,” the practice at the heart of her new book.

The Rejection Route

Just this year, I’ve been told “no” by Poetry Magazine, Yalobusha Review, Missouri Review, The Sewanee Review, The Threepenny Review, and Porter House Review.

Likewise, when I reach out to prospective clients or apply for a job, it’s more no, no, no. Yet, I know one day the answer will be yes. Persistence provides. It’s hard, sometimes brutally so. But the degree of difficulty doesn’t alter how the world works.

It Takes Money, Honey

Grateful for this Unsolicited Review of Ad Brains

This quote is pulled from a five-star review on Amazon.com.

I really enjoyed Ad Brains. When you've been working in the ad business as long as I have, you tend to gain a veneer of cynicism. Well, this book helped chip a fair bit of that away as it reminded me of all the smart, interesting people that work in the business. David Burn did a great job of giving us a peak into the minds of many of them.

Learn from the Legends

Ad Legends—The People, Creative Movements, and Legendary Work that Shaped the Modern Craft of Advertising is a participatory 3-hour workshop that I designed to help today’s ad-makers understand the foundational thinking and practices that continue to matter and inform.

I chose 13 individuals to focus on. Identifying their signature achievements, then stepping back to see the relationships between their thinking and doing, has helped me immensely in my own ad industry journey. I’m hoping that the information I’ve gathered also helps you in yours.

Lagniappe

In other Elon Musk news, Bastrop citizens are fighting to “Keep Bastrop Boring.”
This Bolivian all-female skate crew celebrates their Indigenous roots, pairing their Vans sneakers with their mom's and grandma's polleras.
In her Ted Talk, documentary filmmaker Robin Hauser explores the dilemma between competence and likeability faced by women in leadership roles.
It’s 2022. You no longer need to be governed by physical constraints. Today, you can enter the metaverse, inhabit a virtual body, live in a virtual home, and interact with other avatars in a world of make-believe.
"Chronic venting, where you rehash the same problems without trying to understand or solve them, has been shown to make both you and the people listening to you feel worse." -HBR
Poetry is not a capitalized asset and this frees poetry to be something above and beyond the purely commercial. How rare is that today?

Let’s Chat

I provide marketing solutions to business and community leaders.

Visit my Linktree to learn more about my writing and professional services.

Thanks for being here now.

Hungry for Gumbo

Less Noise, More Miró