STRATSCRAPS v193
If the uncanny valley were a animal...
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Here are three things that would have saved me a lot of stress if I had seen them at the beginning of the week
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And something I was trying to remember at some other point in the past few weeks.
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In a failed effort to fix my archival blindness, I built a notebooklm notebook with every issues of the newsletter as a source. 49 issues are a source twice, because I uploaded 50, found out that was the limit, deleted one then uploaded a single file with all 192 prior issues in a single file. Computers are dumb.
Anyway, apparently nearly 4 years of writing can be distilled into 4 topics…
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Chronic vs. acute problems
The two should be dealt with very differently.
Acute problems are usually caused by external factors, unforeseen circumstance or an unfortunate misstep. They can’t be prevented but they can be quickly addressed. People use the term “a bandaid solution” – these are the situations when band aids are a logical response.
Chronic problems are a product of behavior. They can be initially triggered by something more acute (change in team, budget, etc) but they become self perpetuating. They can only be solved through rehabilitation. e.g. choosing to do the work needed to change the problem behavior.
Basically, don’t treat metaphorical back aches like metaphorical finger cuts. One requires a change in posture. the other is just a reminder to pay more attention.
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New Are.na channel just dropped. Started as a place to put the theory of what makes advertising work to paper through the lens of advice applicable to different points in the process. It may be evolving into a daily grievance repository. There is overlap to be sure, but it is definitely a reactive collection.
A few excerpts;
Ads that aren’t entertaining or interesting are an act of violence against the viewer
Take the time to think about how to best set up internal reviews. Respect everyone’s time
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A while ago, I talked about Fisho Magazine, created by Nick Marzano1.
Well Nick put out the third issue and it is also awesome. Because it is a fishing zine done by a Creative Director so of course I dig it, but additionally because it is also about subculture and the intersections they are formed from.
So even if you don’t like to fish, it prompted some things more relevant to the world this newsletter inhabits;
Nick sent me this linkedin post as a sort of primer for what kinds of things he was thinking about at the moment.
To which I responded with a keynote mockup (that’s my native language)
ALSO, STILL RELEVANT FROM FIRST TIME I TALKED ABOUT FISHOP IN A NEWSLETTER:
Niche doesn’t mean small. There is a continuum between mass and insubstantial. Fringe is often more visible than mass because of its contrast.
(really wish I had remembered this before chatting with Laura for Niche ID. on the definition of Niche)
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and I didnt even get to talk about Brian Eno’s new book. 😞
WEEKLY MONSTER
Imagine pulling off the freeway halfway between seattle and portland, in a town where the only lights at night are from a menthol refinery and the McMenamins hotel.
You are hungry and have to pee so you stop at the McMenamins hotel bar. It is 9pm and nobody is there. Then you head to the restroom and discover this:
See, THIS is what should be in our “CULTURE” decks.
and they say art is dead…
Publisher: www.fishomagazine.com
Portfolio: www.nickmarzano.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/thisisnickmarzano/
The file upload to notebooklm story 🥲