For the Medium obsessives in the house, this is for you! — I should be packing for a Thanksgiving weekend away with family on the island where I grew up, but instead I’mma take a few minutes to bubble up some conversations I’ve had about the Boost Nomination Pilot in story comments around Medium. See, in between meetings at work, I lurk…

How celebrities carry the projections of their fans — There’s a lot of media chatter these days about celebrities and their contentious relationships with their fans. This article perhaps sums it up best, digging into issues with artists like Taylor Swift, Doja Cat, and Charli XCX dealing with entitlement from some fans. From the article: …fans are getting “younger…

Or humor? Or poetry? Or tech writing? Short answer: no. But let’s 🌮 ‘bout it. — I recently got an email from a publisher of a spiritual publication on Medium. They explained that their publication’s writers were quite certain that Medium’s distribution algorithm, the Boost Nomination Pilot, and our curation team were intentionally set against spiritual content. They went on to say that some of their…

Get to know a few of the folks nominating stories for Boost — One of the big questions people ask about the Boost Nomination Pilot I’m managing is who the nominators are, and which publications are participating. So, let’s taco ‘bout it! 🌮 First, to review how all this works Medium’s Boost Nomination Pilot is our experimental program to work in collaboration with Medium publication editors to nominate high-quality stories…

Generally speaking, I’m pro-surrender. When I notice myself feeling gritty and anxious and miserable, usually it’s because there’s something I’m resisting. Usually, there’s something I need to just let go of and surrender to, accepting what’s actually happening instead of what I wish was happening. During the early days of…

A rambling retrospective on reentering the workforce after almost 15 years of self-employment — This weekend, I was out doing what I spend much of my time doing on weekends, which is walking around my neighborhood in Seattle. For better and for worse, Capitol Hill is not the bohemian geighborhood it was when I first moved here in 1997 (better: the gays can comfortably…

Friday afternoons and the circadian rhythms of self-sabotage — It happens every Friday: Sometime in the late afternoon, I start to pick at the scabs. Restless and worn down from the week, I start to feel aimless and unhappy, tired, but somehow also antsy. I’m uncomfortable and feel in need of diversion. I know that this is the same…

Let’s start here: WTF does “conscious dance” even mean? If conscious dance sounds complicated, sanctimonious, or intimidating, then let’s start this off by putting you at ease about this simple kind of movement practice. As I say in my third book, From Shitshow To Afterglow: “Conscious dance” isn’t a style like jazz or hip-hop, but more of a mindset…

Of dire wolves and billionaires: My ancient historical hot take on The Titan tragedy — Have you ever been to the La Brea Tar Pits? It’s billed as a cool bit of natural history, but it’s actually kind of macabre and horrific. The short version of the story: there were these tar pits in Ice Age-era California. Animals would get stuck in them, and die. …