Jacob All Trades #334
Militias, Pragmatic Anarchism, The Letter C, Disney+, ShowBiz Pizza, Houdini and the Conan Doyles, Smash Mouth Melons, and More!
Heya, newsletter pals! I’ll keep this intro short, but I want to highlight the first segment of “Seven Questions (aka 7Q),” where I ask a creative person I admire seven questions about their life and practice. The first installment, with New Yorker cartoonist, comedian, and all-around sweetheart Hilary Campbell, went out last week. I’ve got a few more queued and a long list of people I’d like to chat with. If you’ve got any suggestions, sound off in the comments!
Also, I’m not gonna write much about the Democratic Convention. It seems like a thing I’d write about, but I have nothing to add to that convo. But don’t worry… “Consumption Junction” is all political this week. Enjoy the newsletter!
HERE’S AN IDEA
The Kamala/Walz ticket doesn’t need your political app, PAC, or affinity group.* Okay, this seems like a hot take, especially coming from me (the guy who always encourages people to get involved). Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
Every two years since 2016 (when many Americans suddenly became interested in politics… for some reason), friends, colleagues, VC weirdos, and LinkedIn strangers have hit me up with their ideas for a killer app, a soon-to-be-viral video, a way to activate and energize voters, and a way to save Democracy.
The enthusiasm is great. But, these plans have a common denominator: they think they can make a dent by jumping in the last six months before a four-year election cycle and single-handedly change the vibe. Nearly every one of these (and there have been dozens over the last eight years) either doesn’t happen, or worse, an enormous amount of time, resources, and finances are put into it, and it…. barely moves the needle. In fairness, the vast majority of these would-be heroes are kind, talented, and moved by a well-placed sense of urgency. They’re just late to the party.
For the last four years, people from high-level Democratic operatives to grassroots organizers have been preparing for the 2024 election. For much longer than that, state-wide officials and community organizers have been doing the arduous and patient work of building infrastructure to make certain districts, states, and regions of this country. They need energetic and competent people to help bring their careful planning to fruition… that’s where you come in.
Full disclosure: I am a member of Creatives for Harris and Men for Harris. I think this year things are a little different because the dang nominee switched up at the 11th hour. But, even in the hallowed halls of the Creatives for Harris Slack channel, I worry that these new groups/ideas/affinity groups are a distraction — a place to channel energy by being unique and coming up with the best, most original idea. I get it. The idea of being a cog is not something we (especially creatives) are attracted to.
Make calls. Canvas. Textbank. Sign up for Vote Save America, Environmental Voter Project, The States Project, Swing Left, Indivisible, etc. Find out who is running locally and go volunteer for them. Or, as has been true in Democratic politics for a long time: shut up and listen to the black women who have been organizing for the entire cycle and see how you can help them do whatever they ask you to do.
A lot of people think of me as a leader, but I’d always rather be an integral part of a well-oiled machine. If someone competent and electric is leading the charge, put me in and let me hit doubles, triples, and the occasional home run for the cause.
*A huge caveat here is that some wildly wonderful ideas do come out of nowhere and move the needle, and I would rather have people get excited than not get involved at all. What do you think?
CONSUMPTION JUNCTION
A few recent things I read/watched/listened to that really stuck with me
ProPublica has been reporting on militias for a while. Here’s their latest. It’s sobering and scary, and I wish there were more mainstream reporting about it. ⤵️
I saw this fascinating thread on Threads (go figure). It doesn’t go where I thought it was going to go. Stick with it; I think you’ll be glad you did. It's a great read to share with folks who aren’t backing Kamala because of Israel/Gaza. ⤵️
With all the media coverage the presidential election is getting, you might not know about some of the state battles that will shape our politics for years to come. In Arizona, control of both the state house and senate is one seat (each) away from flipping. Politico breaks it in their article: “Arizona could become the blueprint for Democrats looking to build state power” ⤵️
CREATIVE RESOURCES
If you’re a Scrabbler, Crossword or Wordle solver or any other word nerd, you must watch Will Anderson’s “Better Know a Letter” series.
THIS WEEK IN CORPORATE F*CKERY
Your semi-regular reminder that unregulated corporate greed is ruining life on this planet.
Cold Open
Jeffrey Piccolo, a New York doctor, signs up for a 30-day trial of Disney+ when it launches in 2019.
Act I
Nearly five years later, Piccolo and his wife eat at the Walt Disney World Resort. His wife has a severe dairy and nut allergy. They chose the specific eatery because it would accommodate the severity of her allergy. They tell the staff. Somehow an allergen still ends up in her food. She…. dies.
Act II
Piccolo sues Disney for wrongful death. Rather than issue a full-throated apology and pay the $50k he was asking for, Disney thinks their best move legally and PR-wise is to Streisand Effect this whole thing and say no. (Btw, $50k is park admission for everyone who rides Pirates of the Caribbean in 20 minutes or approximately four hours of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s 2023 salary). Not only that, their logic was to basically say, “Because you agreed not to sue Disney when you signed up for our streaming app, you can’t sue us now for killing your wife at one of our theme parks.”
Act III
This blows up in Disney’s face. The judge throws out their case. And they look like assholes all over the Internet, local news, etc….
MAKE THIS SO I DON’T HAVE TO
If you’re a creative person looking for a project, please consider these. If you make them and want to credit me, rad. If you want feedback on them, great. But, FOR GODSAKE, PLEASE MAKE THESE SO I DON’T SPEND TIME I DON’T HAVE MAKING THEM.
Alternatively, if you are a VC or billionaire, please fund my eventual production company so I can employ all the wonderfully talented people I know to make these:
A premium documentary about the so-called “Pizza Wars” between Chuck E Cheese and ShowBiz Pizza. This episode of Decoder Ring is a proof of concept. Great story, great characters, ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia. It greenlights itself!
Edit the song “Where You Are” from Moana using footage from LOST. The song is about being stuck on an island (“the island gives us what we need… and no one leaves”). Sync up their lips! Get it ready for a day or two before the live-action Moana trailer drops so it can get some play.
A comedic period feature about the night the Houdinis did a seance with the Conan Doyles. It’s somewhat contained into one night but can explore ideas of spiritualism, truth, and belief that are much broader. Houdini was a known racketeer, huckster, and skeptic. Conan Doyle created the famous rationalist Sherlock Holmes, but was taken by mediums and frauds and believed he was regularly visited by ghosts. Arthur Conan Doyle’s wife was a famous medium herself and attempted to contact Houdini’s mother during a night the two couples spent together. It was the beginning of the end for their decades long friendship.
THE [COVERS] I DIDN’T KNOW I NEEDED
FROM THE VAULT
Here’s an old sketch I directed that still holds up. Written by Dave Horwitz (Rick and Morty) and starring Dave, Sunita Mani (GLOW) and Mookie Blaiklock (Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp). Damn, I’d really love to direct sketch comedy again.
Alrighty, that’s it for this issue. If you enjoyed what you read, please leave a comment and/or share the newsletter using the links below. (For real, please comment. More people come up to me in person and tell me they like the newsletter than comment on it online).
And, if you can afford to, I’d love for you to become a paid subscriber so that I can keep making cool stuff!
Party on,
Jacob
So much good stuff in here! A special thanks for the voting & volunteering signup links and info 🙏