Here is our daughter Lucy (8 months old) cracking up as our dog Legolas tries to dry himself off after a bath
Lucy Lankow
This Must Be The Place
In honor of what is sounding like a terrible remake of Wall Street, here is the song that originally led Bud Fox skipping to riches.
Lean Startup Healthcare Package
Live forever for a dollar a day.
Giving Up The Farce
As we have built our agency from humbly meeting our needs to the point where a quiet confidence leads us to raise the bar for ourselves monthly, one piece has been paralyzed for a variety of reasons – utilizing writing to communicate what we know and want to share but also want to keep as a supposed trade secret. As I was listening to Jason Fried’s Rework on audio on Monday in our new office, one phrase struck me, which was (to paraphrase) – ‘clarity in writing shows clarity of thought.’
In all honesty, few of us (if any) are actually inventive from scratch, but we are all modifying and reworking existing ideas and building on them, adapting them to meet a unique or imagined need for ourselves or our customers (or those foggy, faceless people that might one day hopefully be customers). I looked around our new office in progress, with extension cords and power tools courtesy of our co-founder Ross Crooks, who is building a desk inspired by the remarkable anti-cubicle, open and collaborative workspace that GigaOM has built…and I had a brief glimpse of where our collective knowledge over generations has led us, and if you click on one headline a month with ‘Eric Schmidt‘ in it, you know that Dear Google is leading us by the hand to a future where computers are our friends (until they revolt of course, but that’s for our grand-kids to worry about.)
So, back to the reluctance to write and share. When you think about writers worth reading on the web today, who is pulling you from start to finish through an article that is on Firefox Tab #78, between the tab with the photo of Gary Coleman and The Hoff giving thumbs up and the WTF Subreddit? It is the people who are unabashedly honest, without a whole lot of window-dressing and they are most importantly just letting some little tiny piece of themselves shine through while demonstrating actual comprehension of the topic they are covering. For me, in terms of the tech/social media world, the authors that are grabbing me lately are Jolie O’dell, John Boitnott, Mark Milian, Tim Ferriss, Chris Brogan, Chris Garrett and Dave McClure (in part because he utilizes most of the colors in the Crayola 64-pack). These are the ones that I have regularly read straight through without stopping out of boredom, and each of them shows a unique piece of themselves in the midst of talking about anything from a Digg revolt to angel investing to writing itself (and they are all genuine writers/journalists at heart, with the exception of McClure who is a complete rogue).
So, what then, is the farce? Another piece that Jason Fried’s great book mentioned is to write for one person and not for everyone. Who do you write for when you are fairly certain that almost no one is reading your site (yet)? I want people I’ve known for decades to find something I wrote in a notebook when I’m gone one day and to feel like they are eating a steak, chewing up something that is feeding their souls and leading them to finally do it, whatever doing it means to them. Who do you fear? What is the worst possible outcome of being completely honest that you have some sort of fear? Granted, few people want to read your diary, but at the same time, getting publicly honest with a bit of humility without the accompanying narcissism can be so refreshing and valuable to other people, whether an audience of your mom and dog or a readership of Arringtonian proportions.
So, the farce is the creation of this persona that has to be perfect, that has anything other than a completely honest tone. This completely imaginary, people-pleasing, artificial critic in our heads that makes us think twice before asserting an opinion. Whatever you are good at, whatever you enjoy, just get it out there and see what happens next.
Bob Dylan’s Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie
I’ve had a few reminders lately of the real joy of sending well thought-out messages/letters and in response to a particularly thoughtful email from a friend, I found myself thinking and writing in a rhythm that I knew wasn’t mine, and I remembered it was burned into my brain from almost ten years ago when I first heard Bob Dylan’s Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie…listen below and read along.
When yer head gets twisted and yer mind grows numb
When you think you’re too old too young too smart or too dumb
When yer laggin’ behind an’ losin’ yer pace
In a slow-motion crawl of life’s busy race
No matter what yer doing if you start givin’ up
If the wine don’t come to the top of yer cup
If the wind’s got you sideways with with one hand holdin’ on
And the other starts slipping and the feeling is gone
And yer train engine fire needs a new spark to catch it
And the wood’s easy findin’ but yer lazy to fetch it
And yer sidewalk starts curlin’ and the street gets too long
And you start walkin’ backwards though you know its wrong
And lonesome comes up as down goes the day
And tomorrow’s mornin’ seems so far away
And you feel the reins from yer pony are slippin’
And yer rope is a-slidin’ ’cause yer hands are a-drippin’
And yer sun-decked desert and evergreen valleys
Turn to broken down slums and trash-can alleys
And yer sky cries water and yer drain pipe’s a-pourin’
And the lightnin’s a-flashing and the thunder’s a-crashin’
And the windows are rattlin’ and breakin’ and the roof tops a-shakin’
And yer whole world’s a-slammin’ and bangin’
And yer minutes of sun turn to hours of storm
And to yourself you sometimes say
“I never knew it was gonna be this way
Why didn’t they tell me the day I was born”
And you start gettin’ chills and yer jumping from sweat
And you’re lookin’ for somethin’ you ain’t quite found yet
And yer knee-deep in the dark water with yer hands in the air
And the whole world’s a-watchin’ with a window peek stare
And yer good gal leaves and she’s long gone a-flying
And yer heart feels sick like fish when they’re fryin’
And yer jackhammer falls from yer hand to yer feet
And you need it badly but it lays on the street
And yer bell’s bangin’ loudly but you can’t hear its beat
And you think yer ears might a been hurt
Or yer eyes’ve turned filthy from the sight-blindin’ dirt
And you figured you failed in yesterdays rush
When you were faked out an’ fooled white facing a four flush
And all the time you were holdin’ three queens
And it’s makin you mad it’s makin’ you mean
Like in the middle of Life magazine
Bouncin’ around a pinball machine
And there’s something on yer mind you wanna be saying
That somebody someplace oughta be hearin’
But it’s trapped on yer tongue and sealed in yer head
And it bothers you badly when your layin’ in bed
And no matter how you try you just can’t say it
And yer scared to yer soul you just might forget it
And yer eyes get swimmy from the tears in yer head
And yer pillows of feathers turn to blankets of lead
And the lion’s mouth opens and yer staring at his teeth
And his jaws start closin with you underneath
And yer flat on your belly with yer hands tied behind
And you wish you’d never taken that last detour sign
And you say to yourself just what am I doin’
On this road I’m walkin’ on this trail I’m turnin’
On this curve I’m hanging
On this pathway I’m strolling in the space I’m taking
In this air I’m inhaling
Am I mixed up too much am I mixed up too hard
Why am I walking where am I running
What am I saying what am I knowing
On this guitar I’m playing on this banjo I’m frailin’
On this mandolin I’m strummin’ in the song I’m singin’
In the tune I’m hummin’ in the words I’m writin’
In the words that I’m thinkin’
In this ocean of hours I’m all the time drinkin’
Who am I helping what am I breaking
What am I giving what am I taking
But you try with your whole soul best
Never to think these thoughts and never to let
Them kind of thoughts gain ground
Or make yer heart pound
But then again you know why they’re around
Just waiting for a chance to slip and drop down
“Cause sometimes you hear’em when the night times comes creeping
And you fear that they might catch you a-sleeping
And you jump from yer bed from yer last chapter of dreamin’
And you can’t remember for the best of yer thinking
If that was you in the dream that was screaming
And you know that it’s something special you’re needin’
And you know that there’s no drug that’ll do for the healin’
And no liquor in the land to stop yer brain from bleeding
And you need something special
Yeah you need something special all right
You need a fast flyin’ train on a tornado track
To shoot you someplace and shoot you back
You need a cyclone wind on a stream engine howler
That’s been banging and booming and blowing forever
That knows yer troubles a hundred times over
You need a Greyhound bus that don’t bar no race
That won’t laugh at yer looks
Your voice or your face
And by any number of bets in the book
Will be rollin’ long after the bubblegum craze
You need something to open up a new door
To show you something you seen before
But overlooked a hundred times or more
You need something to open your eyes
You need something to make it known
That it’s you and no one else that owns
That spot that yer standing that space that you’re sitting
That the world ain’t got you beat
That it ain’t got you licked
It can’t get you crazy no matter how many
Times you might get kicked
You need something special all right
You need something special to give you hope
But hope’s just a word
That maybe you said or maybe you heard
On some windy corner ’round a wide-angled curve
But that’s what you need man and you need it bad
And yer trouble is you know it too good
“Cause you look an’ you start getting the chills
“Cause you can’t find it on a dollar bill
And it ain’t on Macy’s window sill
And it ain’t on no rich kid’s road map
And it ain’t in no fat kid’s fraternity house
And it ain’t made in no Hollywood wheat germ
And it ain’t on that dimlit stage
With that half-wit comedian on it
Ranting and raving and taking yer money
And you thinks it’s funny
No you can’t find it in no night club or no yacht club
And it ain’t in the seats of a supper club
And sure as **** you’re bound to tell
That no matter how hard you rub
You just ain’t a-gonna find it on yer ticket stub
No and it ain’t in the rumors people’re tellin’ you
And it ain’t in the pimple-lotion people are sellin’ you
And it ain’t in no cardboard-box house
Or down any movie star’s blouse
And you can’t find it on the golf course
And Uncle Remus can’t tell you and neither can Santa Claus
And it ain’t in the cream puff hair-do or cotton candy clothes
And it ain’t in the dime store dummies or bubblegum goons
And it ain’t in the marshmallow noises of the chocolate cake voices
That come knockin’ and tappin’ in Christmas wrappin’
Sayin’ ain’t I pretty and ain’t I cute and look at my skin
Look at my skin shine look at my skin glow
Look at my skin laugh look at my skin cry
When you can’t even sense if they got any insides
These people so pretty in their ribbons and bows
No you’ll not now or no other day
Find it on the doorsteps made out-a paper mache?
And inside it the people made of molasses
That every other day buy a new pair of sunglasses
And it ain’t in the fifty-star generals and flipped-out phonies
Who’d turn yuh in for a tenth of a penny
Who breathe and burp and bend and crack
And before you can count from one to ten
Do it all over again but this time behind yer back
My friend
The ones that wheel and deal and whirl and twirl
And play games with each other in their sand-box world
And you can’t find it either in the no-talent fools
That run around gallant
And make all rules for the ones that got talent
And it ain’t in the ones that ain’t got any talent but think they do
And think they’re foolin’ you
The ones who jump on the wagon
Just for a while ’cause they know it’s in style
To get their kicks get out of it quick
And make all kinds of money and chicks
And you yell to yourself and you throw down yer hat
Sayin’ “Christ do I gotta be like that
Ain’t there no one here that knows where I’m at
Ain’t there no one here that knows how I feel
Good God Almighty
THAT STUFF AIN’T REAL”
No but that ain’t yer game it ain’t even yer race
You can’t hear yer name you can’t see yer face
You gotta look some other place
And where do you look for this hope that yer seekin’
Where do you look for this lamp that’s a-burnin’
Where do you look for this oil well gushin’
Where do you look for this candle that’s glowin’
Where do you look for this hope that you know is there
And out there somewhere
And your feet can only walk down two kinds of roads
Your eyes can only look through two kinds of windows
Your nose can only smell two kinds of hallways
You can touch and twist
And turn two kinds of doorknobs
You can either go to the church of your choice
Or you can go to Brooklyn State Hospital
You’ll find God in the church of your choice
You’ll find Woody Guthrie in Brooklyn State Hospital
And though it’s only my opinion
I may be right or wrong
You’ll find them both
In the Grand Canyon
At sundown
The Hero
A good friend just sent this to me to congratulate us on our new baby Lucy. This is absolutely genius…Over 14 million views in 8 weeks. “The Hero” was created by this Stockholm agency and you can make your own here.
I also made one with another hero of the internet:
Created #3
It has been a fun month for Column Five, and we are staying extremely sane thanks to the great team we’ve been steadily assembling. Here’s a little sampling of recent graphic work:
http://www.flowtown.com/blog/teens-and-their-mobile-phones (above)
http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/how-are-americas-top-companies-taxed/
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/government-takeover-facts-052010
http://gigaom.com/2010/05/19/by-the-numbers-facebook-vs-zynga/
http://blogs.menshealth.com/girl-next-door/choose-the-best-dating-website-for-you/2010/05/21/
And some of the more interesting discussion of infographics, nonsense and that vague sense of everything from the past and future rolled up in one big Internet ball…
Flowing Data: The Boom of Big Infographics
The Atlantic: The Net Worth of Presidents From Washington to Obama
It’s always good to bury gems for future generations to unearth – 1876 Time Capsule Uncovered
Feltron’s webcast was generously posted to the web…we had a nice time in the office eating panang chicken curry listening to The Man on his design process http://media2.fwpublications.com/Design-Webinars/Y0303-Nicholas-Felton-Master-Class-PC.wmv
Infosthetics: Why Chart Junk is More Useful Than Plain Charts
NY Times Tuftebait – We Have Met the Enemy and He is PowerPoint
Cracked: If Movie Universes Had Propaganda Posters
Created #2
This week was a busy week for Column Five, here are some highlights:
http://www.fastcompany.com/1627159/apple-field-guide (above)
http://milo.com/blog/what-are-the-worlds-largest-retailers/?display=wide
http://www.flowtown.com/blog/who-is-the-modern-media-consumer?display=wide
http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/the-top-29-cities-for-men/?display=wide
And of course, the inspirational gems from around the web:
http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/bvqqs/the_map_of_the_nine_nations_of_north_america/
http://lab.andre-michelle.com/pulsate if you see yourself as a nice blend of Brian Eno and John Cage and want to make some music with circles you create at the click of the mouse
500 worst passwords http://www.flickr.com/photos/kateconsumption/4458065285/sizes/l/
http://www.altgate.com/blog/2010/04/104-year-old-video-of-san-francisco.html just before the earthquake/fires hit SF http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1906/18april/images/sf06.city.html
http://www.justin.tv/startuplessonslearned/all#r=UQGDFqM~
http://lifehacker.com/5524759/batchgeo-maps-a-spreadsheet-full-of-addresses-to-a-single-google-map
And on the topic of generational culture, some great discussion sparked by http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1287110 which led to Mark Suster appeasing our entitlement generation a bit with a follow-up to his original post after our collective cultural consciousness felt wounded and cried about it on Twitter. I am a proud member of Gen Y, but once in awhile we need to be taken down a peg by someone who can tell you that you aren’t entirely a beautiful and unique snowflake. We, the cultural anthropologists, are enjoying this a lot, and it certainly is humorous to see people get so bent out of shape when their generation (see also: the team you play for/root for as an extension of yourself) is collectively offended.
This animation short by Mint should be shown to all high school students http://www.mint.com/blog/goals/the-quest-for-credit-part-1/
If you are still reading this email me at jlankow [at] columnfivemedia [dot] com to get my last 50% off code to Smash Summit
And finally, why we are doomed
Created #1
While some people say there is nothing new under the sun, it is always nice to try at least, or to make something of interest to one or two people out there at the very least. Here are some of our recent Column Five infographics followed by interesting bits of inspiration I’ve seen around the web in the past week or so.
Some recent Column Five Infographics:
http://www.flowtown.com/blog/who-is-the-modern-media-consumer
http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/legalizing-marijuana/
http://www.permuto.com/blog/2010/04/23/whos-shopping-online/
http://gigaom.com/2010/04/19/blackberry-vs-iphone/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/14/how-americans-are-drastic_n_534598.html
And some other worthwhile links full of eye candy, data and/or inspiration for your own creativity.
http://blog.iso50.com/2010/02/10/overcoming-creative-block/ – highly recommended/beautiful post
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/colours-in-cultures/ – another beauty by David McCandless
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24821/?ref=rss&a=f
http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html
http://flowingdata.com/2010/04/20/world-data-released-is-a-dream-come-true/