Hey y’all!
This summer has been a real banger! Here are some highlights and a couple of low points. I mean, it’s not all just Instagram filters and fancy dinners, right?
I got to travel a little bit, saw some awesome concerts, celebrated my daughter’s birthday, got laid off, and read a great book. Oh, and I published a new book too!
Hope all is well with you. I’d love to hear from you — you can reply to these newsletters. Summer ain’t over yet!
Andy
My daughter Marigold turned two years old! It’s been wild watching her grow and learn and come into her own. She’s really into fruit, Daniel Tiger, running, and jumping. For her birthday party — as, like, a gift bag giveaway — I made an ABC book of collective animals, that I illustrated with MidJourney AI. Ya know, like, “an army of ants,” or “murder of crows,” but not those. I found some much weirder collective nouns. Check out the book on Amazon or buy one directly from me.
I recently published my sixth article with Prattfolio, Pratt Institute’s alumni magazine. For this story, I profiled an interdisciplinary research initiative bringing visibility to the Pratt community’s historical work toward equity, access, and just futures. Check it out here: Illuminating a History of Activism. You can see more of my editorial work here.
The Line, they’re building it! They’re actually building it! Have you heard of this? It’s the 100-mile-long smart city they’re building in the middle of the desert in Saudi Arabia? I’m so damn excited, been following along for years. In fact, here’s an article I wrote about it back in February 2021, which you’ll see is not long after I started my copywriting role at Blend, bittersweet to say the least.
A couple of weeks ago Blend laid off 150 employees (19%), and I was one of them. It’s a bummer. And this was the fifth round of layoffs. I truly enjoyed the work I did at Blend over these last nearly three years, as I was promoted from Copywriter to Senior Copywriter to Content Manager. I had the best manager (Hi, Greg!) and our team was super talented. Really, everyone at Blend was the best of the best. So if you’re a hiring manager, you’d be wise to consider former Blend folks for any role or opportunity.
Needless to say, I’m thinking on the next chapter of my career. Marketing has been a wonderful arena to leverage my skills and talents as a writer and content specialist. I’ve updated my portfolio, CV, and LinkedIn. I’ll keep ya posted! And please let me know if you hear of any opportunities you think I may be interested in.
OK, another important thing I need to share here… her name is Róisín Murphy. I’m obsessed and have been obsessed. This 50-year-old Irish singer, songwriter, and producer who was one-half of the 1990s electro-pop duo Moloko is really having a moment and I just can’t get enough of her. Back in 2020, I included her album Róisín Machine on my Top 10 list of the year — when I was hosting my weekly radio show on KPISS.fm.
Back in November, she released a live performance film that is exactly the kind of thing I wanna see from artists like her: authentic video performances. When you’re ready, here’s 'A Film by Róisín Machine'. And if you wanna start elsewhere, maybe something shorter, check out “Flash of Light” (Live Berlin).
Her sixth solo album drops in September and I couldn’t be more excited. I bought one ticket to her NYC show so I can go all by myself and totally lose my shit in the crowd without worrying about any concert companions. If you really wanna be free, rave solo. Rave solo, dear children.
The Gorge, oh man. If you haven’t been yet, you must make a trip to The Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington. It’s about three hours east of Seattle. So we went out to visit my folks in Seattle and they kept Marigold while we skipped out with our friends to see Dead and Company at The Gorge and it was downright magical. And, yes, I’ve been to Red Rocks. That place is very special, but nothing compares to the grandeur and splendor of dancing with your friends on a grassy hill while your favorite band plays and the sun slowly sets behind the canyons that cradle a blue shimmering ribbon that is the Columbia River… It’s hard to believe I've been on this bullshit for 25 years!
After Dead and Company called it quits, I posted a little IG tribute. I've seen this band dozens of times over the last 8 years and goddamn I’m gonna miss them.
But we all know my favorite band is Phish. I mean, I wrote a damn book about the band. And this summer, I was lucky enough to catch eight shows, and every single one of them was incredible, not a dud among them. The band is playing at the top of their game and I’m excited for everyone going to Saratoga to see them this weekend. So, why not have a book sale? Get 20% off with the code SPAC20 only at www.apsmith.net/store/phish
Speaking of books, I just finished reading the Pulitzer Prize winner, 2009 novel Tinkers by Paul Harding, and it’s an incredible experience, especially for a new father — it’s about an elderly dad on his deathbed and his dad and his dad and their childhoods and it really shines a light on some heavy ontological shit, man. Fathers and sons, the immense beauty and fragility of our lives, and the irrevocable decisions that change one’s life forever. Ya know, light reading! It’s a doozy. And I loved it. From the first sentence to the last sentence, this book is a masterpiece.
Also, it’s Harding’s first novel and I read somewhere that he spent 10 years writing and refining it. Here’s an interesting article and profile on Harding in Vulture.
You guys follow NY Metro Weather on Instagram? Only relevant if you live in NYC, I guess, but it’s pretty great. My man just posts once a day about the weather forecast with a rating out of 10. It’s clean, simple, honest, and when the weather is good, it’s a real mood boost! It’s a 9 out of 10 today, hell yeah!
That’s all for now! 9 out of 10 ;)
🍕 Thank you for reading
I really appreciate you. And I’m always open to feedback.
I’d love to hear from you.
Andy