Hello friends—
Had the great joy of a random Wednesday night outing to McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre and Humor Institute this week. Couple new friends had extra tickets. Lemme tell ya… it feels good to laugh that much and that hard. I left exhausted and giddy.
I’ve actually done the stand-up bootcamp at McCurdy’s twice. Quite possibly the most terrifying experiences of my life. I encourage everyone to give it a shot, for that precise reason!
Storytelling Tip o’ the Week
One of the secrets of stand-up is that it’s much much MUCH more about the delivery than the material. I once did an exercise where I transcribed the words of a stand-up’s set. Just wrote their jokes down on a page. Then I read it. Guess what? Painfully UNfunny. Because those words aren’t meant to be read; they are meant to be spoken. And cadence and point of view and timing are EVERYTHING.
Whether you are telling or listening to stories, it’s vital to consider the context and the intended relationship between teller and listener. Public or private. One-to-one or group audience. Synchronous or asynchronous time. All should be part of your considerations as you write, edit, prepare, and offer.
The Blog
This weekend I am putting together my brand new grill prep table to make my outdoor grilling oasis complete. So I figured I’d talk about how BBQ sauces are origin stories and tell the tale of my dad’s experience with the holy grail of ribs.
You can check it out here: Sauce on the Side, cuz there’s Nothing to Hide
Quotable
While prepping for my Bite-Sized Fiction class this week, I stumbled across this quote. Oldie but a goodie.
Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very;' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.
― Mark Twain
I couldn’t agree more, Mr. Clemens. I have an entire list of “awful words” that I share with my students and that I seek and destroy in drafts, whether my own or a client’s. “Very” is on that list. Oh yes indeed it is. Email me a request, and I’ll share the list with you. :)
Tuning in to tune out
You may recall I’ve begun swimming with Shokz OpenSwim bone conduction headphones. I use Shokz OpenFits for strength training and running. (Yes, Shokz are awesome, especially if—like me—you can’t stand things IN your ears.)
But those are just the instruments. They are not the music.
Playlists are fascinating, finicky things. They can make or break a party, support or subvert your writing and studying time, amplify or undercut your workout.
Some people like variety. Some people want the exact same song at the exact same mile-marker on their marathon every time.
I’ve got a lot to say about playlists in the coming weeks, but for now let me tell you this, because I’m discovering it about myself in real time.
For swimming, I put together a playlist with several hours of classical, choral, ambient, and world-beat tunes. Stuff that is fluid rather than percussive. Stuff that a humpback whale might dance to. That kind of music buoys me when I’m in the water. Put it on shuffle, and I don’t hear the same song more than two or three times a month.
For strength training, I use either the Afrobeats playlist from Apple Music, or a new playlist I put together that features driving party music or rap. Plenty of Pitbull, Eminem, 2Pac, B.o.B., Flo Rida, and even a couple Turkish and Indian rappers who spit something fierce. All told it’s about three hours, and since each workout is about one hour, again, I shouldn’t hear each song more than once or twice a week. The joyous ferocity and ferocious joy of these artists push me to lift a little more weight than I think I can. Squeeze out one more rep than I planned.
And for running, I have long-standing, ever-growing “Awesome Run Mix” that contains perhaps an embarrassing amount of 1980s soft rock, but now I’m back listening to podcasts, because it’s summer in Florida and way too hot to run outside. So I’m on the treadmill. No need to worry about traffic. And I can simply float away into a voice. I’m currently bingeing “A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs” by Andrew Hickey. I think I’ve mentioned it before; it’s awesome.
ALL TO SAY… your playlists are snapshots. Miniature stories of who you were, who you are, and who you are becoming. A playlist can be a tonic, or a curative, or a stimulant. Try one on. Note how it fits, what it does to you. And what it teaches you about yourself.
Thanks as always for reading, and have a great weekend!
Jason “Shokz to the System” Cannon