It's the end of the year as we know it (and I feel pretty damn good)

It's the last post of 2021! I'm sharing 21 personal wins and 21 subscriptions I love.

Photo by Tarryn Myburgh on Unsplash

When he wasn’t loving her madly, or riding on storms, or breaking on through to the other side, Jim “The Lizard King” Morrison would wax poetic about the end of things:

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I’ll never look into your eyes again
Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need of some stranger’s hand
In a desperate land

That’s some wild shit right there, friends. But what does it mean? Honestly, I don’t know. Many of the best lyrics the Ye Olde Lizard King gave us are visceral, disturbing, and hard to decipher, without psychedelics.

But as it turns out, Mr. Light My Fire didn’t really know what the lyrics from The End meant either. Here’s what he told Rolling Stone in 1969:

[E]very time I hear that song, it means something else to me. I really don’t know what I was trying to say. It just started out as a simple goodbye song… Probably just to a girl, but I could see how it could be goodbye to a kind of childhood. I really don’t know. I think it’s sufficiently complex and universal in its imagery that it could be almost anything you want it to be.

Anything you want it to be. I like the sound of that! Maybe that’s why I titled the final Situation Normal of 2021 with a reference to R.E.M.’s apocalyptic masterpiece, even though I opened this post with lyrics from another apocalyptic classic, The End by The Doors. It feels like the right move for an end-of-year piece, not just because this is the finale for 2021, but because the idea of summing up an entire year is sort of arbitrary and nonsensical. As we’re fond of saying in digital media, the end-of-year piece is literally anything you want it to be.

21 Wins in 2021!

Christina is a big believer in counting your wins, and since she’s smarter, cooler, and sexier than me, I’m taking her advice and starting with my wins.

1. The Situation Normal audience grew five-fold in 2021! If you shared this newsletter with your friends (or enemies), this win is as much mine as it is yours. Thank you!

2. I discovered the secret to happiness. It’s located at a vegan restaurant in Studio City, if you’re interested.

3. After an epic saga, we finally have a working garage door. If you’re in the market for a new garage door that comes with a crazy story, call Home Depot.

4. I rediscovered the meaning of hope. Turns out, hope had taken up residence at Dodger Stadium, which makes sense because baseball is a hope springs eternal kind of deal.

5. I got better at having difficult conversations, although I’m still working on getting more comfortable with those conversations.

6. I spoke on two panels at a convention for Wattpad authors. Several young writers told me I inspired them to write funny stories. You’re welcome, kids.

7. After going toe-to-toe with a monster called ANXIETY, I discovered transcendental meditation. Turns out, TM is co-located in Santa Monica and my mind.

8. I reset my relationship with social media, and while I lost followers, I gained mental health.

9. I helped a few good friends out of some bad jams.

10. Back in July, an art installation blew my mind, and it continues to blow my mind to this day. Thank you, Meow Wolf.

11. Travel resumed! We went to Florida, New York, Las Vegas, Santa Barbara, and Palm Springs.

12. I walked more this year than I did last year. Apple calculates that I went from 2.7 miles per day in 2020, to 3.1 miles per day in 2021.

13. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my sister, her partner, and a few friends. After last year’s Operation Turkey / Tofurky To-Go, I am super-thankful for this win.

14. I read 43 books in 2021.

15. I promised myself I’d make the effort to tell artists I admire how much I appreciate their work while they’re still alive, and I’ve kept that promise more often than not.¹

16. I became a Tom Jones fan. Don’t @ me.

17. Several strangers wrote to say a Situation Normal story made them laugh. If you were one of those strangers, you absolutely made my day. You’re the best!

18. After studying the ways of a master, I leveled-up my avocado toast game, which continues to bring enormous joy to our household.

19. I confronted my fear of Halloween. Thanks for making that confrontation worthy, Zak. And thank you for holding my hand during the ordeal, Becky, Rob, and Christina.

20. Christina and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary.

21. I quit my ghostwriting job. The first, and really only, rule of ghostwriting is that you sign a shit-ton of nondisclosure agreements. So while I can’t say anything about the job I left behind, I’m proud to say that I’m entirely focused on my own writing going forward. Yay!

21 winning subscriptions for 2021

You may have noticed subscriptions—an old-timey business model used by the ancients for something called “magazines”—are making a comeback. I’m tempted to insert an archaic LL Cool J reference about the labeling of comebacks, before launching into an analysis of the sea-change that’s transforming digital media. But who cares how the sausage is made and monetized? Not you, reader! You come for the “content,” and you stay for the shits & giggles. So, I’m just going to share my favorite subscriptions.

1. Humungus by John DeVore. I’d give my big toe and a 50-year lease on my soul to write about culture the way John does. The Ballad of Tom Wambsgans perfectly sums up my feelings on Succession, which is one of my favorite shows these days.

2. Numlock News by Walt Hickey. I’m a sucker for interesting, unusual, and illuminating data points that explain the news. Thankfully, that’s exactly what you get from Walt.

3. Read Max by Max Read. After nearly two decades of selling stories about and for the tech industry, there are only a handful of writers whose writing rings true. Max is one of those writers.

4. Platformer by Casey Newton. What I said about Max goes Casey, who uses Platformer to explain—wait for it—social media platforms and how their power impacts our lives, our mental health, and our democracy.

5. Context Collapse by Neal Ungerleider. There was a time when it was my job to understand what was going on at the intersection of advertising, marketing, public relations, and mass media. It’s no longer my job to understand that stuff, but whenever I’m curious, I turn to Neal, who has a knack for breaking down complex things without breaking your brain.

6. The Reebooting by Brian Morrissey. This one is about building a sustainable media business. Brian has a lot to offer for big media brands, but there’s plenty for one-human media brands too. Thanks for your insights, Brian.

7. The Novelleist by Elle Griffen. I’m an author in search of a business model, and one of the most valuable tools in that search is Elle’s newsletter. She writes honestly and openly about a topic authors don’t talk about: money. Thank you for sharing more than we have a right to expect, Elle!

8. The Microdose by Michael Pollan, Malia Wollan, and Jane C. Hu. This one’s a trip—in the best possible way.

9. Emily Writes Back by Emily Sanders Hopkins. I come for the cartoons and stay for the life advice. If you feel like there’s something missing in your life, it’s probably Emily’s newsletter.

10. All in Her Head by Jessica Valenti. The road to becoming a better man means listening to women. Jessica’s writing is a good place to start, fellas.

11. The SneakyArtPost by Nishant Jain. If I start the day with some of Nishant’s drawings, it’s going to be a good day.

12. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem is a national treasure. He’s also a triple-threat: athlete, activist, and writer. Kareem covers all of those topics on his Substack and offers weekly recommendations for what to read, watch, and listen to.

13. Just Enough to Get Me in Trouble by Lyle McKeany. Every Saturday, Lyle reminds me that vulnerability is a prerequisite for beautiful writing.

14. Tom Morello in The New York Times. These days, I’m doing more aging, rather than raging, against the machine. But that’s the beauty of Tom’s newsletter. The stories about Tom’s adolescence give us the backstory to his raging, and his perspective is a nice tonic for my aging. Plus, Tom’s writing usually leaves me with more optimism than I probably have a right to expect.

15. Dark Narratives by T.L. Bodine. I’m too much of a chicken-shit to read my friend and fellow Wattpad Star’s novels because she writes horror and, let’s face it, I’m the kind of guy who still owns a “security blanket.” But Dark Narratives is a must-read because T.L. has a gift for media criticism that makes me a better author.

16. Money Stuff by Matt Levine. I don’t understand high-finance or corporate governance, but since Wall Street has a nasty habit of blowing up Main Street at least once a decade, I want to know more. Matt’s newsletter makes me smarter on those topics, even if I only understand a fraction of what he’s saying.

17. Tiny Revolutions by Sara Campbell. Sara writes raw, beautiful essays that nourish my soul and inspire me to show up for my meditation practice. Thank you for the gifts, Sara!

18. Garbage Day by Ryan Broderick. Sometimes I look at internet culture and scream, what the fuck?! OK, I actually scream that every time I look at internet culture. But if I want to understand internet culture, I turn to Ryan, who always takes out the garbage.

19. Insight by Zeynep Tufekci. I don’t know how she does it (magic, tea leaves, dragon entrails), but Zeynep has a knack for analyzing systems and data in such a way that she’s basically right more than everyone else.

20. Adventure Snack by Geoffrey Golden. As a kid, I always loved “choose your own adventure” stories. Geoffrey’s adventure snacks make me feel like a kid again because they’re fun to play and funny too! That’s a win-win, people.

21. The Bittman Project by Mark Bittman. Food is everything to Mark. The content Mark and his contributors bring to the table nourishes the mind, body, and soul. Also, I’m closing out this list with The Bittman Project because after all this writing, I’m fucking starving. 🌮🍟🍕🍣🥗🥨🌯🥪🍜🍪🧁🍱🥘🥙🥖🥡🥯🥥🍋🍝

That’s all (for 2021), folks!

It’s been a pleasure writing Situation Normal, and I look forward to sharing more funny stories with you next year! In the meantime, please do me a BIG FAVOR and share one of your favorite Situation Normal stories with a friend. There are plenty of links to choose from in the 21 Wins in 2021 section.👆

Oh, one last thing. If you feel like sharing any wins, or your favorite subscriptions, I’d love to hear them. Please drop your wins & recommendations in the comments.👇

1. Sorry I never got the chance to tell you how much I enjoy your music, Jim. Michael Stipe, check your inbox.