After years of making us laugh at our pain, the most likable man in comedy focuses on the most painful thing of all: our jobs
Roy Wood Jr. is the kind of guy who makes everyone comfortable. He has a talent for making strangers feel as if they grew up with him on his street in Birmingham, Alabama. Even if you have dissimilar viewpoints and values, you’d still want to sit and have a beer with him. It’s part of how Wood has been able to spend his career tackling difficult topics. It’s also why the 42-year-old comedian has remained busy, even in the midst of a pandemic.
In addition to being a correspondent on The Daily Show, Wood recently launched Roy’s Job Fair, a…
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Your art doesn’t care about your nine to five conditioning.
I struggled this week. I didn’t write anything. I didn’t resume any projects. I didn’t record any videos. I didn’t take any decent photos. It was stressful. More accurately it was depressing.
For the last year and a half, I have been a full-time content creator. My wife and I have sustained ourselves largely through writing and editing. We also podcast and do bits of video when we can.
I spoke to my wife, who is also my business and creative partner. I explained that I was feeling a way…
If I had to read them, so do you.
In my experience, the comments on Medium are the most palatable of just about any media platform. If YouTube is the five-hundredth ring of hell then Medium is some form of purgatory.
Alas, it’s still the internet.
So in this series, I want to look back on the stories I have written on and for Medium and review some of the worst comments left by readers.
Why? Well, I think it will be a fun way to look back on what I have done on this platform. I am proud of…
Your love affair with past efforts is killing your creativity.
I had someone reach out to me recently asking me to consult on creating a new content strategy for themselves. Beforehand they sent me a YouTube channel with a couple hundred videos. The videos were interviews with different A-list actors from various press junkets. The videos were run and gun quality at best. Some of it shot with cellphones. The client was trying to figure out how to repurpose all of this content into something engaging.
I looked at those videos for a couple of days. I tried to figure out a way for my client to create new value…
How a year of confinement allowed me to learn to be good at something new and, more importantly, what I didn’t need to be creative.
The first camera I bought was supposed to be a way to upgrade my wife’s weekly Facebook live. Then I bought a second camera, then a fourth.
It was roughly a year ago when my accidental pandemic hobby became a thing. I was desperate to get outside and do, well, anything really. The occasional run was fine, but I could only run for so long. Bikes were impossible to come by. …
With the platform’s latest pivot, I need to figure out its value. And mine.
I have been writing steadily on Medium for about a year and a half now. When I started, I dibbed and dabbed as I tried to figure out what this platform was and how I wanted to use it. I eventually ditched my blog and decided to use Medium as my “home”. It was an obvious choice. …
There is no greater indication of there being two Americas than the way we shop. There are things, practical and impractical, that white America buys without a second thought that Black America gives a cautionary side-eye. It’s not that these products are inherently unsafe for general use, nor are they inherently racist but depending on who uses said item…
The FriiDesigns TriLens Lens Holster
Honestly, this product is the entire reason I am writing this story. I’m an amateur photographer who is slowly dipping his toe into shooting video. I have quickly discovered the amount of equipment photogs and videographers use and regularly carry, including…
I’m starting a new project and you can help in three easy steps.
Step 1: Watch the video above.
TL;DW? No sweat. Here’s the gist. I’m starting a new project called “What Now?”. I want you to send me subjects which you would like my opinion on, or even better, the opinion of someone more qualified than I am in whatever subject you want to be covered. Which brings us to step two.
Step 2: Hit Me Up!
It doesn’t matter how you decide to do it. You could comment on this story, at me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn…
Yes, Amy Cooper is a genuinely awful person — but hear me out
Last week, Amy Cooper, the infamous “Central Park Karen,” had charges against her dropped after completing a “restorative justice” alternative.
Cooper, who called 911 and falsely accused Christian Cooper (no relation) of threatening her in Central Park last summer, became the peak embodiment of Karen behavior — in large part because her behavior happened just as America found itself embroiled in civil unrest over police brutality.
The charges were dropped after she completed five therapy sessions “designed for introspection and progress,” assistant district attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said at a brief virtual hearing. Five therapy sessions? A slap on the wrist.
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Shane Paul Neil
Writer (duh). Bylines @LevelMag @thegrio @NBCBLK. Co-creator of the Good Talk Podcast Network. Don’t forget to add me to your Medium email list!
