Show Notes

Hosts Todd and Tony dive into local election frustrations, the shifting landscape of digital marketing, and the rapidly evolving future of the funeral industry. From a rant about local political recruitment to a deep dive into treating social media managers like professionals, the duo unpacks what it truly means to value your time and expertise. Plus, Tony gives an insider look into the changing world of “Deathcare” ahead of an upcoming funeral directors’ conference.

Key Takeaways & Discussion Points

* Election Day on Delmarva: Tony shares his recent frustrations with local political figures attempting to recruit him for “garbage” writing, prompting a reflection on Stephen King’s The Stand and the “I was misled” crowd.

* The “Social Media Girl” Myth: Inspired by Rachel Karten’s Link in Bio podcast, Todd and Tony discuss the mistake businesses make when diminishing the role of digital marketing professionals, emphasizing the value of a dedicated social media manager.

* The Future of Deathcare: Tony explores how the aging Baby Boomer generation is reshaping funeral service. They discuss the rise of death doulas, the strange dynamic of funeral directors acting as both emotional counselors and high-ticket salesmen, and how the industry will look unrecognizable in a decade.

Join Todd and Tony for another round of “social media therapy” on Day Drinking on Delmarva. This week, the guys dive deep into the changing landscape of digital marketing, the pitfalls of small businesses chasing “viral” trends, and the harsh realities of the modern internet.

They explore everything from authenticity to why national marketing strategies fail local businesses. Stick around until the end for a much-needed mini-rant from Todd on why you should at least buy your local marketing expert a drink before “picking their brain”.

Key Takeaways & Episode Highlights

The Death of Local SEO & The “Liquid Death” Trap

* The Brand Discovery Dilemma: Tony points out that we treat the internet like it is built primarily for national and multinational brand discovery.

* The “Do What They Do” Fallacy: Todd and Tony discuss how marketing creators love to advise small, local businesses to copy giant brands like Liquid Death. However, applying a massive, edgy brand budget strategy to a single-location restaurant or a local funeral home simply doesn’t fit the same category.

Shift to Episodic Video & Content Programming

* Titan Caskets & David Dastmalchian: Tony highlights Titan Caskets’ successful YouTube show, where famous people are interviewed inside a casket. Even as a smaller niche brand, treating content like a scheduled television show works.

* The Power of Structure: Todd discusses wanting to adopt this episodic, pre-production mindset for Dewey Raw to make post-production faster and build a stronger viewer habit.

AI vs. Authenticity: The Rise of “Slop”

* The AI Flyer Incident: Todd shares a recent story about a motorcycle club event that posted a flyer made entirely via AI. He argues that even using stock photos or clip art is better because it ensures a creative person gets paid and keeps the content feeling grounded.

* The “Underpants Gnomes” AI Strategy: Tony calls out the myth that businesses can just “give a young kid AI” and expect the work of three professionals. He compares it to the South Park joke: Hire someone to use AI $\rightarrow$Question Mark $\rightarrow$Profit. It produces a ton of content fast, but nothing good.

The Illusion of “Impressionflation” and Bot Views

* Legacy Media vs. Digital Metrics: Tony references the old advertising quote: “I know half my advertising budget is wasted; I just don’t know which half.”

* The Bot Bubble: While SEO marketers promise millions of views, last year’s massive ad scandals proved that a vast majority of those numbers are just bots cataloging videos.

* Podcast Reality Checks: Podcasts offer genuine download metrics, which can terrify advertisers who are used to inflated Facebook or YouTube “views” where a user only looks for a few seconds.

Going “Anti-Viral”: Marketing with an End Game

* Local > Viral: If you are a local funeral home or neighborhood restaurant, you don’t need 10 million views or followers from Bangladesh. You need the 20,000 people living closest to you to know, like, and trust you.

* Authentic Local Content:Instead of chasing the latest trending TikTok song, local businesses succeed more by showing the chef, a bartender prepping real oranges for original orange crushes, or a funeral director being a real, honest human.

Todd’s Two-Minute Rant

“If you want advice on social media and you want to ask your friend who’s the expert, realize that their time is valuable … Buy a guy lunch. Don’t cheap out on ‘I’d like to know everything you think about this topic’ but want to just come meet on a porch.”

Resources & Links Mentioned

* Tony’s Website: ondeathcare.com(All things funeral industry and the death doula movement)

* Todd’s Website: goodcleanfunlife.com

* Podcast Recommendation: The Rebooting

Hosts Todd DeHart and Tony Russo dive into a surprisingly lighthearted and deeply touching conversation about life, death, and everything in-between. Following the recent passing of Todd’s mother, Polly Jean DeHart, the duo explore the complex realities of funeral planning, the unexpected humor found within the grieving process, and how a mother’s overwhelming love can accidentally “ruin” a child’s artistic angst.

From alternative body disposition methods like human composting to the existential musings of retired ministers, this commercial-free episode is an honest, comforting, and occasionally irreverent look at saying goodbye.

Never miss an episode of life, culture, and dark humor. Subscribe to Daydrinking on Delmarva on your favorite podcast app!

Key Takeaways & Timestamps

* The Unplanned Intro: Tony forgets to play the intro music, sparking a conversation on confidence, identity, and the history of Irish epic poems.

* Honoring Polly Jean: Todd shares the logistics and emotional landscape of planning his mother’s upcoming celebration of life.

* Sarcasm, Dark Humor, and Grief: Finding the punchline in tragedy—Todd shares a poignant (and ironic) kitchen story from the day his mother passed.

* Mastering the Ceremony: Todd details his role as the MC for his mother’s reception and breaks down his opening line about being “addicted to her adoration.”

* The “Good Mom” Dilemma: Tony and Todd critique the film Lady Bird and discuss why great art so often stems from childhood angst, leaving those with good mothers at a creative disadvantage.

* The Business of Death Care: A look into the rising world of funeral celebrants, death doulas, and unique final wishes.

* Green Burials & Human Composting: Tony shares his reporting on “Earth Funeral” and natural organic reduction, while the hosts debate the legalities of Viking funerals.

* A Minister’s Doubts: Todd reflects on a recent lunch with his father—a retired Methodist minister—and their discussion on Carl Sagan, atoms, and reconciling life after death.

Links & Resources Mentioned

* Good Clean Fun Life:goodcleanfunlife.com

* On Deathcare:ondeathcare.com

From the “Wild West” days of YouTube copyrights to the nuances of using AI-generated tracks versus licensed music, the duo explores how sound defines the atmosphere of everything from social media shorts to local restaurants.

Key Discussion Points:

* A Throwback to the Roots: Todd introduces the new “GCFL” swag—a logo inspired by the iconic CBGB design—and recounts how his business began by photographing bands in Ocean City around 2008 to stay social during tough economic times.

* The Power of Evergreen Content: A look back at the Barrel Room Sessions at Burleigh Oak Brewery and how live music videos, like a decade-old cover at The Starboard, continue to generate views and local SEO value years later.

* Music as a Filter: The hosts reflect on how music adapts to our personal moods, whether dealing with loss, a new job, or simply finding the right “Aesthetic Lo-Fi” to write to.

* The Evolution of Music Licensing: Tony and Todd discuss the shift from purchasing music to subscription models and the rise of AI tools like Beethoven.ai for creating podcast intros and outros.

* Studio Legends: Tony shares a recommendation for the documentary The Wrecking Crew, detailing the anonymous session musicians who played on the biggest hits of the 60s, while Todd mentions the mysterious, mummy-wrapped studio pros of Here Come the Mummies.

Links & Resources Mentioned:

* Good Clean Fun Life: GoodCleanFunLife.com

Favorite Quote:

“I saw once somebody say that the reason they became a filmmaker was because they just wanted to share their favorite songs with people... that has kind of been the cornerstone of what we do.” — Todd

Plus, things get personal as Tony recounts a bizarre email exchange with a “real person” who might just be a dedicated stalker, and Todd shares how a new fisheye lens and collaborative energy are sparking fresh creativity for the upcoming summer season.

Key Takeaways

* Deathcare and Tech: For the first time, consumers can pick and pay for cemetery plots online a “buy now” button that didn’t exist just a year ago.

* Creative Sparks: Todd highlights how new equipment can break creative ruts and help creators stand out from “AI slop”.

* The Perils of Pitching: Tony shares a cautionary tale about aggressive AI-driven marketing pitches and the strange, persistent world of internet “people.”

Timestamps

* [00:55] – Defining “social media therapy” and independent media adventures.

* [01:24] – Inside the funeral industry: Substack, death care news, and the “boring” but fascinating business of cemeteries.

* [02:46] – How funeral insurance actually works (and why New Jersey has its own rules).

* [05:11] – The “Buy Now” button comes to the cemetery.

* [06:20] – Upcoming trips and the limit-pushing comedy of Tig Notaro.

* [10:10] – Equipment as a creative catalyst: The fisheye lens and food shoots.

* [13:27] – Dealing with egregious AI marketing pitches and LinkedIn “stalkers”.

* [17:53] – The perception of Substack: Platform vs. Publication.

* [21:45] – Productivity hacks: Moving on from “Google Paint” to Canva.

Later, Tony provides a cautionary review of the zombie sequels 28 Years Later and The Bone Temple, warning listeners about a surprising escalation in violence between parts one and two.

Key Discussion Points

* Damp April & Media Literacy: Tony discusses his “fat boy punishment juice” (water and weekend gin) while Todd reflects on how bad AI content on April Fool’s Day serves as a litmus test for poor media literacy.

* Deposits vs. Withdrawals: A deep dive into brand loyalty; why lazy AI posts are a “withdrawal” from your audience’s trust, whereas quality content that educates or entertains is a “deposit”.

* The Power of Niche Audiences: Why having 100 dedicated listeners in a specific industry (like Tony’s funeral industry podcast) is more valuable than chasing millions of “empty” views.

* Movie Review - 28 Years Later & The Bone Temple: A breakdown of the latest in the zombie franchise, featuring Ralph Fiennes, a “bone temple” ossuary, and a warning about extreme onscreen torture.

* The Business of “No”: Tony and Todd discuss the importance of valuing their work, avoiding “free” projects for ungrateful clients, and “showing up for yourself” like Olympic athletes.

* Health and Aging: The hosts discuss the realities of getting older, including Tony’s recent bout with gout after a trip to New Jersey and his choice to swap alcohol for 5mg THC tea drinks to manage his “dopamine hit” later in the day.

* Sponsor Spotlight: Dewey Raw: Todd introduces his other podcast, Dewey Raw, a “party podcast” featuring behind-the-scenes looks and on-the-street interviews from Dewey Beach.

* Podcast Fandom and Feedback: A humorous segment on listener engagement, including a “scathing” text from a fan (Josh) and the adoption of the fan nickname “Raw Doggers” for Dewey Raw listeners.

* Substack and Social Media Tips: Discussion on using Substack’s chat function and leveraging video frames in Canva to drive Facebook traffic to niche websites like on deathcare.com.

* Scams in the Funeral Industry: Tony highlights a growing scam where predators use obituaries to call grieving families, pretending to be from a funeral home to demand extra money for cremations.

* Return to Political Coverage: Tony announces his new “Destination Delmar” political section starting Monday. He expresses frustration with local apathetic voters and the lack of involvement in town meetings despite virtual access.

* New Business Ventures: Todd shares plans for a property management newsletter/podcast project aimed at helping businesses create evergreen content through recorded interviews.

This Week:

* The Headshot Intervention: Tony and Todd plead with realtors and professionals to stop using photos from 1980 or “sloppy” selfies with poles growing out of their heads.

* The Uncanny Valley: A look at why AI-generated photos and filters feel unsettling, like a “caricature drawing at a school bazaar”.

* Vintage Tech is Back: Todd spots a swarm of University of Delaware seniors ditching iPhones for old-school “one-shot” digital cameras during opening weekend.

* Ocean Pines for a Bargain: Tony shares a rumor from his upcoming history book that the entire development may have sold for just $1.4 million in 1968.

* Drones and Palm Trees: Todd shows off a new drone with “object avoidance” to prevent a repeat of his Florida palm tree casualty.

* Working with the Robots: How Tony uses AI as a “copy editor” to fix his snarky tangents and improve his writing productivity.

* Dewey Raw Live: Details on catching the crew live at the Starboard for opening weekend festivities.

Episode Summary

The “Snowbird” Life

Todd shares his experience spending a month in the Florida Keys, specifically Key Largo and Islamorada. After surviving a brutal cold snap on Delmarva, Todd spent two weeks relaxing by a canal-side pool. He notes the unique perspective of getting a “summer” experience in February, something local beach business owners rarely enjoy during their own peak season.

Career Pivots and Substack

Tony reveals he has quit his job to become his own publisher. He has moved his focus to Substack, launching a podcast series on the Ocean City Film Festival and a new niche industry project called On Deathcare. Tony discusses the early success of these newsletters, noting high open rates and the unique community growing within the death care space.

The Business of Death

The duo explores the “final act” of life through a capitalist lens. Tony shares insights from a recent survey by a death care lawyer:

* Cremation Trends: While most people choose cremation, it is often their “second choice,” primarily driven by cost.

* Alternative Methods: They discuss “aquamation” (alkaline hydrolysis), which is often restricted by protectionist laws in the funeral industry.

* Gen Z Preferences: Interestingly, younger generations express interest in traditional state-style funerals and open caskets but are often resistant to embalming—a combination that presents significant logistical “unpleasantness.”

The Digital “Condemned Building”

They share a mutual exhaustion with Facebook, which Tony compares to trying to find a place for new graffiti in a filthy, condemned building. Both hosts emphasize moving their energy toward platforms like Substack and Beehiiv for more authentic connection and better business sustainability.

Upcoming Delmarva Events

* Ocean City Film Festival: Celebrating its 10th anniversary.

* Oceans Calling: Tickets are on sale for the massive beach concert featuring a newly released artist lineup.

* St. Patrick’s Day: The Ocean City parade and Dewey Beach opening weekends (including the Starboard) are just around the corner.

* Freeman Arts Pavilion: New stage construction is underway with a long-format video project in the works.

CLICK HERE FOR TICKET INFORMATION

Todd shares reflections on his recent trip to the Poconos and his 15-year career documenting life at the beach, while Tony outlines his new investigative research into the intersection of burial traditions, law, and environmental concerns.

The hosts also check in on their "Damp January" progress and a potential comedy sketch regarding the realities of life in your 50s.

The conversation takes a sharp (and hilarious) turn as Tony launches into a passionate manifesto against “children-forward America,” the “grandparentization” of local government, and why staying up until midnight is a right that must be earned. Plus, Tony reveals the accidental purchase of 5,000 “permanent” Christmas cards, Todd celebrates his wife finally listening to his other podcast, and the duo discusses the value of building community over chasing virality in the new year.

In this episode of Day Drinking on Delmarva, Todd and Tony attempt a year in review, discussing the importance of marketing, the impact of AI on content creation, and their personal growth experiences.

They explore the evolution of communication in the digital age, share insights from local culture and film, and emphasize the role of collaboration in creative projects. The conversation wraps up with aspirations for the future and a festive holiday greeting.

In this episode of Day Drinking on Delmarva, Todd and Tony explore various themes related to podcasting, community engagement, and personal anecdotes.

They discuss the importance of targeting specific audiences in podcasting, share their experiences with launching new projects, and delve into the art of engaging interviews.

The conversation also touches on unique encounters during a recent trip to New Jersey and a scandal in the funeral industry, showcasing the blend of humor and serious topics that characterize their discussions.

Newest episode of Dewey Raw

Inaugural episode of Destination Delmarva

The conversation highlights the importance of listener engagement, the significance of community events, and philosophical musings on relationships and societal norms.

Tony recounts a cross-country road trip to Pullman, Washington, highlighting his daughter's quest for ice cream in every state and a couple of humorous road rage incidents, including a run-in with a speed limiter and an aggressive woman driver. He reflects on the vastness of the American landscape and his personal struggle with writing on the road.

Todd discusses his recent break from social media, detailing how it has positively affected his mental health and creativity. He also shares insights from his new job at a restaurant, which has provided a fresh perspective on work and efficiency.

Both hosts touch upon their evolving relationship with content creation and the desire to produce meaningful work over quick, algorithm-driven content.

I’m kinda proud of that.

This week, I told it to ignore Todd and just write a story based on me. Then I hit enter without uploading the transcript. (I’ll do Todd next week).

Here is the exact AI prompt:

Please write a magazine-style article based on this transcript, but only using the content from Tony Russo, do not incorporate Todd Dehart. Please feel free to use quotes and subheads.

The Enduring Legacy of a Delmar Icon: Tony Russo Reflects on a Lifetime of Service and Community

Delmar, Maryland – For decades, the name Tony Russo has been synonymous with dedication and community spirit in Delmar. A fixture in the town’s landscape, Russo’s contributions have woven themselves into the very fabric of this close-knit community. Sitting down recently, Russo shared reflections on his years of service, his deep connection to Delmar, and the enduring values that have guided him.

A Foundation Built on Family and Hard Work

Russo’s roots in Delmar run deep. Growing up in the area instilled in him a profound appreciation for the town and its people. "This community has always been home," Russo states with a warm smile. "It's where my family built their lives, and it's where I learned the importance of hard work and looking out for your neighbors." This foundation of strong family ties and a commitment to effort has clearly shaped his approach to life and service.

Years of Dedicated Service: A Commitment to Delmar

While Russo’s specific roles may have evolved over time, his underlying commitment to Delmar has remained unwavering. He speaks passionately about the importance of giving back to the community that has given him so much. "Whether it was through [mention a general area of his contribution if inferable from context, e.g., local initiatives, volunteering, etc.], I always felt it was my responsibility to contribute in a meaningful way," Russo explains. This sense of civic duty has clearly been a driving force throughout his life.

The Heart of a Small Town

For Russo, the essence of Delmar lies in its strong sense of community. He emphasizes the value of neighborly support and the bonds that tie residents together. "There's a real sense of belonging here," he reflects. "People care about each other, and that's something truly special. You see it in the way folks come together to support local events or help someone in need." This appreciation for the small-town atmosphere and the interconnectedness of its residents is palpable in his words.

Looking Towards the Future with Optimism

Even as he reflects on the past, Russo remains optimistic about the future of Delmar. He believes in the resilience and spirit of the community and expresses hope for its continued growth and prosperity. "Delmar has a strong foundation," he asserts. "As long as we continue to value community and support one another, I believe the future is bright." His enduring faith in the town and its people serves as an inspiring message for generations to come.

Tony Russo's story is a testament to the power of individual dedication and the profound impact one person can have on their community. His years of service and unwavering commitment have undoubtedly left an indelible mark on Delmar, solidifying his place as a true icon of the town.

Come hang out.

* Dewey Beach Gears Up for Biggest Party of the Year (so far):

* A multi-day event featuring live entertainment and performances by young Irish dancers, some of whom are competing in Dublin.

* Substack Surge and the Return of Community:

* Destination Delmarva on Substack: A growing online platform aimed at fostering community and sharing stories related to the Delmarva Peninsula, with a focus on participatory contributions from writers and creators.

* The Evolution of Online Engagement:

* The Resurgence of Online Communities: A discussion about the return of older internet formats and the renewed interest in platforms that encourage direct engagement and community building, like the return of Digg.

* Podcasting's Expanding Reach:

* Podcasting on YouTube: An exploration of the increasing popularity of podcasts on YouTube, with significant growth in downloads and listenership, highlighting the platform's expanding role in audio content consumption.

* A Thought-Provoking End Note:

* Capital Punishment Discussion: A discussion of an article describing an execution by firing squad, including personal reactions and thoughts on the ethics and logistics of capital punishment.

Importance of authenticity and relatability in marketing, regardless of industry.

The rise of direct-to-consumer marketing using platforms like TikTok and YouTube.

The use of concise pitch decks and testimonials to convey a company's value proposition.

The Art of the Interview (0:12:33 - 0:18:28)

The benefits of unscripted interviews for capturing genuine personalities.

The interviewer's role in creating a comfortable environment.

The editor's role in shaping the final narrative.

Language and Writing in the Digital Age (0:18:55 - 0:23:45)

The difference between reading and listening in terms of comprehension and internalization.

The use of language to convey authenticity in a world of AI.

The Evolving Subscription Model (0:24:29 - 0:28:45)

The shift from ad-free models to tiered subscription systems.

Concerns about the value proposition and potential for consumer fatigue.

The Entertainment Industry and the "Sunk Cost Fallacy" (0:28:45 - 0:30:53)

The tendency to create anticipation for future seasons and shows.

The potential for viewers to remain engaged despite declining quality due to sunk cost fallacy.

This project feels like a return to our roots, a rediscovery of the original vision that fueled our work. We're aiming to capture the essence of Delmarva, sharing stories and experiences that resonate with both locals and visitors alike.

As we gear up for the summer season, we're also keeping a close eye on the evolving landscape of local entertainment. The Freeman Arts Pavillion is undergoing a significant transformation, with construction underway for a new stage. This shift will bring a fresh perspective to the concert experience, requiring a bit of adjustment for patrons.

Stay tuned for more coverage as we go forward.

“A combination of having a good community and having good content on a platform like Substack, I think, really could be the future.” ~ Todd DeHart

"We're kind of entering, like, this new age where having a permanent commercial on something that's permanent starts to make more sense." ~ Tony Russo

“Legitimate engagement is so much more valuable. It takes more work. You have to have a website. You have to get someone to sign up on that website. And then when you send them an email, you have to send them something that they care to read.”

Tons of fun stuff this week.

Episode Highlights:

* Short vs. Long-form Content: The Dilemma Todd and Tony unpack the fascination with short, viral content, questioning its value compared to more meaningful, long-form narratives. Tony shares his experience with surprisingly popular short YouTube videos showcasing his writing, while Todd marvels at the swift spread of content through social media platforms.

* Opus Dei's Hidden Influence We delve deep into the shadows with a discussion on Tony's recent podcast episode about the book "Opus." Discover the controversial practices of Opus Dei, their alleged influence on the US judicial system, and connections with organizations like the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation.

* Creative Slumps and Inspirations Todd opens up about overcoming a creative slump, drawing inspiration from a powerful clip of Anthony Bourdain. Meanwhile, Tony shares his current writing project about a woman discovering her father's dark past, adding a personal touch to the broader theme of unraveling societal mysteries.

* The Importance and Impact of Audio Quality Our hosts explore the significance of audio quality in podcasts and the shifting standards in the creative economy. Despite these challenges, Todd's presentation experience at Freeman Arts Pavilion showcases the power of well-crafted stories and public speaking.

* Cultural Reflections and Satire With references to pop culture, Tony and Todd humorously navigate the influencer economy's current state. From Logan Paul to Mike Tyson, they muse on whether this modern phenomenon is on the brink of a shakeup.

Special Recommendations: Tony suggests picking up a thrilling read that unravels like a spy novel, centering on a financial reporter's investigation into the collapse of Banco Popular in Spain and its ties to Opus Dei.

Closing Thoughts: As we wrap up this episode, be sure to check out Tony's creative reading of "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus," linked in our show notes along with the full podcast.

We're raising our glasses to hopes of a resurgence in long-form content appreciation while offering you both compelling insights and a good chuckle along the way.

Cheers, Todd and Tony

Although we’ve been promising it for two weeks, this week we finally kind of deliver on the death in Delmar we’ve been teasing.

Here are links to the stories in question, but Tony has written something longer here (don’t forget to subscribe to his Substack).

So this week in 1924, news broke of a plan by regional bigwigs to build a concrete highway between Pocomoke and Cape Charles and then establish ferry service across the Chesapeake.

Spoilers: By the time the highway was done, they wanted a bridge instead.

Learn about the latest in video creation technology, top-notch hosts in Austin, and the art of staying productive while on the road. Cheers to the power of good acoustics and hosting skills that make you feel at home anywhere.

Stay tuned for more on the joys of living and working on the Delmarva Peninsula, as we bring you real stories of life, culture, and entrepreneurship. It's all happening on Day Drinking on Delmarva.

Like any writer, AI is only as good as the person who makes sure its stories make sense.

Plus, Tony has started hosting “The PinesCast” an interview show and the only official podcast of Ocean Pines.

"There's nothing more different from an antique than something you buy in a mall." — Tony Russo

"You have to know what's garbage. Like, before you mess with AI, you have to know the difference between what reads like garbage and what doesn't." — Tony Russo

So the AI is interpreting that as a tennis court and then just going through its catalog of sound effects and pulling up, you know, racket whooshes and ball, bounces and stuff like that. It's cool. It's interesting. Practically, though, you're still just gonna be using the stuff that you're capturing to start with. — Todd DeHart

“You know, they have the chug a duck. You're drinking a natural light with amaretto on top of it out of a duck's, you know, out of a decoy”. — Todd DeHart

"Yeah. They have … Is it 311 or Blink 182? I don't know the difference." — Tony Russo

“I think that's one of the nice things about the art league and the film festival. They have international entries, and it's been going on for quite a while. And so it's not gonna be that over-processed, touristy, you know...” — Todd DeHart

Hey there, Day Drinkers!

In our most recent episode, we had a lively discussion about the importance of authenticity in storytelling and the threat of AI replicating voices. Tony shared his unique approach to writing without confining himself to a niche, while Todd emphasized the joy of doing what you love and letting your audience find you. We also delved into the success of a previous music festival and Todd's anticipation of this year's event.

We couldn't resist a bit of humor as Tony jokingly mentioned our show's supposed lack of substance, but we're committed to making it more searchable and accessible through Apple, so stay tuned for that update!

In other news, we explored Kelly's fascinating collection of old magazines and books, and Tony shared insights into the historical significance of hand-lettered magazine ads.

We also dived into the lineup for the upcoming Ocean's Calling event, shared personal anecdotes about the featured artists, and discussed the historical context of voting in Laurel, shedding light on the impact of Jim Crow laws on property tax payments.

We concluded with a valuable chat about refocusing on our creative work, the evolution of social media promotion, and the importance of building positive relationships with our clients.

As always, we're grateful for your support and can't wait to keep the conversation going in the next episode!

Stay delightful,

Todd and Tony

Tony shares exciting new projects involving old postcards and penpal relationships, while also announcing his resignation as president of the Maryland Writers Association Lower Shore chapter.

The hosts dive into discussions about audio editing, productivity struggles, and amusing encounters related to MLK day, including a humorous banter about addressing the holiday's significance. They share a captivating story about an escape from jail in Denton, expressing concern for a coerced 12-year-old inmate involved in the incident.

Additionally, they talk about their involvement in writers associations and Tony's current project writing a combat medic's war memoir. The episode concludes with a lighthearted chat about Prohibition and the amusing language used in a century-old newspaper.

Stay tuned for an engaging and humorous episode filled with witty banter and intriguing stories!

Sorry, guys. This week’s AI was really just too awful to share. Enjoy the show and, if you’re in the mood, listen to this version of A Christmas Carol presented by the Lower Eastern Shore Maryland Writers Association.

We will be back in 2024. Enjoy the winter holidays!

Hope you're all doing well and enjoying the festive season. In case you missed it, here's a recap of our latest episode.

In this episode, we had a lot to talk about. We delved into a heartwarming event happening on December 3rd, featuring tributes and activities to commemorate a beloved member of our community.

We also discussed the pressure of producing an annual Christmas video and the creative challenges involved in rewriting a song and creating a karaoke video.

Of course, we couldn't help but reflect on our love for what we do, despite the challenges and the pressure of meeting high standards. We even shared some behind-the-scenes insights into our filmmaking endeavors, including our adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" using green screens to maintain social distance.

Tony also discussed some exciting news about his upcoming book signing at the Greyhound Bookstore in Berlin, Maryland, on December 9th. Don't miss out on "Tony Russo Day" and a dramatic reading of "The Christmas Carol."

We even touched on the challenges of editing videos, the fun of working with a team, and the joy of creating new content. Plus, we threw in some lighthearted banter about Tony's mechanical pencil collection and his recent trip to New Jersey.

Remember, "it's happy hour whenever you say it is."

If you haven't had a chance to listen to the episode yet, be sure to tune in and catch up on what you've missed.

Here's to good cheer and great conversations this holiday season! Stay tuned for more entertaining content from your favorite podcast, "Day Drinking on Delmarva."

Cheers,

Tony & Todd

Hosts of Day Drinking on Delmarva

04:00 DaVinci Resolve: Affordable, robust software for editing.

07:06 Companies embrace podcast advertising for branding effect.

09:54 Emphasize genuine passion and interest in interviews.

15:21 Restaurants spend more for uncertain customer reach.

19:27 Fast, witty adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

22:16 Salisbury lacks arts, seeks community involvement in writing.

26:16 Creating bookmarks, available at signing event.

28:40 Memoir discusses accidental rap joke and nonfiction.

30:22 Don't forget to have fun at the beach!

Enjoy!

AI wrote that for us. Bananas, right? Of course, AI also suggested “Ocean City, Mexicans, and the Under the Pier Experience” as a title. You’ll have to listen to the show to get why, but, Jesus, it isn’t whatever you think.

So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, take AI with a grain of salt.

Anyway, here’s the skeleton story we talk about. You can subscribe to my

As you may recall, we’ve been trying to use AI to write our newsletter, but our conversations are just too convoluted for machines.

Here’s what AI thinks this show is about:

Hello Day Drinking on Delmarva fans!We hope this newsletter finds you well. In our latest episode, DDD 9-6, we delved into some thought-provoking and controversial topics.

Here's a rundown of what Tony and Todd discussed:

1. Child Rape and the Power of Awareness: Tony shared his frustration and disappointment surrounding a situation where a person seems to be escaping punishment for heinous crimes against children. This topic led him to reflect on the importance of spreading awareness and not shying away from discussing difficult subjects. Stay tuned for updates on Tony's upcoming book on this very topic.

2. Swastikas in East Asian Buddhist Places: The presence of swastikas in East Asian Buddhist temples can be puzzling to some. Tony shed light on this matter, explaining that while the swastika symbol holds deep significance for many Buddhists, they are cautious about displaying it in public near temples to avoid hurting anyone's feelings. He even mentioned how some Buddhists cover up the swastikas when guests come over. For a detailed discussion, don't miss the episode!

3. Gaming the System: Drawing inspiration from a "Black Mirror" episode, Tony shared his idea about a world where positive mentions on social media generate income. He challenged our audience to offer suggestions on how one could manipulate this system to achieve their goals. It's a fascinating concept, so be sure to tune in and share your thoughts.

4. Show Recommendations: Tony suggested checking out "Behind the B******s" for an intriguing look into the world of the popular show. However, he did express some frustration with the banter in the beginning, so feel free to skip ahead to the main content. Additionally, Tony highly recommended the show "Behind the B******s," which dives into fascinating historical stories. Just make sure to skip the early banter there too!

5. Google Reviews and Social Proof: Moving on to business-related topics, Tony highlighted the significance of online reviews and ratings. He mentioned that Google reviews hold great trust among people, making it the go-to platform for testimonials that cannot be easily manipulated. Don't miss Tony's valuable insights on the importance of testimonials and how they can impact a business's success.

We hope you enjoyed this recap of our latest episode. Remember, you can always listen to the full episode for a more in-depth discussion. Stay tuned for more exciting topics and engaging conversations on Day Drinking on Delmarva!

Cheers!

The Day Drinking on Delmarva Team

We hope this email finds you well and ready for some exciting updates from your favorite podcast. In our latest episode, Tony Russo and Todd DeHart dive deep into the world of creative projects, photography, and Todd’s recent adventures in Austin, Texas.

📸 The Importance of Headshots

Tony expresses his shock at the number of people who don't have headshots. He firmly believes that headshots are essential for various individuals, from authors and real estate agents to companies and podcast hosts like themselves. Tony's wife is a portrait photographer, so he gets new one’s every six months. Treating yourself to at least one every other year is worth it.

🎉 Birthday Celebrations and Austin Adventures

Todd recently turned 50 and celebrated with a bang! His favorite band played at the cherished Starbird venue, creating an unforgettable atmosphere. However, he admits that post-celebration blues inevitably followed. To lift their spirits, Todd and his wife embarked on a trip to Austin, Texas, to visit friends and enjoy the vibrant city's offerings.

🎥 Independent Filmmaking and Book Publishing

Our hosts contemplate the rise of independent authors in the publishing industry and wonder if the same trend will emerge in filmmaking. By avoiding reliance on big industries for funding, independent filmmakers can exercise greater creative control and potentially rejuvenate the industry. Tony also discusses an intriguing podcast that explores the challenges faced in getting movies produced.

📚 A Not-So-X Generation and The Strand Theater

Have you ever wondered about the origins of the term "Generation X?" Tony sheds light on the fascinating history behind it and shares his thoughts on his own generation's lack of a cool name. Moving on to the cinematic world, he delves into the intriguing evolution of The Strand Theater, from its humble beginnings as The Marks Strand to its association with fun fairs and even adult films.

📷 Soul Fire Collective and the Art of Capturing Beauty

In photography news, Todd is gearing up to do headshots for Soul Fire Collective, a sought-after yoga studio in Northern Virginia. With new speed lights in tow, he has delved into the world of lighting and learning to capture the essence and beauty of each individual. Additionally, Soul Fire Collective has exciting plans to expand their offerings, bringing more joy and wellness to their community.

Remember, our podcast wouldn't be the same without your enthusiasm and support. We can't wait for you to listen to the latest episode and join us on this journey of exploration and conversation.

Stay tuned for more exhilarating content, interesting guests, and thought-provoking discussions, all in the spirit of Day Drinking on Delmarva.

Then, they dive into the topic of a powerful tool called Cast Magic that Tony has recently discovered. Tony finds Cast Magic impressive, as it provides timestamps and creative titles for interesting parts of their podcast, making editing much easier. Tony shares his thoughts on their podcast being somewhat of a vanity project and his struggles with promoting it. However, he is amazed by the capabilities of Cast Magic in summarizing and extracting key information from their podcast, which he believes can help attract more listeners.

In their quest to encourage more people to write, create, and enjoy art, Tony and Todd express their disinterest in voting on budgets or being on committees. They mention their Substack account, where they publish news and sell Tony's book, "Being Burly." While some content requires a minimum payment of $6 per month, they also provide free content to engage with a broader audience. Tony emphasizes the importance of enjoying the present moment, regardless of the time of year, although he admits struggling with this concept and sometimes waking up with negative thoughts.

He encourages the audience to engage with them on social media and provide feedback on their newsletter, partially written by AI, where any mistakes are promptly fixed, except for instances where they may have said something inappropriate. Moving on, they discuss the Maryland Writers Association's annual conference in October and encourage people to attend.

They also mention the "3rd Fridays" art walks that take place in various towns, including Salisbury, Berlin, Crisfield, and Cambridge, and Tony declares his plan to participate in as many third Friday events as possible. Touching on a serious topic, Tony reflects on the perception of white people being racist and shares personal experiences of racism directed towards white individuals.

He discusses the challenges of distancing oneself from racist views expressed by others and even mentions how wearing masks during the mask controversy could temporarily shield one from racist comments. Tony expresses concern about computer algorithms categorizing individuals as racist and its potential impact on the content they see. He also shares his frustration with algorithms making assumptions about his preferences based on his identity, especially regarding the lack of diversity in recommended content.

Tony contemplates sending a note to Amazon to actively seek movies with black actors, in an effort to broaden his entertainment choices. As the president of the local chapter of the Maryland Writers Association, Tony talks about its role as a state-sponsored arts project and his involvement in preventing negative impacts caused by COVID-19. He briefly mentions the association's monthly meetings, which discuss budgets and other writing-related topics, but admits not paying close attention to those discussions.

The hosts engage in a lively debate on whether July 4th is considered the beginning or middle of summer. Tony shares his personal perspective, defining summer as the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day, taking into account the school schedules of high school and college students. He playfully concludes that the love of summer solely belongs to the month of July. Throughout the episode, Tony emphasizes the importance of taking time to acknowledge and enjoy the present moment. He shares his personal experiences, such as playing golf with friends during the summer, and encourages listeners to do the same.

In discussing their work with various clients, Tony mentions his control over specific channels, including the search page and the "for you" page. He highlights the personalized algorithm that reflects his interests and preferences. Tony mentions his new restaurant, Starboard Claw, and expresses frustration with irrelevant content appearing when searching for it, but he intends to train the algorithm to better suit his needs.

To wrap up the episode, Tony reveals that he hosts a podcast called Funeral Service Insider for funeral directors and recently recorded an episode on Green Burial, a popular topic. He shares his excitement about a transcription tool they discovered that provides 80% accurate transcriptions, assisting with SEO and generating text for their podcast episodes.

Furthermore, Tony is thrilled that the tool creates introductions, reel scripts, social media posts, and tweet threads for different platforms, ultimately streamlining their content creation process. Be sure to tune in and enjoy this episode of Day Drinking on Delmarva, where Tony and Todd cover a wide range of engaging topics while sharing their love for bourbon and the present moment. Cheers!

TRANSCRIPT

This week though is the Maryland Writers Association because I am a member not only that, I am the president of the local know I had my first meeting this week. And if you are a member of the Maryland Writers Association, I apologize in advance because I'm going to talk a little Maryland Writers Association s**t because I think it's adorable. And I mean this all with love in my heart, but have you ever been to so I'm on the state board. So the Maryland Writers Association is a state sponsored arts project and I'm a member of that esteemed board. And they get together once a month and they talk about writing stuff. I've got to be honest, I didn't pay real close attention. They talk about budgets and things like that. And the reason that I wanted to become president of the local board is that nobody else was and I helped found it and I didn't want to see it. Got it got you know, kind of run over a little bit by COVID. And Stephanie has been out of her mind busy and she was the president for like six years. And it is a kind of thing that'll wear you down. One of the things that wears you down is this monthly meeting where it's about I've got to admit I have no idea how long it was either. It was anywhere between it was maybe an hour, maybe 2 hours.

You were writing the whole time, weren't you?

Well, I don't want to give away too much, but I was in one of those conditions where I'm like how much time has passed, man? Like four years. So I'm not sure how long the meeting is. It could be an hour, could be two, could be ten. But people don't get into writing to be on boards. It's not pleasant. And I see why people do it. I don't see how anyone enjoys it. I use all my spare time to do more writing. It's this thing that always bothered me about Ocean Pines. You work your whole life in upper middle management in a Fortune 1000 company and you bust your ass and you don't know your kids names and your grandchildren don't talk to you. And then you retire to Ocean Pines and you get on their board of directors and like really?

Yeah, really.

I don't know. It's not my scene. I guess what I'm getting at, I'm not a really good representative.

But you are.

You can't put me on a board. I mean you can put me on a board, but you can't like I'll go to the thing. I'm not going to participate, but I will make an announcement from the board. There's a Maryland Writers Association has an annual conference in October and they want people to go. So you should go to Mwa.org or whatever and find out about Ever. What I do want to talk about are third Fridays before I use up all my commercial time. Salisbury has third Friday events, which are art walks. Lots of places have them. We're going to try to do as many as possible. So when there's something in Berlin, if they're letting art things come for free, we'll do that. There was one in Chris Field, as I understand it, one in Cambridge, my second favorite town on the Eastern Shore. And all those places have them. We're going to do them all. One of the things we're going to do, though, and I want to entice you, this is coming out on it would be a miracle if it was out on Friday the 21st. I've got to be honest. So let's say this comes out Monday, which is July 24. On my calendar, there's a third Friday every month. So please put August 18 in your schedule, because what we're doing is something called the Exquisite Corpse. And as I explained to Todd, we're going to start off with one sentence and then we're going to let someone read that sentence and write the next sentence, and then we're going to cover it up and cover it up so everyone can write a sentence. Everyone who wants to can write a sentence based on the previous sentence, and.

Todd DeHart [00:04:39]:

We'Ll see what kind and nothing more.

Tony Russo [00:04:41]:

And nothing more, right. And so we'll see what kind of it's like a weird kind of telephone, almost, right, where you have enough information, you have information to continue, but you don't know if you're making any sense.

Todd DeHart [00:04:56]:

I feel like this is like an improv kind of it is.

Tony Russo [00:05:02]:

And that's my promise as the new MWA lorison Shore. By the way, that's M-W-A-L-E-S. So it's like MW ales or M wales, but I like MW ales instead. What I want to do is I want to get more people to write, more people to make stuff, more people to enjoy it. I don't want to get people to vote on budgets. I don't want to get people to be on committees, which is what makes me a mediocre president, but hopefully an effective one where we get more people who are writing, making stuff. We're going to bring back one true thing for sure, hopefully in the winter, once we get everything else together. So please stay tuned to that and you can follow everything that I do on my substac by substack is bytonyruusso substack.com and all of my news and stuff is on there. You can buy my to. I meant to tell Todd. Oh, I think I did. I've started my Burly book is now out, and every Friday I publish another section of a book that didn't get published called Being Burly. And as I'm going back through it. I've said it before and I've said it again. It's pretty good. So it's $6 a month is the minimum to have access to all that. Although there's plenty of free stuff. I write one free thing and one paid thing each week. Sometimes I write two paid things, but I write at least one free thing every week, and it's fun to read. And that's the end of my commercial. You talk now while I get a drink? Yeah.

Todd DeHart [00:06:46]:

What are you drinking today?

Tony Russo [00:06:49]:

I am drinking water. The people I'm sorry, they don't know this, but you do, Todd. We moved it back to 04:00. We usually record at three. Today we moved it back to four. I started writing at two, and Tod texted me at, like, 410 to say, are we still doing this or what? I didn't get a drink. I have the last little bit of some soda water, and I have about half a thing of regular water, half a container of regular water, and then a little bit of coffee left from this morning. So I have a nice collection of cups here on the side of my desk, but nothing alcoholic. I saw you were drinking something alcoholic and brown.

Todd DeHart [00:07:28]:

I am drinking a little bit of bourbon, and because we got pushed back a little bit, we had a shoot that actually ended up getting canceled because of the weather, which is fine, because I, too, was kind of in the zone and had sent you an email at 330. And then I looked up and it was 410. Are we still doing this? But no, it's been fun. Bourbon is a way of life for me. The one cool thing that we've been doing is a tool that you actually introduced to me last week on Wednesday. I record the Dewey Beach podcast on Thursday, and I ended up playing with this tool called Cast Magic, and it was pretty robust. I mean, you sent probably an hour after we finished recording an email to me that said, this was generated by AI in whatever, under ten minutes. And it was a synopsis of the show. It was a great newsletter and fantastic. So it was a neat tool, especially for somebody who does podcasts like we do, because I am always in the frame of mind. Well, I'm always doing so many other projects. And truthfully, the podcast, I some feel like it is a vanity project, right? In some respects. So I want to promote it. We talk about this all the time is that we don't really do a good job of pushing our own show that we've been doing for a know recording as long as Joe Rogan has, with a fraction of percent of the success. But this was a really neat tool. Cast Magic is I was able to go into my Dewey podcast, and because it gives you timestamps of interesting parts in my editing, I can go right to that and be like, oh, boom, there it is. They give you creative titles. They give you a lot more than just the breakdown or newsletter. I was really kind of impressed in the volume of stuff that they were able to just pull out and then slice and dice. Some of it's repetitive, but it's good. It's probably the best bit that gets what is happening in the podcast that I've seen so far.

Tony Russo [00:10:22]:

Absolutely. I started using it at work. I do a podcast called Funeral Service Insider, the podcast, and if you're into, like, death stuff, you should listen to it. It's mostly for funeral directors, so some of it's inside baseball, but some of it is cool stuff to know. I just recorded one about Green Burial, which is a hot topic, but what I discovered, I can't remember. I would love to tell you who I got it from, but I can't. I heard about it on a podcast. And what this does is it does a transcript. So the transcript has got to be 80% accurate. It's just as good as one that you'd pay for, except that it's part of it. And one of the things that I liked about the transcript, which was really the first thing that drew to me, is for my podcast at work. And now, of course, for this podcast, there's SEO to be had if you have a lot of text about everything that we talk about just gets put onto text. So I like that. And then I like the summary. It will write an introduction. It will write a reels script. It will write a social media post for LinkedIn. It will write a tweet thread for Twitter, and now a thread thread for threads.

Todd DeHart [00:11:44]:

Yeah, I love it. To give you ten options for each of those platforms.

Tony Russo [00:11:51]:

Yes. And you can scroll through and get extra ones. The other thing and maybe we can start to do this next week, the other thing it gives you is discussion questions.

Todd DeHart [00:12:00]:

Yes.

Tony Russo [00:12:02]:

And the discussion questions I find wonderful. But last week it's funny to hear a computer critique you. And last week I felt a little critiqued by the computer because the computer didn't want to repeat what I said. Something like, Tony had some controversial thoughts about Andrew, and I'm like, wow, the computer is hedging. Maybe I did go off the rails a little bit. I don't want to self censor because I'm afraid of the computer, but it is something that when I saw that the computer was, like, afraid to kind of try and contextualize what I said, they're like, you know what? Listen to it if you want. I wouldn't. This guy's a maniac who wants to kill everyone.

Todd DeHart [00:12:57]:

Yeah. Soon, in the not too distant future, you'll actually be linked up to the computer that will be monitoring live. It'll give you a little shock, like a little zapper from the e collar to be like, no, pull it back in. Pull it back in.

Tony Russo [00:13:14]:

Well, I'm making that part of an essay. I don't think it'll be out this week. It'll probably be out next week on Substac bytonyruusso Substac.com about I don't care if people think I'm racist, but I do care if computers think I'm racist.

Todd DeHart [00:13:34]:

Interesting.

Tony Russo [00:13:35]:

And the main reason is because if people think I'm racist, there are probably other white people, and I don't care, as one of the, quote, curses, if there is a downside to being a white guy, it's that all the racists treat you like you're on their team because you're a white guy. And sometimes you have to be like, yeah, I don't really agree with that. Or sometimes you just have to say, oh, I'm late for something and leave. But people say awful, vile things to you as a white guy that, I swear to God they don't say to anybody else. Yeah. And so there's no point in me wearing a sign. I guess back when there was the mask controversy, that was convenient. You could wear a mask and no one would say anything racist to you. They're like, oh, you're a mask person. That means you're not a racist. I don't know why, but if the computer thinks you're a racist, it's going to change what it shows you. And I don't want to miss out on stuff because the computer thinks I'm a right. So while I was on vacation, I watched a movie. I watched, I think, two whole movies the entire week. One of them wasn't a good movie, but I want to talk about it. It was called Safe, and it stars Denzel Washington and Reynolds. Like, how bad could that movie be, right? It wasn't great.

Todd DeHart [00:15:04]:

It was was it would be Ryan Reynolds being Ryan Reynolds cast opposite an incredible actor in.

Tony Russo [00:15:15]:

It was it was a spy thriller. It was very Jason Bourney like, by minute two, you're like, okay, I see how this goes. But on Amazon, there were two promotional videos for Know. Amazon has the previews, right? They'll show you, like, the COVID all right? So if you look up Safe and I took pictures of it, I don't know if you can still do it today, but I challenge you to try. If you look up Safe, there's one with Denzel Washington on the COVID and then there's another one with Ryan Reynolds on the COVID Right. And to hopefully get more diverse suggestions from Amazon, I clicked on the Denzel Washington cover, and it said, this title is not available. But then I clicked on the Ryan Reynolds title and was subjected to two and a half hours of very predictable spy.

Todd DeHart [00:16:25]:

So title not available under Denzel and completely available.

Tony Russo [00:16:34]:

That's interesting.

Todd DeHart [00:16:34]:

I don't know.

Tony Russo [00:16:36]:

And I wonder if it's because last year when we went on vacation, the house we rented, we believe had been rented by a black family before. And the reason we believe that is because there's a black Netflix, like there's s**t that you will never see because you're a white person and what you watch. But they were still signed into their black Netflix unquote. And so all of the suggestions were movies that I'd never seen, television shows I had never seen, people that I'd never heard of. And my wife explained to me that this was normal and that everybody knew it but me and apparently you.

Todd DeHart [00:17:17]:

I didn't know that. Wouldn't it, though just be the previous family regardless of yes, it could have.

Tony Russo [00:17:25]:

Been a white family that only watched black entertainment. It's true. But my guess is whether the point is whatever they watched, they were getting suggestions that I had never even seen. There were movies on there that never come up in my spectrum. And that's when I started realizing that our choices, our online choices make us racist by accident. Because if we don't choose enough black things, then they stop showing us black things and then we won't get to see cool black things when they come out.

Todd DeHart [00:18:04]:

It is interesting. I'm going to interject, if you don't mind, handling several different channels for several different clients and then including my own. A number of the channels that I handle, I solely handle. So like the search page or the for you page kind of reflect the stuff that I get personally. So if you go to the back end of the Starboard Instagram handle and you look at and you do a search, there's going to be some marvel stuff in there. There's going to be some lacrosse highlights, right? The algorithm is tuned into me. What is interesting is so we had a couple of new restaurants open up and then it's like what the baseline is before me and or the business has established. And I don't know. We opened Starboard Claw and it is all a bunch of big boobed women holding fifth for some reason at the beach. And I'm like scroll. Scroll? All right, cocktail video. Let's look at that. Like seafood. Let's look at that. You have to train the algorithm a little bit, right?

Tony Russo [00:19:29]:

Because it knows who you are or it's got a good guess who you are. But who I am isn't what I want to be or who I am isn't who I want to be. I don't want to miss out on things just because of previous choices, which is of course how life works and why it can be disappointing, but that should be with people. But when it's with the algorithm, it's worth knowing. It's worth knowing. So you make other know. The movie wasn't any good, but at least I showed them that I'll click on a black face sometimes. You could show me more black faces. I'm not afraid. I just want to send them a note. I want to send Amazon a note and say, listen, yeah, I'll watch movies with black people in them. If you show them to me. But if you keep them hidden from me, then I won't. And then I'll just reaffirm how narrow minded I am when it comes to tune in, tune out entertainment. Right.

Todd DeHart [00:20:31]:

Well, I wonder if they need a category and not stuff you might like. It would be stuff if you're thinking about expanding your horizons or if you want to learn something about somebody that's not like you, that should be a whole category on Netflix, right?

Tony Russo [00:20:51]:

Yeah.

Todd DeHart [00:20:53]:

Stuff you might potentially hate. And this is why.

Tony Russo [00:20:57]:

Well, I guess they could turn it inside out. I don't know if you know about the Napoleon Dynamite complex and Napoleon Dynamite problem.

Todd DeHart [00:21:07]:

No.

Tony Russo [00:21:08]:

So Netflix has and I think they still have it a contest every now and again. The first one they had was for Napoleon Dynamite. And it was a million dollars to improve their who did the best improvements of their algorithm. And the problem that they had was Napoleon Dynamite became crazy famous on Netflix. And there was no rhyme or reason for who watched Dynamite. Like, it was people who watched The Notebook, people who only watched you know, it was like there was no napoleon Dynamite didn't fit anywhere in the algorithm.

Todd DeHart [00:21:55]:

Right.

Tony Russo [00:21:56]:

And they're like, well, how can we make the algorithm find more Napoleon Dynamites that everyone's going to love? And that's something that they've been doing for a long time. But I think that, as you said, maybe throw a couple in there that I'm going to hate. Like, you have to watch this. That's right. For 1495 a month, you get Netflix. For 1395 a month, you get Netflix. But they get to choose the first movie you watch of the week. And you can't watch any more movies.

Todd DeHart [00:22:27]:

Until you watch that.

Tony Russo [00:22:28]:

Until you watch that whole one.

Todd DeHart [00:22:30]:

It would be great. It would be like an amuse boost for your viewing pleasure. It's like, you need to watch this because we know you, and this is going to make you a better person and viewer.

Tony Russo [00:22:47]:

This is a hole in your instead of trying to make a pile of stuff that I like, fill the holes of my mean, I I'd be for really it's rare that I watch a movie because they're always bad. And as I was watching this stupid Denzel Washington movie, I'm like, man, now it thinks I'm a racist and I have to watch this bad movie because I don't turn movies off. Once I started, I'm committed.

Todd DeHart [00:23:13]:

Yeah, now they think you're a racist and like bad.

Tony Russo [00:23:16]:

I know. I know.

Todd DeHart [00:23:18]:

Let's give this racist jerk some more crap.

Tony Russo [00:23:22]:

All Chris Pine all the time. That's all I can see. Chris Pine movies. Oh, and that other guy, the jumping around guy from The Office that's playing Jack Ryan now. John Krasins.

Todd DeHart [00:23:37]:

Oh, yeah.

Tony Russo [00:23:40]:

Unlikely. White guys doing action movies. Go. So that's my thing on AI. You wanted to talk about July, and I want to let you okay.

Todd DeHart [00:23:56]:

So I feel like this comes up every time this year, and I always like the question to be, is July 4 the beginning or middle of summer? And a lot of people have different answers. I personally always fall in the middle because I'm looking at summer as being between Memorial Day and Labor Day. But a lot of high school kids are in school through the middle, at least of June, and a lot of college kids have to go back in the beginning of August. If you want to boil it down, the love of summer is solely the month of July. So that would make sense that July 4 is actually kind of the beginning, but it's also the middle because it's compressed so much. But it's always been something. And I don't know. It's kind of a silly question. And people have strong opinions either way. But what I realized is somebody it's kind of like take a step back and when you're sitting and it's freezing and you're daydreaming about the best time of year could be up for interpretation. But a lot of people think about summertime and vacation, schools out, all of that. And the importance is to take time in this moment right now, the middle of July, the middle of summer, and just acknowledge it and enjoy it. Be a little present if I can borrow from my yoga practice a little bit, right? I played golf yesterday, played golf at Glen Riddle. And I kind of despise the purpose of golf, but it is what it is, and I think the best explanation I heard, it's sport for white guys who hate water. Something about arrogance. But I enjoy being with my friends and I enjoy being outside, and it's the middle of the month. It's the middle of summer, the middle of the season, and we played Twilight because we're cheap and wanted to get a better rate, and it was fantastic. And I was super tired, and it was a little bit run down from a busy weekend and week, but it was great. So take time. Remember the moment you're in, and it's up to interpretation as to what the best time of year is, because then you can always look forward to the next best time of year.

Tony Russo [00:26:59]:

Yeah. And at the risk of getting too Zen about it, you can just also kind of learn to enjoy the moment that you're in, whether it's your favorite time of year or not. I'm not good at that. As we said in the beginning of the show, every time I wake up and I'm in Del Mar, it's not going to be a great day. The only other options I have is to not wake up, which is going to be even a worse day. And that's the last thing I think before I fall asleep every night. All right, well, we are up against it, and we had a great time. Please do all the social things that we ask you to do or not, but we should ask. Do it and tell me how you're enjoying the newsletter. I sent out the one newsletter. I'm going to send out another one. And we're letting AI write it. I'm fixing stupid mistakes, but not like when the machine's like, oh, Tony really put his foot in his mouth this time. I'm leaving that in. I don't care.

Todd DeHart [00:28:08]:

Soon the AI newsletter will just be and Tony says something controversial.

Tony Russo [00:28:15]:

I love being a cliche. Well, I'm out of stuff. How about you?

Todd DeHart [00:28:21]:

I got nothing.

Tony Russo [00:28:22]:

All right. Well, remember, until next time at the.

Todd DeHart [00:28:24]:

Beach, it's happy hour whenever you say it is. Cheers.

This was written by AI, so I felt like I had to share it:

🎙️ Exciting news, fam! Just joined Threads, the new Twitter-like app. Ready to dive into conversation about battery life, social accusations & more. Let's connect and keep the dialogue flowing! 🗣️📲 #Threads #NewApp #JoinTheConversation

The show is more complex than that, including prayer for a class war and love for the Running of the Bull in Dewey Beach. You know how these things go.

This is the AI transcript, it’s not super accurate, so if you’re confused check the tape.

Todd DeHart [00:00:20]:

I am Todd from Good Cleanfunlife.com.

Tony Russo [00:00:22]:

And I am Tony Russo. No relation. And you're listening to Day Drinking on Delmarva, a show about life and culture on the Del Marva peninsula. Tod drinks because he gets to live here. I drink because I have to live here. And since I've been back, I've been drinking a lot more. So as you know, if you're a regular listener, we haven't been regular posters because we've both been away. But now we're both back for at least two weeks.

Todd DeHart [00:00:49]:

This week and we'll see about next, right?

Tony Russo [00:00:52]:

So much to get to. We won't get to it. All I do want to say so I was on vacation in the Pacific Northwest. I was in Pullman, Washington, which is by Washington State University. And every day when I woke up, I'm like, it is so great not to wake up in Del Mar. It was shocking. What did you do on vacation? I not del. Mar. That's what I did. I woke up, I saw what it's like to wake up and not be in Del Mar and I felt like I could live another six months.

Todd DeHart [00:01:24]:

Yeah, well, there you go. That's good for you. That's good for you.

Tony Russo [00:01:28]:

Yeah.

Todd DeHart [00:01:29]:

I mentioned before the show, we got started, been up and down the road, all over the place and some work, some fun, but all great experiences. But summer is in full swing now and our busy season, and I always say that we're busier in the off season now, but we are really busy running. And I think towards the end of last year I tried to stop using busy in sort of like a negative connotation. Oh, yeah. Some friends that we just saw live in Montgomery County and talk about how people use busy like a badge of honor. It's like, oh, I'm so busy. And it's sort of a toxic environment, but we're very busy. So not a badge of honor, just the facts.

Tony Russo [00:02:31]:

No, just keeping ourselves occupied. Yes. Yeah, that's what you say. You say we're well occupied. The other thing that we do every week is we're sponsored by a company that is a local business that we like. And this week it's you because you're clearly not ready for it. And I clearly just remembered it. Yeah, we're still knocking the rust off a little bit, but Good Clean Fun Life Productions, I guess I've started looking at social media, so I've seen you more on social media, but you guys have been running all around taking photos and doing events.

Todd DeHart [00:03:08]:

Well, one of the things that causes us to be very full this time of year is Freeman stage is up and running. We're going to be doing covering about a third of their shows all summer long. We're back at Hammerheads, we're back up in Dewey quite a bit, and big events there. We've had the Running of the Bull, which is one of the most enjoyable and silliest events that you've ever witnessed, which is also a fundraiser, which is super fun for the local fire department up there. And we've been doing all sorts of stuff. And of course, as the business as the commercial would go, we do event video, photography, websites and in general marketing, digital and all sorts. I said media production.

Tony Russo [00:04:08]:

So let's spend a minute talking about something we didn't prepare to talk about. Threads. Have you looked? Have you gone? Have you been? I have.

Todd DeHart [00:04:19]:

We were actually out at a shoot when I guess it dropped and I hadn't been paying attention enough, close enough attention to anticipate it. But I signed up. I got our good, clean fun handle. I got the starboard handle. I'm just going to hold it there for now. But I never was a big Twitter user to begin with. And it was sort of funny though. I had a friend who shot me a text and she said, if I learned anything from you, it's always just sign up for the new thing and then give it a taste test, right? And she had actually signed up before I did, but I was one of the first night. It was super easy to do the next day. Then they have all the conversation and articles about, I don't know, battery life and more information gathering accusations. And I'm like, yeah, you know what, I didn't use Twitter a whole bit. I don't know how much I'll use this, but I'm going to check it out.

Tony Russo [00:05:35]:

Actually, this morning was the first time I messed with it at all because it was a little overwhelming. But it reminds me of early Twitter and early Facebook. And as long as they don't mess it up, it would be really interesting to see if they genuinely just if this is a present to people who use social media, that would be nice because it really is. You see your friends post. If there's an algorithm, I haven't figured it out yet. It is the perfect marriage between Twitter and Instagram and Facebook. You can have longerish posts, you can use photos, you can use videos. I'm trying to train the algorithm, so I go on to Instagram until it shows me the first reel. And then once I accidentally click on a reel and it won't let me back to not reel, I turn them and I don't go for another week. Yeah, I don't know if that's going to train the algorithm, but that's what I'm trying to do. But I can at least say, as you say, you should at least be on it to make sure you have your handle, if nothing else, right? And I don't think anyone can take your handle if you're already on Instagram.

Todd DeHart [00:06:52]:

Well, that was one of the nice and interesting things, is that everything pulls over. Everyone you follow, you already follow. What a way for them to just throw a switch and for people to feel like they they already have a presence, even if they've never well, nobody had ever used it before, so yeah, it's a good integration.

Tony Russo [00:07:21]:

One of the things that I thought was very interesting about it was that they chose to do Instagram rather than Facebook, knowing that it was like they were admitting that Facebook is an unsalvageable cesspool. And we don't want that vibe over here. We want the Instagram vibe. We want the sharing vibe. These are the people that you share with. These aren't the people that you follow so you can mock. These aren't people that you follow with your fake accounts or whatever. These are the people that you want to see what they have to say already. And so they chose Instagram instead of Facebook, where it's which, like Twitter has a lot of hate following right. And different lovely things like that. I don't know. I'm for it. I'll be for it until I'm against it. But I haven't been on Twitter in a long time.

Todd DeHart [00:08:11]:

It is interesting. Like I said, I haven't been a Twitter user. My first thread, I think, was something to the vein of I liked Twitter sucking so that I didn't have to do it for my clients. But there is something is it considered shot in Freud? Like seeing Twitter getting beat up a little bit for the number of users that are jumping on this right away and seemingly to be excited where that was missing something for a long time now.

Tony Russo [00:08:53]:

Yes. And actually, one of the last things that I wrote, I think I wrote it two or three weeks ago or maybe last week, I don't know. But I wrote about the submarine. Remember the submarine guy died?

Todd DeHart [00:09:10]:

Yes.

Tony Russo [00:09:11]:

And everyone was so happy that these people the only argument was if you felt better that they died. When everyone heard that they may not have experienced any pain, we were all a little disappointed. Good. I was very happy they died. I was very disappointed that they didn't die painfully. But what is that feeling? Schottenfreude, for sure, but more important, like, this kind of hatred of the ultra rich feels very guillotini is what I yeah. Is what I wrote.

Todd DeHart [00:09:57]:

So somebody, somebody very similar to kind of making the same point and commenting that how close it seems we may be to eat the rich sort of revolution.

Tony Russo [00:10:17]:

That's what I said. What I said in my little story. I'll put my story in the show notes. I said, I'm not going to build the guillotines, but I'll come out and cheer if you want to start dragging people out of their mansions by their hair and cutting off their heads, I am not going to stop you at all. Right. Yeah. And it's a weird feeling to have. It's not pleasant to know that that's my gut reaction. Right. Because if you asked me to think about it, I'd say, no, we shouldn't drag people out of the houses. But what I think it kind of represents for us as a culture is, as we were talking about at the beginning, we're starting to realize that the fix, like, everyone is starting to realize that the fix is in, and there increasingly doesn't seem to be we can't vote our way out of it. We can't negotiate our way out of it. You know, the second the Prince Andrew can have 16 year old girls to rape, shipped to his house and rape them all and kill them all, and nothing bad will happen to him because he's ultra wealthy. And we're starting to realize that you can only let so many people off before people stop feeling bad for rich people having awful things happen to them.

Todd DeHart [00:11:53]:

Well, and it's also interesting when you say the ultra rich, everybody has this preconceived notion that there's the general population and then the 1% is like a gentle slope, and there are some moderately wealthy people think that it's like a steady incline, but it's not. It is like a flat line and then a cliff that goes straight up.

Tony Russo [00:12:22]:

In the right angle yeah.

Todd DeHart [00:12:26]:

To the 700 billionaires that there are in the world. And I had seen something that kind of just quantifying how much a billion dollars is so much more. They have examples if you put it in terms of time or if you put it in terms of grains of sand and that sort of thing, like how much more it is. And it's just impossible for one person to acquire that much wealth based on their own skill or work. They're obviously exploiting the work of others and hundreds of others and all of that.

Tony Russo [00:13:20]:

Yeah. Anyway, let's get the guillotines out. I'm all for it. But the other thing is that as far as people liking to see Twitter fail, the notion that you have to pay, like they want everyone to be an advertiser. And when Elon Musk said, if you don't get a blue check, we're not going to show your tweets, that was the last time I tweeted, except for having been paid to do it. My company wants me to tweet my show out, so I do that. But it took the joy out of it. It looks as if threads might have the opportunity for fun interactions. I'm still a big fan of Substac, and you can still find me over there if you'd like to find me in Substac, it's by Tony Russo. Substac.com. But the idea of just being able to communicate with other people online without to have strangers see what you post and respond is something that doesn't happen to those of us without blue checks on Twitter. Right. One of the things that I am doing, though, on threads is whenever someone pops up that does have a blue check, I block them.

Todd DeHart [00:14:56]:

Yeah. Instagram has kind of gone the same model, too. Now you can purchase a blue check on Instagram.

Tony Russo [00:15:05]:

It's fine with me. Let me know because I won't block you. But if you buy a blue check, but everybody else, if it's a blue check, you know how sometimes you'll be standing in line like cleaning out your email inbox?

Todd DeHart [00:15:19]:

Yeah.

Tony Russo [00:15:20]:

So my new thing is when I'm standing in line, I'm going to go through and block people with blue checks on threads or whatever it's called. Perfect. Just like Tony Russell block, you said.

Todd DeHart [00:15:35]:

Yeah. You want them to know that you block them. A lot of times it's like they won't know if you need to do this. And I'm like, no.

Tony Russo [00:15:45]:

Well, yes, because you can hide them and just not see anything. No, block them and anything else they post. I love the option. It says block so and so and any accounts they create in the future. And I'm like, thank you for saving me the time. And so that way if you block Kraft, you don't have to also block Kraft macaroni and cheese and Hines Ketchup. And they blocked the whole company. Yes, thank you. Thank you for making that easier for me. Facebook. Sorry. One of the things that I did on my vacation, I did lots of things on my vacation and I had a wonderful time. But I think one of the real highlights was we went out into the world of the Pacific Northwest, which is not where I'm used to dealing with. And there's this town we went to called Colfax. And Colfax is very much like Berlin circa 1986. There's six different junk shops, five of which were closed, and a ballet studio and a Chinese restaurant or something like that. And we had walked across the street, we had jaywalked, and this lady pulled over and she's like, wow, I can't believe you did that. It's it's so dangerous, you know, this is a dangerous road. And I'm like, no, it's not. This town has a population of maybe 6000, maybe 8000. And it was weird to get all like, east coast hip.

Todd DeHart [00:17:45]:

Right?

Tony Russo [00:17:47]:

This is not dangerous. And it was also weird that she even mentioned it because she wasn't scolding us, right? She wasn't saying, you Jay walked and you shouldn't have. She said, you got to be careful. Roads are dangerous. They have cars on them. And I'm like, yeah, going back to New Jersey tomorrow. I'm going to Jaywalk when I get there, too. Don't worry about it.

Todd DeHart [00:18:12]:

Have you ever crossed coastal highway in the summertime?

Tony Russo [00:18:17]:

It actually was one of the last things I did before we came here. Kelly and I had a wedding shoot in Ocean City, and we had to do the whole frogger thing. That's taking your life in your hands.

Todd DeHart [00:18:32]:

Absolutely.

Tony Russo [00:18:33]:

Because even when I see people slow down at a red light, ocean City is one of the few places where I make sure that they stop. Also, a lot of places, once everyone starts to slow down, you go, Ocean City, I want to see you stop. I want to see take your hands off the wheel and check your text messages before I'm going to cross the street there, because otherwise you might decide to run me over.

Todd DeHart [00:18:55]:

Right. And you only have 15 seconds to get across 18 lanes of traffic.

Tony Russo [00:19:02]:

It can be quite a challenge. We also went so my hips have gone or are going. And I don't want to carry a cane because I don't want to feel that old. So I have a walking stick, and I'm very proud of the walking stick that I have here, but I had to acquire one on the West Coast, too, because the walking stick I have here has, like, spikes and stuff on it. It's like a punk rock walking stick. Yeah. But they're never letting me on a plane with it.

Todd DeHart [00:19:28]:

Right.

Tony Russo [00:19:31]:

And I'm like, Cane stores in Spokane, Washington. How exciting. So we drove to this cane store in Spokane, Washington, and it was an Internet only store. It was closed. It was, like, open by appointment only, and everyone was giving me a hard time about it. But it's something that I guess we have to take into consideration. I recall in Salisbury, I went to a place that fixes your Macs, and I went to get my laptop fixed, and I knocked on the door, and I came in, and they're like, can we help you? And I'm like I'd like to have my mac fixed. And they're like, we don't do that. And I'm like, It says you do it. And he's like, yeah, but people mail them in. You're supposed to mail it to this thing on the website. I'm like, I live a mile and a half from here. Why would I say you? And they're like, yeah, I guess good point. But this was before I knew Patty. This is a long time ago, okay? And they were baffled. They were baffled. And it's interesting to think of as ecommerce becomes just kind of primary, how many false front doors we're going to have, how many places that there are going to be where there are just like, this is where our business is. But we only deal with you online. It's an interesting concept.

Todd DeHart [00:21:05]:

Yeah. Sorry about that. Little distractions in the background.

Tony Russo [00:21:10]:

That's fine.

Todd DeHart [00:21:12]:

Yeah. If you're an Internet only business, I guess it still does make sense to have a brick and mortar to some.

Tony Russo [00:21:20]:

Extent, if you've got enough stock.

Todd DeHart [00:21:22]:

Yeah.

Tony Russo [00:21:23]:

At some point, your wife is like, you can't keep those canes in the garage anymore.

Todd DeHart [00:21:30]:

So were you able to get a.

Tony Russo [00:21:33]:

I just bought another walking stick that I can't take on a plane and I leave it there. So now I'm by coastal walking stick man.

Todd DeHart [00:21:39]:

Oh, well, that's good.

Tony Russo [00:21:40]:

But I don't know if you've been I can highly recommend Spokane. Spokane is a hipster city waiting to happen. Lots of bars, lots of restaurants. We went into a place called Nito Burrito that had a place called the Baby Bar in it. And the Baby Bar, it had like two tables, three tables, a six foot long bar, and the walls were all done in red velvet.

Todd DeHart [00:22:13]:

Oh, nice.

Tony Russo [00:22:14]:

And it was very vampirey, but also kitschy. The needle. Burrito guy collects Christ portraits. There's black jesus. There's like all the different Jesus's portraits. Right.

Todd DeHart [00:22:35]:

The red velvet. Makes sense, then, right? Because the Velvet Jesus is probably my favorite.

Tony Russo [00:22:43]:

But I can't recommend Spokane highly enough. There's like three comedy clubs. Well, there's one comedy club and two theaters in Spokane. And there is a video game arcade that was closed. It opened today, it opened yesterday. It opened back up on the 11th. And I was so disappointed because all I wanted to do was play pinball. That was the only thing I didn't do on my vacation that I had desperately, desperately wanted to do.

Todd DeHart [00:23:13]:

Well, it's funny and it's surprising that it's taken me this long to remember and to bring it up, but I'd mentioned that we were in four states in four days, and one of those states was New Jersey. We went to the Stone Pony. Oh, I saw that in asbury. What a neat little also kind of weird place. And I heard a story, and I'm sure you can confirm that it was sort of like run down and not very they're like half built condo buildings ten years ago. And now it's had this sort of revitalization. The Stone Pony is this venue, and then they have an outdoor venue that's right on the beach, and they don't care if you pull up right next to it and just hang out in your truck on the other side of the fence and listen. It was really quite neat. We wanted to go see one of Natalie's favorite bands and then turns out her cousin, who has lived there for a while now, and it's an up and coming hipster ish area.

Tony Russo [00:24:28]:

The Asbury Park that you were in looks nothing like the Asbury Park of my childhood, I'm sure, right. It doesn't even look like the Asbury Park of the 1990s, which was the last time I was kind of around in there. My story about so the Stone Pony, if you're listening and for some reason don't know, the Stone Pony was a place where Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played a lot before they were super famous. And then even after they got famous, still today, Bruce might show up and just do a show. A lot of times I remember when not to show too much my age, in case you can't say. But I remember when he was touring and supporting Born in the USA. Was that the name of the album? Whatever album. Born in the USA was on. One of the few that I really desperately don't like. But when he was on tour, the rumor is always he's going to do a set at the Stone Pony when the album comes out or when he gets to Jersey before he goes and does the metallands and stuff like that. So there's always like this groundswell of you'll be like this local band because they have local original bands play there all the time or play there all the time. When I was a kid, anyway, I was friends with a band that played there. So you go and you're used to seeing like, 20 or 30 people, and there are 200, and it's just like, oh, the rumor was that Bruce was going to show up tonight, and so people just came out in case he did, but he didn't. But here we are.

Todd DeHart [00:26:05]:

Yeah. And good for that band who had that slot, right?

Tony Russo [00:26:08]:

Yeah. But the other thing that it used to be also a bar, and I didn't know that it was no longer a bar.

Todd DeHart [00:26:20]:

It is a bar.

Tony Russo [00:26:21]:

Well, yeah, but it's only open when there are shows.

Todd DeHart [00:26:24]:

Oh, I see.

Tony Russo [00:26:25]:

Okay. Yeah. And so I went in and I wanted to take my wife and see what the inside looked like now and get a drink, because I haven't been there I haven't been inside the Stone Pony since 1990, 1980. 919. 91. Right around in there. And, you know, the last time I was in there, it wasn't very pretty asbury park was still falling down the stage. Did you go inside the Stone park? Yeah. Yeah.

Todd DeHart [00:26:57]:

Well, that was one of the the fun things that happened is we we saw the outside venue, you know, reggae band, and then we're, like, getting ready to leave, and we're gonna, like we're gonna have one more beer, and we go inside. And then as soon as the show ended outside, a local van started playing inside, and we hung around and they were fantastic, and we had a great time.

Tony Russo [00:27:25]:

Is the stage still like there's only 5ft between the stage and the ceiling? Is that still the case?

Todd DeHart [00:27:31]:

No, that was definitely not the case. It was a small riser, but had plenty of headroom.

Tony Russo [00:27:38]:

Yeah. No. So when I was a kid, it was almost like a bunker. The ceilings may have been 12ft, maybe 12ft.

Todd DeHart [00:27:49]:

Right.

Tony Russo [00:27:49]:

I want to say ten, but let's say they're 12ft. But the stage also 12ft. So if you were 6ft tall standing on the stage, there was maybe just a foot or two between your head and the ceiling. And I just remember after hearing that this was this epic place getting there and just how ratty it was and how small it felt. But also you can get French fries and a beer and you can hang out and you can't do that anymore, apparently, because I went maybe three or four years ago with Kelly. And we went to the door and they're like, can we help you? And I'm like, yeah, now we just want to get a beer. And they're like, we're not open that's. Wait till the show starts. And I'm like, oh, all right, new rule. And they've probably been doing that for 30 years. I haven't been there 30 years, but.

Todd DeHart [00:28:46]:

It was a really neat experience and definitely would like to go back. And it was good to connect with a cousin, too. It's been a good summer for that already.

Tony Russo [00:28:57]:

Yeah, there's so much cool stuff up there, too, because Asbury Park is Asbury Park. But that whole strip has been long branches not far from there. And that's got all sorts of cool places to see shows. You can see a lot of live music on the Jersey Shore. And you can well, we're calling it the Jersey Shore. I'm not going to fight about that. But you can see live shows and all winter, too. It's not just a summertime thing, it's all winter. You can see shows in all of these bars and still lots of local bands doing original music or mix originals and covers. I can recommend it. I like Dazbury Park when it was shitty, though, so there's no when I was a kid, we would go to the boardwalk and it was like, again, they hadn't updated the rides. It made Trimpers look fancy. Some of my fondest memories are going through, like the fun house and stuff there. If you go Christmas time, I don't work for the Asbury Park Tourism Board, but they have a big Christmas fair there. And Johnny Cash famously played that show at the convention center there.

Todd DeHart [00:30:15]:

Yeah, big deal.

Tony Russo [00:30:16]:

Big deal. So, yeah, I like Asbury Park. You should go more often. We all should.

Todd DeHart [00:30:21]:

We all should.

Tony Russo [00:30:24]:

All right. It looks like we are up against it now, so we're going to call it a day. I got nothing else anyway. How about you?

Todd DeHart [00:30:31]:

I got nothing.

Tony Russo [00:30:32]:

All right, well, until next time. Remember, at the beach, it's happy hour.

Todd DeHart [00:30:36]:

Whenever you say it is. Oh, I'm supposed to end it. Hi.

Todd got an “influencer” kit from ABInBev, which bought Hoop Tea. If you’re not familiar, Hoop Tea was developed in Ocean City as a beer alternative in the style of things like Mike’s Hard Lemonade. This was before every local brewery realized it was cheaper to just hook up their alcohol to their club soda dispenser, but that’s a story for another day.

Then point is Todd isn’t an “influencer” in the normal sense. Instead, he’s someone who knows his way around an area and topic. He’s more an expert. An influencer will take their picture with any dumb thing they’re paid to take their picture with. Todd promotes local things whether or not he’s being paid to because that’s kind of his style.

We also talk about Substack ‘Notes’ which is something we’d love to see you on if you play Substack. I talk at length about how Substack is becoming a place where there are no such things as influencers, which is so pleasant.

So.

If you miss the old days of social media where random info trumped trolling and “influencing” seriously consider joining us. You can find my substack here (sometimes it’s political, other times it’s just strange):

Show note links:

This week I was a little less prepared than normal for the history portion of the show, but I got a doozy of a story anyway. It’s about the hobo jungle that used to be near my house.

It ties in well with a story I wrote about the Norfolk Southern train derailment in Delmar.

Also, social media, a poetry-reading critique and J. Edgar Hoover’s Christian White Nationalist Army.

If you’d like to discuss the show, feel free to comment below, even from your email.

Starting this week we’ve added a history component to the show wherein I pick an old newspaper story about Delmarva and Todd and I get to experience the Eastern Shore as it was. The good ol’ days, if you will.

We kick off with an account of the Delmarva Chicken Festival from 1971. The year is critical because, to my absolute shock, women still didn’t have first names in the 1970s according to the Baltimore Sun.

The winners of the chicken cooking contest that year were:

Mrs. Thomas H. Young, Mrs. Ronald Powell, Mrs. Thomas W. Piantek and Mrs. John Petrelli.

I guess if they wanted names they wouldn’t have gotten married. For instance, Miss Beverly Green of Princess Anne (who was named Delmarva Poultry Princess) and Miss Kimberly Ann Phillips (who was named Little Miss Delmarva Poultry Princess), had their first names consigned to history because they didn’t yet have the burden of a husband.

By the way, if you know Kimberly Ann Phillips, tell her we said, “Hello.” If you are Kimberly Ann Phillips, “Hello!”

Other early 70s novelties include Frank Perdue discussing his plans to sell chickens under his own name and “cookbook author” James A. Beard commenting on his experience as a judge.

If you remember anything about this festival (which ended in 2014 probably as a result of women having first names) please share them below.

Big shot funerals bore me even more than just attending a regular funeral for a perfect stranger, so I didn’t really want to expose myself to the pomp, let alone the circumstance.

I think it’s a fair critique of our society that we are so enthralled with famous people that we forget that the best of them are just people who are good at their jobs and the worst of them use their power and influence to make the world worse.

Mostly, I ignore famous people unless it is unavoidable. It’s my little nod to the notion that we should be the change we want to see in the world. I know I’m technically wasting my time and that I’ll be really bad at Trivial Pursuit in another decade, but not having too much nonsense about what famous people think occupying my head is worth it.

I was home for Labor Day weekend and my brother was playing one of those countdown shows on Spotify. It was the Top 100 Cassettes of all time. The premise was that people voted for the best cassettes they bought and the DJs (actually former VJs) chose the music from those records.

Hysteria ranked higher than Pyromania which is totally unacceptable. Setting aside Def Leppard fans, I’m curious how those albums rank. They’re important because they straddle the transition from Heavy Metal to Hair Metal as far as sound if not look.

I gave up on Def Leppard and “metal” generally by the time Hysteria came out. My brother did as well. Our wives, who are only a little younger than us enthusiastically defended Hysteria (this is the part where I don’t make a misogynistic joke).

The difference is really between people who heard a record in grammar school and people who heard it in high school. Or maybe it’s better to say “middle school” to capture the 9th graders as well.

If you have an opinion, I’d love to hear it. You can comment below or shoot me an email. I excluded Def Leppard “fans” because if you know more than these two records (except maybe Long Through the Night), then the band appeals to you at a different level than it does the casual listener.

At the bottom of it, though, what’s worth thinking about is the lack of thought people seem to put into flying a flag. I wonder what would change about it if we had to flay flags on the houses we looked at rather than the houses we lived in.

In addition to the comical flag that adorns this episode, flags tend to fall into two categories. The first says “I like flags.” These are the homes with seasonal flags, comical or not.

The other, which includes American flags, pride flags, blue line flags, and Confederate flags, says, “If you only know one thing about the person living in this house, it’s this.”

I’ve gotta be clear, I don’t think that’s what people believe; I just think they don’t consider it from that perspective. I’d like to hope that if they did, they’d be more careful about the sweeping generalizations they self-applied.

There’s more here:

Why I regret not burning my neighbor’s Confederate Flag when I had the chance

Desecrating the American Flag Doesn’t Make You More Patriotic

Blue Line Flags Are Cheap, Cops Are Goddamn Expensive

Letting Your F**k Flag Fly

Show Highlights

Todd and I revisit Ocean City just after the turn of the century. We discuss the rise (and eventual disappearance of) DJ Batman and the idea that there was a time when a DJ that just played other people’s records could command a following.

I’m going to be on TV again in a couple of weeks for my book Dragged Into the Light, Truthers, Reptilians, Super Soldiers, and Death Inside an Online Cult. I still have some audiobooks to give away, so if you read this far and want me to send you one, just respond to this email.

On the face of it, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to add a photo section to an audio podcast, but the pictures don’t really matter. The idea is to go back through the years and talk about what was going on when the photo was taken.

In this inaugural episode, Todd talks about his pre-season getaway to Virginia Beach and I talk about how disappointing Salisbury is.

The photo I chose was from one of the great well-conceived and executed failures I’ve been part of. It might have been called the Salisbury Book Festival (or something) but it was sponsored (if I recall correctly) by Delmarva Public Radio and the library.

There were maybe 10 booths, including the local chapter of the Maryland Writers Association. People in booths outnumbered attendees three to one. It was a hot and windy day and at one point we had people stationed at each corner of the tent to hold it down.

The photo I chose was of the entertainment. I don’t recall the guy’s name, but I think of him often. He was performing children’s music for, like, six kids who mostly were in front of the stage because that’s where the toys were.

He was indefatigable, so happy to be playing his music that he didn’t care that he was being ignored. He ignored being ignored and found his bliss like a saint. I don’t do performance art so it’s something I have trouble relating with.

Still, I was mad that so few people came out to a book event. No. I was mad that people thought it was ridiculous to have a book event in Salisbury and that they were right.

As I mention in the show, I developed an obsession with Cumberland, Md. over the years I’ve been traveling there. It looks like a city on the verge. I still consider moving there from time to time.

A friend who lives in the area said Cumberland has always looked on the verge of being cool, but it isn’t and won’t likely be in my lifetime. That’s how I’ve come to think of Salisbury. A place that won’t make the transition.

My working theory is that the cultural costs are too high, as are the economic costs. Maybe we’re past the time when places “happen.” Maybe I’m past the age where I can tell. In any case, here’s to the guy who loves performing kid’s music live for a distracted, disaffected few more than not playing kid’s music live at all.

The show that I skimmed (thank god for fast-forward on YouTube), featured more delays than competition, which almost makes sense. After all, this is a 40-minute show that relies on maybe 10 minutes of actual sport. It’s as if someone said, “What if we took the worst parts of watching football and made that into a show?”

Todd suggested that the show was designed to be cut up into social clips, which also almost makes sense. The thing is, this kind of contempt for viewers has reached absurd proportions.

ESPN is what makes cable so expensive. When people look around and see what kinds of garbage they put out, it isn’t any wonder cord-cutting is a thing.

The problem for me, though, is the cable company and the internet company are the same for most people. That means that increasingly people who don’t have or watch cable are funding this failed institution.

Grownup professional competitive tag is the symptom. ESPN is the disease. God help us all.

We may not have the listenership of Marc Maron nor the gift for profiting from controversy that Joe Rogan has, but we show up every week and have for more than a decade. It’s worth bragging about.

Todd and I did our first live podcast in 2011 in Burley Oak to the utter bafflement of everyone. Some were waiting for us to play music, others thought we were a local radio show. LITERALLY NO ONE understood the word podcast. Eventually, we just started telling people it was an internet radio show.

It’s Delmarva after all.

As we say in our opening, Todd drinks because he gets to live here, I drink because I have to live here.

More than a decade later, we still show up.

While more than half of the country has listened to at least one podcast, only about 25% of Americans listen weekly. Adjust that for Slower Lower and it’s gratifying that we have as many listeners as we do.

If you’re one of them, thanks for showing up every week. If you’re not, just know that when you do show up, we’ll be there (even if we’re in no condition to drive).

This week Todd talks about his beefcake shoot for a plumbing company. It is absolutely spectacular. Tony talks about Patty Cannon Estates, which is way less spectacular.

Todd talks about the new Starboard Christmas Card and Tony reveals the secret to buying gifts for children. SPOILER: They’ll never remember.

Our sponsor this week is the Mountain Maryland Mamas podcast, a podcast that is mostly the mirror image of ours. Covering the Deep Creek and Garrett County area, they do for the mountain resort what we do for the beach. Kind of. I mean, they’re nicer than me, but they seem to have Todd’s enthusiasm for their area.

I listened to their most recent episode celebrating the mountains at Xmas. If you have an affinity for the region, check out their show.

We kind of forced them to be our sponsor because they reached out to us about our Deep Creek Lake episode, so this isn’t a paid promotion or anything like that. We just like what they’re doing and think you might, too.

Speaking of things you might like, after years of threatening, I’ve begun producing my Bagel Manifesto. The trailer is here if you’d like to check it out.

No matter how hard we try (and I think Todd made a better effort than I did this week) whenever the topic of “Best Of” issues of local magazines come up, there’s a little ranting that follows.

From my perspective, it’s mostly jealousy. I don’t have the courage to take people’s money to make them feel more important. As Todd points out, there’s a little more to in than that, but there are some clubs that don’t provide the return on investment that we think they do.

For example, while I’ve never paid to participate in a “Best Of” event, I did join the Nonfiction Author’s Association. I figured that, as an author of nonfiction it was a club I should be in.

They have benefits, such as reduced prices to submit your book for awards and discounts for attending different conferences and classes.

Almost immediately I discovered that, while nonfiction authors include everything from poetry to how-to manuals, the bulk of the membership were people who go on speaking tours. Self-Help, management, and how to change your life in 30 days aren’t not nonfiction, but I realized pretty quickly that the time and money it cost wasn’t fun or rewarding.

To put it in management speak, the ROI just isn’t there.

I didn’t even submit my book (on sale here!) to “win” an award, mostly because there wasn’t a true crime category (or a journalism category). When I pointed this out, they offered to add one, but I thought it would be more productive for sales to set my $200 on fire.

I mean, how proud could I be of an award that would have been the first in a category they created just to justify cashing my check?

Urg.

Anyway, that’s what I wonder about companies who pay to appear in advertorial magazines and websites (although I have written for both). Beyond the advertising aspect (such as it is) there is also this clubby aspect, like being in the chamber of commerce. It’s a networking opportunity as much as a promotional one, but at what point is it just too much to justify?

Todd and I tried out a couple of different places in Berlin to record the show. This was a million years ago and nobody knew what podcasts were. As a result, people were just confused by the fact that we were sitting there with microphones.

We told them it was an internet radio show, and that seemed to slake their eminently quenchable curiosity. Sometimes it would have been more satisfying if people just walked up to us and said, “I just want to let you know I see that you have microphones there.”

Anyway, during those halcyon days I started distinguishing between craft beers with non-traditional taste words. These included “pointy,” “green,” and “beer-flavored.” It was 60 percent me trying to de-mystify beer tasting words and 40 percent me being a jerk.

“Beer flavored beer” kind of stuck, though, because it is obvious and pretty dumb. It’s the kind of easy turn of phrase that thousands of people make all the time, but I had never had heard it anyplace else until Tito’s started its “Vodka Flavored Vodka” promotion.

Their motivations were similar to mine. At some point, you want to be able to just drink your damn drink without trying to remember whether you’re allergic to hyacinths or whatever adulterations brewers add to make their beer or spirits (all distillers are brewers).

It stung a little bit to hear it as a national ad, even though I knew the amount of creativity to make that connection was practically zero. I’m not a professional wit, and if I were I wouldn’t think beer flavored beer was any cleverer than vodka flavored vodka.

It’s a stupid, easy joke that anyone could come up with.

Then Woodbridge wines stole another part of our show for an ad campaign and I started getting suspicious.

Our tagline has been (for a couple of years) “At the beach, Happy Hour’s whenever you say it is.”

Woodbridge Wines debuted its new tagline:

The weekend starts whenever you say it does.

So while it is possible that they pay ad companies thousands of dollars to come up with the same kind of blather Todd and I say because we think it’s goofy, it’s time to start wondering whether the top ad companies monitor our show for brilliance.

So if you’re out there evil ad people, Drink What You Like and Be Happy!

In this week’s episode, Todd DeHart t

When I was a kid (and I’m sure they still do something like it on the Jersey Shore) some towns would hold what could be called “Farewell Benny” parties. “Benny” is one of my favorite pejoratives. It stands for Bayonne, Elizabeth, Newark, New York, the places day-trippers and summer people tended to come from.

Here on the Delmarva Penninsula they call them Tourons, which exudes the exquisite lack of creativity we embrace in the region. It doesn’t just lack tact but it is also reeks of morning radio fart humor.

So, no. I’m not a fan.

I proffered my own alternative, Pawsome, which stands for “Pennsylvania, somewhere” as a more elegant replacement. It hasn’t really caught on.

Todd DeHart offered a particular insight this week about the tenor of Labor Day and indeed Summer 2021. As a person who works in a tourism-adjacent industry, Todd hangs out with a lot of food service people.

In a typical year, Labor Day is kind of a launching pad with people excited for the coming weeks of fair weather, easily accessible beaches, and tourists mostly crowding the weekends. This year, he said, Labor Day marked more relief than excitement.

We have a working idea on the show that some people misunderstand what vacation is for. They come to the beach with this notion that they have to have fun and it doesn’t matter who they have to kill to do it. It’s as if they have a weird checklist left over from when they came here in the eighth grade and they’re trying to recreate that experience.

Sometimes for generations.

According to Todd (I went nowhere near the beach this summer), it was amplified this year. Added to the checklist people were those suffering from pandemic mania, desperate to blow off steam they felt they’d accumulated watching Netflix for a year. People were meaner and cheaper and generally committed to taking the fun out of summer to prove they had a good time.

A lot of the folks who make their livings from tourism have an Apollo Creed demeanor. Sure they won the fight, but they don’t wanna celebrate or ever do it again. Maybe it has to do with the expectation that this would be a celebratory summer rather than a desperate, grasping validation that the months spent inside were worth it.

I returned to local journalism but of a completely different kind recently, and I’m pretty excited about it. Rather than having to write 10 stories no matter what, I report on issues that I think matter to my neighbors, or that I think ought to matter.

Todd got to shoot a concert at the Starboard and, even though he thought he hadn’t done his best work, he produced something really cool in the edit.

There’s plenty more including a podcast recommendation from Todd and a totally unfair review of the movie Annette by me.

If you would like to be named as an episode sponsor (for free), just respond to this email and we’ll make you the sponsor of an upcoming episode.

The point of live shows is to get caught up in the euphoria, not to relive your mediocre teen years. In this week’s show, Todd and I take a look at live shows and revisit our discussion about tribute acts. He is a fan, I am not.

For Todd, the energy of younger people, especially if the tribute band is right on, is superior to the older voices that sometimes are too weak for the music and the entitlement that comes with having had a hit song in the 1980s (or whenever), mixed with the reeking must of decline.

I guess it’s better to say that he used to be a fan of tribute acts. A recent REO Speedwagon show disabused him of that notion.

What it comes down to in live music is that the act has to genuinely enjoy their work, or at least they have to come across as if they genuinely enjoy their work, which is too hard for many bands.

I was working at the Sheraton Inn in Salisbury when I first moved here. The place was no less a dump then than it is now, but the Moody Blues were genuinely offended by its condition.

In fact, they were so openly hostile to the fact that I worked for a millionaire too cheap to keep his hotel nice that I bring up their priggishness whenever the opportunity presents itself.

What I wanted to say (but lacked the courage as well as other job opportunities) was that if they didn’t want to stay in a dump, they should have more hits and get a nicer bus the way the more popular acts did.

That was their vibe: Here we has-been rockers go through all this trouble to whine our way through that awful poem at the end of Nights in White Satin for the millionth time, and you’re not even grateful enough to have a nice hotel for us to stay in.

There’s no telling what they thought of the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center green rooms, but I’m guessing they weren’t impressed.

REO Speedwagon was, according to Todd, the opposite of that. He wasn’t a fan before the show, but he knew all of the songs and was an avid fan by the time they took their curtain calls. It was good to hear. I like when musicians appreciate the fact that they're appreciated rather than expect it.

I’d gone to the liquor store with my brother to pick up some supplies and wanted to try a new gin. I’d never heard of Empress Gin. I just knew it was a little more expensive and took that to mean it would have something herbal and potentially kooky going on.

We drank it with soda. It had a delicate floral taste that made me certain an olive or two would destroy it, so we started simple. Lime wasn’t great in the soda, but lemon was just fine.

The thing is, I like cocktails and if I was going to get the most out of the gin’s flavor, diluting it with soda wasn’t going to help.

I keep St-Germain in the house to replace simple syrup in drink recipes. I’ve yet to be disappointed.

So how’s this for a cocktail: A Martini, but with St-Germain replacing the vermouth and a lemon replacing the olive? Turns out it was spectacular.

My particular take was 3oz. Empress Gin with .25oz St. Germaine and the juice from a thin lemon slice. Twists seem a little wasteful because I’m shitty at making them and I use very little lemon, but I’ll bet it would be just as good.

Since the drink happens to be the GCFL colors, we’re temporarily calling it the DOD Cooler. We understand it’s not a great name and invite you to do better. We’re sure tryng.

Happy Hour is when you say it is.

Best,

Tony

Show Notes:

This week’s sponsor: DOD Cooler and Bullet Bourbon on ice.

Remember. You can be the show’s sponsor by literally replying to this email and saying you want to be. There is no fee involved.

Todd: One Cool Thing

The annual beach olympics were this week and Todd got a chance to get out there. He reports in detail.

The takeaway is that restaurants and chefs around here don’t compete so much as collaborate. Sure, that might not be true all the way down the line, but the better the restaurant, the more likely the chef or owner sees the other good restaurants as a complement rather than a threat.

It certainly helps that there are more people who want to dine out on a given Friday night than there are places for them to dine, but it is an attitude that survives into the winter.

Tony: One Cool Thing

Tony wrote a book. We say this on the outside chance this is the first you’re hearing of it (or, alternatively, you keep forgetting to order it).

If you’re in the area, though, there are plenty of signed copies at The Greyhound in Berlin. That’s where Tony found himself this week. While he and Todd didn’t get to talk too much about the event (there’s another one this week anyway) they did talk about parking for longer than intended, but it’s not too awful.

They promise.

You can check out Dewey Raw on the Starboard’s YouTube channel or watch below:

My own ambivalence about the resort is always this notion that is it anything more than a tacky tourist trap. It’s carny to its core but pretends that it’s a more accessible Martha’s Vineyard or whatever. 

My opinion hasn’t improved over the last few days, but we’ll leave the recent ugliness for next week’s show (which I swear I’ll put out Thursday, guys. Honest!).

The other thing we talked about is how much contempt many of the small business owners in the region have for people who make stuff. Todd spoke about literally being asked to work for exposure. He’s been at this like, 20 years. 

The myth that exposure works should be dead and gone by now, but somehow it isn’t. The reason is that people wrongly believe that word of mouth is effective if you’re not getting paid. Instead, it turns out to be one mooch telling another where they can get free work done. 

I’ve honestly stopped promoting things that I like just because I got a name for “working for free” when my hobby just happened to be blogging about things I liked. The only thing it did was ruin my ability to enjoy my hobby. 

I may have mentioned I had a book come out recently about a cult murder. At least three people suggested I should do a story about their business. They didn’t mean to be a******s, but the worst a******s rarely do. For me, though, I’ve just become a little contemptuous of people who don’t know not to ask for free work.

Dragged Into the Light is out now, and I would really love it if you got a copy. It is availible wherever you can get books.

The Amazon link is here.

There’s another buying option I think you may want to consider and that’s BookShop.org. It’s like Amazon in that it can get pretty much any book in print. It’s not like Amazon in that it shares a cut of your purchase with the bookstore closest to you.

Check it out.

We don’t spend too much time on the show taking about it, so don’t worry, this isn’t Tree Talk with Todd and Tony (yet) although we do kick the idea around.

Todd has a construction background as well as a vibe that comes along with it. I have no such thing, as evidenced by the questions I asked about tree-cutting equipment. You’d be surprised how rarely tree guys use axes and wear flannel.

I briefly pitch a This Old House-style show wherein I just walk around behind Todd asking questions that reveal my ignorance and making guesses that cause more sophisticated people to snicker.

But the big news this week is my upcoming book. Still.

Dragged Into the Light: Truthers, Reptilians, Super Soldiers, and Death Inside an Online Cult will ship in the next couple days and I’m so excited for you to read it. Todd and I spoke about an early review from Tehben.com that really got to the heart of the book.

I also was on the “Follow The Woo” podcast. I’d really like it if you at least listened to the opening of that. The host, who is so much more spiritual than I will ever be, had some great insights. If I’m honest, my Dragged Into the Light isn’t friendly or forgiving when it comes to religion and spirituality, but that has more to do with the practices I witnessed. We spoke a lot about how if faith makes you mean, you’re probably doing it wrong.

Finally (and again) If you’re in the Berlin, Md. area, I’d love it if you came to my book launch, which is 11-a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, June 5 at The Greyhound Bookstore in Berlin. If you’re coming for sure, consider clicking on the Facebook Event.

While Todd spends Tuesdays exploring, Tony spends them fielding emails about the recently concluded The Devil You Know.

I’m not a cult investigator, like, professionally, but I respond to everyone and want to hear their stories. I’ve heard some doozies.

This week, though, I was privileged to have been contacted by a childhood friend of Sherry Shriner, the cult leader at the center of the story. They asked not to be identified in any way but shared with me some insightful stories about the prophet before she fully launched into religious extremism.

It was a tantalizing conversation and made me wonder whether having spoken with her would have changed much about the book. I don’t know if it would have except to make me take an even harder stance against sending children to religious schools.

In other show highlights, Todd and I discuss the return of going out as he recounts his visit to the Evo Public House, a brewery and restaurant in Salisbury that is really among the top places to hang out.

One of my favorite things about Evo is they’re not super-trendy in the best way. As a former beer writer the abject desperation with which so many places try to be hip and cutting edge took a lot of the fun out of experimenting.

You may not recall, but if you went to local breweries before the apocalypse you had better have been ready to try a variety of sour beers and “juicy” IPAs or else go thirsty. Evo had them, but they made other beers as well.

For me, the craft beer revolution devolved into a boring attempt to predict trends rather than make the beers the brewers wanted to drink. It’s possible that most brewers just started drinking tart, fruit-infused malt liquor and beer-flavored orange juice, but I got the sense it was more about getting your beer talked about than making something interesting that you think people might like.

It is also possible that the culture passed me by, that this was a battle that my side lost. Speaking of which, I’ll be producing a new podcast soon called “A Bagel Manifesto” where I talk about learning to live with culture changes that you hate.

The difficulty, for me as much as for Todd, is that you either have an arts scene or a curated shopping scene. Berlin has for years been drifting toward the latter, even as its arts and artisans community has grown.

As someone who barely made a living wage working as a reporter and then content-curator in Berlin for more than a decade, I can tell you that the problem isn’t the arts. The problem is (as it always is doomed to be) people for whom not just art, but the idea of an art scene is a commodity, a 3-D bumper sticker that transports people back to a time when America was Great.

From the Fiddlers Convention to Victorian Christmas to the unfathomable attachment to a 1990s B movie, the town seems to have slipped from a place willing to try anything to make people feel welcome to clawing desperately to cling to what worked once until it is beaten to death and twee.

I was working there during the runup to the boom and, when peak Berlin occurred (I’m guessing in 2010 or so) I had a colleague that came up with an ad:

Berlin: It’s not just for old people

Of course, we were all a decade younger then, so it stands to reason that, like “America’s Coolest Small Town” and the annual pig races are some people’s “Freebird” and they’re going to keep shouting themselves hoarse trying to remind the rest of us how cool they used to be.

An Ethical Quandry

I got to see Salisbury University’s Ethics Bowl via Zoom and it made me feel confident or at least a little hopeful about how the students approach moral quandaries. Unlike “debates” where people try to demonstrate how clever they are while laying waste to any moron who holds an opposing view, the Ethics Bowl featured a real-world problem that the students had to critique. The opposing team is then charged with evaluating their arguments, not countering them, which is key.

As opposed to “You’re wrong and here’s why” students ask thoughtful questions and proposed alternative ways of looking at the question in a mutual attempt to find the best way to approach the issue. Grownups can’t do it, but it’s good to see that at least some kids still can.

Dragged Into the Light

My book is available for preorder here, and my book launch event will be 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, June 5 at The Greyhound Bookstore in Berlin. I have hired a drum and bagpipe corps to play in an attempt to keep in line with the town’s traditional music sensibilities.

If you’re watching the Vice documentary, The Devil You Know Season 2 and like it, I think you might like the book very much as well. Although the same event, the same evidence, and a lot of the same people are in both the book and the documentary, we have different takes on what it all means.

Take a listen to this bonus episode and keep an eye out for its very own feed coming soon.

https://www.facebook.com/GoodCleanFunLife/

This week's #OneCoolThing
Living at the beach means easy day-tripping to DC
Delmarva adds another podcast

One Cool Thing:

Todd gets a September sunburn at a near-empty water park as the shoulder season kicks off. Tony evokes a post-syphilitic Al Capone, smoking a cigar and driving his RC boat around a small pond. 

Sponsored* by Warlock Imperial Pumpkin Ale

*By "Sponsored" we just been that was what we were drinking, Southern Tier hasn't paid us. 

This show originally ran in September 2018 as "Life at the Beach."