The Hamantashen

https://bit.ly/3qldffJ

I don’t like cakey cookies.

Lisa waxes rhapsodic about black and whites. I’ve got no interest, if I’m eating a cookie I want chocolate, I want richness, I want to be titillated, I want to smile with satisfaction, I want to be reminded of a continuum of cookies all the way from the past into the future!

The first cookies I remember eating were Fudgetowns.

I marvel at the fact that I grew up in a house with a full fridge and full cupboards. How do you keep all that food in stock? In the junk drawer was a giant Hershey’s candy bar, which my mother used to break off a part of every other day or so. But once we kids discovered it, it wasn’t long for the kitchen.

But we had plenty of cookies. Mostly Pepperidge Farm, seconds. On the Post Road in Westport, they had a Pepperidge Farm outlet store. My father used to bring home packages of cookies and I remember us having the first goldfish in our neighborhood. This was back when Pepperidge Farm was exotic, when the whole concept of luxury snack goods was barely a thing. Haagen-Dazs? That didn’t break until the mid-seventies.

And I’m not talking about those giant Pepperidge Farm cookies of today, the Nantuckets and the Chesapeakes. The cookies were smaller, although larger than the usual store bought cookies. And the packages had three tiers, with three or four cookies in each paper cup. Resulting in a grand total of twelve or fifteen cookies in the whole package. This did not make any sense to me, god, you could eat the whole bag in one sitting. I don’t want to hold back when I’m eating, that’s no fun, the key is to eat until you’re satiated, if not oversatiated, stuffed. Come on, when you’re hungry and you sit down with a bag of cookies or a bag of potato chips…MMMM!

And I’ll never forget, I think I’ve told you before, about the last day of second grade. Taught by Miss Kamph. I looked her up a couple of months back. She taught until retirement, in her sixties, and she never got married. This was rare back then…all the young female teachers were there for a couple of years and then they were gone forever, sometimes they came back for a year or so with a new name and then they left when they started a family. I know, I know, this sounds sexist. But don’t criticize me for telling the truth.

Anyway, the last day was kind of a party day. This was when school ended towards the end of June, when we never went back until after Labor Day, when August was still a vacation month. And it seems to me I wore my clam diggers. That was a thing back then, for both boys and girls. And we had to bring a snack. And my mother gave me two packages of Pepperidge Farm chocolate cookies. I winced, I complained, there were so few, not even enough for each member of my class to have one. But my mother made me take them and then nobody ate them, they were too sophisticated for young, middle class suburban palates.

Yes, there were Pepperidge Farm chocolate cookies, kind of bland. And my father brought home Brussels and Genevas and…none of them were to my liking, and then of course there were the Milanos. Those have sustained. But it took me a few years to cotton to them, to learn to love them.

But at first we started with grocery store cookies, like the aforementioned Fudgetowns. Which didn’t come loose in a box, but in two wax paper sleeves. You knew once you broke the seal freshness was evaporating, nearly instantly, so that would be a constant mental debate, after you finished one sleeve…did you crack the second? That was my idea of a good time, downstairs in the playroom of our split level, watching cartoons on the black and white TV, eating Fudgetowns.

The next time I remember eating cookies was in college, you could buy these Freihofer chocolate chips. Scrumptious. They came loose in a rectangular container with a plastic window. They weren’t huge, but they weren’t small. And you’d buy a box and devour the whole thing in one setting. They were kind of like Entenmann’s, but better. Not that Entenmann’s are not great. Freihofers were doughy, almost not cooked enough, but somehow perfect.

And in college my sister Wendy made me a member of the Keebler cookie club. Gotta love those little elves. But chocolate chip cookies remain my favorite. There’s no cookie too rich for me. As a matter of fact, my favorite cookie ever was David’s. This was back when the chocolate chip cookie mania truly took hold, the eighties and nineties. It started with Famous Amos, which were small and overrated. As for Mrs. Fields? Before she became greedy and expanded and diversified, when you went to the store, they were pretty damn good. But David’s were soft and gooey and could have a complete layer of chocolate in them. What’s not to like? Especially when they were warm.

As for those yellow cookies representing bland dough, UGH! My cookie had to be sweet, and preferably chocolate. As for oatmeal? Come on, I never ate it for breakfast and I don’t want it in my cookies. I didn’t want a hint of flavor, I wanted a BLAST! Especially as you grow older, if you’re gonna eat a damn cookie go all the way. Like the people who buy de-caloried faux ice cream for their freezer. If you’re gonna partake, go big! Start with Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey. Phish Food is amazing, Cherry Garcia overrated. But I’ve yet to find a B&J flavor that does not deliver.

Those cookies in the deli case… Who are they making them for? Barely sweet, maybe with a splash of chocolate icing. Hell, if I want chocolate icing I’ll go to Dairy Queen. I want a hit of the real thing!

But now I might be changing my tune, because of the damn hamantashen.

Felice bought a Zabars’ goodie box for Valentine’s. Now that’s a present I can get down with. And yesterday I had bagels and lox… You can’t get this kind of lox in Los Angeles, actually Zabars calls it “Novie.” It’s oily, it reminds me of the smoked salmon of yore, that my father used to bring home from the deli on Sunday mornings. Sunday brunch, that was a big thing. I’d like that every week as an adult!

And of course Felice got a babka, come on!

But she also ordered hamantashen.

HUH?

I’ve yet to find a non-Jew who craves hamantashen. It’s a three-cornered cookie for Purim, a holiday most non-Jews would have trouble knowing, never mind eating the food. Where did she get this craving? Previously she was married to a Jew, but I don’t remember him being very observant. And she’ll go to seders with me, but I don’t remember ever celebrating Purim, never mind eating hamantashen. And by time Felice came into the picture my nephews were out of school, there was no carnival to go to, no dressing up as Ester or Haman.

The hamantashen came in a box. There were four different flavors. You know, apricot inside, strawberry… And that’s one of the big problems with hamantashen, there’s just not enough juice, just not enough nougat, just not enough of the good stuff inside! The ratio of jelly/sweet to cookie is WAY off. The cookie should be de minimis, the stuffing should dominate.

But not with a hamantashen.

Which come in different sizes. You can find a mini-hamantashen and a giant hamantashen. Usually, the minis are better, because of the ratio referenced above, you get more of the gooey inside. All that cookie in the giant ones…UGH! It’s almost torture to finish one. Oh, that’s one thing about cookies, you touch it, you own it. You start it, you finish it. No tasting is permitted. And if you want to switch to another offering, you’ve got to finish what you started with first. The thought of one of those dry hamantashen in my mouth while I’m eying something better…those are painful memories.

But that box, I could not resist it. Felice ate one, I decided to dip in, reluctantly, but I wanted to taste the apricot inside.

Wow, this is different. There’s something about the cookie. It’s satisfying in its own right. I didn’t believe it! I had to ask Felice, “Exactly what do you like about hamantashen?” She started going on about the cookie, when I thought she’d mention the inside stuffing, and that’s when I thought she was on to something. Well, that’s when I thought there was something special about these hamantashen.

And I don’t want to waste my carbs on hamantashen, I’d rather toast and eat another bagel, smother it with cream cheese. But today I remembered the hamantashen of yesterday and I decided to jump back in, obviously yesterday’s festival of taste was an anomaly, right?

WRONG! So I pick up another hamantashen and I decide to partake of it slowly, which is not my style, I’m not a nibbler. And that damn cookie, the yellow part, the part I’ve always hated, is DELECTABLE! I can’t really describe it properly. There’s a slightly sweet taste, and it crumbles in your mouth, but it doesn’t reek of flour and I can’t believe I’ve eaten hamantashen my entire life and have never experienced the holy grail, this!

That’s how life is, you wallow in mediocrity and then you experience greatness and you can’t believe what you’ve missed.

The BMWs of yore. When they all had relatively stiff suspensions, with that tight steering. You drove it once, you had to own it.

People complain about the price of things. Good enough is good enough. ONLY IT ISN’T!

It’s one thing if you can’t afford great. Not everybody can own a BMW, not even an iPhone. But when it comes to cookies? EVERYBODY CAN LIVE LIKE A KING! Why buy the low rent grocery store cookies when for just a bit more you can have the experience of a lifetime.

That’s exactly what I thought eating this hamantashen just now. Thoughts of Covid vacated my brain. As did thoughts of career. My age? My physical infirmities, my health issues? GONE! All I could do was revel in the moment. I was at one with the hamantashen. This was a peak experience, as good as it gets.

I just had to tell you.

Love Story Redo

Shamrock Holdings has nothing to worry about, their investment is safe.

I had a long conversation with Steven Wilson, the famous remixer, known for his redos of everyone from King Crimson to Jethro Tull to Chicago to Yes. And the first thing he said is the remixes were for the FANS! And you can’t change a single note.

Fripp heard what he’d done and wanted to make changes. Wilson said he could not. The fans had listened to these albums for decades, purchased the vinyl, the CD and the remastered CD, they knew the tunes better than the artist himself!

This is the truth. Most artists never ever listen to their albums after they’re done. But these tracks become iconic in the ears of the listener. Change anything, anything at all, and the listener notices and is caught off guard.

This is my main complaint about the Beatles remixes. They don’t sound the way I’ve heard this music for decades, it’s instantly recognizable, they’re a completely different animal. But what is worse is these may become the definitive statement in the future. In the old days, the remix would be released, sold to fans and then disappear. Now, these remixes live forever, and there’s a very good chance they’ll supersede the original mixes, and that’s a tragedy, they’re just not the same.

“Fearless” is Taylor Swift’s best album. When she was still innocent, when she still worked with Liz Rose, before she became an international celebrity suspect to the blowback, when she was something instead of everything. “Fearless” was cut before the arena tours. She was not resting on her laurels, she had something to prove, but really it was about succeeding on country radio. But singing her truth from her heart with catchy melodies ended up endearing her to so many more, the word spread, when the tour cycle was over she became the person she is now.

It’s hard to pick a favorite. But mine is “Tell Me Why,” it’s got all the melodic changes absent from today’s hit parade, you’re immediately engrossed, the fiddle sets the tone, and then you’re off on the roller coaster… Remember the first time you rode one of those? Initially you were apprehensive, but then as the train continued to twist and turn you were filled with glee.

But “Love Story” was the song Taylor decided to recut and release first.

The original is excellent. Intimate, heartfelt, going from zero to sixty like a teenager’s emotions.

Now making a record is not a scientific experience. The goal is to capture lightning in a bottle and not only not mess it up in the mixing and mastering, but to enhance it! It’s an alchemy created on the fly, by instinct and feel more than thought, that’s the creative process. And the final product is set in amber, that’s it. And the truth is so many projects were finished to meet a deadline, the start of a tour… The pressure is felt, it causes you to complete, sometimes to your advantage, sometimes to your disadvantage. But you just cannot re-create this atmosphere. Hell, if you could all those oldsters searching for a hit would have another one. As for repeating yourself… It cannot be done, no matter how hard you try. You’re different, you’re working with different people, and even if it’s the same people they don’t remember exactly how they did it so they cannot repeat it.

The new version of “Love Story” is a bust, from the beginning. The picking is labored, as if the player is trying to get it right. And Swift’s vocal is self-conscious, and the instruments are clearer, and not in a good way. It’s nearly impossible to get through. Truly. If you’re a fan at all I dare you to play it from beginning to end. It’s not a hit, it’s a re-creation, and as established above you just can’t do this. Or to put it another way, you just can’t go home again.

I get it, I get it. Swift is pissed her catalog was sold out from under her. And I don’t want to revisit all the shenanigans, I just want to talk about the music. And the new version just doesn’t have it, that elusive magic. The original was not labored, everything was new, the recut is paint-by-numbers, and you know that the paint-by-numbers version is never as good as the original, never ever. It’s a facsimile at best.

You’ve got to let the past go. Otherwise you become mired in it, it paralyzes you.

The best example is John Fogerty. Getting bad business advice the Creedence assets were sold. Fogerty just couldn’t get over this, how he was ripped-off. And he wrote a song about Saul Zaentz and he ended up getting into legal imbroglios with the man and his Fantasy label and the result was that Fogerty didn’t put out new music that charmed his listeners, he was too hung up about being ripped-off.

The funny thing is the Fantasy assets are now owned by Concord, where Fogerty records, and the company graciously reinstated Fogerty’s royalty stream, demonstrating if you wait long enough, things sometimes work out. Not always, but…

Isn’t that the American spirit? You lift yourself up, write off the past and march forward. Hell, I’ll argue the Sony lawsuits contributed to Steve Popovich’s death. Pop was right, but his battles with Sony consumed his life, to the exclusion of essentially everything else.

It’s not like Taylor Swift no longer gets royalties from those old records. She just doesn’t own them. And rather than spend all that time recutting she’s better off just making new music, forgetting about the hurt from the past.

Then again, this has been Swift’s greatest challenge. She built her career on the past, settling scores, biting back, but that paradigm played out, it’s become a joke that haunts her. She’s now in her thirties, it’s time to pivot. Which to a great degree with her last two albums she has done.

But neither is in the league of “Fearless.”

Maybe it was a time and a place. Maybe the magic cannot be recaptured. Bob Dylan has gone on record multiple times that he can no longer do what he used to, that torrent of words encapsulating the angst of America, so he no longer tries, he’s pushing new boundaries. It’s his footsteps Swift should follow in. Scooter Braun is a businessman. Shamrock is a faceless investment firm.

But Taylor Swift is an artist.

But the recut of “Love Story” is not artistry.

She should punt. Get over it. In truth no one really cares other than her. And people don’t care about business anywhere near as much as they do about art, to the degree they even focus on the business at all.

Swift and her compatriots captured lightning in a bottle once, congratulations, that record will exist for all time.

And it’s time to make a new one. To try to be a new Taylor Swift, somebody she’s never been before. Someone with perspective, who can laugh at herself, who recaptures the intimacy, who does not succumb to Michael Jackson disease, insisting you be the King or Queen of Pop forevermore.

It killed Michael Jackson. And the truth is Taylor Swift didn’t have much of a childhood either. But the point is art is not competitive. There’s always room for someone new, something great. That is the goal, career management is secondary. Swift can tour to a substantial number of fans until she dies. Isn’t that enough?

It is.

Don Henley worked with the Eagles, and when that became intolerable he went solo, found his legs, and made equally legendary music with a whole new set of people. It can be done. As long as you keep trying to push the envelope. And who knows, like Henley with the Eagles, it all might come back together in the future. That’s life, it’s completely unpredictable, you’ve got to live it to find out what happens. And although at times it’s scary, THAT’S WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT!

Ted Lasso

1

It’s a stupid show. But that’s why it’s so good!

Apple TV+ has been improperly analyzed. It’s more akin to Amazon Prime Video than Netflix or Disney+. You see it’s a perk, it’s not a standalone purchase. It’s an extra, a bonus, not something you debate subscribing to.

Bottom line, 62% of Apple TV+ subscribers are on free accounts. How can that be you ask, especially if you’re still a member of the Wintel/Android world. Well, the truth is if you buy almost any Apple product, you get a free subscription.

But what keeps you watching?

This is unlike Apple’s Arcade. I got that free too but I don’t plan to renew, I’ve never even cracked it. But gaming, as large as it is, has a smaller footprint than television. The pool of potential TV watchers is gigantic, essentially everybody. And what drives streaming platform success? HITS!

And to succeed in any artistic endeavor, you have to come up to the plate on a regular basis, whether you’re an act or a record company or TV channel or streaming platform… You see it’s very hard to predict a hit. Every once in a while, a few times a year, there’s a project so undeniable that you know it is going to succeed, but those are rare. Which is why you see supposed sure shots, even Paul McCartney in the eighties as well as today, so heavily marketed/promoted. Turns out most people need to be reminded, they’re not following the scene that closely, now more than ever, where the channel is so cluttered, and there are so many avenues of interest. This is what is hurting the music business, the lack of a translatable superstar, the last one was Adele, who do we have now? Someone who essentially everybody can love? No one.

So, Netflix pivoted to streaming and invested a plethora of money into production. Knowing all of the above rules. Disney came with a catalog of children’s programming, and a low price, which boosted its subscriptions. As for competitors? Well, for most people Hulu is essentially a network/cable service, a place where you can dial up last night’s shows. Sure, there is some original programming, and some licensed too, but not enough to get you to pay all that dough per month.

So Hulu survives.

Amazon Prime Video? It hasn’t made as many shows as Netflix and certainly doesn’t have the hit to crap ratio that Netflix does, but its problem is the service is perceived to be free, and therefor the shows get little buzz/traction. But, you say, isn’t this the same with Apple TV+? Not exactly, there is no cult of Amazon, as much as people use the service, but there is an Apple cult, large and motivated, people want to watch Apple TV+ so their links to Cupertino are even stronger, they’re even rooting for the platform! Sounds ridiculous, but what can you believe in these days, Rihanna? Who has forsaken music for branding/licensing, not knowing you’re only as hot as your last hit, which is why her LVMH deal failed. Youngsters may be completely unaware of Rihanna, they have no incentive to overpay for her luxury goods.

So Apple TV+ gets attention. But so far, it has been unable to build on that attention. Every show that Apple promoted, oftentimes via Tim Cook himself, has been released to a chorus of…nothing. “The Morning Show.” That Earth show. None of it has truly clicked until “Ted Lasso.” Oh, there was some buzz on “Dickinson,” but perception was it was for young girls, and perception is king. Well, after distribution.

But Apple didn’t promote “Dickinson” either. As for “Ted Lasso,” I just considered it another mediocre Apple production, throwing too much money at a celebrity to do their passion project. Come on, despite the hoopla, “Mank” sucked. Not in the league of any awards, at least not for content, maybe cinematography. But, once again, marketing has influenced “news” and the whole enterprise has detached from the public, which is why the Oscar show has tanked…people don’t care, they can’t relate to it. As for fashion? You go to Instagram and YouTube for that, to the influencers, to people who live for fashion 365 days a year, not one.

But then there started to be a buzz on “Ted Lasso.”

I still wouldn’t watch it, because I refuse to watch any show that is dribbled out week by week. I get it, Apple is trying to build buzz, it’s got very little content to begin with, but that buzz approach is positively last century. We live in an on demand culture, we want it all and we want it now! Come on, Steve Jobs was famous for that. He loved to introduce a product and say it’s available NOW! And instantly there’d be a buying frenzy, you want to catch people when they’re hyped-up, manic.

But now, months later, I finally dove into “Ted Lasso.”

2

Jason Sudeikis has no star power in my universe, just another latter-day SNL star who reached his expiration date and has been trying to make it on his own ever since.

So Sudeikis was no reason for me to watch “Ted Lasso.”

As for the other main star…supposedly she was in “Game of Thrones.” Yes, I know, I know, but I’m not into fantasy, not whatsoever, maybe when I’m  washed up on a desert island with a solar-powered iPad I’ll give it a go, but it’s far from a priority for me.

But “Lasso” was on Apple, and I’m part of the cult, and my free subscription seems to go on forever, if for no other reason than I’m signed up to the new iPhone every year plan. As for the prohibitive cost, which I’m paying through the nose for? HOW MUCH DO YOU USE YOUR SMARTPHONE? It’s my most used device, by far, why should I be living in a backwater? It’s about the chip and the features. As for the chip…I’ve got an iPad Air 2, I purchased it at the end of 2014, and it’s almost unusable, it’s best just as a TV streaming device. Another user might find its lag time tolerable, but compared to my iPhone 12 Pro Max? IT’S GLACIAL!

So I decided to try “Ted Lasso.”

Sudeikis/Lasso never breaks character, never ever. And at first it’s intolerable, but then it becomes magical. And when his wife want to divorce him because he’s too optimistic, I GET IT!

But I’m a glass half-empty kind of guy. But watching Ted, I started to wonder if there was a benefit in optimism. Furthermore, at times Lasso gets low, has regrets, so there’s a bit of three-dimensionality, but you have to wait for it.

As for Ms. Game of Thrones, Hannah Waddingham? She’s incredible! A great foil for Sudeikis, a star in her own right. She’s forceful and then vulnerable, unable to get over her divorce, and Lasso is supportive… We don’t see this much in celebrity culture, someone tending to another’s wounds, it’s all about me me ME! But here it’s endearing.

And the supporting players…

The almost nonverbal coach, who has a passion for chess and a knowledge of kink.

And Nathan… The unappreciated underling who is a soccer genius, at least compared to Ted.

The blurbs didn’t have it right. American football coach takes the helm of a Premier League team. Sounds too hokey. But that ends up being just the point, IT IS HOKEY!

Everybody ultimately caves to Ted’s magic. And he knows when he works it.

As for Keeley… Julien Temple has a daughter old enough to play the love interest? Remember the legendary music video director? Yes, we’re getting older by the minute, the times keep changing, and the whole world is what have you done for me lately? It’s hard to keep up.

But that’s why you rely on word-of-mouth, your friends, the buzz.

Otherwise I never would have even watched “Ted Lasso.” Apple certainly wasn’t hammering it, it was only my friends the sports acolytes. And then the buzz grew wider, so I had to check it out.

As for you?

My favorite stupid movie is “Stripes.” It’s genius.

Stupid means it doesn’t have to comport with real life, it can be broad, it can go from joke to joke.

But too many stupid movies are just that, stupid, which is why Adam Sandler gets such a bad rap. His flicks have no iconic scenes involving Tito Puente or some other obscure reference. The references bond us, keep us interested.

But there are not that many belly laughs in “Ted Lasso,” and on some level it’s an SNL production, but unlike SNL, “Ted Lasso” does not reek of insiderism, no one breaks character, it’s a fantasy world and in today’s scary world, it’s a relief.

The characters are very broad. And mostly two-dimensional But that was the goal!

As for the Diamond Dogs… I can’t remember a comparable scene in any production, where nerds, regular people, gather to support and analyze a friend’s love life. And hell, “Ted Lasso” even gets divorce right! You stood up in front of all those people, it’s legal…emotionally it’s hard to break.

It’s hard to do comedy. So hard, that most people don’t even attempt it. Come on, streaming services are laden with cop shows, and supernatural/horror shows. Comedy? It either works or it doesn’t. And oftentimes it doesn’t.

And I can’t give “Ted Lasso” a ringing endorsement, I can’t say it’s a must-see, but I will tell you once you watch about an episode and a half, you’ll finish it. Because you’ll like the mood, you’ll like the respite from the real world, and ultimately…things don’t always play out the way you expect them to, which is a relief.

3

So Apple TV+ has a hit. It’s a sleeper, it’s taken time to grow, but that’s how almost everything is these days, a work of art must percolate in the marketplace before it gets traction. As for marketing? If marketing were truly king, most movies released would be a success, when this is patently untrue.

And the truth is there are very few great things out there, stuff worth talking about, telling others about. And your personal credibility comes into play, whether you know it or not. Recommend a couple of losers and people no longer listen to you, their time is too precious. And personal credibility is one of the key traits in today’s world, where everything is a service or an experience, on demand. You want your friends to listen to you. Seemingly nobody else is, ultimately it’s how you become embedded in the social fabric, where all the rewards are.

So, Apple is on to something. The company should never cut off the freebies, it should continue to give a free subscription to Apple TV+ with every purchase of an Apple item. It reinforces the cult! And once you have a hit, all eyeballs are upon you.

Hell, HBO wasn’t a juggernaut until “The Sopranos,” which boosted the already extant “Sex and the City.” As for “Larry Sanders”? However good it was, it was a cult item.

And “House of Cards” was the best show on any platform, network, cable or streaming, just like “The Sopranos.” And what “The Sopranos” and “House of Cards” also have in common is…signing a producer/creator and giving them a lot of money and free rein.

And Apple is now trying to sell package subscriptions. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t understand pricing. There’s very little incentive to sign up, the price is too high, which is the complaint about all of Apple’s products. I’ll buy the package if I’m paying less than I am now and get a whole ‘nother service absolutely free. As for the services I’m already passing on…if I wanted them that bad, I’d buy them, and I haven’t.

And too many of Apple’s subscription products are me-too. Spotify is an alternative to Apple Music. News is everywhere. As for exercising… Sure, Peleton is much more expensive, but it’s hot and cool at the same time! Apple’s exercise program Fitness+ is not! Steve Jobs understood this…once you’re competing with everybody, when you’re approaching commodity status, you lower the price, like he did with the iPod, killing all other entrants.

People forget the stiffs. Whether it’s TV or music. There’s just too much on offer these days. All those lame Apple TV+ shows? No one cares if they can get “Ted Lasso.”

Apple TV+’s biggest disadvantage was audience. Because distribution is king. You may have the greatest thing since sliced bread, but if no one can see it… But by giving away free subscriptions, EVERYBODY CAN SEE IT! Furthermore, this is the tech ethos… It starts off free until you hit critical mass. Then you either charge or make it continue to feel free, like Google and Facebook.

There are no monopolies in Hollywood anymore. The town elders have lost control. You don’t fight the future, YOU JOIN THE FUTURE! Which is what all the creators have done. A hit can come from anywhere these days, be on any platform, but the key is to HAVE HITS!

Apple TV+ has a start with “Ted Lasso.” Watch it, not so much because you’ll love it, but because then you’ll be part of the discussion. We’re dying for talking points, we’re dying to be members of the club. So, people are incentivized to check out hits, because they want to belong!

Trust me, you want to belong to the “Ted Lasso” cult.

Bode Miller-This Week’s Podcast

Bode Miller is America’s most decorated male alpine skier, winner of two World Cups and six Olympic medals. Bode is a self-taught wunderkind. We dive into his philosophy on education and go deep into his roots and his career, stopping along the way to investigate his innovations and his choices. Bode may have retired from competitive skiing, but he’s involved in more than a dozen ventures, which keep him quite busy. I guarantee you if you’re a ski fan you will have questions answered that have never been asked anywhere else. You’ll learn about equipment, coaching, doping…all the aspects of ski racing at the elite level. Bode is intelligent and articulate, I was high for a day after talking to him!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bode-miller/id1316200737?i=1000508584256

https://open.spotify.com/episode/20ueCaIgjqv6XfnNP74nUm?si=YJvnIlfzQtylS7qoPylFEA

https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/The-Bob-Lefsetz-Podcast