A week's end, today is a celebration of people; some make us laugh, and others sing, dance, and think.  They are all storytellers, and next to the storytellers are the tactical narrative builders.  The best protection against a tactical narrative is to Think for Yourself. 

In lessons learned, 90% of worried fears never come true.    Think about conversations had with friends, colleagues, and peers.    Do people complain about jobs, work, the economy, and politics?    What positions are they in, and are they affected consistently by the broader economy?    What about politics?    Most people I talk to are not; most of them have increased in career positions and household income year after year.    What, then, are you complaining about?    Are you looking out for the other guy, the person who lost a job, or the politics that changed freedoms for a group of people? 

Writers work with narratives for a living; it also gives us narrative radar and the ability to see how narratives work on people.    Reporters and Journalists also benefit from interviews and observations that help validate how a narrative works on a person or group.    Everyone is influenced by a narrative, similar to the voice in your head that tells you when to be careful and other times won't shut up about something else; a person's ability to remove the self or the ego from the voice or from the narrative can reduce the influence. 

An independent mindset helps us read, write and think from a perspective of learning and taking in data to draw conclusions.    This is also based on a narrative; an independent mindset doesn't hold too tight to any side, thought, or philosophy except to question, inquire and learn from as many sides as possible.    No one likes to be told what to do; the best way we know to protect the independent mindset is to Think for Yourself.

The Indigo Girls popped up on the feed today. Emily and Amy took their guitars and sweet voices to NPR for the Tiny Desk Concert Series.    They opened with Closer To Fine, a song that is going on 40 years old these days.    They finished with Kid Fears, and the bookends made for a great concert.

Another "Pro Algorithm" find today.    The YouTube clip below is from an Australian team, and best we can tell, they try to make each other laugh by telling Dad Jokes? We haven't figured out the entire premise, but it made us laugh.

Margaret Atwood, the author of The Handmaid's Tale, wrote a piece in The Atlantic arguing for book banning.    The argument will only highlight the book and make it more attractive to people who wouldn't have looked at it otherwise.    Atwood goes into detail about both the biblical references in her book and the fact that much of the book talks about the horrors of totalitarianism, which we are all against right? 

Who becomes afraid when good books and stories are talked about in education and learning settings?    A writer works her trade and publishes a book with the intent to entertain and provoke thoughts and discussion.    Atwood didn't write a textbook; it's not a persuasive speech; it's a story, a well-written, well-received, and extremely popular story that has been made into other stories.

Atwood couldn't have written a better justification for her book than the book banners have given her.    Again, Think for Yourself.

In a mix of sadness and happiness, like their music, De La Soul announced the passing of Trugoy the Dove way too early at 54.    In happier news, De La Soul plans to release music on the streaming services after a long legal battle.    De La Soul recently started a Substack, and if they have remained popular, they have half a million subscribers to a Substack with zero posts. 

De La Soul | Substack

Good [drums] Pain.

Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.

Thank you for spending a few minutes with us. Here’s one for the road!

With A Shout newsletter is written by Johnny Christian with the support of a thousand idea bits and the help of many people.

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