A new week, new words, new music, new ideas, and new formats. One of the benefits of daily practice is getting to improve faster. If it takes thirty shots to hit the target, and you can take one shot daily, the target is within reach—more on this in the new rehearsal section of the newsletter. With the first thirty days underneath us, the goal of the next thirty days is as ambitious as starting this on day one. Thank you for being a part of this journey.

The ability to click on a word and get the dictionary definition is a benefit to someone reading to try to learn or figure something out. It’s also beneficial for a casual reader who knows what a word means and can also infer that meaning in context with the piece as they read. Recently as the news team began parsing through stories, we found ourselves in a “big word loop.” The loop or maybe spiral would be a better term that started with the term sycophant. If you look up sycophant, the definition includes “A person who acts obsequiously toward someone important to gain an advantage.” If you originally knew that sycophant was not a term of endearment, the definition did expand, and suck-up would now come to mind. The spiral comes in when you then have to look up obsequiously. Which means “Servile obedience, excessive eagerness to please.” Yes, you guessed it, Servile means “excessive willingness to serve.”

As fun and enjoyable as it was to travel down this spiral, after all, we are writing about it now; all the big words in the definition of sycophant basically mean the same thing; excessive suck-up. Which, by the way, could have been used in the original article to the same effect.

What’s the best transition from a blurb about words and definitions? How about arranging type for effective communication? According to a great 5 minute tutorial on topography:

When groceries are more expensive than eating out, that’s the dream of anyone who has ever gone to a grocery store or made dinner. This came up on the Internet wires recently, and a deeper dive proves it’s still a dream. However, with price increases as exaggerated as they are today, some restaurants are using it to market to anyone wishing they didn’t have to make dinner tonight.

A quick example from a recent grocery store receipt found on the ground. A block of Velveeta Cheese Products costs almost $8.00. First, it’s called cheese product because the FDA made Kraft change the name from cheese spread to cheese product. In other WORDS, it’s not cheese. “Not’ cheese blocks sell for $8.00? That is one reason people are starting to entertain eating out. The WSJ has an interesting article on the thoughts behind the reality behind the math and how some restaurants are taking advantage of something most of us wish were true. Order Up!

Writing, music, and video have become easier to produce by all of us everyday people. Photographer follows the same path, at least in terms of the equipment. Most smartphones today are better than any original camera you bought separately.

This site has the top ten street photographers in 2022. We didn’t spend much time digging into who picked the photos, but they are cool pics in their own right. Look through them and let us know what your favorite is. This was our favorite:

Today’s Music Notes involve two quick follow-up stories. Our fans and followers know we are big Blink 182 fans. The recent announcements of Tom DeLong reuniting with the band, the upcoming tour, and new music are now on the Internet. You won’t need us for that; just google Blink 182! A few of us hardcore Blink Fans have wondered about Matt Skiba, who not only filled in for Tom from 2015 until about 10 minutes ago but wrote songs with Blink 182 for two albums; California and Nine.

After the announcements last week, Tom DeLong did take to social media to thank Matt for all he did with Blink personally. Matt followed up with a congratulatory post of his own and expressed gratitude for his time with Mark and Travis in Blink 182. It’s nice when all the boys are getting along. Blink also released a new song, which is wonderfully raunchy and primary school as any Blink song, in Tom Delong’s written nursery rhymes to punk rock music. The Blink Boys are in their 50’s, as are many of the With A Shout’ers. The new Blink song does not disappoint, and we hope they never change the message and keep us smiling!

In another follow-up - The world’s most popular band, BTS, is reportedly preparing to start mandatory military service in South Korea. Another example of the supergroup doing the right thing.

Let this one inch your brain for a bit; coming soon!

We have never heard this term, and we guess that Jack Hoppus, Landon Barker, or Ava DeLong had to walk their old men through this one ;-)

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

Words from Gen X in age or spirit. Mae Jemison was the first black female in space as part of the shuttle Endeavor in 1992. Ms. Jemison let nothing hold her back; that’s a punk rock heart in our book.

"Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations... If you adopt their attitudes, then the possibility won't exist because you'll have already shut it out... You can hear other people's wisdom, but you've got to re-evaluate the world for yourself." "The best way to make dreams come true is to wake up." - Mae Jemison

Read more about Mae Jemison

Be Good,

Johnny