#122: Gimme Back My Bullets
Put 'em back where they belong...
Welcome to Office Hours with Ernest Wilkins. This is a newsletter curated for busy people that are looking for the best marketing tips, culture analysis, and music every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
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Gimme Back My Bullets remains the only studio album by pre-plane crash Skynyrd lineup to not reach platinum or higher in the United States.
10 mins after sending out Wednesdays newsletter, I got the word that Office Hours was named by InsideHook as one of the 80 Best Single-Operator Newsletters on the internet!
If this article brought you here, WELCOME! On Fridays, we listen to music. New playlists and some updates on deck.
MUSIC THINGS:
The best song about pandemic life thus far has been released. Keep an eye on Simpson.
JULY PLAYLIST UPDATES:
Older Millennial Instant Party Starter
Theme: A summer playlist full of tunes familiar to anyone who graduated high school between 2001 and 2006.
(Long live Need Supply)
Cool Men’s Boutique
Theme: If I owned a Cool Men's Boutique, this would be the store playlist.
Stoned In The Shower
Theme: If you smoke weed, listen to this the next time you shower.
Cool but Overpriced Sushi Fusion Restaurant
Theme = If I owned a Cool but Overpriced Sushi Fusion Restaurant. this would be the playlist. Best served on shuffle w/a $23 spicy tuna roll.
NEW PLAYLIST:
(Rossi’s Liquors in Chicago. A dive bar that i miss terribly.)
Scenario: You wonder: “If Ernest owned a Cool Dive Bar, what would he play on the jukebox?”
Playlist: Cool Dive Bar.
HOW TO HELP BLACK LIVES IN 30 MINS OR LESS:
When it comes to taking the steps needed to create a racially equal America, I’ve heard from many well-intentioned non-Black people over the last two months that one of the most daunting things for them is trying to figure out what they can personally do make things better.
Some folks see these massive issues as a significant problem that cannot be defeated, so they struggle to figure out what one person can do, which leads to them not doing much other than posting to IG. Some of that is not wanting to seem like you’re doing too much, some of that is fear your intentions will be misunderstood.
What if I told you that for only 30 minutes a week, you can help black lives no matter where you are or how much money you make? Here’s how:
Carve out 30 minutes in your calendar this week. Call it “Being A Better Person Time” or “Set a Good Example for my Kid” Time, whatever works.
Click a link and make a call or donate or sign a petition. Just do one thing in that 30 min window.
This weekend, share the above link with your three closest friends and say, “Hey, I’m (calling/donating/signing a petition). I’m worried about how things will be for future generations, so I’m doing something about it. If you’re interested, here’s the link!” If you have a group chat, drop it into your group chat!
Repeat the following week for as long as you can. Do it while you online shop, do it while you’re on an annoying call, hell, you can do it while you poop, I genuinely don’t care! Whatever it takes! It is the absolute least that you can do, but you’ll get a sense of accomplishment and the knowledge that you at least did SOMETHING to help. You have a vision of who you want to be, right? That ideal version of yourself that does the right thing when given a chance and leads by example? This is that chance. You can do it!
BONUS: You won’t have to lie to your kids or grandkids about being on the right side of history! You can be all like, “Children/Grandchildren, we don’t tolerate that racist shit in this house. If anyone says otherwise, send them to me.” and you’ll sound all tough and cool, and your kids or grandkids will respect and love you and not want to be racists…guess what? That means less racist people in the future!!!
Look at that. It turns out you had a bigger impact than you thought the whole time!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
I’ve been consulting on programming for the good folks at Chicago Ideas for a few months now and I’m really excited about what the team has been working on.
Last week, we hosted a conversation between Jia Tolentino and Shea Serrano that you can watch here.
Next week, we’re doing a virtual chat with Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle, of Comedy Central’s South Side and IFC’s Sherman’s Showcase for FREE.
Save your spot here. Don’t miss it!
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Office Hours is written and created by Ernest Wilkins.
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