#152: Wit' Da Team
CULTURE THINGS:
I’d like to start today’s newsletter by asking…what the hell is going on over there in Australia and New Zealand?
Looking at my analytics…out of the top 20 cities that read Office Hours, 5 of them are cities in those two countries.
I have SO much love for what those two countries have been churning out, from iconic brands like Aesop and Ksubi to new cool things like Genesis Owusu (that’s him up top) to skatewear brand Butter Goods, which makes cool clothes, though they are not to be confused with very cool Atlanta media company butter.atl, who also makes clothes.
See why I need a break?
I own the complete Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever discography! The Royal Family Virtual Experience is STILL one of the only good cultural things that happened between March - October 2020!
All this culture…when I get a vaccine, should I pull up?
OH WAIT, THEY DON’T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT.
Office Hours readers in Australia/New Zealand, e-mail me. Let’s talk. I wanna know what’s going on over under down there.
Forgot to commemorate last week, but about this time a year ago, a video I shot at a Bears game went viral. The video has been seen about 10 million times (napkin math, rounding down).
Cleaning out my e-mail reminded me to post this AND to remind you: If you watch Ridiculousness on MTV/MTV2, look out for the clip! It should air this season at some point (no clue when!), shout out to Rob Dyrdek for the check! RIP Big Black!
2020 continues to be the kick in the dick that won’t end.
Ugh, RIP to Richard “Dick” Allen! Allen was a first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago White Sox. He’s widely credited by many for saving the Sox from relocation and was the first cool baseball player I knew about. He was 78.
It’s an absolute crime that he isn’t already in the Hall-of-Fame. I think the White Sox should do the right thing and retire his number, something I’ve lowkey been asking about for a while.
Allen was one of my dad’s favorite players and partly why we’re White Sox fans.
To me, his lasting legacy is not just as one of the coolest baseball players of all-time, one of the reasons the White Sox are one of the coolest franchises in sports, but also that he’s one of the 20 best hitters in league history.
“He disliked much of the press but he was eminently quotable -- sort of Yogi-like even.
On Astroturf: "If a horse can't eat it, I don't want to play on it."
On getting old: "Your body is like a bar of soap; the more you use it, the more it wears down."
On his versatility: "I can play anywhere, except Philadelphia."
On contract disputes: "They would say, 'Look at what baseball has done for you.' And I'd say, 'Yeah, it's made a terrible guy of me. People who don't even know me see me on the street and say they don't like me.'"
On getting into the Hall of Fame: "They had to damn near hold court to decide whether Satchel Paige got in -- I'm not too interested in that Hall of Fame."
Because he was Dick Allen, nobody quite knew what to do with any of that.”
I got this from Joe Posnanski, btw.
MARKETING THINGS:
#IsItYou
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
I’m taking some time off to do a thing that I haven’t done much this year: Rest.
Like you, 2020 has kicked my ass from every possible angle. I need to go reset. You probably do, too. Do SOMETHING for yourself where you can log off and just…rest. Ok? Now, onto scheduling...
Instead of doing a Best of 2020 newsletter, I’m going to be doing superlatives when I get back. We’re all absolutely exhausted from this year, which is as good of a time as any to ask any/all media folks following me: WE DO NOT NEED TO SEE THE GEORGE FLOYD MURDER OR ANY MURDER IN FULL AS PART OF YOUR YEAR-END “COVERAGE”. There are those that disagree, but I disagree with their disagreement.
REMINDER: The Office Hours Podcast is back in your inboxes on Thursdays! Going forward, Office Hours will now hit your inboxes twice a week. Tuesdays = the usual newsletter goodness. Thursday will be a pod that will be for PAID SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. For the month of December, I'll be offering a free preview of the Thursday pod, like how they offer free HBO every fall for a week or two.
These episodes will be sent on Thursday 12/10 and Thursday 12/17. Then we’re dark until Tuesday, Jan 5th. This week’s guest is Ana Andjelic, who’s new book The Business of Aspiration is an essential read if you’re going to keep up with what we talk about in this newsletter, ok? Go buy it. Ok? Ok.
How many of those 192923 Black folks these media brands profiled back in June/July will make their year-end lists?
If you missed last week's giant-size newsletter #150, read it here. If you missed last week’s Office Hours Interview with The Atlantic's Amanda Mull, listen to that here. She’s the best.
*Paul Heyman promoting 2002 Brock Lesnar voice* My 2020 Substack mentee is Safy Hallan-Farah!!! She's going to be the Next Big Thing, that’s not an opinion, that’s a FACT, brother. Subscribe to her newsletter.
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Office Hours with Ernest Wilkins is written and curated by Ernest Wilkins in Chicago, Illinois. Follow me on Twitter/Clubhouse/IG@ErnestWilkins.