Blog
Practicing gratitude, creativity, and critical thinking by writing about things we like and why we like them.
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Magical Realism in Kelly’s Work for Peppered Labs
"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” —Gabriel García Márquez
The Lilith Fair Doc is Made for Music Lovers
“It began as a big tour, and then became a surprisingly big tour. And then as it just kept going, it became a sort of industry miracle.” —Rob Sheffield
My Favorite Moments from Kelly’s Podcast Appearance on “Did That Age Well?”
“Girls, they wanna have fun.” —Cyndi Lauper
One Song for You from The Nicest Musician I’ve Ever Interviewed
“Heaven is whenever we can get together, sit down on your floor, and listen to your records” —The Hold Steady
One Song for You from This Week’s Production Soundtrack
“I want you to want me.” —Cheap Trick
One Song for You from My Album of the Motherf**** Year (Easy)
“So good, you won't ever know. I never hear it on the radio.” —Jeff Tweedy
A Good Hang with Amy Poehler & Aubrey Plaza
“Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.” —Maya Angelou
The Longest Thing I’ve Ever Written: Coach Van
“It’s such a confidence trick, writing a novel. The main person you have to trick into confidence is yourself. This is hard to do alone.”
—Zadie Smith
A Bunch of Books I Like—July 2025
“Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.”
— Voltaire
How This Bald Guy Helped Rebrand a Hair Salon
“Anyone can be confident with a full head of hair. But a confident bald man—there's your diamond in the rough.”
—Larry David
A Shoutout to Every Comedian in “Group Therapy”
“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”
—Amy Poehler
A Moment of Peace at the Benson Sculpture Garden in Loveland, Colorado
“Peace is always beautiful.”
—Walt Whitman
“Psycho Killer”: A New Music Video for a 50-Year-Old Song
“Whenever I'm writing a song, if I have an idea for the music video, that's how I know it's a good song.”
—Charlie XCX
A Poem on Overcoming Challenges
“The flow pro poetical with skills only a vet'll know.”
—Treach
What It’s Like Working with a Personal Stylist
“Great personal style is an extreme curiosity about yourself.”
—Iris Apfel
A Year at the Movies, with One Recommendation
“Film lovers are sick people."
—Francois Truffaut (possibly apocryphal)
I Can’t Stop Sketching I Think You Should Leave
"Living is keeping the absurd alive."
—Albert Camus
Brand Strategy as Illustrated by Explosions in Movie Trailers
"Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt."
—Sun Tzu