Inneresting 07
issue 07
October 31, 2018
The elephant in the room
In the parable of the Blind Men and an Elephant, the men disagree over the object they’ve encountered:
Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant’s body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then describe the elephant based on their limited experience and their descriptions of the elephant are different from each other.
The moral of the story is to make sure you’re not over-generalizing from a limited observation. We’re all the blind men to some degree, and we need to be careful not to mistake our opinions for reality.
Over the past few years, I’ve increasingly felt like the elephant in this parable. Because I’m a hopeless dilettante who dabbles in a lot of things (entrepreneurial), the people I interact with often have a hard time getting the full picture.
Depending on the context you’re interacting with me, I’m a…
A. Screenwriter
B. Middle-grade novelist
C. Software developer
D. Podcast host
E. Broadway writer
F. Game maker
G. Gay dad of a teenager
H. Dungeons and Dragons player
I. Guy who sends out this newsletter
The common thread connecting all of these aspects is (1) noticing something I wish existed in the world and (2) making that thing.
This past weekend in Austin, I felt a fair amount of this Elephantitis. It was both the Austin Film Festival and the Texas Book Festival. I did a lot of events for both, sometimes back-to-back, swapping out my lanyards like a sitcom hero on two dates at the same time.
Most people have some degree of Elephantitis, or course. We’re parents and siblings, experts and aficionados. Yet for most people, “What do you do?” can have a simple answer of one or two sentences.
When asked, I say, “I’m mostly a screenwriter.” But that omits a lot of information that might be helpful. What if they also make software? What if they write lyrics?
I don’t have a great or consistent approach here. A few years ago at WWDC, the big Apple developer conference, I chatted in line and at lunch with other developers about our apps. I didn’t say anything about my screenwriting, but when one of the guys checked my Twitter, then Googled me and saw my credits, it got kind of weird.
One of the best things about WWDC, though, was my complete anonymity. At the Austin Film Festival, I’m super-recognizable. Strangers say hi, which is great. But I also feel the constant and exhausting flicker of recognition as I walk by – “Is that…?”
It me.
At least, one of me.
Here’s what else I found interesting this week:
We’re having a sale on all the things. To celebrate the Austin Film Festival and the start of NaNoWriMo, we’ve put all the stuff we make on a 40%-off sale this week. If you’ve held off upgrading Highland 2 or Weekend Read, now’s the time.
Still teaching reading the wrong way. Emily Hanford writes that the superiority of phonics-based reading instruction is scientifically proven – and has been for years. I taught my daughter to read using the Hooked on Phonics kit and The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading.
Monster energy drinks are the work of the devil. This woman and I agree.
This woman changed TV comedy forever. Aline pointed me to this profile of Susan Harris by Kristin Baldwin for EW.
Potocracy. Amanda Chicago Lewis looks at how difficult it is to sell legal weed in Los Angeles. If we’re going to make some new rules, how about limiting outdoor advertising like we do for cigarettes and alcohol?
How does a gumball machine work? Like this.
Cheap but good. I bought this AmazonBasics carry-on suitcase for my trip to Austin and Colorado. It’s doing the job quite well.
And that's all this week. As always, you can email me at ask@johnaugust.com
See you next Wednesday!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Scriptnotes Holiday Show NEW!
Wednesday, December 12th at 8pm
Los Angeles Film School
(Details soon.)
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