Hackneyed

  • What’s Your Mission Statement

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    Luke
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    Luke, How are you, dear? My mind is currently on auto-pilot, but need to call you soon. It’s cool to hate talking on the phone now so I plan to talk on the phone more. I can’t seem to formulate sentences anymore so need practice. I need to organically run into Bill Murray. I don’t…

  • Remember

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    Luke
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    It’s not all about luck. “In any great outcome, there is a component of luck. Yet if life were all about luck, the same people wouldn’t repeatedly do great things. When someone repeatedly does great things it is because they prepared in advance to advance to recognize, work on, and fill in the blanks when…

  • Your Team

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    Luke
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    Cannot understate how proud I am of the cast and crew of The Dinner Parting. Like at work, like in life, I only want to surround myself with people better than myself. Always build the best team you can: “One of the best pieces of advice I ever got, back when I was 23 and…

  • Film: Year in Review (Sorta)

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    Luke
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    Watched 322 films last year that I hadn’t seen before. I’m usually not qualified to make year-end lists till March or so, but a few from 2019 that stood out to me thus far: Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Uncut Gems, Jojo Rabbit, Knives Out, Parasite, I Heard You Paint Houses, Booksmart, Us and…

  • Last Year…

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    Luke
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    …I made a consciousness decision not to post anything negative on social media. I understand the need to vent, but for me, it’s made a big difference on how I view things and how I feel in general. Would encourage you to consider it.

  • Life Update

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    Luke
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    Thank you to everybody that has reached out and asked how shooting has been going. If I’ve missed you, the answer is, hectic. Possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I sleep very little, and on the set’s couch because it forces me to get up and be ready bright and early every day. But…

  • Philly

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    Luke
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    Goodbye, little one. It was a good 12 years. ❤️

  • The Year in Review

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    Luke
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    2018 was one of the hardest, most challenging years of my life, and also one of the worst. 2019 might be one of hardest, most challenging years of my life, but also one of the best. East Lansing gave me an award for my contributions to the city. Someone deemed that newsworthy. Yesterday I was…

  • This is what a decade on Last.fm looks like.

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    Luke
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    Listened to 315,504 songs, spread over 10,147 artists, according to my (second) account. Looking at my top artists, if you were to ask if those were my favortites, I would say, “Close enough.”

  • Eight Ways to Not Get Hit in the Face with a Brick

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    Luke
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    Wrote this for McSweeney’s back in 2004 but it’s just as relevant today. “If someone asks if they can hit you in the face with a brick, say no. Any other response guarantees you’ll get hit in the face with a brick.”

  • Story of an Artist

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    Luke
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    Listen up and I’ll tell a story, about an artist growing old. Some would try for fame and glory, others aren’t so bold. And everyone in friends and family, sayin’ “Hey, go get a job. Why do you only do that only? Why are you so odd? “And we don’t really like what you do.…

  • “The ancient commission of the writer has not changed…

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    Luke
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    He is charged with exposing our many grievous faults and failures, with dredging up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the purpose of improvement. Furthermore, the writer is delegated to declare and to celebrate man’s proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit — for gallantry in defeat, for courage, compassion and…

  • “Our world hangs like a magnificent jewel in the vastness of space…

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    Luke
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    …Every one of us is a part of that jewel. A facet of that jewel. And in the perspective of infinity, our differences are infinitesimal. We are intimately related. May we never even pretend that we are not.” –Fred Rogers

  • 63 Up

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    Luke
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    Realized a day or two ago: 63 Up will be coming out this year and I am tearing up just thinking about it. This series tugs at every heart string. I could barely hold it together (read: could not hold it together) just watching the trailer for the previous installment. We should also be what,…

  • Writing Advice to Myself

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    Luke
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    Don’t say something is good or bad. That’s subjective. Instead, describe what about it you like or dislike. Probably still subjective. But less so.

  • The Last Time Tiger Won a Major

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    Luke
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    I had just returned from a long weekend in my hometown. My buddy Frush had picked me up on his way from Detroit. Our friend Annabelle came with. We didn’t go for any other reason than to be young and dumb. The trip was a success. We crashed with our friend Rob. Annabelle was supposed…

  • Streaming Music Raises Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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    Luke
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    Here is something I’ve never thought about. From Pitchfork: Though the overall plastic production in the recording industry has dropped, greenhouse gas emissions caused by music consumption have reached an unprecedented high, a new study from the University of Glasgow shows. The changes in environmental impact are due to the decreasing popularity of physical music…

  • If a star was born in 1937, 1954, 1976 and 2018…

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    Luke
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    … the mid/late 90s Mariah Carey/Diddy R&B/hip-hop remake must have gotten lost in a time warp.

  • #52Films By Women

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    Luke
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    I made a pledge to watch at least one female-directed film per week that I hadn’t seen prior in 2019. I will log them as I go, and likely rank them in the same list when I am done. Did the same thing in 2016. *** Speaking of movies. This is going to get discussed…

  • Dealing with People On the Internet

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    Luke
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    This issue of The Discourse has some great advice on dealing with people online. Reward your “enemies” when they agree with you, exhibit good behavior, or come around on an issue. Otherwise they have no incentive to ever meet you halfway. Accept it when people apologize. People should be allowed to work through ideas and…