Why We're Here
What's in it for you, should you wish to subscribe to my newsletter?
Why would you sign up for yet another Substack? Near as I can tell, there is but one reason someone might join a newsletter mailing list and community: finding value in what the author has to offer, and wanting more.
The purpose of this first post is to explain what you might be able to get out of this Substack. With any luck, it will turn out to be one you want to add to your reading list.
(If you’ve already subscribed, before I even wrote a post, I am extremely grateful. You may still want to read this piece to see what you’ve gotten into!)
Hot Topics?
As much as I’d like to start this conversation from you the reader’s point of view, the best way to communicate what you’ll be reading from me in the weeks, months, and hopefully years to come is to start with me.
So, what do I want to share in this space? Lots of things. But that means if you’re looking for a detailed look into a single arena of life, it won’t be here. It’s like a certain joke from Airplane!—bonus points for whoever leaves the first comment with this actor’s name and/or most famous TV role.
Before I continue, I understand that not everything that interests me might interest you. That is why I plan to end every piece (except this one) with a short list of universal takeaways that, ideally, can be brought into to a broader range of subjects. Plus, I like trying to find sentences that can be applied generally, not just to the subject at hand.1
But if I tried to focus this Substack onto a single topic of conversation, I would likely get bored or run out of ideas and eventually leave you in the dust, which I don’t want to do. I strongly believe that you will enjoy this newsletter much more, and for a longer period of time, if I don’t limit myself to just one thing.
Just how many, though? I suppose it might not be that unusual, really—maybe you can tell me—but I go into and out of and back into all sorts of flings. Below, I’ve listed several areas of interest that I seem to always come back to at some point. You’re bound to find at least a few things on this list that you also like—at least I hope so! Because yes, they represent a giant chunk of what I’ll be writing about:
sports, especially the NFL, MLB, fantasy baseball; I play basketball recreationally, but only follow the NBA loosely
music, especially classic rock, several electronic genres, and classical
games, especially chess, poker, video games, Scrabble, and crosswords and other word games and puzzles
history, especially U.S. history, especially U.S. presidential history, especially U.S. presidential election history
geography, going back to two top-three finishes at the school level of the Geography Bee from 6th to 8th grade… the latter of which I finished second on a darned current events tiebreaker question
languages, especially German and French
standup comedy; unfortunately, my favorites such as Mitch Hedberg (1968–2005), John Pinette (1964–2014), and Norm Macdonald (1959–2021) tend to knock off prematurely. I’ve also performed at an open mic once or twice, but don’t worry about me: I am not one of my favorites
newspaper comics, especially Calvin & Hobbes and The Far Side
trivia, as a longtime Jeopardy! fan (at least until Alex Trebek passed), as well as a longtime Sporcle contributor
movies and television, although I tend to be much more selective in what I watch than the average consumer
and other random areas from astronomy to photography to financial investment to statistics to food and cooking to something I’m surely missing because it’s an “out” right now to, oh yeah, this thing I’m doing right now called writing.
One thing you didn’t see on the list is politics (although history is barely one level removed from politics).2 I am interested in politics, I just have zero plans to write about it. I do have family and friends who are talented writers and have chosen to write regularly about politics-adjacent subjects.
That will not be me, and I have several sources of reverse inspiration:
As the dinosaur in Toy Story said, “I don’t like confrontation!”
As President Truman once said (I think it was him, and we all know the next thing this world needs is another quote misattribution), “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” Well, I guess I can’t stand the heat.
As John Pinette said in his 2011 comedy special, “If you’re here for WikiLeaks jokes, you’ve got the wrong guy!”
All that said, there are indeed some non-political subjects I am strongly opinionated on, and sometimes I’ll talk about those—I haven’t meant to imply that only politics can induce strong opinions. Everyone has that sports team, TV show, song, etc. that they love or hate.
This direction that we’re going also comes down to a choice between two ways of building an audience. One is to passionately discuss subjects that other people are also passionate about. That method seems a more natural way to build an audience than the one I am drawn toward: hope people like you enough and see enough value in your content to come along for the ride, no matter what it’s about.
This is especially true on Substack, where I couldn’t even categorize my blog for lack of a “Miscellaneous” category. But we will see how we do.
And while non-controversial all too often does mean non-interesting, it doesn’t have to. Besides, sometimes people just want to put the “hot takes” away and engage with something fun or stimulating, yet low-stakes. Several of your favorite YouTube channels may offer such a thing.
And, with any luck, at least one of your Substack readings.
You, The Reader
Okay, so why join the mailing list for this newsletter?
You have probably gathered from the above that I want to tackle any number of subjects so long as they remain above a certain threshold of safety. It is my hope that several of these are interests you share as well. If not, as I said, I will try to weave more general ideas into writings about more specific things, and give you something valuable to take away no matter how deeply you know the area.
Or maybe you just like the way I write. I’d accept that too.
Admittedly, it is not clear yet how exactly I plan to cover so many disparate topics in a way that you’ll appreciate. I could write a longer essay about a single topic each week, or I could write multiple shorter essays on several topics, where ideally at least one catches your attention.
I already have some ideas for those longer, more focused pieces, so there are likely to be several of those in the first few months. Smaller, more spread-out pieces will fill in the gaps when I don’t manage to have a full essay ready.
(Cat) Pic Of The Week
Oh, and there will be something like this every week, too. There may be other “Of The Week” items, especially for interesting results from games I play (such as Wordle, Spelling Bee, or Immaculate Grid) and also things like video clips. And, of course, a trivia question or two—this week’s was already asked up above!
For now, though, enjoy this picture of my cat, Q. There won’t always be a photo, and when there is, it won’t always be of a cat—unless you want that.
Conclusion
If you have already joined the email list or are about to, I thank you deeply.
If you have gotten this far but do not want to join the list, sorry to see you go, but maybe we will have another encounter down the line.
Either way, thank you for reading, and I hope you’ll welcome my writing into your inbox. I look forward to your thoughts in the comments section below.
For example, “All things are possible, but most things are unlikely” and “Any [person] not looking to improve is setting… up for decline” from this 2016 piece about Bryce Harper.
Never mind the opening paragraph!
Jonathan banks