two things.

one.

i mentioned that i won a handwriting contest for andrew belle. with an entry that i did not create for the contest, but that i had already created – from a place inside me that, for some reason, needed this thing to exist. this will never not be jaw-dropping to me. because i made a (seemingly) nothing thing that turned out to be something, and because andrew belle is the person who made it something.

what i mean is, my handwriting is now being printed on a t-shirt. that you can purchase and wear and gift to other people.

it's worth mentioning that it's part of a new album release project and when you get the shirt, you also get access to exclusive content, in addition to the new album. (!!) as if i wouldn't be talking about this new album enough already, the ability to pair it with a lyric tee handwritten by yours truly means i will never stop talking about it.

two.

in january, i mentioned branden harvey's weekly 'goodnewsletter' (my favorite weekly email) without even realizing he had more up his sleeve with the goodnewspaper.

a physical newspaper, y'all. in 2017.

sometime during or after the election, i heard someone say that we've been oversaturated by politics. i think that's a perfect word to describe it, and would also say it applies to the news, in general, and the overwhelming brokenness that exists in the world. or, at least, i find myself bouncing between two states: over-consuming or deleting all my social media apps in an attempt to distance myself from it all.

branden's goal is to stand in the midst of the dark and depressing and find the light, and give it a platform. to find a balance between seeing the broken and the hope. not in the form of cute animal videos that provide a temporary distraction, but in the "real, messy, dirty hope" that exists among the rubble.

the platform, in this case, is a physical newspaper you can hold in your hands and pass along to friends or strangers. you can subscribe here.