In this solo episode, Mike Kim narrates his recent experience with creative practices inspired by Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way. He begins by humorously framing his 'dating' life as weekly solo artist dates, which he initially resisted. During one such date at the Brooklyn Museum, he encounters Blackwing pencils in the gift shop, sparking an interest. He recounts learning about the pencil's history from a Wall Street Journal video, noting its use by John Steinbeck and Chuck Jones. The original company's demise led to pencils selling for up to $200 on the resale market. A California company later bought the trademark, reverse-engineered the pencil, and invested $250,000 in a machine to recreate its distinct flathead eraser, launching a new version marketed as a 'tribute' amid purist complaints. Mike buys the pencils and starts using them for morning pages, another Artist's Way exercise involving three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing each morning. He hasn't missed a morning in a month. The narrative shifts to a social outing with friend Lauren Davis and her dad's best friend Doug, a hip 60-something with a storied advertising career who writes comic books on the side. Doug reveals he started this creative pursuit at Mike's age, which floors Mike and prompts reflection on his own 'quiet hum of too late' feelings in his 40s. A week later, Doug invites Mike to an independent comic book convention at the same venue, adding to the synchronicities. Mike connects these experiences to a broader shift away from screen-based work, noting he has cut Zoom calls by 90% and replaced them with tactile activities. He buys more Blackwing pencils at an airport bookstore, owning more than a fourth grader. He speculates this change stems from a decade of building his business through screens, leading him to subconsciously seek tangible, multi-sensory engagement. He likens it to a musician switching instruments to hear something new. The episode concludes with Mike encouraging listeners to engage in off-screen, tactile activities to reconnect with creativity and humanity, providing links to mentioned items in the show notes.
