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December

31 Days of Content: Here’s What I Learned

On December 1, I vowed to share content every day for a month. Here, on Day 31, I look back at what I’ve learned.

First Up: ‘The What’

The content I shared — for the first 30 days, not counting today — fell into three categories:

  • Business and Advice: 11 posts
  • Music: 8 posts
  • The Saturday List: 4
  • Podcast Interviews/Summaries of Shows: 4
  • Inspirational: 2
  • Creativity: 2

Next: ‘The Where’

25 of the 30 posts were on the Area 224 blog (that’s where you are right now!) and the other 5 were posted on my Substack.

In most cases, the content was re-shared by me on LinkedIn; and some of the posts were also reshared on X, which I’m still calling “Twitter.”

Best-Performing Posts?

Six of my posts stand out as performing better than the others, at least when it comes to views; Four on Substack and two on the blog:

To be fair to myself: I had spent a year or so curating my Substack much more than my blog, so, the combination of a built-in audience and the consistency of The Saturday List would both be factors leading to its (relative) success.

It’s also been suggested — fairly, I might add — that I should add a Subscribe Button to the blog. So here’s one.

The LinkedIn Factor

I will be completely direct here: LinkedIn is not my favorite tool. Sure, everyone thinks that “Followers” and “Connections” and the like are great. But it’s clunky, its newsletter publisher is pretty bad and doesn’t allow links, and views don’t lead to any real activities.

LinkedIn has a REAL algorithm problem: posts are still being delivered to the feed that are 2-plus weeks old, so the jury may be out on whether some of the above posts might still move up or down my rankings.

Finally, and this is big, even with Premium, the analytics are…poor. I can’t tell you which of my posts on LinkedIn performed well, or not well, if they are more than seven days old. Each passing month leads me to question why I pay for Premium.

Big Winner: The Daily Habit of Writing

If you watch enough cooking videos or you talk to those in some sort of performance industry — sportscasters, professional speakers, actors — you know how big it is to get “reps.” Your first four ribeyes cooked on the steel pan will be okay, the next four will get better, and, by the ninth ribeye, you are finally able to cook for others.

Writing is similar; and, given the combination of work priorities and life priorities taking over, I had not really flexed any writing muscles of note in a long, long time.

But I did write every single day.

There were days I was able to pull together a couple blog posts, and there were other days where I felt like all I got was a neat little paragraph that shaped blog post or the next week’s Saturday List.

And, The Next Steps For Me (There Are Two)

A December goal was to do as much of this content creation as I could WITHOUT any AI tools. In fact, other than my post on GEO vs SEO, or my piece on AI-driven “creativity,” I stayed away from AI. (So yes, I wrote all the words myself.)

I don’t plan on issuing another 31-day content challenge to myself for January; however, I do plan on doing a few deeper-dive looks at AI tools and how to use them. Look for more of that in January.

The other January goal: MORE INTERVIEWS. Yes, that’s right, I plan on ramping up discussions on The Vandy Program. I only did ONE of them in December; the only gauntlet I’ll throw down for a busy January is to do…THREE.

(Here’s the one that I did in December.)

So yeah, that’s actually a blatant pitch for interesting podcast guests. If there’s someone YOU want to hear from, let me know in the comments…even if that person is you.

Finally, My Thanks

Back in journalism school, they would tell you to imagine that you’re talking to a friend or family member before you went on air. Trite? Maybe. But that’s been the thing that kept me going during December. And it’ll keep me going through 2026, come what may.

My sincere thanks for coming along for the ride.

The Christmas Message

It’s Christmas 2025.

In Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, things are returning to normal this year. The past two Christmases, there were no traditional processions, no celebrations of Christmas; the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 made that impossible.

War continued. Christians, who are in the minority even in Bethlehem itself, would celebrate Christmas quietly.

Bethlehem has nearly 30,000 residents, and nearly all of them rely on tourism, especially this time of year. It’s impossible to have measurable tourism income during a war.

At long last, there’s a cease fire in Gaza; the war, hopefully, is coming to an end.

A Christmas Truce

Christmas 1914 was the last time there was a significant war that had a Christmas Truce. World War I — “The Great War,” until another, larger, greater war forced it to adopt a Roman numeral — went on pause for a day. Imagine that: soldiers put differences aside for a day, shared pleasantries, even played soccer together. It sounds unbelievable.

As the Imperial War Museum tells us in this video, it…happened throughout the Western Front.

It seems differences could be put aside, even if it’s only for a day.

‘Unto Us A Child Is Born’

Interestingly, the popular scripture verse is from the Old Testament, from Isaiah Chapter 9, verse 6:

“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Call it foreshadowing, or prophecy.

In Bethlehem, 2000-plus years ago, the Christ Child arrived in a manger. Shepherds watched over Mother and Child; wise men came from the East with gifts.

In 1914, in Europe, war paused, ever so briefly, with hopes for peace.

Today, in Bethlehem, and throughout the world, may the birth of Christ bring you hope, and may it bring us all peace.

God Bless.

Why An Eight-Minute Episode of Bluey Might Change Your Life

Okay, now that we have your attention…

High praise continues to be heaped upon one particular episode of the television show Bluey.

For instance: the website Romper says “Adults Are Obsessing…Because It’s Perfect.”

It’s a show for children, so folks like me — whose kids are no longer in the target demo for children’s programming — were likely to miss it. BUT…it’s THAT GOOD.

If you can roll everything about child-rearing, growing up, moving on, even grief into 8 Minutes?

It is rather amazing. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch it on YouTube.

Trust me, it might change your life.

It’s Sunday, So Here’s Advice from an Orthodox Priest — And A Couple Doctors, Too

Fr. Paul Truebenbach is an orthodox priest at Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In this video, which appears on YouTube from a channel called Roots of Orthodoxy, Fr. Paul was asked if he had advice for someone with anxiety and depression.

Even if you’re not a religious person, there’s something to be said for the four-step process:

  • Exercise for 30 minutes (more on that below)
  • “Go build, fix, or clean something”
  • “Go pray” — again, for those who aren’t religious, substitute meditation — and the “Jesus prayer” recommended by Fr. Paul is simply “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
  • Find something you can do for someone else.

The Exercise Habit

Spend any time on the internet and you’ll see that there are scores of theories on exercise: which ones are best, how much, how often, etc. It’s a lot to digest.

If you have the time for another brief video, here’s one where Chris Williamson interviews Dr. Rhonda Patrick — she’s someone who has appeared on a number of podcasts and hosts one of her own — where they discuss a number of exercise strategies; the one that I zeroed in on is the “Norwegian 4×4.”

Rhonda explains it here:

Sounds daunting, sure, and it may not be your thing.

Another approach: Walking. As detailed in this video, where Dr. Andrew Huberman interviews Dr. Casey Means.

“If walking were a pill, it would be the most impactful pill we have in modern medicine.”

The Upshot: Get Moving, Get Busy, Get Out of Your Own Head

We could talk about all of Fr. Paul’s points all day; but if you zero in on his main ideas, it all makes sense. Workout, then accomplish something by building or cleaning or fixing, then pray, then do something for someone else.

The Next Big Thing — Or, Three Musical Acts About to Explode

We’re back on Day Three of A Month of Content…Here’s a post that appeared on Dave’s Substack this past June; it has been lightly edited with some editor’s notes updating statistics.

It’s time to amaze your friends! Yes, thanks to yours truly listening to a lot of new music, a little sleuthing, and a chap called Canadian Steve, you are about to become The Tastemaker. The Influencer. The guy (or gal) who tells everybody six months from now that you told everybody about this artist six months ago.

Behold, The Next Big Thing, 2025 Edition. Here goes.

The Next Big Thing, Solo Artist: CMAT

To become The Next Big Thing, you have to have both a vibe and a catchy single. Meet CMAT, who provides both right here. The song is called…”The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station.” Color me intrigued — or, more accurately, “colour me intrigued,” as CMAT is from Ireland.

We’re a scant three seconds into this video and I’m nonplussed. Do I tell everyone about this artist? Do I take a screenshot? Do I subscribe? Do I wonder what has happened to society when some mysterious artist — who appears to be named after a college admissions test or a part you’d find inside a Ford Thunderbird — has only 27,000 subscribers?

Editor’s Note: What a difference a few months and an album launch can make, CMAT now has 48,000 subscribers, and the video has been viewed 246,000 times and counting.

Mind you we haven’t even listened to the song yet. This is the impact of CMAT.

Quick internet scan tells us that the artist CMAT is a young woman whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson. Gotta admit, while it’s a pretty name, Ciara Thompson doesn’t roll off the tongue like CMAT does.

And here’s the CERTIFIED BANGER(™) that will be your Song of the Summer.

She visited the States in September, 8 American shows (and one in Toronto, which is not yet part of America) in a two-week span. Funny enough, her new album, Euro-Country, dropped at the end of August.

Like I said: CERTIFIED BANGER.

My thanks to Canadian Steve, who introduced me to CMAT (and dozens of others) on his Substack.

Also check out this song:

She’s going places, kid.

The Next Big Thing, Duo: Mind Enterprises

To summarize where we’re going with this, it’s time for a screenshot of a tweet. From me, of course. I’m clever and modest.

I am simultaneously late to the party – this act has been around for years, it seems – and brand new to the courtyard wine-and-cheese-fest vibe known as “Italo Disco,” as it seems that the duo is tapping into the milieu of the modern Italian zeitgeist. Or they’re trending in my X bubble. Same diff.

In any event, it was thanks to a random repost of an Italian Fashion Party that I learned of the existence of Mind Enterprises.

And, after I gave her an immediate follow, this tweet about Mind Enterprises, also from Miss White.

I was quickly able to confirm that the music in the first tweet is from Mind Enterprises, the vibe matches; the second tweet sealed the deal.

And, it follows — like that one kind of cognitive bias where you buy a car and then everyone is driving that same car — Mind Enterprises owns Twitter. (Mind Enterprises is probably too cool to call it “X.”)

Here, then, 45 Minutes of Mind Enterprises. As they say in the business, “You’re Welcome.”

Only have 22 minutes to spare? Here’s a shorter video. Again, accept the awesomeness with my compliments. (I love what you’re doing with your hair.)

BTW, no article that even mentions Italo Disco would be complete without Giorgio Moroder’s classic, “Chase,” which was part of the soundtrack of my youth because the local NBC affiliate used it for Notre Dame football highlights; I can still see Vagas Ferguson cutting through the Purdue defense.

(Feel free to go down the Giorgio Moroder rabbit hole; and one-half of Mind Enterprises looks awfully similar to young Giorgio.)

The Next Big Thing, Rock Band: Wunderhorse

This band came around at the right time, it seems: they toured the US, then went back to their home in Britain and were just in time to fill what is a void in rock music. Like, rock music wasn’t…rocking…and now it’s back.

Wunderhorse is definitely a throwback to the days of guitar-heavy rock.

To wit, “Rain.” In the running for my Song of the Year, this ditty is outstanding.

Here’s a version recorded in Dublin:

And here’s “Rain” live on Kimmel:

And if you’re really interested in a breakdown from someone who has been there…here’s Justin Hawkins saying what I’ve been saying (but he said it 7 months ago).

There’s more from the band, too: “Leader of the Pack” is a clever little song:

And a three-song set in The Netherlands, which starts off with “Midas”:

You Are Now The Tastemaker

That’s right, friends. I may not have my finger directly on the pulse of what’s cool, but I’m somewhere in the Top Quintile. That’s good enough these days, so check out these acts, amaze your friends, and enjoy your December.

Editor’s Note: We’ll be releasing our Top Songs of 2025 next week on the blog.

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