Let me start by saying this: Most things in life are subjective.
We like what we like. We feel what we feel. Neither are up for debate.
One size never fits all, especially when it comes to art, style, talent, or taste.
What moves me might leave you unmoved.
What I find breathtaking and inspiring might barely register for others.
And that’s not just okay. It’s part of what makes us human.
“If it is art, it is not for all, and if it is for all, it is not art.”
Arnold Schoenberg
Still, I’m constantly amazed (and sometimes bemused) by how many people assume that just because they like or make something—a book, film, or whatever—I’m going to like or love it too. Or even have the bandwidth to engage with it. And when I don’t respond with effusive praise or immediate feedback, some folks take it personally.
As if my response (or lack thereof) is a referendum on them as people.
But here’s the triple truth, Ruth: just because someone I like made something doesn’t mean I will connect with it. Not everything’s my cup of tea. (And to be honest, I don’t even like hot tea. Iced tea, please and thank you!)
I have so many talented, creative friends. We’re all out here doing our thing—battling doubt, chasing ideas, making plans, meeting deadlines, and struggling to make ends meet. We’re busy doing our best. None of us has the time or energy to keep score of who liked what or who commented when.
Lord knows I’m not keeping tabs. And I gravitate to those who don’t keep tabs either.
Just because I make my work from home does not make it someone else’s homework.
I can’t speak for every creative person, but I am truly honored when anyone takes time from their day to engage with my work. But I make it for me first. Because the process matters to me. Not because I am chasing likes or applause from my dears, nears, and/or queers.
I do my best to keep my self-worth unentangled from the response.
Not everyone is going to “get it.” That’s fine. That’s expected.
To be clear: I love my creative friends. I’m proud of their voices and their courage. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to love every line they write or every frame they film. And I sure as hell don’t expect them to love—or even notice—everything I create.
Honestly, scorekeeping misses the point.
The joy is in the making. The play. The art.
Art isn’t made by consensus. It’s made by conviction.
Keep it real. Make what’s true for you.
Let people find or meet you where they can.
And if they can’t? Oh well. Life goes on.
So keep calm, keep collecting, keep creating, and keep curating!
Clint 🌈✌️
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FYC = LGBTQ-OWNED SUBSTACKS
BOYSLUT // Ford Knows Books // Gay Buffet // Gay Sex Coaching // Okay McKay // PalCinema, Television, & Music // Qstack (The LGBTQIA+ Directory of Substacks) // Sitting Queerly // That Trans Friend You Didn't Know You Needed // The Caftan Chronicles // The Queer Love Project // Undividing with Karl Dunn
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤍🩷🩵🤎🖤
ON THIS DAY = JUNE 26
BIRTHDAYS
1892 = Pearl S. Buck = American writer and Nobel Prize laureate
1904 = Peter Lorre = Slovak-American actor and singer
1905 = Lynd Ward = American author and illustrator
1909 = Colonel Tom Parker = Dutch-American talent manager
1929 = Milton Glaser = American illustrator and graphic designer
1934 = Dave Grusin = American pianist and composer
1938 = Billy Davis Jr. = American pop-soul singer
1941 = Virginia “Ginny” Apuzzo = American activist 🌈
1942 = Gilberto Gil = Brazilian singer-songwriter
1955 = Mick Jones = English singer-songwriter
1956 = Chris Isaak = American singer-songwriter
1970 = Chris O'Donnell = American actor
1970 = Nick Offerman = American actor
1970 = Paul Thomas Anderson = American filmmaker
1970 = Sean Hayes = American actor and comedian 🌈
1980 = Jason Schwartzman = American actor and singer-songwriter
1993 = Ariana Grande = American singer-songwriter and actor
1997 = Jacob Elordi = Australian actor
EVENTS
1870 = Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) premieres in Munich.
1906 = The first Grand Prix motor race is held at Le Mans.
1925 = The Gold Rush is released in theaters.
1927 = The Cyclone roller coaster opens on Coney Island.
1945 = The United Nations Charter is signed by 50 Allied nations in San Francisco, California.
1948 = Shirley Jackson's short story The Lottery is published in The New Yorker.
1959 = Darby O'Gill and the Little People is released in theaters.
1974 = The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley's chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.
1977 = Elvis Presley held his final concert in Indianapolis, Indiana at Market Square Arena.
1981 = For Your Eyes Only is released in theaters.
2003 = SCOTUS rules (6 to 3) in Lawrence v. Texas that sex-based sodomy laws are unconstitutional.
2013 = SCOTUS rules (5 to 4) that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and in violation of the Fifth Amendment.
2015 = SCOTUS rules (5 to 4) in Obergefell v. Hodges that the US Constitution requires same-sex couples be allowed to marry, making the US the 17th country to legalize same-sex marriages.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY
“The real issue is not talent as an independent element, but talent in relationship to will, desire, and persistence. Talent without these things vanishes and even modest talent with those characteristics grows.”
Milton Glaser
“To design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master.”
Milton Glaser
https://youtu.be/hQM97_iNXhk?si=GQ9MyrK7lMQjZXoO
Music to do your housework to 😁😎✅
Damned I did a cute reply Clint buttttt attempted to add to it (edit) and the whole things disappeared ggggrrrr, Cheers DougT