On Generosity + Reciprocity

'Tis The Season To Be Jolly + Gay

One of the things I enjoy most about Substack—”the home for great culture”—is the ability to discover new voices and support fellow creators. I’m constantly looking for new people and publications to follow and subscribe to.

It’s the holiday gift I give to myself that keeps on giving. All year round.

When I find Substackers whose work I enjoy and think my followers might too, I add them to my recommendations list. It’s a simple way to show some love and spotlight some independent creators whose work entertains and/or inspires me.

More often than not, I send them a short DM or email too, just to say hi. Nothing fancy—just a quick, “Hey, I’m a fan of your work…keep it up!”

While I don’t expect to hear back from every single creator, I find it sad how few take the time to respond. I get it—we’re all busy. But a simple “thanks” doesn’t feel like too much to ask. Especially when a few of my recommendations have led to hundreds of new subscribers. Oh. Well.

Luckily, some creators get it and work hard to keep things grooving and moving.

Last week, I started following two guys that “get it”:

PJ and Thomas

. They’re an adorable blogger-daddy-renovator couple I wish I had “met” sooner. But so glad we’ve crossed paths now.

THOMAS + PJ MCKAY

To my delight, The McKays—likely Thomas who I sense is the family’s “social media manager”—kindly followed me back. I think that happened on Thursday.

Yesterday morning, on Sunday, before I had a chance to dig into their content more, I received a notification from Substack, the gents were recommending Collide Press to their 14K+ subscribers on Substack.

In the last 24 hours, their simple act of generosity has led to more free subscribers than I usually get in an entire week. (And is one-third of all the recommendations I’ve received on Substack to date. In a day.)

To say I’m grateful to PJ and Thomas would be an understatement.

After enjoying dozens of their posts on Substack and videos on YouTube yesterday, I am more than happy to recommend them and their content too…without reservations. That they replied to my DM is just icing on the cake. In my book, good guys have good manners.

As for the others—those who didn’t reply to my little fan letters? Well, let’s just say I’m no longer recommending their work. Instead, I reserve recommendations for friendly folks who at least try to respond in this wacky world of parasocial relationships.

Why? Because generosity and reciprocity matter. To me anyway.

Thanks to creators like The McKays, I’m reminded that kindness can come full circle. When you’re least expecting it. And when it does, it’s worth celebrating.

Thanks for reading!
Clint

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

• No. 74 Vino & Vent (PJ & Thomas) 📺🍷

• Your Dads Are Here (PJ & Thomas) 📺🥰

• This Was A First For Us (PJ & Thomas) 📺🎄

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ON THIS DAY = DECEMBER 16

BIRTHDAYS

• 1775 = Jane Austen = English novelist

• 1812 = Charley Parkhurst = American stagecoach driver 🌈

• 1866 = Wassily Kandinsky = Russian-French painter and theorist

• 1883 = Max Linder = French actor and filmmaker

• 1899 = Noël Coward = English playwright and composer 🌈

• 1901 = Margaret Mead = American anthropologist and author

• 1917 = Arthur C. Clarke = English science fiction writer

• 1922 = Cy Leslie = American music producer and Pickwick Records founder

• 1926 = James McCracken = American tenor and actor

• 1926 = Jeffrey Stone = American actor and screenwriter

• 1928 = Philip K. Dick = American philosopher and author

• 1937 = Edward Ruscha = American painter and photographer

• 1941 = Lesley Stahl = American journalist and actor

• 1943 = Steven Bochco = American television writer and producer

• 1961 = Bill Hicks = American comedian and musician

• 1961 = Shane Black = American actor, director, and screenwriter

• 1963 = Benjamin Bratt = American actor and producer

• 1963 = James Mangold = American filmmaker

• 1964 = Todd Glass = American comedian

• 1968 = Lalah Hathaway = American singer-songwriter

• 1971 = Paul van Dyk = German musician, producer, and DJ

• 1974 = Kanako Otsuji = Japanese activist and politician 🌈

• 1981 = Krysten Ritter = American actor, musician, and model

• 1984 = Theo James = English actor

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• Barbie and Barney Backlash Day

EVENTS

• 1773 = Boston Tea Party: Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians dump hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.

• 1983 = Mel Brook’s To Be or Not To Be is released in theaters. A remake of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1942 classic becomes the first Hollywood film to not only acknowledge Nazi persecution of homosexuals but also to make it a key plot element.

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PHOTO + QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Work is much more fun than fun.”
Noël Coward

“Mona Lisa looks as if she has just been sick, or is about to be.”
Noël Coward

“Let's drink to the spirit of gallantry and courage that made a strange Heaven out of unbelievable Hell, and let's drink to the hope that one day this country of ours, which we love so much, will find dignity and greatness and peace again.”
Noël Coward

NEW + FEATURED

• Mélange D'Hommes #3 (NSFW)

• Mélange D'Hommes #2 (NSFW)

• Mélange D'Hommes #1 (NSFW)

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