Let’s talk about art. There’s a bit of mysticism that surrounds it. We’re scared that we won’t understand it.

“Art is pretentious,” is a phrase we hear very often. Half of you have probably said it before. The art industry does a very good job of making everyone not directly involved with the art industry feel excluded.

Let’s define the word pretentious.

Pre·ten·tious

adjective

attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.

The artist is pretentious

If we’re saying the artist is pretentious, then of course; artists do attempt to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than…

It’s a newsletter that comes roughly once a week. It’s all about music, art, philosophy, and whatever’s cool on that day. Written by Me (✌️).

It’s amazing for staying on top of things. It’s even better for having interesting things to talk about on dates, at work, or wherever you need to look like you’re on top of shit.

Read, listen, see, live. A few of each delivered to you irregularly.

For a taste, check out the archive.

See ya’ in your inbox!

1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. They’re old hat.
4. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
5. Be more or less specific.
6. Writers should never generalize.

Seven. Be consistent!

8. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superflous.

9. Who needs rhetorical questions?

10. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than an understatement.

11. Never write one words sentences. Period.

12. Think long and hard before your write anything that could be miscontrued as a sexual innuendo.

13. Never put things in parenthesis (under any circumstances).

14. Above all else, be concise. Don’t carry on and on. No one likes to keep on reading and reading and not go anywhere with it. Make sure that your reader understands what you are trying to convey in as few words as possible.

Do you have a great story about your travels and adventures that you want to share with the world? We’re here to help you do that. Here’s how to get started:

1. Contact me at brianf@famelessmag.com. Briefly introduce yourself and provide any examples of your writing. This can be links to previously released articles or drafts on Google Drive.
2. If your writing is a good fit, I will eagerly respond with detailed instructions. If your writing is not such a great fit, I will still respond.
3. Once you have completed the article, you will need to create an account on Medium…

Considered normal for my children:

• Parks integrated in to skyscrapers
• Augmented reality vacations, and porn
• Coding integrated in every school system
• Full transparency politics
• The death of the phone number

Considered normal for my grandchildren:

• Car-free cities
• High-speed cross-Atlantic tunnel
• Pay to live ad-free
• Adulthood based on IQ, not age
• Music is fully composed by algorithms
• Tracking chips in new-borns
• Genome based dating
• No taboo in sharing all sexual preferences

Considered normal for my great-grandchildren:

• Relive recorded experiences
• No more printed money
• Handwriting is just an art form
• Country ruled by A.I. system
• Government incentives for early death

Roam & Bard was born from the discontent of travel material titled “Top 25 Things To Do in Barcelona”; it’s just as much about the writer’s experience as it is about the location and culture there. A publication of stories from people who that take the path less traveled, and the lessons and experience they’ve gained on the way.

We’re not another travel publication, but that’s where our stories will be rooted. We’re not another long form publisher, but you can count on our stories being long form. We’re not going to be as big as Lonely Planet, but we’re…

If you go to your local book store you’ll see that if you parted with your hard earned cash you’d discover the secret to happiness. There are no secrets here. It’s not because I know it and too selfish to tell you. It’s because there’s something suspect about the concept of there being a secret to happiness.

When we start to dissect happiness we realize it’s not as easy as we think. We can ask ourselves “are you happy?” but that starts to open doors in our mind that we may not even want opened.

So are you? Are you…

• Drink coffee.
• Talk to one non-work related friend.
• Plan projects.
• Listen to a comedy podcast.
• Look at art.
• Say hi to Mom.
• Write a letter.
• Get a healthy snack.
• Get off the Internet.