“Nations, like individuals, tell stories in order to understand what they are, where they come from, and what they want to be. National narratives, like personal ones, are prone to sentimentality, grievance, pride, shame, self-blindness. There is never just one – they compete and constantly change. The most durable narratives are not the ones that […]

You and I decide to wander around Cambridge in 1609, the year that George Herbert entered Trinity College and came to the attention of King James. Indy Beagle, upon hearing of our journey, decides to go with us. We wander first into The Eagle and the Child, a pub in Cambridge that William Shakespeare was known […]

You and I decide to wander around Cambridge in 1609, the year that George Herbert entered Trinity College and came to the attention of King James. Indy Beagle, upon hearing of our journey, decides to go with us. We wander first into The Eagle and the Child, a pub in Cambridge that William Shakespeare was known […]

You and I decide to wander around Cambridge in 1609, the year that George Herbert entered Trinity College and came to the attention of King James. Indy Beagle, upon hearing of our journey, decides to go with us. We wander first into The Eagle and the Child, a pub in Cambridge that William Shakespeare was known […]

You and I decide to wander around Cambridge in 1609, the year that George Herbert entered Trinity College and came to the attention of King James. Indy Beagle, upon hearing of our journey, decides to go with us. We wander first into The Eagle and the Child, a pub in Cambridge that William Shakespeare was known […]

The slosh of the remnants being thrown out. The annoying clanking of the mugs being unceremoniously placed in their starting lineup for the coming evening’s encore performance. Through blurry eyes, Shakespeare considers. What happened? One thought leads to another. More importantly, what will happen?  What stories are there yet untold, yet undiscovered?  As he gently […]

Good evening to you my dear friend,  You asked in your recent letter whether I remembered what happened that night we met Shakespeare and I certainly do, since only a small cup of the Italian was left when I arrived.  However, I considered it my great honour to be a part of such a historic […]

Indy & Elroy discover later that morning, when they stumble back to the Bird & Baby for some meat pie and a mug of mead, that the gent, who they presumed was William Shakespeare, was actually his cousin Wally Shakespeare.  A notoriously bad playwright but a delightful conversationalist and noted for plagiarizing others quotes.  They […]

The bartender doesn’t flinch. “Barkeep!” bellowed Shakespeare, “the good Italian, I say”. Annoyed the bartender looks up and stops. Eyes on us, he slowly reaches under the counter, bringing forth a rather large, ornate jug.  A big man, he waddles over to the table. He starts to set the jug down but hesitates.  “I don’t […]

You and I decide to wander around Cambridge in 1609, the year that George Herbert entered Trinity College and came to the attention of King James. Indy Beagle, upon hearing of our journey, decides to go with us. We wander first into The Eagle and the Child, a pub in Cambridge that William Shakespeare was known […]

The wizard said, “Before I begin, I want to make sure the mic is working.” I walked over to the stand, looked out at the crowd, and said, “If your name is Michael, please stand up.” Two dudes stood up. I announced, “That concludes the mike check.” And then I looked at the wizard and gave […]

Back in the days when the wizard was dating the Princess in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, about 45 years ago, some guys made a really bad movie about a guy on a buffalo. Then in 2011, some awesome guys in Austin took some clips from that now-copyright-expired movie and wrote 4 short songs to go with […]

The book will be available for sale in August. If you’d like a signed first edition (at no additional cost), this is your secret spot.  

The book will be available for sale in August. If you’d like a signed first edition (at no additional cost), this is your secret spot.  

It began with a question from a student during the most recent monthly Q & A webcast of Wizard Academy: Hey Guys- I’ve got a tough commercial to write and could use some direction. I have been working with our local Health Department on writing Covid Commercials.  I’m stuck on the latest commercial because of […]

“I think of books as islands, but Rebecca Solnit thinks of them as sheet music, or as seeds. I followed that trail of thought until I realized that she and I had simply discovered different metaphors to describe how books are literary portals of escape into alternate realities.” – MondayMorningMemo for October 12, 2020

Two weeks ago, one of my clients asked me to explain our marketing strategy to a guy from a private equity firm that is hoping to buy a chunk of my client’s company for a few hundred million dollars. When we were retained 7 years ago, the company was bringing in barely $9m a year. […]

“Anthony Fidget was a twitchy little bastard. I’m glad he was the first to go,” said Billy. ‘He just couldn’t keep his head down, had to see what was goin’ on.” Billy angled the mirror to look over the sill. A stricken look came over his face. “How many out there?” Maurice inquired. “Lotssss,” Billy […]

Roy, Day one of the radio campaign and we get this call from an old radio writer complimenting the ad.  Always awesome to hear this so soon in a campaign.  I can’t tell you how proud I am of Mick for his professional creativity and Kyle for his ridiculously strong media buys.  Many thanks, Ryan 

Hi Indy, I told a few coworkers this morning that the world’s best marketing professional says that “The risk of insult is the price of clarity.”  About ten minutes later, one of those coworkers emailed this to me. – Glen 

Hi Indy,Going to the classes at Wizard Academy gave me the courage to push the button today on my latest “Studio Notes.” Sharing my most embarrassing moment with 300-plus people was not easy but you and Roy teach about how much our self-talk matters. I needed to change my self-talk. Turning this embarrassing memory that […]

Greetings from Tulsa, Oklahoma! Many years ago a friend of mine heard Roy speak in Tulsa and bought me his first book. I’ve been reading the MMM for years and even though I’m not in advertising, I’ve picked up a few tips and used what I’ve learned in my self-employed hair business. A few months ago my daughter, Ali Kern, got into bourbon […]

Thank You to alert rabbit-holer Johnny Molson for sending this to our attention. – Indy

And then I turned 90 degrees counter-clockwise and took this photo and made it his new home screen and gave his phone back to him. He took me to lunch at my favorite place as a reward. Do you want interesting photographs? Give your phone to your dog. – Indy

Wizard of ads partner Stephen Semple often takes walks around the lake near his home north of Toronto. On a recent walk, Stephen took this photo of The Heart of the Forest Cool, huh? And he has photos of Sunset and Early Morning on the next two pages. Thanks, Stephen! – Indy

Vignesh Sundaresan, the buyer of the $69 million NFT by the artist Beeple, said he was prepared to bid even higher since it will be seen by history as the starting point of a new age of digital art. In his first television interview, Vignesh Sundaresan, also known as MetaKovan, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that […]

He was savaged on social media and Fox News (below) made him a laughingstock. But I think Salvatore Garau’s mistake is that he issued a certificate of authenticity. If he had added a name and a story and a photo of the location of “the empty space” to the blockchain, he could have sold a […]

Now it exists and will remain in this space forever. APHRODITE CRYING You don’t see me but I exist, right above this white round shape. I’m Aphrodite, an intangible sculpture made of air and spirit. Feel my absence which is a true existence. Still don’t see me? And yet I am here, in front of you, and I cry […]

We read fiction books because they take us to imaginary worlds where we meet imaginary people and feel sad for them when they are hurting and glad for them when they win. We like to visit these imaginary people in their imaginary worlds. But the imaginary worlds are not theirs, they are our own. And […]

To see the subtitles in ENGLISH, move your cursor over the video and click the button marked CC – Indy

Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia in 1819, a deed that meant so much to him that he had it carved on his tombstone when he died. No mention of his having been President, or of sending Lewis and Clark westward, or of doubling the size of our fledgling nation with his “Louisiana Purchase.” […]

Hi Indy, It was my wife’s birthday and she makes beautiful cards. I am no match for that. And commercial cards are all too much the same. I call this a verbal birthday card.  Thanks, JR         Lindalee this is your 74th Birthday, to me it is far more than that. It […]

It’s Payday in the Rabbit Hole! Ryan Deiss of DigitalMarketer.com fame came to the campus last Friday to speculate, postulate, and make predictions about “The New Normal” post-covid with the Wizard of Ads, and what it is likely to mean to business owners. It wasn’t long before the wizard said, “This would make a great […]

“There is not enough time to do all of the nothing we want to do.”– Calvin and Hobbes, sent to us by our pal, Shawn Frey

Independent sculptures of Adam and Eve were meant to stand on each side of The Gates of Hell  but Rodin found he couldn’t get Eve’s figure right. Consequently, several figures of Eve were made, none of which were used, and all of them were later sold.

Kneeling Female Faun  is found on the left side of The Thinker in the tympanum, in front of the bas-reliefs which form the background.

As you would expect, Despair is found on both the left and right doors of The Gates of Hell.

Eternal Springtime in bronze and in marble at the Rodin Museum in Paris. Photo by Ad Meskens.

Meditation began as a small figure of a condemned woman appearing on the rightmost part of the tympanum of The Gates of Hell. It was subsequently used in the monument honoring Victor Hugo and later enlarged into a separate sculpture.

Fallen Caryatid Carrying Her Stone is based on the figure at the top of the left pilaster. Around 1881 Rodin enlarged her and gave her a stone.

The Three Shades standing on top the Gates are 98 cm high. The larger-than-life-size group was initially made of three independent figures. Later on, Rodin replaced one hand in the figures to fuse them together, the same as in the smaller version (below.) The figures originally pointed to the phrase “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate” (“Abandon all […]

The Thinker is located above the door panels. Some people think it represents Dante looking down to the characters in the Inferno. Some believe it is Adam, contemplating the destruction brought upon mankind because of his transgression. Others believe it is Rodin himself contemplating his composition.

The Kiss was originally in The Gates along with other figures of Paolo and Francesca da Rimini. Rodin wanted to represent their initial joy as well as their final damnation. He removed the figure that became known as The Kiss because it seemed to conflict with the other suffering figures.

The Three Shades on the Gates are 98 cm high. The larger-than-life-size group was initially made of three independent figures. Later on, Rodin replaced one hand in the figures to fuse them together, the same as in the smaller version. The figures originally pointed to the phrase “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate” (“Abandon all hope, ye who […]

Fleeting Love is located on the right door pane, one of several figures of lovers that represent Paolo and Francesca da Rimini. The male figure is also called The Prodigal.

The Old Courtesan is an aged, naked female body. It is also called She Who Was Once the Helmet-Maker’s Beautiful Wife, taken from a poem by François Villon.

William “Dingley Tariff” McKinley served as President during the Spanish-American War of 1898, during which his successor, the colorful and compassionate Teddy Roosevelt, made his name. Teddy returned from Cuba to be elected Governor of New York in 1898, then became McKinley’s running mate for a second term when Vice President Garret Hobart died in […]

Peter Nevland, the baby brother of Dave Nevland who has been producing all the wizard’s radio ads AND the audio version of the Monday Morning Memo for the past 19 years, graciously accepted a pair of the shoes and promised to wear them during the next Wizard of Ads partner meeting. (I will definitely be […]