As in guillotine...

"I was made for the library, not the classroom." Ta-Nehisi Coates

Some (More) Personal News: Independence Day

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:July 2, 2019
Post category:Personal
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I’ve officially launched Free Verse Media, a strategic marketing consultancy offering actionable solutions for businesses and brands who want to engage audiences across multiple platforms more effectively—in alignment with specific business goals and key performance metrics. I’m taking 25 years of hard-earned experience and going the freelance route (gulp!), looking to work with organizations that value developing genuine relationships with communities in service of a greater good, at least as much as they value generating revenue for stakeholders.

The Whole System is Bankrupt

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:June 6, 2019
Post category:Media
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There are three types of people who survive in media: hard workers, sycophants, and the serial failures they both work for who somehow manage to continually find employment despite a reasonably public record of the wreckage they've left behind. Too harsh? Maybe, a bit—some sycophants are arguably hard workers too, and serial failure might not be as easy as the eternally mediocre make it look—but after my own 25+ years surviving in media (and currently in the final throes of a demoralizing corporate bankruptcy), I'm feeling a little cynical.

What’s Next? So many questions.

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:May 14, 2019
Post category:Media
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To be honest, my experience with consultants over the years has been mostly negative. Overpriced pundits promising more than they've ever actually delivered for anyone, who often knew less than the staff they were brought in to advise, offering templated solutions to complex problems, inevitably leaving behind incomplete work and unsatisfied clients. But I've also worked with a few amazing ones who not only delivered effective, customized solutions, they also left the staff they engaged with smarter and better equipped to implement and iterate on those solutions without them.

Some (Belated) Personal News: Writer’s Digest

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:April 9, 2019
Post category:Personal
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There was no announcement back in August because celebrating a new gig in that context felt wrong, and as subsequent events would confirm, it honestly wasn't all that clear how long it would last. WD is and always has been a strong brand, but when your parent company is headed towards bankruptcy, the path forward is anything but clear.

Does it [still] spark joy? On Mallory, #ComicsDNA and book publishing.

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 15, 2019
Post category:Media Personal
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Thinking about my early days with comics, I realized they were the gateway to my interest in publishing, my first real awareness of people and a process behind the scenes that connected me to the stories and characters I enjoyed so much. I read "regular" books just as voraciously as comics, but Marvel and DC were meaningful brands while book publishers weren't. I had no idea (and didn't particularly care) who published Encyclopedia Brown or Stephen King until my first job in a bookstore (at 19 years old), and even then they were just vague corporate logos with no personal relevance.

Subaru, Red Bull and Rabbit Holes—How I Got Sucked into Rally

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 8, 2019
Post category:Personal
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There's nothing like the buzz of delving into a new passion and I've thoroughly enjoyed my serendipitous and circuitous journey into the world of rally. I've also realized my interest in rally had always been hiding just under the surface, an influence on almost everything I've ever found interesting about cars—it just took an unpredictable confluence of events to suck me in.

My Favorite Movies of 2018

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 31, 2018
Post category:Pop Culture Reviews
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2018 was a pretty terrible year by many measures, but it was a damn good year for movies. While big budget sequels of varying quality continued to dominate the box office, there was still room in theaters for new and original stories to stand out while streaming options give them a shot at reaching the wider audiences they deserve—including me, in a couple of cases. My top 10 favorites (plus 4 honorable mentions) were unexpectedly tough to sort out, but they represent a more varied list than I would have initially guessed at the beginning of the year.