Also compelling me to learn more about this successful\u00a0enterprise was my being a working journalist, sometime educator and freelance media ethicist. Yet, the Journalism Department did not co-sponsor the speech, nor were any faculty apparently present. The campus newspaper did not cover the event. Dikkers asked if any journalism students were in the audience, and one person raised a hand. One.<\/p>\n
Instead of considering\u00a0what that says\u00a0about my ol’ haunt, here are highlights of the talk, on behalf of a friend who couldn’t go and asked for them\u00a0(she\u00a0was an Arkansas State University J major).<\/p>\n
Dikkers’ Five Principles — for magazine publishing, business or maybe life in general — followed by paraphrases of his explanations:<\/p>\n
- \n
- No Permission — just do what you want to be doing<\/li>\n
- Invest Your Passion, Not Your Money — this is anti-Shark Tank<\/a> thinking, he said, noting that for him financials come second to drive when it comes to making something a success<\/li>\n
- Be Prepared to Scrap Everything — use your brain and your hard work but do not deplete your savings so that you can move on if\u00a0needed<\/li>\n
- Trust Your People — this Dikkers called his biggest lesson, you should be the best boss, hire the best people, who will be smarter than you, and trust them<\/li>\n
- Don’t Just Work Hard, Work Smart; Not Just Work Smart, Work Right — learn from the mistakes and successes of predecessors, rivals, competitors because that’s efficient.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Also:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
- \n
- “Humor is a wonderful coping mechanism for anything that life throws at you.”<\/li>\n
- The Onion<\/em> is the world’s first humor newspaper, he said, as opposed to humor magazine, which have existed for centuries. The reason was that the two founders, University of Wisconsin undergrads at the time, found newsprint far\u00a0cheaper.<\/li>\n
- The old saw that comedy equals tragedy plus time is true, he said, but when you get down to it, though, “Comedy equals tragedy, period.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Dikkers did discuss nuts and bolts about how The Onion<\/a> is put together, but those are easily found online: He apparently gives\u00a0the same speech at any campus. I recommend Dikkers’ interview with KUAF’s Kyle Kellams. Audio of “Area Interviewer Talks to Onion Mastermind<\/a>” is 16:55 long.<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n
Fayetteville got its first Whole Foods Market<\/a> early in March. The concept of a grocery featuring organics and relatively more wholesome\u00a0foodstuffs is far from new here. Ozark Natural Foods<\/a>, a cooperative, began in late 1971. My wife and I joined\u00a0upon moving\u00a0here\u00a0in 1998.<\/p>\n
The new-store crowds are loosening,\u00a0so what’s left? There’s some bellyaching on Facebook, but only a few sarcastically slam\u00a0Whole Foods with the stale\u00a0nickname Whole Paycheck.\u00a0That refers to the relative expense of its\u00a0inventory.<\/p>\n
If you land\u00a0at the cashier with more than you can afford, then it’s you: impulsive, gullible.<\/p>\n
Whole Foods makes its goods\u00a0tempting; that’s the\u00a0job. Overspending overtakes\u00a0me the same way at Wal-Mart — Hershey’s just\u00a0put out Simply 5, a\u00a0syrup free of high fructose corn syrup, so I bought a bottle. Thumbs down, not chocolatey enough.<\/p>\n
The new store should be dubbed\u00a0Hipster Haven<\/em>, describing\u00a0most of the\u00a0patrons seen in my three visits. (I’ll try to visit less than weekly after this.) This is weighing people’s clothes, mannerisms and conversation.<\/p>\n
Plus, I haven’t seen most of them at Ozark Natural Foods. In visiting with a couple of folks at WFM, I’ve found they have not heard of ONF. Ozark Natural Foods does some advertising and been around decades, making\u00a0this a phenomena.<\/p>\n
How to shop wiser? Well, go with a list, those sorts of tips. My advice is to know roughly what things cost elsewhere then decide whether it’s worth buying them at a specialty store — not just Hipster Haven\u00a0and ONF but Natural Grocers and Fresh Market. In fact, recalling\u00a0retail prices helps when strolling through\u00a0farmers markets. Hit the bulk food sections — spices, beans, grains and the like are more affordable that way, besides buying the amounts you want.<\/p>\n
Also, prep with\u00a0Whole Food ads in the Wednesday newspaper and via its website and mobile app. Hipster Haven\u00a0has incredible specials. Its\u00a0first week saw\u00a0fresh asparagus for 99 cents a pound, and last week Swiss chard was 88 cents a bunch. Normally these\u00a0when\u00a0organic are three-four times this.<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n
Clicking various online links to cuts off early Emerson, Lake and Palmer albums, I fail to find the one song that for a while in junior high I played every day\u00a0after school. It is the only piece from any cassette that I ever played extra loud and danced to.<\/p>\n
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The knobs on the amp of guitarist “Nigel Tufnel” go to 11 not 10. The 1984 fictional documentary This Is Spinal Tap<\/em> continues to be a locus for cultural references. Source for image: Wikipedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n ELP is not<\/em> the reason I have early hearing loss; my parents’ speakers were tiny — surely\u00a0did not reach 11<\/a>. The stereo in the den went up to the equivalent of 4.<\/p>\n
My\u00a0personal film\u00a0score\u00a0was an instrumental emphasizing\u00a0keyboards (synthesizer, organ, piano). Meaning Keith Emerson was the object of my dervish. The musician\u00a0died<\/a> earlier this month. Such pioneering rockers are hitting or passing 70 faster these days. We’re reading\u00a0more obituaries, hearing more clips, viewing\u00a0more tributes.<\/p>\n
Where my friends played Yes or Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin, I chose Emerson Lake & Palmer. Similarly, Blood Sweat & Tears over Chicago. I enjoyed\u00a0the others, but ELP and BST buzzed my early adolescent brain.<\/p>\n
- The old saw that comedy equals tragedy plus time is true, he said, but when you get down to it, though, “Comedy equals tragedy, period.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n