Justin Kownacki

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Armchair Sociology

The Commencement Speech I Wish Someone Had Given at My Graduation

I don’t remember a word from my graduation. I don’t even remember who spoke at it, much less what they said. That’s partly because I was exhausted (our art school staged our portfolio review and our graduation on the same day), but also because people rarely say anything memorable during Read more…

By Justin, 10 yearsMay 19, 2013 ago
Jon Hamm as Don Draper on AMC's TV series Mad Men
Armchair Sociology

What the Existence of Don Draper and Katy Perry Really Says About You

Why we need to stop living vicariously through our pop culture heroes and start living our own lives like we mean it.

By Justin, 12 yearsJune 16, 2011 ago
Armchair Sociology

8 Ways to Lead a More Interesting Life

Facebook is making us boring. Our perpetual digital connectivity has warped our minds into believing that others are hanging on our every word… even when those words are all about our allergies, our retail woes, our opinions about pop culture, politics, and other inanities. In other words, the very stories Read more…

By Justin, 12 yearsApril 13, 2011 ago
Armchair Sociology

10 Questions You Should Ask Yourself More Often

Life is short. We’re busy. Things happen. And then we die. In the meantime, here are 10 questions you should ask yourself more often, so you don’t end up running in place between now and then. What did the 18 year-old me think the current me would be doing? What Read more…

By Justin, 12 yearsOctober 11, 2010 ago
Storytelling

5 Reasons NOT to Listen to Your Audience

If you write, speak or perform for a living, you need an audience.  Without one, you don’t get paid.  (Hell, online, you still don’t get paid even with one.  But I digress…) Your audience is one way to validate your success as a communicator. But your audience is also a Read more…

By Justin, 13 yearsJune 14, 2010 ago
Social Media

5 Good Reasons to Blog Every Day… and 5 Good Reasons Not To

I prefer to blog 5 times a week.  It keeps me connected to the fishbowl in a way that blogging intermittently would not.  And since a combination of travel, weather and the holidays have derailed my normal blogging schedule these past few weeks, I’ve learned a few first-hand lessons about Read more…

By Justin, 13 yearsFebruary 17, 2010 ago

Popular Posts

  • • What Makes Game of Thrones So Addictive?
  • • This Storytelling Flaw Ruined the New Star Wars Trilogy
  • • Why Does Every Marvel Movie Tell the Same Story?
  • • Cobra Kai: How to Build Character Through Conflict
  • • How Iron Man Created the Formula for Every Marvel Movie

Latest Posts

  • • Worldbuilding and Exposition: 6 Writing Tips from Dune
  • • Writing a Perfect Scene: Bunk vs. Omar in The Wire
  • • Screenwriting Lessons from ALIENS
  • • The Story Problem at the Heart of the Snyder Cut
  • • WandaVision's Biggest Question Gets Deep
  • • Why The Queen's Gambit Is Such Smart Storytelling

Frequent Topics

  • • DC
  • • Game of Thrones
  • • Marvel
  • • Star Wars

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