#302 – Turning Misunderstanding into Creative Fuel: Story Construction from Black Mirror’s Eulogy and Mark Normand’s Standup

Welcome to another episode of Spun Today, where writing and creativity fuel our exploration of stories across media. I’m Tony Ortiz, your host, inviting you to view each topic through the lens of a writer’s craft. In this episode, we dive deep into the writing lessons hidden within Black Mirror’s “Eulogy,” examining how memory shapes narrative and the power of withheld information. Then, we break down Mark Normand’s razor-sharp Netflix special, “None Too Pleased,” pulling out tools for punchy, impactful writing—whether you’re crafting jokes or stories. And in our recurring GOATS DOING GOAT SHIT segment, we celebrate the creative generosity of Tyler Perry. Whether you’re a writer, a storyteller, or just seeking creative motivation, stick around for insights and inspiration to help you better tell your own story.

 

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Links referenced in this episode

Black Mirror – Eulogy: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31790112/

 

Mark Normand: None Too Pleased: https://www.netflix.com/title/82155387

 

Pushing Boulder: A Mark-umentary: https://youtu.be/_sFu5ejKHkk?si=owAb5Ecml4s-O0Aj

 

Tyler Perry made a $750,000 donation to help low-income seniors in Atlanta: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tyler-perry-donates-750000-low-income-seniors-in-atlanta-increased-taxes/

 

Tyler Perry shocks seniors by paying for groceries at Atlanta Krogers: https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/tyler-perry-shocks-seniors-by-paying-for-groceries-at-atlanta-krogers

 

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Transcript

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Transcript 〰️

Tony Ortiz [00:00:00]:

Conflict often comes from misinterpretation, not necessarily from malice. And a powerful technique that we're going to see a lot more clearly in this next segment would be to let one moment mean two completely different things, depending on perspective. Same event, different story. So now a bit more about the missing information that changes everything. What's up, folks? What's going on? Welcome to the Spun Today Podcast, the only podcast that is anchored in writing but unlimited in scope. I'm your host, Tony Ortiz, and I appreciate you listening. This is episode 302 of the Sponsor Day Podcast, and in this episode I am going to break down from a writer's perspective, Black Mirror's episode eulogy. I'm also going to speak about Mark Norman's latest comedy special, None Too Pleased, which is streaming now on Netflix.

Tony Ortiz [00:01:11]:

And last, but certainly not least, adding a new addition to your favorite segment and mine, the Sponsor Day Goats Doing Goat Shit list. Definitely stick around to see who the newest inductee is. But first, and before we get into all that good stuff, I wanted to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to listen. I truly do appreciate it. Please don't forget to rate and review this show wherever it is that you're listening. It really helps get it out to more people. If you have a writer or a creative person in your life who you think could benefit from all the writing takeaways that I attempted to draw out of the different movies and TV shows and books that I attempt to synthesize here in these episodes for you all and also for myself to implement in my own writing, please share this podcast with them or even if it's someone that you are speaking with about a particular movie that I cover or TV show or book that may be interested in one writer's perspective on how the sausage was made, if you will please forward this and or other episodes to them, here is a great way that you can help support the Sponsored 8 podcast if you so choose. And then we'll jump right into the episode.

Tony Ortiz [00:02:23]:

Do you want to start your own podcast? Have a great show idea that you want to get out into the masses, but don't know quite how to get it from your head out into the world? Well, here's how. Use the podcast host Libsyn that that's who I use to bring the Spun Today podcast to you. And now you can use them the same way using the promo code Spun S P U n. You can open up your Libsyn account today and get two months of free podcast hosting. Here's how it works. Once you record your show, you upload it to your Libsyn account where you can fill in your episode notes, upload your podcast art, and schedule when you want your episodes to release. Once you do that, Libsyn will take care of the rest. They'll distribute your show to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all the other podcatchers that you choose instantaneously and seamlessly.

Tony Ortiz [00:03:17]:

Again, go to Libsyn.com and use the promo code Spun Spun to get two months free. Or use the affiliate link that's in the episode notes. Again, that's Libsyn.com promo code SPUN. Take that great podcast idea from out of your head and put it out into the world. Black Mirror's Eulogy what if the story you've been telling yourself about your life is incomplete? Or worse, what if it's wrong? In Black Mirror's eulogy, a man is forced to revisit a relationship he thought he understood, only to realize that memory isn't truth. It's a version of the truth. A curated one at that. And sometimes, I'd argue, oftentimes a self serving one.

Tony Ortiz [00:04:04]:

We're going to dive into all of that and much more. But first, as we like to do here on the Spot today podcast, let's shout out the writers. Black Mirrors Eulogy episode was written by Charlie Brooker and Ella Road. Shout out to them for putting a very interesting episode together. Now let's dive in and speak about it. The premise of the episode is memory as a service. Paul, played by Paul Giamatti, one of the absolute greats, one of my personal goats when it comes to acting. He gets a call from this company called Eulogy and finds out that an old girlfriend, Carol, has passed and the company is in charge of building an immersive funeral experience where they're pulling memories from people who knew her.

Tony Ortiz [00:04:53]:

And he doesn't even have to attend or write anything. They'll handle all of it. He reluctantly agrees. And then a drone winds up delivering a kit. And inside of the kit there's this tiny Alexa like device. It's a neural interface that lets him relive memories and it felt to me almost like a 23andMe for memories. And a great creative takeaway for us. There is that high concept sci fi like this works great when it feels familiar.

Tony Ortiz [00:05:25]:

So take something that we already understand, like DNA kits and smart assistants and cloud storage, and then push it one step further. And that's where this episode, and most within the Black Mirror universe, that's where they live just, like, one or two steps removed from where we are or what we know to be possible or even plausible, such that we can see what they're depicting being something that actually comes to fruition or can come to fruition. The device then instructs him to place it on his temple, and the entire time it's speaking to him. It's like this interactive AI that is walking him through the steps, almost like a tutorial of what he needs to do and any and all questions that he has while doing it. He just interacts with it very conversationally. And he reluctantly gets some old photographs that he has of this old girlfriend that he right away tells the AI. Won't help because the AI tells him, you know, people often have their memory jogged when they're looking at a video or photograph. So if you have anything like that, it could really, really help me, you know, dig around in your memory and extract for this immersive funeral experience that.

Tony Ortiz [00:06:39]:

That they're building. Right. He reluctantly agrees and goes to get a box of old photographs. And we find out that he just has her face completely scratched out of everything, either literally cut out or sharpied out of every photo that he has of her. But we find with this immersive experience and with this neural interacting device that he has on his temple, that it can place him inside the image. And he can literally walk around whatever it is that is visible in the image. So he can't, like, go in through a door into another room, but it can place him inside and give him kind of like a VR360 view of whatever's in focus in the photograph. And his memories do start getting jogged, and he's like, oh, look, there's Tommy.

Tony Ortiz [00:07:30]:

I remember Tommy. He was like a neighbor of ours in the dorm. And, yeah, he always wore that shirt. I forgot about that shirt. You know, and, like, things like that. And the AI just asking questions and trying to pull things out of him. We get to see him through this re experience, start to call back details, and it's almost as if his memory becomes navigable, if that's a word. And the writing takeaway I got from that is that abstract ideas become powerful when they're made physical.

Tony Ortiz [00:08:02]:

Like, instead of just saying he remembered, the show lets us or lets him walk through a memory, it shows him in the still picture that we were all looking at, and he can walk around it as if it were some sort of scene or stage set. And a good exercise I think we can take away from that as creatives, is how can you Turn internal experience into something visual or spatial or interactive. This was definitely an interesting method of doing that. And we realized early on with Paul's character that he's an unreliable narrator. Because we learn about Carol, which was his old girlfriend, we see all the photos where her face was visible but have been all scratched out. He says he loves her more than anything and that she says she felt the same. And then according to him, she just left. Completely cold, completely ruthless, no explanation.

Tony Ortiz [00:08:58]:

And a good writing takeaway for us there is that you don't need to tell the audience that the narrator is unreliable. You can show it through different ways, like this episode did with his contradictions, the missing pieces, the clear emotional bias, and just let the audience slowly realize that this version of the story doesn't fully add up. And as the episode goes on, we start having multiple examples of him using rationalization as a character defense. As he revisits memories, something becomes very clear. Nothing is his fault. He explains everything away. Even when we learn that he cheated on her while she was away in London, he still frames himself as the victim. And a notable writing takeaway for us is that characters rarely see themselves as the villain.

Tony Ortiz [00:09:50]:

So when you're writing a villain, let them justify, reframe, minimize their actions. That self deception creates depth and tension within the reality that you're creating. Now let's speak about an important climactic scene with his proposal to Carol and what ultimately becomes the. The underlying moment that becomes the reason why he sees her for the rest of his life as. Or the rest of her life as a cold hearted person. So she's out in London for a few months, some, some music gig opportunity that she got. She was like a classical cellist or something along those lines, if I'm not mistaken. The relationship was a little rocky, but they were still together, making it work.

Tony Ortiz [00:10:40]:

And he winds up flying out to London, planning to propose. He sets up a fancy restaurant, buys a ring, orders champagne. It's really expensive champagne, even though he's basically broke. And sets up this really big moment and in the middle of a restaurant, gets down on one knee and proposes. And the whole time, you know, she, she's refusing to. To drink champagne that he ordered, which he finds rude. And in his mind he's like, you know, I sprung for this really expensive champagne. She won't even take a sip.

Tony Ortiz [00:11:11]:

What the hell? And it becomes like a thing, like a little argument that they have at the table. So he gets down in the middle of this restaurant, which is bustling full of people, he proposes and she says nothing. Then he's like on his knee and he starts getting angry. He's telling her to like say something, demanding her to respond. She winds up not saying anything. She gets up and walks out. And that was the last time that he saw her. So in his version, which he held onto again for the rest of her life, she abandoned him.

Tony Ortiz [00:11:42]:

No explanation. Cold hearted and ruthless, like he said. And a good writing takeaway for us there is that conflict often comes from misinterpretation, not necessarily from malice. And a powerful technique that we're going to see a lot more clearly in this next segment would be to let one moment mean two completely different things, depending on perspective. Same event, different story. So now a bit more about the missing information that changes everything. Back at the hotel where she had met up to, to stay with him, when he finally goes back, her stuff is gone. And he winds up just being pissed and like in a rage and hurt and starts kind of like throwing stuff around the room just out of anger.

Tony Ortiz [00:12:29]:

But he missed something. She left him a note that essentially explained everything. And he still to this day doesn't know what the note said, right? He like literally didn't know it existed until he's like reliving all these moments through this neural implant thing that's helping him relive memories. And he sees, sees the note. The AI tells him, you know, don't you think she tried telling you something? Maybe she left a note? And he's like, no, you know, I'm, I'm looking at a picture of the room. I see like all of it in disarray. I don't even know remember even taking this picture, but I know it was from that day. I was just throwing everything in, in a box, threw it in my suitcase and left and never saw her again.

Tony Ortiz [00:13:11]:

And then in the picture in the image, you know, he's walking around it, he can see a note that says to Paul, but you know, it's just a picture. He can't open it up. He can't anything. But he knows that he just grabbed everything from the room and threw it in this box that hadn't opened since. Essentially he's like, oh shit, there was a note. And he's fervently like going through it now and he actually finds the letter behind like one of these photos just like thrown into this box. He unfolds it, reads it, and in it she explains that after she found out about his infidelity, from which he was essentially caught red handed, like a girl picked up the phone when she called while she was in London. And he.

Tony Ortiz [00:13:56]:

She tells him that after she found out about that, she was, you know, really pissed off and went out to a bar and got drunk and had a one night stand to kind of get back at him and realized it was a big mistake and she still wanted to make things work, but then found out that she was pregnant. And even still she wanted to make things work out with him. And that the reason why she wasn't drinking at the restaurant was because of that. She was trying to muster up the energy or the courage rather, to tell him what was going on. But he wound up proposing. She was like in shock, didn't know what to say, and wound up going back to the hotel room writing this note to tell him that she was willing to try to make it work with him if he would still have her because she wanted to keep the baby. But she said she has nothing to do with the. With the guy.

Tony Ortiz [00:14:42]:

It was literally a one night stand, but again, didn't want to get an abortion or anything. And that if he would have her, they could definitely work things out. And she asked that after her next show, which I don't remember if it was gonna be like her last show, like with the cello playing, but just after, after the next show, that she would wait for him by the stage exit and that if he showed up, they'll talk and see how they can move forward and work things out. And that if he didn't show up, that she would understand how he felt and she would never burden him again or, you know, just understand that he wants nothing to do with her and he would. She would be out of his life. And since he never read the note, he never showed up. And he wound up living his entire life believing that she was the one who left him. And she lived her entire life thinking that he was the one that wanted nothing to do with her.

Tony Ortiz [00:15:40]:

And a great writing takeaway is that that one withheld piece of information can reshape an entire narrative. And great storytelling often hinges on what wasn't seen or what wasn't heard, what was missed. So ask yourselves while creating what's the one detail that, if revealed, changes everything? Now, let's look at time as a multiplier of misunderstanding. Decades wind up passing after this moment, and he builds an identity around this story. The man who was wronged, the one who was left behind. But it was built on incomplete information. And a really good writing takeaway there is that the longer a misunderstanding lasts, the more it hardens into identity. And we can use time itself as a storytelling tool.

Tony Ortiz [00:16:29]:

We can let false beliefs compound, let characters live inside them, so when the truth ultimately hits, it hits that much harder. And then there's this AI reveal that gives us a very interesting perspective shift within the story. So the AI voice that's guiding him through all his memories and asking him the questions to jog his memory, we learned that it's an actual avatar of Carol's daughter, now completely grown up. You know, the baby that she had, that she didn't want to. That she had from the one night stand that she didn't want to abort. And she's been the one walking him through his own past. And a cool writing takeaway for us there is that perspective shifts hit hardest when they're earned. And this reveal in particular works because we've been immersed in his version first.

Tony Ortiz [00:17:21]:

We've been trusting the process and going through everything from his perspective. And then suddenly, we're not just watching his story, we're being judged by someone inside of it as well. And in the ending scene, we have an interesting dynamic of presence, verse, simulation. He decides to physically attend the funeral, and he sees the daughter playing the cello, the instrument that Carol loved, that he had seen just the avatar of before. But now he's seeing the real person, and she's playing a piece that Carol composed, a piece that was meant for him. And the interesting thing that we see is that everyone else in the funeral that's in, like, all the. All the chairs, they are all wearing the eulogy device, the same device that he had, like that neural implant thing. They're all wearing it, so they're not physically there.

Tony Ortiz [00:18:14]:

And in turn, he's the one that is physically there. And a good writing takeaway from that is that endings land when they echo the theme. So this episode is about presence and memory and reality versus negotiation of that reality. So that final scene contrasts that artificial connection with real, painful presence. So when you're working on your writing piece or story, let your ending embody your theme, not just resolve the plot. And in closing, I'd say that eulogy isn't just about technology. It's about the stories that we tell ourselves to survive and how dangerous they become when we never go back to question them. Because sometimes the truth isn't hidden.

Tony Ortiz [00:19:03]:

It was just missed. Check out Black Mirror's episode eulogy, streaming now on Netflix. Mark Norman's none too pleased comedy special. What separates a good joke from a great one? Is it the premise, the punchline, or the speed at which it hits you in none too pleased on Netflix, Mark Norman doesn't just tell jokes true to his comedic style and discomfort with silence that he often mentions on pods shout out to we might be drunk. He machine guns the jokes out. There's almost no wasted space, no long setups, no over explaining, just rapid fire observations that hit stack and build momentum. And underneath all that is a very deliberate writing style which by the way we can see behind the scenes and like in the making of what led up to what I thought was a genius thing that he put together, which was a YouTube doc of being on the road and working out the material that ultimately becomes this Netflix special. So we get to see Day in the Life style behind the scenes of multiple touring dates and how how for example, Salacus would give him a tag for a joke here and there and he would try it on stage that night and then go back the next night and and try a different version and tweak lines here and there until it hits for him.

Tony Ortiz [00:20:34]:

And it was a great insight into the process. And I'll definitely link to that in the episode notes as well for you guys to check out because I thought that was awesome. I like that almost as much as the special itself. And as we like to do here on the Spun Today podcast, let's Shout out the writer None Too Pleased was written and performed by none other than Mark Normand. Shout out to Mark for all the laughs, dope podcasts. We might be drunk Tuesdays with stories. All appearances on Rogan's Shout out to Protect our parks. Definitely one of the the goats right now.

Tony Ortiz [00:21:10]:

So here are some takeaways from the special that resonated with me. Let's talk about the power of sharp and irreverent analogy. He has this line where he says that Boulder speaking of Boulder, Colorado boulders like if Texas raped Oregon. And it's abrupt, it's aggressive, it's vivid and you instantly understand the contrast. It's like Texas is rugged and connected, conservative and brash, and Oregon is liberal and outdoorsy and soft. And the writing takeaway for us there is that great comedy and writing in general, I believe, thrives on compressed contrast. So take two extremes and smash them together. The more unexpected that pairing, the more it sticks.

Tony Ortiz [00:22:00]:

There's another line where he says, I think still speaking about Colorado, says they saw a lot of BLM signs over there, but no black people. And that's classic Mork Norman. Simple setup, immediate contradiction. And a writing takeaway for us there is that if you look for gaps between intention and reality. That's where humor and sometimes insight lives. It's like what people signal verse, what actually is, what's said verse, what's true. And that's something that I appreciate about Norman's comedy, is that he obsessively calls out that type of disconnect and contradiction. Another technique that he's definitely a master of is taking unexpected turns.

Tony Ortiz [00:22:47]:

And there's this line where he says that he's not trying to mansplain. He goes, I'm not trying to mansplain. I'm trying to woman silence. It's like you think you know where the joke is going, and then he just pivots on the dime. And a structural writing takeaway there is setting up a familiar phrase and then twisting the ending just enough to surprise. Like you have a familiar setup, a slight deviation and then unexpected punch. I always appreciate his cultural timing and commentary. This line where he says that we have Ozempic now, but when I was a kid, all we had was shame.

Tony Ortiz [00:23:23]:

And then goes on to speak about people who were overweight that were on that body positivity train where they were saying things like, fat is beautiful and healthy, etc, and he goes, the second we have a drug that can make you skinny, you were just like, I'll take that, put it directly in my. And he like, perfectly tracked that cultural shift there, where it went from discipline to convenience and from stigma to taking shortcuts. And I think a good writing takeaway there is that comedy ages well when it captures transitions in culture like that. And if you're trying to write in this style, maybe not necessarily for stand up comedy, but for more of a comedic tone within your own writing, you can ask yourself what used to be normal, what replaced it? And what does that say about us now? The tension between those three questions there could make for good material. And a cool thing that Mark does is pattern building for a bigger payoff. So in speaking about, he had this piece where he was speaking about the My. The immigrant experience to the US and he talks about when, like, the Irish came over. They got insults from everyone who was already here before them.

Tony Ortiz [00:24:38]:

You know, he. He says all the stereotypical slurs and stuff. And then he says, then the Italians came over, and then they got insults from everyone who was here before them, including the Irish. And he said all the stereotypical, like, Irish slurs there. And he says, and then the blacks came over. Or when the blacks came over, everyone that was already here was like, we gotta stick together. So he builds. He builds a pattern and then he breaks it.

Tony Ortiz [00:25:04]:

And a writing takeaway for us there is the rule of three, which is establish a pattern, reinforce that pattern, and then break it. And that third beat where you break it is where the punchline lives. And he did this thing during this special, which is in line with his comedic style. I think overall where he turns, he has the ability to turn big issues into tight jokes. So he brought up abortion and how people chant how abortion is murder, the murderer should go to jail. But then he's like, well, murderers get a trial too though. And then he flips it into something funny in like acting out someone who commits abortion, being on trial and, and trying to defend themselves and saying something like, your honor, I had to do it, I fucked the dj. So he takes a heavy topic like that and he reduces it, he reframes it, and then he punches it up with absurdity.

Tony Ortiz [00:25:58]:

And that's a good writing takeaway for us, which is this that you can take serious topics and tackle them by narrowing the lens a bit, making it specific and adding a human angle to it. And extra points for adding a flawed human angle to it. That level of specificity helps to cut through the heaviness of the topic that you're trying to tackle. I love when Mark Norman takes this route of compression of thought. He had this line where, where he expresses a political discontent, but his economy of words in like the phraseology of it is excellent. He says just one sentence. We have two political parties and five hbos. That's it.

Tony Ortiz [00:26:42]:

Like so much truth packed within there. It's sure, it's dense, it's efficient. And a writing takeaway for us is that brevity isn't just style, its impact. As writers, we should try to say more with fewer words, strip things down to the essentials. And if you can make it work, comedy or otherwise, if you can make it work shorter, it hits harder and I think has the ability to resonate that much more. Mark Norman, not for nothing, might low key be the Jay Z of stand up comedy. That's a hot take right there. Just in terms of his ability to pack a lot within a condensed amount of time, like literally stripping down an idea to its bare bones, but still coming away with a powerful statement like that.

Tony Ortiz [00:27:29]:

Two political parties, five HBOs. You know, it's. It's funny, it's insightful, it's speaking to the, speaking to the nature of a broken. Two sides of the same coin political system. We can also the montage of that and view that from the angle of overstimulation with choices and social media and entertainment. He's a smart egg, that Mark Normand, the Jay Z of stand up comedy. You heard it here first, folks, I'm sure of it. He had a funny RFK joke where he was saying how RFK was a liberal liberal all his life, and then Trump got shot and he wound up joining up.

Tony Ortiz [00:28:10]:

And he goes, I guess he thought after, after that that he just felt like family. And then he goes off on a riff about how gay people fix up neighborhoods and nobody's talking about it enough or giving them the credit that they deserve. He says, forget maga, let's go faga. And it's a provocative but perfectly structured piece of writing. Like a perfectly structured joke there, like the alliteration of it. He sets up a known phrase, he replaces one element of it and creates a new punchy variation. And as a writing takeaway, we can gleam for the from that taking something familiar and then swapping one word to reframe it, or one element of it, in this case a letter of an acronym them. And that can work for comedy.

Tony Ortiz [00:29:05]:

It can work for headlines, titles of stories, so on and so forth. It's a simple tool, but could be a powerful one too. And in closing, I just say that Mark Norman's style might feel chaotic at times with like the rapid firedness of it, but it's actually extremely disciplined. Every joke gets in fast, hits hard, and gets out. And it's something writers in any medium can learn from because whether it's comedy or fiction or writing essays, clarity plus brevity plus surprise will often be over explaining. Check out Mark Norman's none too pleased. Streaming now on Netflix. Goats Doing Goat Shit.

Tony Ortiz [00:29:53]:

This episode's inductee into the Goats Doing Goat Shit list, where I like to highlight individuals that go above and beyond in ways that they aren't necessarily expected to. But they do, and I want to commend them for doing so. This episode's inductee is none other than Tyler Perry. Tyler Perry purchased Tyler Perry studios in Atlanta, Georgia and built it on 300 acres of land. He did this some years ago, and in doing so, the property taxes in the area have been raised considerably. Right. He brought a lot of value to that area, and as a consequence, many seniors living in the immediate area were in danger of this displacement. They were living on fixed incomes and their property taxes started skyrocketing.

Tony Ortiz [00:30:48]:

So what did Mr. Tyler Perry do? He wound up donating $750,000 to pay off back property taxes for over 300 low income seniors in the Atlanta area to prevent their displacement. And then he took it a step further with an initiative that was coordinated with city officials. He not only paid the initial $750,000 to pay off all the back taxes of these 300 plus families, but he also funded a program to freeze taxes for eligible seniors altogether. And I've read different reports with estimates up to that bill going up to $202.7 million all in. And I just thought that was fucking incredible. And shout out, by the way to Global Mind Apparel, his Instagram page where I first heard about the story and then started looking into it to look up the details of it. Another one of which also related to Tyler Perry, which was that during the pandemic back on April 8, 2020, he had a senior hour at 44 different Kroger supermarkets locations in Atlanta and 29 Winn Dixie stores in New Orleans, where he picked up the bill for thousands of of elderly and high risk shoppers during the pandemic.

Tony Ortiz [00:32:13]:

So I just wanted to highlight those two altruistic things that Tyler Perry has done and welcome him to the Spun Today Goats Doing Goat Shit list. And that folks was episode 302 of the Spun Today Podcast. Thank you each and every one of you for taking the time to listen. I really do truly appreciate it. Please don't forget to rate and review this podcast wherever it is that you're listening. It really helps get the show out to more people. Please subscribe. Check out my YouTube page.

Tony Ortiz [00:32:50]:

I have a bunch of clips from the podcast segments, full segments from the podcast, a couple different playlists, writing advice, writing tips. Follow me on Instagram at Spun Today or on Twitter slash xpunteray on everything. Definitely check out the spontane website that's the source for all of my social links. You'll find my all my books on there. Some free short stories that you can read, some free writing pieces that you can read. You can even listen to the podcast on there. You can go to spuntery.com/forward/support. Check out all the affiliate links that I have on there.

Tony Ortiz [00:33:25]:

Maybe it's something that you're shopping for like AG1. You want to cop yourself a new outfit? Try my Stitch Fix link. You get a cool discount and a bunch of other goodies. Also definitely check out the Shop link on my website@ Sponsor.com just click on Shop at the Top. It'll take you to all the latest and greatest with my merch. The weather's starting to warm up, at least here in the east coast. Cop yourself a dope T shirt or tank top, especially the recently redesigned Spun Today's cycling tee has a really cool design up front. Grab life by the handlebars, fellow cyclists out there and I would appreciate that and much, much more.

Tony Ortiz [00:34:05]:

Again, thank each every one of you for taking the time to listen and here are a couple ways you can help support this show if you so choose. I'll check you guys out next time. Peace. What's up folks? Tony here. I hope you're enjoying the Spun Today podcast as much as I enjoy producing it for you. Here are a few ways you can help support the show. You can support the Spun Today podcast financially by going to spuntoday.com support there you will find a couple different ways that you can do just that, some of which will actually not even cost you a dime, such as using my Amazon affiliate link. When you go to spunthornay.com support you'll see my affiliate link to Amazon.

Tony Ortiz [00:34:49]:

Click on it and it will take you to Amazon's website where you can do your shopping like normal. This will not cost you anything extra, but Amazon will pay me for driving traffic to their website. If you'd like to support the podcast more directly, you can do so by becoming a patron@spuntoday.com support. You'll also find my Patreon link. This is where creators such as myself can be paid directly by patrons like you. You can either make a one time donation or schedule recurring donations if you so choose. There are also different tiers of support and depending on which you decide to go with, you'll also receive some perks in return such as early access to content, free digital copies of my books, free bookmarks, etc. That is again by supporting via my Patreon link available@ sponsoreday.com support similar to Patreon at that same location.

Tony Ortiz [00:35:40]:

You'll also find my Ko Fi link as well as my Buy me a coffee link. They work very similar to Patreon and are different ways you can help support the show financially. And last but certainly not least, you have the good old fashioned PayPal donation button. Any which way that you choose to support is greatly appreciated. It all helps me do more of what I love, which is writing and podcasting. Again, go to spontaday.com support. You can also support the Spun Today podcast by rating and reviewing the show. Wherever it is that you're listening to this episode, I'd really appreciate it because it really does help.

Tony Ortiz [00:36:16]:

Also, follow me on all socials unto Day on X formerly known as Twitter, Punt Today on Instagram and spun today on YouTube where you'll not only find the full length episodes of the podcast, but also chopped up clips and additional content. And of course you can follow the Facebook page@facebook.com spun today. Another way you can help support the Spun Today podcast and also upgrade that stale wardrobe of yours is by going to spuntoday.com support and clicking on the banner for Stitch Fix. Once you do, you'll enjoy a $25 discount to your first purchase. And the way Stitch Fix works is pretty cool. I use it and I've never been disappointed. You'll set up a profile. You'll put in all the sizes for your clothes as well as all the different brands and types of clothes that you like to wear.

Tony Ortiz [00:37:09]:

It's really simple and intuitive to set up. They'll show you pictures and pretty much give you a thumbs up or thumbs down option on if you would wear something or not. And you get to select all the brands that you already are used to wearing. With this information, there are thousands of passionate trend setting stylists will curate a Stitch Fix box for you. They'll send you five items that you get to preview before they mail it to you and you'll get to select based on the image if you like it or not. If not, they'll replace it with something else and if so, they'll mail it to you absolutely for free. You can try everything on and you have a few days to send everything back or keep the stuff that you want to keep. Then you can use that $25 credit that I mentioned towards your purchase of those items again to freshen up your wardrobe and also support this Month a Day Podcast, go to sponsor Day.com support and click on my affiliate link banner for Stitch Fix and enjoy your $25 credit.

Tony Ortiz [00:38:04]:

Do you want to start your own podcast? Have a great show idea that you want to get out into the masses but don't know quite how to get it from your head out into the world? Well, here's how. Use the podcast host Libsyn. That's who I use to bring the Sponsor Day podcast to you. And now you can use them the same way using the promo code Spun Spun. You can open up your Libsyn account today and get two months of free podcast hosting. Here's how it works. Once you record your show, you upload it to your Libsyn account where you can fill in your episode notes, upload your podcast art and schedule when you want your episodes to release. Once you do that, the Libsyn will take care of the rest.

Tony Ortiz [00:38:48]:

They'll distribute your show to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all the other podcasters that you choose instantaneously and seamlessly. Again, go to Libsyn.com and use the promo code spun S P u n to get two months free. Or use the affiliate link that's in the episode notes. Again, that's libsyn.com promo code spun. Take that great podcast idea from out of your head and put it out into the world. And as always, folks, substitute the mysticism with hard work and start taking steps in the general direction of your dreams. Thanks for listening. I love you, Aiden.

Tony Ortiz [00:39:42]:

I love you, daddy. I love you, Grayson.