# second act (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 6 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover second act. Page: Feed: --- ## [ZZ Top Stories in Honor of Frank Beard](https://jdtorian.com/zz-top-stories-in-honor-of-frank-beard/) _2026-08-20 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ If you're from Texas, and especially if you're from Houston, ZZ Top looms large over the social, cultural, and musical landscape. They were huge in the '70s, and then in the '80s, when they took over the world and MTV with the Eliminator record, you couldn't get away from them. And these weren't sequestered rock stars. They were everywhere in Houston. You'd see them all around. Later, in my… ## [I don't need any more trainings](https://yoursecondact.substack.com/p/career-change-procrastination-structure) _2026-08-19 · shnordic - Susanna Hawkins · Your Second Act_ Stuck between another course and actually starting? Here's why career changers need steps, not more training, to build a digital product ## [Just Don't Worry](https://jdtorian.com/just-dont-worry/) _2026-08-19 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ It’s definitely not covered really anywhere, but the early ’90s college music scene was super neo-hippie, so much so that there was a term: “neo-hippie frat rat.” I’m not sure there was anywhere in the world more full of neo-hippie frat-ratism than Austin. People were super into the Dead, and Allman Brothers, and Blues Traveler, and other little bands, smaller bands, like Allgood, the Grapes.… ## [Training to Pass Key Longevity Tests? The Best Way Is More Fun than Plain-Old Exercise.](https://fuchsm.substack.com/p/training-to-pass-key-longevity-tests) _2026-08-18 · Matt Fuchs · Prime Factors_ Playing a sport is the most fun and efficient way to train your brain and body for the long haul. Here's the science showing why many sports beat "closed-skill" exercise. ## [Do Your Part and Move Along](https://jdtorian.com/do-your-part-and-move-along/) _2026-08-18 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ In the great pantheon of Austin clubs, live music bars, dives, and dumps, Hole in the Wall on Guadalupe Street looms large. Probably top five. It’s been a thing since the early ’70s, and plenty of people have come out of there and played on the stage and all that kind of stuff. There’s all kinds of memorialization of folks in the front room. Photographs, drawings, paintings. There’s like a 50-head… ## [Here Comes the Singer](https://jdtorian.com/here-comes-the-singer/) _2026-08-17 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ One of the cool things about being a kid in the ’80s is your band could win a talent show in a shopping mall. Anything more ’80s than that? In ’89—I think it was ’90—I joined a band through kind of a takeover in the lunchroom. There was a band playing, they didn’t have a singer, and I got up there and sang. I shudder to think what that sounded like now. But anyway, I ended up joining the band.… ## [Here Comes the Singer](https://jdtorian.com/here-comes-the-singer/) _2026-08-17 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ One of the cool things about being a kid in the ’80s is your band could win a talent show in a shopping mall. Anything more ’80s than that? In ’89—I think it was ’90—I joined a band through kind of a takeover in the lunchroom. There was a band playing, they didn’t have a singer, and I got up there and sang. I shudder to think what that sounded like now. But anyway, I ended up joining the band.… ## [Wannabe or Ratherbe?](https://jdtorian.com/wannabe-or-ratherbe/) _2026-08-16 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ We went out to see a friend’s band last night, and I think it’s official, barring road gigs that must be seen—and you really do have to watch out with some of these older bands. Tracks, original member count, the ability to sing, stuff like that. It’s always a bit of a crapshoot, really. But--the point is that I don’t like being in the crowd. Yes, it’s good to see people, but a lot of these people… ## [Wannabe or Ratherbe?](https://jdtorian.com/wannabe-or-ratherbe/) _2026-08-16 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ We went out to see a friend’s band last night, and I think it’s official, barring road gigs that must be seen—and you really do have to watch out with some of these older bands. Tracks, original member count, the ability to sing, stuff like that. It’s always a bit of a crapshoot, really. But--the point is that I don’t like being in the crowd. Yes, it’s good to see people, but a lot of these people… ## [DJ Life Weave #?](https://jdtorian.com/dj-life-weave/) _2026-08-15 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ One way to look at the whole DJing thing is whether you want to look at people’s fronts or backs. Personally, as a bassist, I wanna see the backs of people. I wanna be making things happen without being looked at directly. This is my issue with playing solo shows. And I think this is a binary thing for a lot of people. You are either lead guitar, lead singer material, or you are bassist material.… ## [AI Summaries & Audio Briefings (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/8QUkxoCecUib) _2026-08-15 · **Sponsored**_ Read AI summaries and listen to concise audio briefings for the latest stories. ## [DJ Life Weave #?](https://jdtorian.com/dj-life-weave/) _2026-08-15 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ One way to look at the whole DJing thing is whether you want to look at people’s fronts or backs. Personally, as a bassist, I wanna see the backs of people. I wanna be making things happen without being looked at directly. This is my issue with playing solo shows. And I think this is a binary thing for a lot of people. You are either lead guitar, lead singer material, or you are bassist material.… ## [Why Wouldn’t Somebody Want to Book You?](https://jdtorian.com/why-wouldnt-somebody-want-to-book-you/) _2026-08-14 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ One thing I’ve come to realize as I navigate this world of event people is, if you’re a musician or DJ and have your act together—like, you’ve got a thing, you’re presentable, your equipment is good and all that—you need to realize that it is a seller’s market. There are not enough good, smart, talented people to fill the jobs that need to be done. Only problem being: people don’t know how to… ## [DJing and the Mammalian Undertow](https://jdtorian.com/djing-and-the-mammalian-undertow/) _2026-08-13 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ In my younger days, when I just had one sister, who was three and a half years older than me, she did all the talking. And when I say all the talking, I mean all of it. My mom sometimes jokes that she never heard a peep out of me until I was eight years old. This, combined with a huge inclination toward music, made me a very internal person. Still, to this day, I can--at times-- be so quiet and so… ## [DJing and the Mammalian Undertow](https://jdtorian.com/djing-and-the-mammalian-undertow/) _2026-08-13 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ In my younger days, when I just had one sister, who was three and a half years older than me, she did all the talking. And when I say all the talking, I mean all of it. My mom sometimes jokes that she never heard a peep out of me until I was eight years old. This, combined with a huge inclination toward music, made me a very internal person. Still, to this day, I can--at times-- be so quiet and so… ## [Followers aren't income](https://yoursecondact.substack.com/p/followers-arent-income) _2026-08-12 · shnordic - Susanna Hawkins · Your Second Act_ A digital product is. That's not even the best part ## [Conditional Conditions for A Lot of Great Music](https://jdtorian.com/conditional-conditions-for-a-lot-of-great-music/) _2026-08-12 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ In an earlier post, I talked about all the ’90s music I was digging up as I was learning it for a solo show this month. Which, by the way, had a complaint. Someone complained about a song. No information, no song, no other things were said, but I’ve never had a registered complaint. I’ve gotten a lot of bad looks and stink eyes and shrugs and over-the-shoulder kind of business, but never an actual… ## [Walking is good for you. But it's missing something for longevity.](https://fuchsm.substack.com/p/walking-is-good-for-you-but-its-missing) _2026-08-11 · Matt Fuchs · Prime Factors_ A brisk walk helps break up sedentary time, but if you’re middle-aged, fit and aiming for a long healthy life, recent research points to a missing ingredient. ## [Don't Listen to the Luddites. Ever.](https://jdtorian.com/dont-listen-to-the-luddites-ever/) _2026-08-11 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ Today we call them Luddites and gatekeepers. But back then they were just a bunch of d\*cks. For me, I listened to music in the '70s and '80s, and then became a teenager and found my own music (the Police). It was fine, but generally, all the classic rock people would never not let you know that their music was actually and exclusively real music. Whatever you were doing at the time, and listening… ## [Faith Does Not Work Without Do-The-Work](https://jdtorian.com/faith-does-not-work-without-do-the-work/) _2026-08-10 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ When I was in sixth grade, I can distinctly remember a guy named Todd, who I still see from time to time these days, telling me I should play bass. I was interested in it anyway, because of my love of The Police and Sting. This would have been the mid-'80s. And that was it for me. Bass was my instrument. But I never really fought hard enough to get one. I tried to play upright in orchestra, and my… ## [Stuff and Things Blah Blah ...](https://jdtorian.com/stuff-and-things-blah-blah/) _2026-08-09 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ Welcome to the (continuing) Sunday Ramble© series I was looking back at some music files that I’ve been working on, and it looks like--basically, I haven’t opened Ableton Live all summer. I think I really peaked when I did the South by Southwest show in March, an electronic set. I feel like I did a great job. But it wasn’t, like, 100%-good what I can do. And I think what’s really come up is I’m… ## [Earn crypto for idle GPUs (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/VpNr1kURs2pO) _2026-08-09 · **Sponsored**_ Run one CLI, host Qwen/Llama/Mistral, and earn BTC, ETH, SOL, or USDC ## [Earn Your Dings](https://jdtorian.com/earn-your-dings/) _2026-08-08 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ If you play guitar or have ever shopped for one somewhat thoroughly, you know that there’s a huge market for cosmetically aged guitars. That is, you can go to the guitar store and buy one that looks like it’s from the ‘60s. That looks like somebody’s played it, smoked on it, and defecated on it every day of their life. And it’s showing the battle scars. The idea is that you get the look and feel… ## [Earn Your Dings](https://jdtorian.com/earn-your-dings/) _2026-08-08 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ If you play guitar or have ever shopped for one somewhat thoroughly, you know that there’s a huge market for cosmetically aged guitars. That is, you can go to the guitar store and buy one that looks like it’s from the ‘60s. That looks like somebody’s played it, smoked on it, and defecated on it every day of their life. And it’s showing the battle scars. The idea is that you get the look and feel… ## [Pass The P Test](https://jdtorian.com/pass-the-p-test/) _2026-08-07 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ Back in the mid-90s in Austin, there was less than nothing to do. So we’d all go to school or work and then come home, watch The Simpsons , and then play guitars and talk about guitars. Mexican Fenders were a new thing. And the Japanese Fenders were coming back into the market too. And I remember actively making fun of a guy for having a Japanese Stratocaster. It seems ridiculous now, but this is… ## [Pass The P Test](https://jdtorian.com/pass-the-p-test/) _2026-08-07 · jdtorian · JD Torian_ Back in the mid-90s in Austin, there was less than nothing to do. So we’d all go to school or work and then come home, watch The Simpsons , and then play guitars and talk about guitars. Mexican Fenders were a new thing. And the Japanese Fenders were coming back into the market too. And I remember actively making fun of a guy for having a Japanese Stratocaster. It seems ridiculous now, but this is… ## [How to know what you should actually sell](https://yoursecondact.substack.com/p/how-to-know-what-you-should-actually) _2026-08-05 · shnordic - Susanna Hawkins · Your Second Act_ Nobody at a dinner party has ever asked a pharmaceutical researcher what’s in her notes app. ## [George Washington’s Second Act: The Real History Happens at an “Advanced Age”](https://fuchsm.substack.com/p/george-washingtons-second-act-the) _2026-07-30 · Matt Fuchs · Prime Factors_ Much of what Washington is remembered for happened after he thought his prime had passed, though his second act failed to resolve his biggest moral contradiction. ## [Your Digital Product Doesn't Need to Be Big](https://yoursecondact.substack.com/p/your-digital-product-doesnt-need) _2026-07-28 · shnordic - Susanna Hawkins · Your Second Act_ Especially if it's your first. It just needs to exist (stay with me) ## [Should We Have Midlife Doctors?](https://fuchsm.substack.com/p/should-we-have-midlife-doctors) _2026-07-15 · Matt Fuchs · Prime Factors_ Pediatrics is for kids. Geriatrics is for seniors. But medicine has no clear home for the health care nomads of middle-age. Is it time for mediatrics? ## [What's a Midlife Superager?](https://fuchsm.substack.com/p/whats-a-midlife-superager) _2026-07-09 · Matt Fuchs · Prime Factors_ Meet a 50-year-old whose midlife improvement challenges the rules of aging ## [America Is Always Worth Celebrating](https://politenewyorker.substack.com/p/america-is-always-worth-celebrating) _2026-07-03 · Matthew Sheahan · Polite New Yorker_ Independence Day in these United States should be a stupendous and excessive explosion of red, white, and blue, with fireworks lighting the sky and masses of people celebrating America with the fervor to put a Roman bacchanal to shame. ## [Countdown to Getting Paid (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/zVk2fkK5sqeo) _2026-07-03 · **Sponsored**_ Create a shareable wallet timer — deposits buy back time and pay debt down ## [The first sign it was working](https://yoursecondact.substack.com/p/the-first-sign-it-was-working) _2026-07-01 · shnordic - Susanna Hawkins · Your Second Act_ It wasn’t what I was looking for. It never is ## [What to do this week](https://yoursecondact.substack.com/p/what-to-do-this-week) _2026-06-24 · shnordic - Susanna Hawkins · Your Second Act_ the 90-day starting plan ## [The thing you need before you can make money online (it's not more followers)](https://yoursecondact.substack.com/p/the-thing-you-need-before-you-can) _2026-06-17 · shnordic - Susanna Hawkins · Your Second Act_ This post is Part 5 of The Foundations - a six-part series built directly on what you told me in the survey. ## [4 Half-Truths of Public Health Messaging](https://fuchsm.substack.com/p/4-half-truths-of-public-health-messaging) _2026-06-16 · Matt Fuchs · Prime Factors_ Our cliches miss the mark on disease prevention ## [The most underrated skill in online business is sounding like yourself](https://yoursecondact.substack.com/p/the-most-underrated-skill-in-online) _2026-06-10 · shnordic - Susanna Hawkins · Your Second Act_ And the five-question test that tells you whether you're doing it ## [The Walkabout, Midlife Edition](https://fuchsm.substack.com/p/the-walkabout-midlife-edition) _2026-06-09 · Matt Fuchs · Prime Factors_ Sure beats a midlife crisis ## [Your practical guide to Substack Notes](https://yoursecondact.substack.com/p/your-practical-guide-to-substack) _2026-06-07 · shnordic - Susanna Hawkins · Your Second Act_ what to post, how often and how to do all of it without it taking over your day ## [You don't need to be on camera to establish authority](https://yoursecondact.substack.com/p/you-dont-need-to-be-on-camera-to) _2026-06-03 · shnordic - Susanna Hawkins · Your Second Act_ And the three formats that work equally well ## [How to Survive the Sandwich Generation: Put Your Kids to Work](https://fuchsm.substack.com/p/how-to-survive-the-sandwich-generation) _2026-05-21 · Matt Fuchs · Prime Factors_ Midlife is primetime for creating efficiencies. ## [Midlife Today Looks Nothing Like 10 Years Ago](https://fuchsm.substack.com/p/midlife-today-looks-nothing-like) _2026-05-14 · Matt Fuchs · Prime Factors_ Old Scripts for Health, Work and Family Are Broken ## [Fela Kuti hates our bass](https://politenewyorker.substack.com/p/fela-kuti-hates-our-bass) _2026-04-29 · Matthew Sheahan · Polite New Yorker_ Blackout Shoppers were practicing in a small Brooklyn studio. ## [Stopping by Buc-ee’s at 3 a.m.](https://politenewyorker.substack.com/p/stopping-by-buc-ees-at-3-am) _2026-04-09 · Matthew Sheahan · Polite New Yorker_ It was the early hours of a Sunday morning, and I was traveling with my band, Blackout Shoppers. We had played the Anarchy at the Arcade Festival at Super Rad Arcade Bar in Lynchburg, Virginia, and shared the stage with some amazing bands. ## [Second acts are American lives](https://politenewyorker.substack.com/p/second-acts-are-american-lives) _2026-03-10 · Matthew Sheahan · Polite New Yorker_ “There are no second acts in American lives.” ## [Fourth Act: Part 2](https://ecucampusreads.substack.com/p/fourth-act-part-2) _2026-03-09 · ECU Campus Reads · ECU’s Campus Reads_ There is the same world for all of us ## [Fourth Act: Part 1](https://ecucampusreads.substack.com/p/fourth-act-part-1) _2026-03-04 · ECU Campus Reads · ECU’s Campus Reads_ Whether the fogs produce the serious people or whether the serious people produce the fogs, I don’t know ## [Third Act: Part 2](https://ecucampusreads.substack.com/p/third-act-part-2) _2026-03-03 · ECU Campus Reads · ECU’s Campus Reads_ We're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars ## [Third Act: Part 1](https://ecucampusreads.substack.com/p/third-act-part-1) _2026-02-25 · ECU Campus Reads · ECU’s Campus Reads_ The Brink of Ruin ## [Second Act Part 2](https://ecucampusreads.substack.com/p/second-act-part-2) _2026-02-23 · ECU Campus Reads · ECU’s Campus Reads_ It must be now or not at all ## [Second Act Part 1](https://ecucampusreads.substack.com/p/second-act-part-1) _2026-02-18 · ECU Campus Reads · ECU’s Campus Reads_ Audio Recording from the University of Cambridge Recorded Drama Society shared under a CC BY SA 3.0 license. ## [First Act: Part 2](https://ecucampusreads.substack.com/p/first-act-part-2) _2026-02-16 · ECU Campus Reads · ECU’s Campus Reads_ Who is this woman, then?