Tag: self-promotion

Support My Right-Wing Culture

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Yesterday I encouraged readers to “Support Right-Wing Culture“; the thesis of my argument was that there are conservatives who create amazing art, but who languish in obscurity.  Meanwhile, we’ll complain that don’t have any cultural products compared to the Left while also paying for a DailyWire+ subscription so Ben Shapiro can buy another ivory kippah. (but, by all means, have a DW+ subscription, just also be willing to spend five or ten bucks a month on smaller creators).

Ben Shapiro doesn’t need your money or your emotional support (although his plummeting viewership may suggest otherwise).  His wife (like mine) is a doctor, after all.  Quite frankly, he doesn’t deserve it, either:  it’s pretty clear he hates the very people he purports to support.  However, conservatives are willing to give him $9 a month, but will balk at the idea of spending $9 a month to support a small creator, for whom that $9 could be extremely impactful.

But I digress.  Plenty of other people can (and have, and should) poke fun at Ben Shapiro.  My point here is to discuss ways we can build each other up—and build a lasting cultural legacy.

To that end, I highlighted a few creators yesterday (note that a lot of the links to come are Amazon Affiliate links; I receive a portion of the purchases made through these links, at no additional cost to you):

There are several other creators I failed to mention yesterday; to wit:

And that’s just a start!  There are people who are really trying to create new, original, cool stuff.

I’d like to think I am one of them.  All of the folks mentioned above are far more talented and driven than yours portly, but I’d like to think I have created some unique culture in my doughy life.  So, here are some of the ways you can support my contributions to right-wing culture:

  • Buy my stuff in the Based Book Sale short stories sale, starting tomorrow, Wednesday, 18 March 2026 (they’ll be $0.99 each from 18-25 March 2026)
  • Buy my music on Bandcamp using promo code moving to take 90% off your purchase
  • Download my instrumental piece “π” for free (just type in “$0” when “purchasing” and put in your e-mail address)
  • Check out my YouTube channel (and like, subscribe, and comment—all of which are free ways to support the channel)
  • Buy my books (and write a review—it takes only a few minutes and helps a lot)
  • Subscribe to/follow me on Substack (for free or with a paid subscription)
  • Subscribe to my SubscribeStar page (for as little as $1 a month, which is probably too cheap)
  • Share blog posts (including this one) to your friends, family, etc.
  • Stream my music (on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, and more)

Almost all of those items can be replicated for the other creators mentioned herein.  None of them take very long.  Many of them are free!

It doesn’t take much.  I know money is tight and we’re probably staring down the start of the Third World War (or everything fine will be in another week—no need to panic), but everyone can afford five bucks a month to support a creator.  Sacrifice one meal out and you’ve saved enough buy a couple of books or Substack subscriptions.

We conservatives need to step up and actually support—financially, morally, and culturally—our own people.  The Left has built entire institutions to propagate their worldview, such as it is.

We don’t have to let them have a stranglehold on creating cool stuff.  There is more to life than grilling and Kid Rock concerts and Ben Shapiro’s nasally commentary.

So dig deep and do the bare minimum to support the creators in your life (and, if you see fit, me, even though I just lectured you).

God Bless!

—TPP

Flashback Friday^16: Brack Friday Bunduru: Workers Need a Break

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

When I first wrote about workers needed Thanksgiving Day off, I was experiencing pretty severe burnout myself.  I do still believe that the Black Friday creeping into Thanksgiving is reprehensible, but I also realize my own stress was playing a role in my analysis.

Of course, this Black Friday I’m bunduru’d with Dr. Wife on the high seas, so I’m absolutely getting a break.  Indeed, I might be eating pizza covered in gravy and leftover turkey from last night’s onboard Thanksgiving feast (I assume we had one; I’m writing this post way beforehand).  While I’m enjoying the Thanksgiving Lover’s Pizza, though, millions are schlepping into retail stores at 4 AM to help grannies save pennies on toaster ovens.

Well, who doesn’t love a good deal?  But a better deal would be shuttering retailers all day on Thanksgiving so employees can rest up and spend time with family before being berated by penny-pinching Karens.

With that, here is 25 November 2022’s “Flashback Friday^4: Brack Friday Bunduru: Workers Need a Break“:

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Leftovers III Out Today!

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Pickup my newest release: Leftovers III!  Use promo code ziggurat to take an additional 20% off all purchases on Bandcamp!  Code expires at 11:59 PM UTC on Tuesday, 31 December 2024.

My tenth album of the year is out today, Leftovers III.  Technically, it’s just an EP, but whatever—I’m proud of it, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

It’s just five bucks on Bandcamp, and with promo code ziggurat it’s an additional 20% off (indeed, that 20% off applies to everything on Bandcamp).  My entire discography is $59.64; with 20% off, that’s just $47.71 for twenty-two albums, or about $2.17 per release.  Dang!

Barring some sudden boost of inspirado, Leftovers III will be my last release for 2024.  I set a goal for myself to release ten albums and/or EPs this year, and I’ve achieved it.  I don’t know if 2025 will feature ten albums (probably not), but I’ll definitely be releasing more music at some point next year.

If you’re the streaming type, you can find LIII at the following services:

And pretty much anywhere else where music is streamed.

Here’s hoping everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!  Enjoy these leftovers.

Happy Listening!

—TPP

October 2024 Bandcamp Friday: Spooky Season III!

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Pickup my newest release: Spooky Season III!  Use promo code spooky to take an additional 20% off all purchases on Bandcamp!  Code expires at 11:59 PM UTC on Thursday, 31 October 2024.

Ah, yes, Bandcamp Friday has returned, which means I hope you will consider pitching in a few bucks to buy my music—or my second book!  It’s the most magical Friday of the month!

The first Friday of a bunch of months in 2024 will feature this pro-indie music observance, a day on which Bandcamp waives its usual 15% commission on sales.  Today (Friday, 6 September 2024) is one of those days.

In other words, when you buy my music, almost 100% of it goes to me, instead of almost 85%.

Naturally, yours portly has a brand new release, and my longest to date:  Spooky Season III is available now on Bandcamp, Apple Music, YouTube/YouTube Music, Amazon Music, etc., etc.—pretty much anywhere and everywhere digital streaming is available—including, for the first time in nearly a year, Spotify!

Spooky Season III is forty-one (41) minutes of Halloween-ish jams, from the driving opener “Heavy Metal Mummy” to the creaking creepiness of “A Haunted House” to frightful “Flight of the Vampire Bats” and more.   SSIII features pieces in multiple genres:  heavy metal, rock, country-western, classical, Romantic, smooth 70s pop, and, of course, Halloween music!

My full discography is 50% off (and the 20% promo code spooky can be used for that, too), so it’s only $57.14 to purchase twenty-two releases.  That’s just $2.80 per release—and dozens of hours of music, not to mention hundreds of megabytes of musical scores, artwork, liner notes, videos, and other goodies that are packed onto nearly every release.

With the 20% promo code spooky the total comes down to $45.71, or $2.08 per release.

My plan is to release (at least) one more album or EP this year, Leftovers III, which should release Friday, 29 November 2024 (the day after Thanksgiving).  That’ll make ten releases in 2024.

Thank you for your support, and rock on!

—TPP

September 2024 Bandcamp Friday: New Release!

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Pickup my newest release: Math: And Other Delights now!  Use promo code math to take an additional 20% off all purchases on Bandcamp!  Code expires at 11:59 PM UTC on Sunday, 8 September 2024.

Ah, yes, Bandcamp Friday has returned, which means I hope you will consider pitching in a few bucks to buy my music—or my second book!  After a long hiatus over the summer months, this celebration of indie musicians is back.

The first Friday of a bunch of months in 2024 will feature this pro-indie music observance, a day on which Bandcamp waives its usual 15% commission on sales.  Today (Friday, 6 September 2024) is one of those days.

In other words, when you buy my music, almost 100% of it goes to me, instead of almost 85%.

Naturally, yours portly has a brand new release, and one of my longest to date:  Math: And Other Delights is available now on Bandcamp, Apple Music, YouTube/YouTube Music, Amazon Music, etc., etc.—pretty much anywhere and everywhere digital streaming is available (except for Spotify).

Math: And Other Delights is a collection of mathematically- and historically-themed pieces that explore various mathematical concepts, from “π” to “Pythagoras.” Travel through the circle of fifths and fourths; examine “Prime Numbers“; experience “π” musically; scry mathematical mysticism with “Pythagoras“; and chill with some melodies based on seventh and ninth intervals with “Chill Extensions.”

Too many numbers? Enjoy a “Promenade” or a little “Impromptu and Waltz in E major.” Get excited to explore with “Onward!” Or relive the last moments of the legendary ice man, “Ötzi.”

Currently, my entire discography of twenty-one releases is $53.64, a savings of 50%, which is not bad for twenty-one releases.  That’s about $2.55 per release—not too shabby!  To purchase the full discography, click on any release, and you’ll see the option to purchase all of them.

Also, use promo code math to take an additional 20% off any purchase through the weekend (expires after 11:59 PM UTC on 8 September 2024).

Thank you for your support—and rock on!

—TPP

Midweek Composing Updates

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Yours portly had a pretty quite weekend before the resumption of the school year—classes started this past Monday—and while I keep feeling like I didn’t do anything, I was actually fairly productive in a number of small ways.

One of those was in regards to my composing.  While I didn’t write much new material—I was mostly editing some pieces I’d written last week—I did list several new (and old) pieces for sale via Noteflight.

When I compose for an album, I like to have some kind of organizing theme.  For example, Heptadic Structure is built upon the “gimmick” of writing every piece in 7/X time (7/4, 7/8, 7/16, etc.), in which each measure of music consists of seven beats.  White Boy Summer attempted to capture the moods of summer, especially the chill, relaxed vibe of the season.

Sometimes, though, I’m just jotting things down for my own amusement and seeing where my scribblings take me.  I don’t have perfect pitch, and while I know roughly what intervals sound like, when I write by hand away from a piano or my notation software, I can sometimes get very unusual results.  My instrumental music often has an angular, geometric quality to it because I’m composing in a theoretical vacuum, as it were.

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TBT^2: Inspector Gerard eBook is Coming 1 April 2021 (Out NOW in Paperback)!

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

It’s hard to believe that I released The One-Minute Mysteries of Inspector Gerard: The Ultimate Flatfoot three years ago (well, almost three years ago—give it another couple of weeks).  It was my first foray into self-publishing, and it was a fun experience.  I still need to go back and edit some of the embarrassing typographical and grammatical errors in the book, which I will get around to doing eventually.

Since then I’ve released a second book, Arizonan Sojourn, South Carolinian Dreams: And Other Adventures.  It has not done as well as Inspector Gerard, but at the time of writing, Amazon has it marked down to $11.16 for the paperback version.  That is a steal, as the list price is usually $20, so it’s 44% off.  It’s actually a pretty good book.  Of course, I’m biased.

This week is testing for middle school students at my school, and it was during this same testing week in 2021 and again in 2023 that I slapped together my books.  There’s something about having that extra hour or two a day without my Middle School Music Ensemble class that makes it feasible for me to compile and edit my writings into book form.  I am currently working on my third book, Offensive Poems: With Pictures, but I’m not sure if I’ll manage to get it written and edited this week, even with the extra time.

Still, I hope that by the time you’re reading this post that I’ll have put a dent into it.  The biggest challenge is going to be converting all of the hand-drawn pictures into a digital format.  I imagine the formatting of the entire book will be a huge headache, but it’s just a matter of making the appropriate sacrifices to Microsoft Word and Kindle Direct Publishing.

With that, here is 23 March 2023’s “TBT: Inspector Gerard eBook is Coming 1 April 2021 (Out NOW in Paperback)!“:

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Lazy Sunday CXL: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part III

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

On Friday, 2 February 2024 I released Firefly Dance, my latest collection of original digital compositions.  It’s a fun album, and I’m pleased with how it came out in the end.

You can purchase and/or stream Firefly Dance through the following services:

Of course, if you’ve been reading the blog regularly, I’ve been posting sneak peeks of the album since late November.  So for the next few Sundays, I’ll be featuring past installments of Open Mic Adventures that highlight the tracks:

Enjoy—and, if you do, maybe consider spending $5?

Happy Sunday—and Happy Listening!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Lazy Sunday CXXXIX: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part II

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

On Friday, 2 February 2024 I released Firefly Dance, my latest collection of original digital compositions.  It’s a fun album, and I’m pleased with how it came out in the end.

You can purchase and/or stream Firefly Dance through the following services:

– Bandcamp ($5!): https://tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/firefly-dance
– Apple 🍏 Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/firefly-dance/1724130522
– YouTube 📺: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k5xlOgwiUIFHGrMXpJ4bjmKHGGepfpCYM&si=U5tXOlFABVRwmA-E

Of course, if you’ve been reading the blog regularly, I’ve been posting sneak peeks of the album since late November.  So for the next few Sundays, I’ll be featuring past installments of Open Mic Adventures that highlight the tracks:

  • “Open Mic Adventures LIX: ‘Listless Chorale’“ – At the time of writing, this track has 366 views on YouTube, which is kind of ridiculous (but I’m not complaining).  An attempt at a chorale, which I called “listless” because it doesn’t seem to go anywhere (except back to the tonic, eventually).
  • “Open Mic Adventures LXIII: ‘FRANTIC!!’“ – And “FRANTIC!!” has 316 views, which is even more ridiculous.  Again, I’m not complaining.  In fact, I kind of want this track to reach an absurd degree virality—perhaps to become an instrumental “Rick Roll” for nerds.  The piece is written to be intentionally annoying and anxiety-inducing for both the listener and the musician.   I think I succeeded.
  • “Open Mic Adventures LXIV: ‘Snowfall’“ – This piece is actually good—but only has 43 views.  Not bad, but it could be better.  It’s an experiment with an Eb whole tone scale, and depicts a pleasant snowfall.

Enjoy—and, if you do, maybe consider spending $5?

Happy Sunday—and Happy Listening!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

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Lazy Sunday CXXXVIII: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part I

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

On Friday, 2 February 2024 I released Firefly Dance, my latest collection of original digital compositions.  It’s a fun album, and I’m pleased with how it came out in the end.

You can purchase and/or stream Firefly Dance through the following services:

– Bandcamp ($5!): https://tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/firefly-dance
– Apple 🍏 Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/firefly-dance/1724130522
– YouTube 📺: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k5xlOgwiUIFHGrMXpJ4bjmKHGGepfpCYM&si=U5tXOlFABVRwmA-E

Of course, if you’ve been reading the blog regularly, I’ve been posting sneak peeks of the album since late November.  So for the next few Sundays, I’ll be featuring past installments of Open Mic Adventures that highlight the tracks:

  • “Open Mic Adventures LVI: ‘Orange Roll’” – I went way too far with this one—ha!  I reharmonized it, played it on bass, etc.  You can experience all the iterations in this original post.
  • “Open Mic Adventures LVII: ‘Firefly Dance’” – I love the title track.  Honestly, my only regret is that I didn’t start the album with it, as it’s a beautiful piece.  I think it’s one of my best works.
  • “Open Mic Adventures LVIII: ‘Kartofelsalat’” – Well, I misspelled “Kartoffelsalat,” leaving off that second “f,” but by the time I realized my error, I’d already submitted everything to CD Baby for digital distribution and didn’t want to change it.  But much like German potato salad, it’s a tasty jam.

Enjoy—and, y’know, maybe shell out $5 and help a musician out, eh?

Happy Sunday—and Happy Listening!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments: