One step forward, two steps back — 73 cents, for one thousand claps, plug pulled, rug pulled, wool pulled over our eyes we told you to engage, but now we tell you don’t engage coach calls you a fake* who manufactures applause, a growth- hacking fraud either Medium is in debt, or Tony lost a bet AI…

It was fun while it lasted — August came along and we were all excited about the new changes on Medium. Writers were suddenly doubling and tripling their previous earnings, as The Coach and Buster confidently announced opening business up to several new countries. The buzz word from the top was all about transparency, fairness, and consistency…

And its little poem for planet Earth — born in black seas, star-fish that you were, comet tail, evil eyes, restless soul — you glided among lovers and predators, half way between Mars and Venus near that dysfunctional basket case, bi-polar Earth, which you were aiming to avoid your mission wasn’t exactly buying groceries — you had larger fish…

Well, flag me then — well, flag me then if you really think deflating footballs is so out of bounds — I’m Tom Tiny Hands Brady, and I’m used to getting silver spoon treatment from pin- striped referees I’m so up myself I’ve got a MAGA hat in my locker, ‘cause it’s blue-eyed types like me that are the face…

Spun, tangled, and implicated — when were you ever independent? you might sarcastically ask even in Protestant America where we all rocket-launch our way into the stars via our very own bootstraps freedom, follow-your-heart, follow-your-dreams, mealy- mouthed meritocracy, sky’s the limit! never mind Trump started with Daddy’s million dollar check while you walked out of college with 60k…

A whole new scoring system — In an attempt to stem the tide of mutual back-scratching that has been spreading like a rash on Medium since the recent changes, the CEO will now be rewarding those sneaky, silent, jealous views where a writer will visit your piece just to check his/her competition (you) out and leave…

Being in two places at once — you were roasting nicely in the fires of ambition and resentment never accepting your situation, forever restless and letting your eyes roam to bluer vistas, greener pastures, alluring heavens, Platonic realms not this corporate cage you burned inside, attempting to bribe devils and beg the gods of lotto and gaming to do…

Tread carefully, write guardedly — you can tell yourself the algo has no power over what you write that you don’t care about your claps and your stats you can tell yourself the boost makes no difference, that you write for the joy of writing that money is no object, that fame and recognition are only for…

From denial to pouting — Recently I was seduced into a writing challenge by that snake-oil satirist, Smillew. The story had to feature CEO Coach Tony, a pizza restaurant, and a couple of horse stall mats. To up the stakes, the CEO had to be tagged in the story, as you would get huge bonus…