The Scumbler is my newsletter. Subscribing guarantees you a steady stream of original essays, interviews with people doing compelling creative work, and notes on whatever else I’m obsessed with at the moment. Subscribing is a great idea for you.

Why is it called The Scumbler? Scumbling is a painting technique that involves dabbing a dry brush in paint and lightly dragging it across a canvas, creating a patchy, transparent effect. That’s the goal of the newsletter: to have fun glancing off all kinds of interesting topics.

Also? I like the word. I learned it in high school painting class from a teacher who loved punctuating his lessons with unusual terms and sound effects. Scumbling makes me laugh. Unfortunately, The Scumbler often autocorrects to The Stumbler, which… sure. Sometimes, certainly.

Past newsletters include interviews with such luminaries as Patrick McHale (creator of Over the Garden Wall), Will McPhail (a cartoonist for The New Yorker), and Tom Broecker (a veteran Saturday Night Live costume designer). And more.

Subscribe to The Scumbler, and if you like it, tell a friend about it. What’s the worst that could happen? Social exile and a lifetime of regret?