PODCAST

: lower black pain.

Jd Michaels - The CabsEverywhere Creative Production House

Life’s lemons into rich, dark chocolate. lowerblackpain.substack.com

society & culture performing arts

All Episodes

6:52

Positive I.D.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/02/12

Back before we had a kid, I didn’t take a vacation for a little over seven years.Sure, there were times that work was supposed to be closed, like Christmas and New Year’s Day and weekends and nights, but I ended up on some phone call or finishing a project or had to show up in the office anyway. My wife found the entire situation distasteful, though she did appreciate my somewhat maniacal dedication to a role as a family provider.She began to plan a proper trip for us, far enough away from work that

5:18

Stories.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/02/05

The genesis of this column was a desire to alleviate my daughter’s legitimate angst regarding her annual recognition of Black History Month, which she found heavy with legacy.Yes, I said. You’re absolutely right, I told her. It’s not a pretty story, and we don’t just tell it every year, it’s written in our eyes and our hands and our skin.But that is not our only story. We have marvels and miracles, hilarity and harmony, and so much joy within our perseverance. We are a mathematical impossibility,

5:37

The Winter Of This Content

: lower black pain. ·

2026/01/29

Getting older is fun, but feeling older is not my absolute favorite. Quite often there are aches, and sometimes pains. My grandmother used to call them “miserys” (miseries?) and was proud to tell us when she wasn’t experiencing them. I’m not quite that dramatic (ok. well.) and I do understand that my specific physical experience, while admittedly disconcerting and exhausting, is mild in comparison to the concerns of others.Yet and still.A great deal of my body issues are audible, which lends a kind

6:12

Warm Mugs.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/01/22

I enjoy making hot chocolate. Ironically, I can’t drink it, as I’ve developed a myriad of late onset allergies, but it’s incredibly satisfying to whip up in the winter for the family, and always brings at least three levels of happiness.* First the audible “Oh!”- eyebrows raised in happy surprise, * then the reach with both hands to take the warm mug, * then the closed-eyes smile as marshmallow steam rises to the nose. Mmmm. Then hopefully it tastes good as well.I don’t have a secret to my recipe,

4:48

Don't You Fret.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/01/15

Brinks aren’t great. Edges are already suspicious, but brinks are just the worst.Except for those money delivery trucks; each of those is a minimalist Recreational Vehicle filled with Pure Dreams (tainted only by a measure of grand larceny). But every other brink? Terrible.And all of that teetering. No one ever frolics or languishes near a brink, it’s always TEETERING. And never toward ice cream, or low interest loans or a smoked brisket sandwich - folks endlessly teeter toward the brinks of

6:41

Adventures In Cinema

: lower black pain. ·

2026/01/08

We, are simple folk, with little need for the fancy or extravagant. A grateful family of humble artists - days without drama, foods without gluten, we push ever onward finding delight in what might seem mundane or insignificant.For instance, a certain movie trailer appeared this week for a film that will premiere (no joke) eleven and a half months from now. Yet due to careful world building, inspired casting, and a lore so deep that is goes back nearly eight decades, to us a year doesn’t seem all

3:53

Brand: NEW.

: lower black pain. ·

2026/01/01

Happy New Year!Used to be, long ago, that I was “in advertising”, deftly mixiting key wordses and imagery like an Ibiza DJ, building the hype of the crowds ’til they were uncontrollably driven to purchase soup, or perhaps very high-end non-basic cable television add-on channels. Heady stuff.I remember once, in my youth, speaking to an old-timer (probably younger than myself now) who told me that the two most used words in the history of the industry were “new” and “improved”.Improved always seemed

4:47

The Gift of Laughter.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/12/25

I’ve been to a few baby showers, and no one brought the baby little stones, though that is the story of Christmas, that there was a magnificent child whose first gifts were all rocks of some kind. Well precious stones and aromatic resin that kind of looks like rocks.Then there is the tale of the little drummer boy, who brought music. That was always my favorite, what a great gift, so much more meaningful, no disrespect to Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar.But yesterday I was on a work video call and

3:29

The Lesson of Patience.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/12/18

Santa comes but once a year, like your birthday, but somehow it seems longer between Christmases than birthdays. December feels like it has 72 days rather than 31, with the 25th kind of always just out of reach, like that dolly zoom Hitchcock used to do where the thing in the middle just lurches through space. Sakes. I haven’t sent my letter yet, but as previously stated, it is short, with mostly a thank you and an ask after the family and Jack Frost. (I have been a good boy this year, and even an

7:38

The Value Of Dignity.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/12/11

A Christmas list is a bold statement - the idea that you deserve something, much less the entire contents of a manicured list, is a brave stance to take, particularly when you’re young. And then bringing that list to a man you only see once a year and not spending your time catching up or asking about his family but instead reciting the list to him in full expectation of his timely delivery of said items is… extremely presumptive.Yet Santa listens, and smiles, and nods appreciatively, and takes a

5:53

The Joy of Learning.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/12/04

Sure, you can give presents at the holidays, in boxes, like everybody else, but the real challenge is always to find something UNIQUE, isn’t it? Something no one else would ever think of? Something fun to give that inspires happy surprise in the give-ee.Well, the best things in life, I’ve heard told, are free. And while most of those are impossible to wrap, it is generally agreed that their impact greatly outshines that of any, say, tiny mechanical “life-like” dog from the internet.So my list for

5:19

Thank you.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/11/27

You know there’s more pie, right?I’m so glad you’re here, but … pie. I don’t want to distract you. Priorities and all.If you do have a minute, I’d love to tell you a little story. It’s not very long, but right after you really should go back to that pie idea.The “Give-a-Show Projector” : basically a D-cell battery flashlight with a plastic lens on it so that you could project filmstrips on the wall in the dark…the very dark (‘cause it wasn’t that great a flashlight). The Kenner company sold tons of

8:01

One Of Our Things.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/11/20

It’s been pointed out that the Eskimo culture has many words for “snow”. In my family we have two. One is “snow”, which we use when there is snow. The other is “frost”. It’s “family thing”. You’ve got them, with your family - chosen or domestic, that collection of words or phrases that mean something to you because you share the story behind them. Here’s the story behind “frost”:I’d been working 12 hour days for seven months, then nearly 18 hour ones for about three weeks – finishing a gigantic

7:19

The Boy From Atlantis.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/11/13

I remember getting less than five spankings.After the first one, I really did attempt to avoid them.As my only present parent, my mother usually held the exclusive monopoly on even the threat of spankings, but I did get one when I was three years old from a babysitter when I totally bit a bully (total fluke – I’d probably never do that now), and a very memorable one was administered to me by my grandfather - a man so inherently and elementally fair as to be an actual district court judge in real

5:44

Snapshot.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/11/06

5/13/73It’s Sunday, after church.My mom and I are in the back of my uncle’s car, heading to the fancy cafeteria that the family visits on Mother’s Day so that:* Grandma won’t have to cook and* we can celebrate her publicly as our Center Of Attention (which is always her second favorite gift, right after “cash in a plain, white envelope”).My mother has a car, but she’s left it at home because:* it is too small for four people and* there’s a national energy crisis going on: gasoline is being rationed

6:04

Life.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/10/30

Frank Sinatra isn’t lazy. He’s been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king.I’ve only been four of those things, so far. Not because I’m lazy, it’s just that I don’t have as many years on me as Frank, and my circle of compatriots and associates is far less comprehensive than his was, requiring less role-based interactions. I have not been a king of any sort, and though I readily admit to a few corporate situations where I was a bit of a pawn, I have successfully never become anyone’s

5:43

Cold.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/10/23

72 degrees Fahrenheit is what most of us set our thermostats to, both winter and summer. It’s an ideal temperature; a little cool for a swimming pool, a little hot for a tub of potato salad, it’s seen as, generally, a popular temperature overall. It’s what Los Angeles is. 72 degrees is just perfect.32 degrees has great press: Christmas and winter and even though over half the country never sees a single flake of snow it’s RIGHT THERE ON TV, in cartoons and stop motion animations and romantic

5:17

Dire.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/10/16

Dangling. Helpless. Fingernails dug deep into the bark of a fragile branch threatening to splinter and snap under the weight of the struggling, desperate body which swings from it - eyes mad with dread, awaiting the inevitability of plummeting, plummeting, into the abyss.This is a description of the world’s greatest and most celebrated motivational poster. It’s been hung in the highest halls of Congress and office break rooms everywhere. Millions of prints sold, not counting the various ripoffs,

5:48

Dark.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/10/09

Around the time of my daughter’s second birthday we went camping at a park that had Airstream™ campers instead of cabins. I adore Airstream™ campers and aspire to someday own one, though most likely I will never be able to afford a driveway to park it in.We arrived in the afternoon, and eventually the sun set (as it does) and the lack of streetlights and buildings left the outside world a pristine shade of nothing. All the windows of the trailer were pitch black. My daughter had never before

8:11

Grim.

: lower black pain. ·

2025/10/02

It’s pretty grim. I mean, “things” are. Or they look that way. Things seem pretty grim. Somewhat. Depends on where you look, I guess, and other variables. For me, it’s worse when my eyes are open, so while that’s happening, I point them in friendly directions in attempts to “de-grim” the experience, somewhat.I find grocery shopping soothing. Plenty to look at that’s pleasant to see. Vegetables are soothing (frozen vegetables a bit less so). The part of the store where they have all the bottled

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