brittlestar

Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter, does this portend the downfall of western civilization? The Internet's Favourite Dad, Stewart Reynolds, AKA Brittlestar, thinks The Kids Today won't put up with this shit the way Gen-X and the Boomers do.

The Rundown

In this episode, we meet up with Canada’s favourite Internet dad, Stuart Reynolds, or as you might know him, Brittlestar - the comedic nemesis of Covidiots everywhere. Next up, that jovial jill-of-all-trades Karen Bertelsen explains why making, fixing, and cooking stuff yourself is good for the planet. So, funny people with a purpose in this episode.

By the way, if you want to read Harrowsmith Magazine instead of listening to it you can subscribe to the print version online at harrowsmithmag.com and you can find Harrowsmith Magazine on selected newsstands across Canada. But for now, settle in for the next half hour of Harrowsmith Radio.

Brittlestar 

Stuart Reynolds (aka Brittlestar) got famous six seconds at a time on the once-popular short video sharing platform, Vine. But these days Brittlestar - more about the name later - has won the hearts of YouTube watchers with his deadpan takes on mask-wearing and taking a humourous jab at folks who don’t want to get one. We talk about his musical, and Scottish past and his plans for humour on the other side of COVID - Omnicron variant notwithstanding.

That was Brittlestar, scourge of idiots everywhere. You can learn more about Brittlestar at https://www.brittlestar.com.

Karen Bertelsen

Karen Bertelsen is a rare bird - a funny Do It Yourselfer. On her blog The Art of Doing Stuff, Karen teaches us how to raise chickens, and dough and roofbeams, and well, tackle just about any home and garden reno you could imagine. Here’s our chat about how all that helps keep the planet ticking along. And you can learn more about Karen at http://www.theartofdoingstuff.com

End Notes

Want more Harrowsmith? No problem. Visit our website. Or you can check out Harrowsmith Magazine on selected newsstands across Canada or you can order subscriptions online at harrowsmithmag.com.

By the way, the music in the podcast? It's by good ol' Canadian singer, composer and friend of the 'cast, David Archibald. You can find more of his music at his website, davidarchibald.com.

How do you generate a big following on social media? What does it take to make a video go viral? No one knows better than Stewart Reynolds, whose videos have been viewed more than 600 million times. Better known as Brittlestar, Stewart is a prolific producer of online content, releasing videos that make people laugh but also carry a message. Stewart explains how, at the age of 43, he turned making videos online into a way to make a living. He admits that while luck definitely plays a role, it also takes focus, humility, and the ability to stay out of your own way. He also talks about acknowledging anxiety, and the importance of prioritizing your own mental health -- especially as the pandemic changes how we live and how we consume content. And, he shares a story that he says proves the world ended in 2012.  

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

COVID-19 killed Geeks & Beats. While Alan and Michael are still healthy, so is the demand for business to business podcasts and a documentary series. Join The Internet's Favourite Dad, Brittlestar, as he hogs the virtual open bar while we thank members of the World's Worst Intern Program one last time as we talk about 8 years of The World's Most Popular Podcast (with Alan Cross and Michael Hainsworth)

*Special note: This episode was recorded in early February 2020 and much has changed since, like many conferences, Social Media North has been postponed*

Stuart Reynolds, aka Brittlestar, might not be a name you've heard of; he's not even a YouTube creator. Carlos likes to call him Canada's answer to Hank Green because he's often the adult in the room crowded with much more inexperienced creators.

We don't typically bring on influencers or creators into the show, but we felt that Stuart was a good guest to have as he's been around the bend and approaches things differently since he doesn't make a living on YouTube. His platforms are Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, as well as whatever another burgeoning platform is making noise. 

Here are some of the subjects we discussed:

• What was Stewart doing before becoming internet famous?
• Why does he think there are so many Canadian creators?
• Stuart's point of view on what's growing in terms of business for him and the industry.
• Why he's creating Social Media North in Canada.
• How platforms, brands, and such treat Canada like an unwelcome second cousin. 

Learn all about Social Media North by visiting www.socialmedianorth.ca

You can follow Brittlestar on Twitter or Instagram.

Echinoderms are characterised by a mineralised skeleton, specialised water vascular system and five-fold symmetry. It is this unusual body plane symmetry that gives the starfish its star-shape. None of these features, however, are possessed by the closest living relatives of echinoderms – the hemichordates. Palaeontology offers a unique perspective into the early evolution of echinoderms, revealing that echinoderm characteristics were acquired in a step-wise fashion from a bilaterally symmetrical ancestor. We speak to Dr Imran Rahman, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bristol, about the early evolution of echinoderms, from worms to stars.