Media Category

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango; an earlier version of this story appeared on Jawbone.TV… For author Dan Roam, it began with a living nightmare.Read More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Guy Who Misses Alternative Newspapers… I used to read the L.A. Weekly (the alternative newspaper of Los Angeles) when it was the size of deep dish pizza — and almost as delicious, filled with no-holds-barred political screeds and small-theatre reviews and creative writers who wouldn’t get a shot in any other L.A. publication. Big plus: it was free. The Weekly came out every Thursday, and my friends and I would rush out and grab a copy before they were all snappedRead More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder Of Atomic Tango + Fincher Fan… Note: buying anything through the links on this page may benefit the Atomic Tango martini fund. The first DVD I ever bought was Fight Club, and not just because it was based on the inventive and incendiary novel by Chuck Palahniuk. (One of my favorite books.) Throw in Fincher’s directorial prowess and the compelling lead performances, and Fight Club warranted watching again and again and again. (Plus, the film blows up Century City, where I used to live andRead More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + American Happy To Be In Cali… Sometimes creative expression hits too close to home — and a nerve. That’s definitely the case with CALEXIT, a comic book series depicting a hypothetical California secession from these not-so-United States. The secession is precipitated, of course, by the election of a certain orange fascist… Written by Matteo Pizzolo and illustrated by Amancay Nahuelpan, the comic book comes from indie publisher Black Mask Studios, which is “bringing the punk rock ethic to comics.” CALEXIT’s pages expressRead More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango, Long-Time Listener, First-Time Podcaster; Photo by Jonathan Velasquez on Unsplash… So I decided to take the audio plunge and launch my own podcast… Atomic Tango · The Atomic Tango Marketing, Media, and Mischief Podcast, Episode 1 Like this website, the Atomic Tango podcast explores marketing, media, and other mischief. This first episode features my thoughts on the infamous Pepsi Kendall Jenner commercial, the trouble with Twitter, and the challenges facing American retailers. So why podcast? Several reasons: Blog readership appears to be declining.Read More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango, Professional Writer, and Professor; photo by Pwlps via Wikimedia Commons… Dear Class, Please evaluate the first sentence from this recent academic-journal article, “Progressive Mastery Through Deliberate Practice: A Promising Approach For Improving Writing”: “There is virtual agreement across all sectors (policy-makers, researchers, educators, parents, employers) that there is a crisis in literacy internationally, not only in reading – which has been the focus of policy and research in recent decades – but also – a more recent focus of attention – inRead More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Found of Atomic Tango + Amateur Prognosticator… Based on my observations of trends in demographics, business, technology, and politics, I’ve concocted and contrived these predictions for the new year and beyond. Maybe way way WAY beyond. But if 2017 is anywhere near as capricious as 2016, these could all happen. Or the zombie apocalypse will finally arrive. In any case, here are my forecasts in no particular disorder… SIRI-OUSLY NOW: Touch screens are so two years ago. Instead, animated chatbots will take over brick-and-mortar retail toRead More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Editor Who Can’t Resist… It’s a common mistake: writing “baited breath” instead of “bated breath.” I just didn’t expect it in the official publication of the American Marketing Association (October 2016 issue). But there it glared at me from an article about Apple’s born-to-be-lost AirPods. Of course, we all know that “bated” means anxious or excited, while “baited” refers to a loaded trap. Whenever I see “baited breath,” I visualize someone with a worm on a hook dangling in their mouthRead More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Realistic Idealist… Much has already been said about Nintendo’s Pokemon Go, the augmented reality (AR) game that’s turned millions of Americans into manic scavenger hunters. Perhaps too much. The phenomenon has already triggered a backlash after just a few days from people tired of hearing about it. If there were a web-browser app that blocked all stories mentioning “Pokemon,” it would likely be as popular as the game itself. But all this hype only underscores the game’s level of success —Read More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Hardcore Binge Watcher… You can sense it: you’re binge watching some show, and along comes a story line that makes you say, “I’ve seen this before…” Because you have… in a half-dozen other series… in the past year. They’re plot twists relied on by TV writers since televisions actually had dials. They usually appear in seasons 2 or 3, but in shows without strong concepts (i.e., family sitcoms), they can appear midway through season 1. Let’s rattle off a few ofRead More