I think you’re a little too hard on yourself, (but of course that comes with the territory of any kind of creative endeavor). I thought the voiceover was very good – I enjoyed listening even after reading the piece first. I kept imagining I was listening to a segment of This American Life, maybe for an episode titled “A Man Walks Into a Bar” !
Just my tiny thought on AI- it’s an algorithm trained on information already in existence. Some humans (even ones I know) are capable of creating new & fresh insights on the world (particularly if they’re out & about with other humans) which AI will most likely fail at due to inaccurate existing data (garbage in/garbage out) and lack of HUMAN emotions & experiences. Like the words that my apple message THINKS I will use next (WRONG). Or auto-spell that makes my messages unreadable.
Granted, the technology will get better- but in the end- it’s all an algorithm based in the past- because the future hasn’t happened yet- and humans can “sometimes” be unpredictable- like that serial killer that let a victim live because of a random thing she said 🤔 Or Americans electing trump because they thought he was a good businessman 🙄- sorry guys- I knew THAT before 2015- he bankrupted a CASINO (who does that????)
You had me at “maybe I was only semi-disgusting. Chocolate cream cheese.” No seriously this was goddamn fantastic and I hope (sorry) that more phony spiritualists yell at you so we can get great writing in return ❤️
Tis a scary time. My job totally AI or offshored possible. My personal life shit. My finances pitiful. Don’t worry about voice over so much. Just write.
Haven't listened to the voiceover, but wasn't bored at all. I was expecting funny but got honesty. I think about the pressure for you to be funny all the time. Work like this reminds me how human we all are. The meanest thing someone said to me recently on Substack notes when I shared how sleep-deprived I was was, “Gosh, this reeks of a new parent.”It made me sad a little I responded, 'You should smell how bad the rest of my writing is.' Wish I had a better comeback.
This same situation is happening in many countries around the world. My son told me about South Korea and Japan, who are actively recruiting workers from Southeast Asia to work in their countries. They teach them the language and pay them well and they can help support their families back home. I met a friend of my family member who is doing this here in the USA after paying a lot of money to get the opportunity. These are legal immigrants filling jobs that need to be filled. I don’t have any answers but yelling at you isn’t one of them.
1. Nope, not bored. I liked this one as it sounds like you-and without the “need to be funny” armor you usually wear.
2. I like both! Do what you feel suits you best! In person probably beats both. I’d love to come see you perform sometime.
3. It’s not hard to get angry responses online to almost anything, and I don’t have enough of a thick skin to write anything online that I expect would get more than its share of ratio. But I left Twitter/X a long time ago. Threads is much better, but please don’t yell at me, anywhere. Love ya, Alex. Keep going!
I am a bit surprised I read the whole thing. You have a compelling voice. You are funny. And I do believe there is a message in there somewhere. Keep it coming.
Was not bored at all … in fact I kind of liked the way it rambled all over the place and you didn’t try too hard to prove any one point. That was fun. I’m not generally an audio guy (I can read faster and I’m impatient), but I listened to a couple minutes and my comment is, no, you didn’t sound too gay (I think that’s the way you asked it). You sounded like you could be gay, in the way that Ezra Klein does, but it’s not certain and it in now way colored what I thought of the narration. (Oh shit, did I step in it? You asked what I took to be an honest question and this is my honest answer.) Your last question—did anybody say anything really mean to me—well, I just can’t remember, but I would say they probably did but I’m so damned impervious to criticism that I just laughed it off. This may sound like a good quality but sometimes it’s not. Wait: in 5th grade, Lynn Baribeau told me I walked like a girl. That stuck with me for years … but it’s not true, dammit!
I’m all for a global economy. It’s strange we don’t understand that would benefit us all. More rich people around the world means more people who can spend money around the world which means the global economy keeps getting bigger. (And people’s lives get better!)
Also still funny! Though I think the short and tall person story was a better hook to the angle than the jaded twitter replies (which are just obviously silly and not really connected to the issue you are discussing here) plus that story had more of the kind of comedic interactions I’ve come to love from your work!
I love the voice over! I drifted a little and though the pace was just right I would have liked headers or emphatic points to help track my place. I once had a psychiatric patient on the acute ward (i.e., psychotic) call me "bootilicious" and when other staff chastised her, she defended "She knows!"
I think you are too hard on yourself. I loved the piece as it was incredibly honest, well-written, thought-provoking and humorous...."chocolate cream cheese"...very clever.
The meanest thing that anyone ever said to me was, Stewart Skolnick, my boyfriend at the time, said, "No matter how much weight you lose, you'll never have a good figure." Years later, we reconnected, and he said he did not remember saying that, but apologized, and, he was now gay.
"We’re all nervous about an election where there is no good outcome," (!)
hold up there, man. We are all nervous about an election IF the fascist, criminal wins. If Joe Biden wins, we have another short spate of resting very briefly until the next Republican candidate threatens democracy again.
I think you’re a little too hard on yourself, (but of course that comes with the territory of any kind of creative endeavor). I thought the voiceover was very good – I enjoyed listening even after reading the piece first. I kept imagining I was listening to a segment of This American Life, maybe for an episode titled “A Man Walks Into a Bar” !
Just my tiny thought on AI- it’s an algorithm trained on information already in existence. Some humans (even ones I know) are capable of creating new & fresh insights on the world (particularly if they’re out & about with other humans) which AI will most likely fail at due to inaccurate existing data (garbage in/garbage out) and lack of HUMAN emotions & experiences. Like the words that my apple message THINKS I will use next (WRONG). Or auto-spell that makes my messages unreadable.
Granted, the technology will get better- but in the end- it’s all an algorithm based in the past- because the future hasn’t happened yet- and humans can “sometimes” be unpredictable- like that serial killer that let a victim live because of a random thing she said 🤔 Or Americans electing trump because they thought he was a good businessman 🙄- sorry guys- I knew THAT before 2015- he bankrupted a CASINO (who does that????)
Anywhoooo- I’m hoping I’m not wrong.
You had me at “maybe I was only semi-disgusting. Chocolate cream cheese.” No seriously this was goddamn fantastic and I hope (sorry) that more phony spiritualists yell at you so we can get great writing in return ❤️
My first read from you and really enjoyed it. Smart and funny
Tis a scary time. My job totally AI or offshored possible. My personal life shit. My finances pitiful. Don’t worry about voice over so much. Just write.
Still funny. I don't know how I found you, but I've enjoyed everything I've read. Thanks!
Haven't listened to the voiceover, but wasn't bored at all. I was expecting funny but got honesty. I think about the pressure for you to be funny all the time. Work like this reminds me how human we all are. The meanest thing someone said to me recently on Substack notes when I shared how sleep-deprived I was was, “Gosh, this reeks of a new parent.”It made me sad a little I responded, 'You should smell how bad the rest of my writing is.' Wish I had a better comeback.
Enjoyed!!
This same situation is happening in many countries around the world. My son told me about South Korea and Japan, who are actively recruiting workers from Southeast Asia to work in their countries. They teach them the language and pay them well and they can help support their families back home. I met a friend of my family member who is doing this here in the USA after paying a lot of money to get the opportunity. These are legal immigrants filling jobs that need to be filled. I don’t have any answers but yelling at you isn’t one of them.
1. Nope, not bored. I liked this one as it sounds like you-and without the “need to be funny” armor you usually wear.
2. I like both! Do what you feel suits you best! In person probably beats both. I’d love to come see you perform sometime.
3. It’s not hard to get angry responses online to almost anything, and I don’t have enough of a thick skin to write anything online that I expect would get more than its share of ratio. But I left Twitter/X a long time ago. Threads is much better, but please don’t yell at me, anywhere. Love ya, Alex. Keep going!
I am a bit surprised I read the whole thing. You have a compelling voice. You are funny. And I do believe there is a message in there somewhere. Keep it coming.
Was not bored at all … in fact I kind of liked the way it rambled all over the place and you didn’t try too hard to prove any one point. That was fun. I’m not generally an audio guy (I can read faster and I’m impatient), but I listened to a couple minutes and my comment is, no, you didn’t sound too gay (I think that’s the way you asked it). You sounded like you could be gay, in the way that Ezra Klein does, but it’s not certain and it in now way colored what I thought of the narration. (Oh shit, did I step in it? You asked what I took to be an honest question and this is my honest answer.) Your last question—did anybody say anything really mean to me—well, I just can’t remember, but I would say they probably did but I’m so damned impervious to criticism that I just laughed it off. This may sound like a good quality but sometimes it’s not. Wait: in 5th grade, Lynn Baribeau told me I walked like a girl. That stuck with me for years … but it’s not true, dammit!
I’m all for a global economy. It’s strange we don’t understand that would benefit us all. More rich people around the world means more people who can spend money around the world which means the global economy keeps getting bigger. (And people’s lives get better!)
Also still funny! Though I think the short and tall person story was a better hook to the angle than the jaded twitter replies (which are just obviously silly and not really connected to the issue you are discussing here) plus that story had more of the kind of comedic interactions I’ve come to love from your work!
I love the voice over! I drifted a little and though the pace was just right I would have liked headers or emphatic points to help track my place. I once had a psychiatric patient on the acute ward (i.e., psychotic) call me "bootilicious" and when other staff chastised her, she defended "She knows!"
I think you are too hard on yourself. I loved the piece as it was incredibly honest, well-written, thought-provoking and humorous...."chocolate cream cheese"...very clever.
The meanest thing that anyone ever said to me was, Stewart Skolnick, my boyfriend at the time, said, "No matter how much weight you lose, you'll never have a good figure." Years later, we reconnected, and he said he did not remember saying that, but apologized, and, he was now gay.
"We’re all nervous about an election where there is no good outcome," (!)
hold up there, man. We are all nervous about an election IF the fascist, criminal wins. If Joe Biden wins, we have another short spate of resting very briefly until the next Republican candidate threatens democracy again.