I'm so excited to know -- sorry, my phone just buzzed. Hold on a second! -- that I'm not only one who -- ooh, my turn to play Scrabble. Be right back -- who tends to wear the same -- oh, gosh, I totally realized I never checked the CU Buffs score yesterday. Yay, they won! -- now where was I? Oh, yeah, I totally think multitasking is terrible!
“I’ve conducted many experiments on myself over the years in hopes of finding a better way to do everything.” I LOVE the illustration!!
OMG!! I do that every day!!! For example, shaving. I started shaving my upper lip in 7th grade. I was shaving my entire face by 9th grade. I have been conducting experiments-in-shaving, daily, for at least 55 years. Changing razors, using two or more razors at a time, changing shave creams and gels, using a brush, changing the sequence of where to start (under the neck, above the jaw?? So many permutations!), going against the grain to begin or going with the grain and THEN going against the grain and, heaven forbid, I give in to the sin of sloth and use an electric razor (wet or dry??). Right now I have 5 razors lined up on the counter and foam and gel; I bought a small silicone facial scrubber that I apply a dollop of Anthony Logistics Shave Gel, AFTER wetting my face; every time I think I have it figured out, I don’t. And that just my experiment with shaving!!!
Yessss I’m all about 30 day experiments!! Random acts of kindness | mini art projects | doing something that scares me | submitting a new review daily on google maps and of course my fun practice come to mind!
I did RAKS for a month and it felt great. But also took quite a bit of energy and planning to keep it varied!
I might make doing something that scares me my next experiment just because it sounds so fun. Did you make this a daily thing? That might be hard to pull off...
Yes daily! I’d been saving up a list of things for quite some time. It didnt have to be like skydiving scary though. Could be as simple as trying a new workout class or asking a difficult question of a family member
Oh that's a good idea to save up over time! Will do that. Then it will be organic and not just stunts. Actual things I actually want to do but did not because fear. Thank you!
I took all social media apps off my phone as an experiment, to see if only checking them on my laptop would reduce my usage. It did! And it stuck, OKAY FINE except for TikTok. Look, sometimes I need to scroll through five hours of skateboarding dogs and dancing toddlers. I’m only human!
Anne you say in today’s Cafe Anne post that ‘Somewhere between solitary confinement and a blurry life of fragmentation and distraction, there’s an ideal balance’ and you are experimenting with ‘one thing at a time.’
The good news is that it works for me and has done so for sixty years. I live a life of serial priorities. I was reading Cafe Anne and I saw what you said, but I continued reading, only now can I offer this advice: now that you have found the answer stop looking. OLO Bunny aka Kevin 🐰
"Serial priorities"...I like that idea in general very much!
Also interesting that you finished the issue before commenting rather than interrupting the read. It's helping me realize that even within one task, it's possible to multi-task!
Oh no, I led you astray! Maybe the obwarzanek was just a little too authentic for the PGI enforcers and they shut them down.
Eric Adams Watch never disappoints. Has me rethinking my negative take on dining sheds.
Also, Cameo is the best. I've gotten cameos from competitive eater, Badlands Chugs and Oompa-Loompa Deep Roy - two of the greatest gifts I have ever given. I'm surprised you've never interviewed the Green Lady!
Sorry Anne, but the Cameo story is a downer. The only thing I can do with it is to make up my own greetings: Half-Man Half Amazing: "Yo what's up, Judge, what's goin’ on. Still making comments on Café Anne??!! Man those comments mid!! You Ham, man!! Here’s what you do homie; get yo-sef a couple 40s of Colt 45 and a pack of menthols before yo comments…that getchoo game back plus sum rizz!! Be ballin’ some Turkey with yo at gramma’s in a couple months…luv me some stuffing!! yo, yo, yo, Atomic Dog! https://youtu.be/LMVZ36VA0wg?si=rjmIUicEAF6Fo6J6
“I was recently the last person on earth to learn of Cameo…”
Being exposed to Cameo, or “Digital Panhandling,” just increased my self-esteem; I’ve been in desperate straits at various times in my life, but I was never ready to join the Cameo Club for washed-up-has-beens, people trying to stretch their 30 minutes of fame and the never-was and never-will-be's. I mean standing with a hand-drawn cardboard sign at the exit from a mall parking lot has more dignity. Cameo is the PERFECT ending for Rudy, though. Luke Manly and the Green Lady seem nice enough, though. Too much Naked Cowboy...isn't his 15 minutes up yet??
No multitasking-- that’s essentially the same as saying you’d like to live like it’s 1975 again. I’m in. I miss the simpler days when a phone had a cord. I’ve never been a multi tasker-- I think it’s an ADD thing. I get hyper focused. Good for writing.
As for the empty sandwich place I wonder if it’s a mafia front. I have a friend who worked at a “bagel store” on Staten Island as a teen and often heard the sounds of groans and human flesh being punched in the back room. The owners warned my friend not to burn the bagels. He quit soon after using whatever excuse he could muster.
CK that is a good point! I've noticed since starting this experiment that nearly all my multi-tasking had involved some sort of digital device. Until recently, texting while doing the dishes wasn't even a possibility!
Your story about the bagel store on Staten Island is oddly hilarious, esp. the owner's warning.
I gave up multi tasking years ago. I found that it took twice as long to multi task, as I wanted to give each activity the proper amount of detail it needed while doing them both simultaneously. So now I only do one thing at a time. Walking while having a phone conversation is particularly dangerous in New York as you can't hear people sneaking up behind you. So if you need to start running away, you won't have a head start.
As for Cameo, do they choose the personalities? If so, that takes a lot of time to track down all of those listed. It is a strange world out there and it seems to only be getting stranger. Do you think that AI will be part of Cameo's list? I bet that AI could come up with some great birthday messages.
As for personal experiments, the ancient Greeks said "Moderation in all Things", which seems to make sense to me. Of course, the ancient Greeks are no longer with us. It still seems to be a good rule of thumb to follow. Irene
HI Irene! It's great to hear about your experience with not multi-tasking, and that you've kept it up for two decades. What a great example!
It seems pretty clear that some of the personalities on Cameo were invited to join the platform. What I'm not clear about is if anyone can join, or if they screen you based on the size of your existing social media following. I might try to join just to test it out!
well you are in luck im actually doing something today so won't go loco like last week not that i regret it in the least....but a few items bear more scrutiny here and btw i texted the mayor and asked if he would make me an honorary "New Yorker" so i can participate in your roundup for the anniversary otherwise if he fails to respond i suggest if i can perform mano a mano a karaoke version of Tom Waits' "Fannin Street" vs. "Aharon" and carry it off more realistically that i be given a wildcard.....other than that i totally agree that wearing the same thing every day cuts down on alot of multi-tasking distraction but that gets me back to why im busy: building a shower ! so i dont smell the same every day...so i guess there we must part ways. amicably i trust
ps can we see a picture of "the dog"?
also i hope in no way i am responsible for building on the RISDI thing with Forrest's mistaken geographical indicator and causing any legal problems with you and "Aharon"
i guess this ends my 10 minutes oif substack fame but my agent says a class action lawsuit on behalf of the 'friends" of Appleton King may keep things interesting
holy shit!!! the mayor just texted back:
"mention the meat-suit again and you sleep with the fishes, rats are too good for you.."
Wow so many layers to this comment, Mr. King. Please let me know if you hear back from the Mayor.
I am hoping to never post photos of the dog on Substack. I also don't post photos of the dog on Facebook.
Good luck with your shower project. One paragraph I deleted from this week's post, because it was getting too long, was about how I once experimented with continuing to shower, but not using any soap or shampoo. After all, the dog only got a shampoo a few times a year and seemed to smell fine. This "logic" however, did not pan out.
Truisms of our modern world (1) the internet is forever (2) Google can answer almost any question with authority (3) Minnie lives! 10/21/21, 07/04/22 -- your experiments are FANTASTIC
the only real lawsuit you need be concerned with other than the meat one Adams is the one i hit you with when i saw this checking phone after one of my frequent nocturnal visits outside to heed natures call (neglected to tell Anne that theres a toilet missing here too) and clicked link and laughed hard enough to know i should have stayed outside a wee bit longer...btw you can't do that kind of thing in NYC unless i assume its in the vicinity of
(1) I have a vested interest to solve the Obwarzanek riddle and having you on the case (and not multi-tasking) makes me confident in the future. While it is a grand jump I think if SM existed in the 13th Century in Poland, we would refer to Polish baked goods inspired by Jewish traditions to be fusion baking. Poles sweeten everything and butter and sour cream come along for the ride. A great example is the wonder of challah bread and the less known Polish take chalka.
(2) My FAVORITE thing in this great issue is the Anna Wintour picture with the Mayor. She is wearing a couture dress and Adams has what look like iron-on patches on his elbows like something out of a craft store. Awesome!!!!!!!!!! If you had taken this picture, maybe that phone on the back counter was Adam's and you could have subtly grabbed it and later returned it for a reward??? A Cafe Anne sharing message threads could lead to our heads exploding!
1) The Poles were (are?) really onto something there!
2) Wowza sharp eye there, Mr. Dolan, spotting those weird elbow patches (the buttons are also odd). I did a Google search. It was for Fashion Week, of course, and it seems the NYT also spotted it:
"On Thursday evening, Mayor Eric Adams walked into a dining room at Gracie Mansion wearing a bright red blazer with polka-dot elbow patches.
“I just love this color,” he said, continuing, “I just pick out of the closet whatever my mood is.” (He didn’t know where he got the jacket from.)"
He also apparently wore it to a fundraiser hosted by John Catsimatides, the grocery store billionaire I interviewed last spring!
Now we are getting somewhere. Since you made such a favorable impression on Cats maybe you can get invited to the next fundraiser with the AI-generated Mayor!!! Now that would be a scoop! When I saw the picture, I immediately thought of the absurd man dressed up on 4th of July in Staten Island for the Hot Dog gorging. I am guessing Anna Wintour doesn't frequent the competitive eating scene though.
As for the Poles...since you've shared your near obsession with doughnuts of all sorts, I would be interested in your expert tastebuds weighing in on Polish Doughnuts (Paczki) and how they compare to your NYC favorites. In deference to my new attention to keeping my posts closer to 1000 words, my post about "A Bad Peach" did not get into the Polish Doughnut thing -- surely a favorite of my grandmother nevertheless.
I feel an urge to add the mayor to a really annoying group chat
“When critics malign the city’s move to make pandemic-era outdoor dining sheds permanent, the Mayor suggests a possible side benefit…”
I can’t find fault there. A mayor should be a promoter. As for texting the mayor, what do you win?
JRB he said the first people to text him would get "a voice memo, as a thank you" but no word on what that entailed or if he came through...
He'd be the one replying to every post with a dozen emoticons, I'm sure!
I'm so excited to know -- sorry, my phone just buzzed. Hold on a second! -- that I'm not only one who -- ooh, my turn to play Scrabble. Be right back -- who tends to wear the same -- oh, gosh, I totally realized I never checked the CU Buffs score yesterday. Yay, they won! -- now where was I? Oh, yeah, I totally think multitasking is terrible!
LOL that's about exactly how it feels Michael!
Michael -- multi-tasking is one of my FAVORITE SUBJECTS -- this was EXCELLENT.
Hehehe.
Well-played!!
“I’ve conducted many experiments on myself over the years in hopes of finding a better way to do everything.” I LOVE the illustration!!
OMG!! I do that every day!!! For example, shaving. I started shaving my upper lip in 7th grade. I was shaving my entire face by 9th grade. I have been conducting experiments-in-shaving, daily, for at least 55 years. Changing razors, using two or more razors at a time, changing shave creams and gels, using a brush, changing the sequence of where to start (under the neck, above the jaw?? So many permutations!), going against the grain to begin or going with the grain and THEN going against the grain and, heaven forbid, I give in to the sin of sloth and use an electric razor (wet or dry??). Right now I have 5 razors lined up on the counter and foam and gel; I bought a small silicone facial scrubber that I apply a dollop of Anthony Logistics Shave Gel, AFTER wetting my face; every time I think I have it figured out, I don’t. And that just my experiment with shaving!!!
LOL That's quite a scene you painted JRB. I am praying for you, that figure it out, in your 70s.
I'm glad you love the illustration. Ms. Yoo is a fellow substacker, of course
Thanks so much for the illustration love!
You captured Anne perfectly!! It brightened the newsletter and my day. Thank you!
Aww you are making my day! Thank YOU!
Yessss I’m all about 30 day experiments!! Random acts of kindness | mini art projects | doing something that scares me | submitting a new review daily on google maps and of course my fun practice come to mind!
Oh I love the Google maps idea especially!
I did RAKS for a month and it felt great. But also took quite a bit of energy and planning to keep it varied!
I might make doing something that scares me my next experiment just because it sounds so fun. Did you make this a daily thing? That might be hard to pull off...
Yes daily! I’d been saving up a list of things for quite some time. It didnt have to be like skydiving scary though. Could be as simple as trying a new workout class or asking a difficult question of a family member
Oh that's a good idea to save up over time! Will do that. Then it will be organic and not just stunts. Actual things I actually want to do but did not because fear. Thank you!
The funny thing is, once you start making a list, you’ll see how obviously NOT scary most of the things are 😂
I took all social media apps off my phone as an experiment, to see if only checking them on my laptop would reduce my usage. It did! And it stuck, OKAY FINE except for TikTok. Look, sometimes I need to scroll through five hours of skateboarding dogs and dancing toddlers. I’m only human!
Tina those little tricks can be so helpful! I try to limit certain activities to certain devices to keep the multitasking to a minimum.
So funny your TitkTok feed is skateboard dogs and dancing toddlers. You must be a happy person!
He/she who is without sin, cast the first stone...then post the video.
Anne you say in today’s Cafe Anne post that ‘Somewhere between solitary confinement and a blurry life of fragmentation and distraction, there’s an ideal balance’ and you are experimenting with ‘one thing at a time.’
The good news is that it works for me and has done so for sixty years. I live a life of serial priorities. I was reading Cafe Anne and I saw what you said, but I continued reading, only now can I offer this advice: now that you have found the answer stop looking. OLO Bunny aka Kevin 🐰
AKA KEVIN!
"Serial priorities"...I like that idea in general very much!
Also interesting that you finished the issue before commenting rather than interrupting the read. It's helping me realize that even within one task, it's possible to multi-task!
Oh no, I led you astray! Maybe the obwarzanek was just a little too authentic for the PGI enforcers and they shut them down.
Eric Adams Watch never disappoints. Has me rethinking my negative take on dining sheds.
Also, Cameo is the best. I've gotten cameos from competitive eater, Badlands Chugs and Oompa-Loompa Deep Roy - two of the greatest gifts I have ever given. I'm surprised you've never interviewed the Green Lady!
That's so great you've ordered up those Cameos Rob. It really is a great gift and for cheap in many cases!
I would totally love to interview the Green Lady except everyone else has already interviewed the Green Lady. Which makes her CAFÉ ANNE off limits!
Oh, that's a good point! Maybe Luke Manley instead?
Sorry Anne, but the Cameo story is a downer. The only thing I can do with it is to make up my own greetings: Half-Man Half Amazing: "Yo what's up, Judge, what's goin’ on. Still making comments on Café Anne??!! Man those comments mid!! You Ham, man!! Here’s what you do homie; get yo-sef a couple 40s of Colt 45 and a pack of menthols before yo comments…that getchoo game back plus sum rizz!! Be ballin’ some Turkey with yo at gramma’s in a couple months…luv me some stuffing!! yo, yo, yo, Atomic Dog! https://youtu.be/LMVZ36VA0wg?si=rjmIUicEAF6Fo6J6
“I was recently the last person on earth to learn of Cameo…”
Being exposed to Cameo, or “Digital Panhandling,” just increased my self-esteem; I’ve been in desperate straits at various times in my life, but I was never ready to join the Cameo Club for washed-up-has-beens, people trying to stretch their 30 minutes of fame and the never-was and never-will-be's. I mean standing with a hand-drawn cardboard sign at the exit from a mall parking lot has more dignity. Cameo is the PERFECT ending for Rudy, though. Luke Manly and the Green Lady seem nice enough, though. Too much Naked Cowboy...isn't his 15 minutes up yet??
I have mixed feelings about Cameo. Like many things on the internets, it is both wonderful and not.
Naked Cowboy is forever!
OMG, I didn't know the Green Lady of Brooklyn had a Cameo! And *of course* the proceeds go to charity, she is just the purest being on earth. <3
Emily I agree she does seem like the real deal. I wish so much I could interview her but everyone else already has. Maybe this does not matter!
You could take her on one of your patented Anne Adventures! Or maybe just for tea. I volunteer to assist.
Oh I love the idea of taking her out!
"Hot Off the Press: A Boatload of Nonsense!" 😂🤣😂🤣
So true.... but very important NONSENSE!🙏
Only the Most Important, High Quality, Top Shelf, Significant and Essential Nonsense!
Indeed.. 🙏 INDEED!
No multitasking-- that’s essentially the same as saying you’d like to live like it’s 1975 again. I’m in. I miss the simpler days when a phone had a cord. I’ve never been a multi tasker-- I think it’s an ADD thing. I get hyper focused. Good for writing.
As for the empty sandwich place I wonder if it’s a mafia front. I have a friend who worked at a “bagel store” on Staten Island as a teen and often heard the sounds of groans and human flesh being punched in the back room. The owners warned my friend not to burn the bagels. He quit soon after using whatever excuse he could muster.
CK that is a good point! I've noticed since starting this experiment that nearly all my multi-tasking had involved some sort of digital device. Until recently, texting while doing the dishes wasn't even a possibility!
Your story about the bagel store on Staten Island is oddly hilarious, esp. the owner's warning.
I gave up multi tasking years ago. I found that it took twice as long to multi task, as I wanted to give each activity the proper amount of detail it needed while doing them both simultaneously. So now I only do one thing at a time. Walking while having a phone conversation is particularly dangerous in New York as you can't hear people sneaking up behind you. So if you need to start running away, you won't have a head start.
As for Cameo, do they choose the personalities? If so, that takes a lot of time to track down all of those listed. It is a strange world out there and it seems to only be getting stranger. Do you think that AI will be part of Cameo's list? I bet that AI could come up with some great birthday messages.
As for personal experiments, the ancient Greeks said "Moderation in all Things", which seems to make sense to me. Of course, the ancient Greeks are no longer with us. It still seems to be a good rule of thumb to follow. Irene
HI Irene! It's great to hear about your experience with not multi-tasking, and that you've kept it up for two decades. What a great example!
It seems pretty clear that some of the personalities on Cameo were invited to join the platform. What I'm not clear about is if anyone can join, or if they screen you based on the size of your existing social media following. I might try to join just to test it out!
Yes, do that and let me know if they want comforting Grandma aged types!
Ooo I love these experiments! I’m really excited to hear how the No-multitasking one goes. I think it’ll be amazing!
Also- I saw the Mayor/Anna heart photo and wondered if it would make an appearance on Café Anne! It’s just too perfect for your Mayor watch series!
ugh, the mayor’s voicemail has been changed to some prerecorded bot message. i want to hear him say he’s getting STUFF DONE!
Dern...I'm calling now...
Ah! Eric's busy getting stuff done message is still running—you just have to get past the bot!
omg you’re right!! what a delight
List the STUFF:
Hahahaha
“Aharon, of course, immediately threatened to sue.”
Well, if Aharon’s case comes before this Judge, I think he’s gonna win.
well you are in luck im actually doing something today so won't go loco like last week not that i regret it in the least....but a few items bear more scrutiny here and btw i texted the mayor and asked if he would make me an honorary "New Yorker" so i can participate in your roundup for the anniversary otherwise if he fails to respond i suggest if i can perform mano a mano a karaoke version of Tom Waits' "Fannin Street" vs. "Aharon" and carry it off more realistically that i be given a wildcard.....other than that i totally agree that wearing the same thing every day cuts down on alot of multi-tasking distraction but that gets me back to why im busy: building a shower ! so i dont smell the same every day...so i guess there we must part ways. amicably i trust
ps can we see a picture of "the dog"?
also i hope in no way i am responsible for building on the RISDI thing with Forrest's mistaken geographical indicator and causing any legal problems with you and "Aharon"
i guess this ends my 10 minutes oif substack fame but my agent says a class action lawsuit on behalf of the 'friends" of Appleton King may keep things interesting
holy shit!!! the mayor just texted back:
"mention the meat-suit again and you sleep with the fishes, rats are too good for you.."
Wow so many layers to this comment, Mr. King. Please let me know if you hear back from the Mayor.
I am hoping to never post photos of the dog on Substack. I also don't post photos of the dog on Facebook.
Good luck with your shower project. One paragraph I deleted from this week's post, because it was getting too long, was about how I once experimented with continuing to shower, but not using any soap or shampoo. After all, the dog only got a shampoo a few times a year and seemed to smell fine. This "logic" however, did not pan out.
haha btw what is "facebook"?
Good question!!!
Truisms of our modern world (1) the internet is forever (2) Google can answer almost any question with authority (3) Minnie lives! 10/21/21, 07/04/22 -- your experiments are FANTASTIC
the dog:
https://cdn.openart.ai/stable_diffusion/df1f3c766814ccdecc5462ba3011d4c5eebf0145_2000x2000.webp
you'll hear about the rest from my lawyer
the only real lawsuit you need be concerned with other than the meat one Adams is the one i hit you with when i saw this checking phone after one of my frequent nocturnal visits outside to heed natures call (neglected to tell Anne that theres a toilet missing here too) and clicked link and laughed hard enough to know i should have stayed outside a wee bit longer...btw you can't do that kind of thing in NYC unless i assume its in the vicinity of
Fannin St. ?
OMG that looks just like Minnie I am freaking out!
(1) I have a vested interest to solve the Obwarzanek riddle and having you on the case (and not multi-tasking) makes me confident in the future. While it is a grand jump I think if SM existed in the 13th Century in Poland, we would refer to Polish baked goods inspired by Jewish traditions to be fusion baking. Poles sweeten everything and butter and sour cream come along for the ride. A great example is the wonder of challah bread and the less known Polish take chalka.
(2) My FAVORITE thing in this great issue is the Anna Wintour picture with the Mayor. She is wearing a couture dress and Adams has what look like iron-on patches on his elbows like something out of a craft store. Awesome!!!!!!!!!! If you had taken this picture, maybe that phone on the back counter was Adam's and you could have subtly grabbed it and later returned it for a reward??? A Cafe Anne sharing message threads could lead to our heads exploding!
1) The Poles were (are?) really onto something there!
2) Wowza sharp eye there, Mr. Dolan, spotting those weird elbow patches (the buttons are also odd). I did a Google search. It was for Fashion Week, of course, and it seems the NYT also spotted it:
"On Thursday evening, Mayor Eric Adams walked into a dining room at Gracie Mansion wearing a bright red blazer with polka-dot elbow patches.
“I just love this color,” he said, continuing, “I just pick out of the closet whatever my mood is.” (He didn’t know where he got the jacket from.)"
He also apparently wore it to a fundraiser hosted by John Catsimatides, the grocery store billionaire I interviewed last spring!
Now we are getting somewhere. Since you made such a favorable impression on Cats maybe you can get invited to the next fundraiser with the AI-generated Mayor!!! Now that would be a scoop! When I saw the picture, I immediately thought of the absurd man dressed up on 4th of July in Staten Island for the Hot Dog gorging. I am guessing Anna Wintour doesn't frequent the competitive eating scene though.
As for the Poles...since you've shared your near obsession with doughnuts of all sorts, I would be interested in your expert tastebuds weighing in on Polish Doughnuts (Paczki) and how they compare to your NYC favorites. In deference to my new attention to keeping my posts closer to 1000 words, my post about "A Bad Peach" did not get into the Polish Doughnut thing -- surely a favorite of my grandmother nevertheless.