You really captured the individual spirits of each of those drivers. How fascinating. I had no idea that anything like this existed. Everyone involved deserves free bagels for life.
couldn't agree more - free bagels AND unlimited cream cheese for life. on a serious note, thank you for including their donation information - I'm clicking that link next.
So loved the profiles but what I really want to talk about is this AI art! I keep thinking it’s going to eventually put creatives out of work, but for now it’s MESMERIZING. I had the chance to mess around on Adobe the other day and wow. Seems like everything it creates is frighteningly good at first quick glance and yet when when you actually look at the parts, it’s like a bad acid trip. Like the microwave inferno! Or like the Buddha under a tree I asked for yesterday…. His face looked like it melted away and the tree, albeit beautiful and intricate, was growing out of (instead of?) his arm.
Maria it's so funny I feel the same! I said in the comments a few weeks ago, I feel we are in some golden age of AI art where it's both somewhat useful but also just "off" enough to be consistently hilarious. Soon it will be "improved"and thus not so much fun.
And I, too,worry about it putting creatives out of art while I am at the same time thrilled to have it as a resource to illustrate my newsletter.
I always tell myself that I'm safe, btw, bc no AI could ever create something like CAFÉ ANNE. But my past predictions have proven that I'm eventually wrong about just about everything so....
OMG I did recently ask it to write about something "in the style of Anne Kadet" and I have to say the result was just about the most annoying piece of prose I've ever read!
This was an educational essay and more importantly REAL FUN. I learned (1) we are very dependent upon volunteers and goodwill (2) made me look up the statistics in Minnesota. The numbers here are 88% of fire department positions are volunteer and 60% of EMS is volunteer -- wow! (3) I am going to resist signing up for generative art and keep that as free time – thx for letting me know what I am missing (4) 60 Wall Street should hire someone to maintain the flags (5) I would guess someone will spill a hot bowl of soup on the TV and their head shortly b/c they have to reach above their heads to use the microwave (6) Generative AI has a plan to kill us all by overeating (normalizing all of us to eat from 18" dinner plates). (7) I couldn't find Dick Cheney hiding in the Highlights picture.
Wow! What an inspiring group of people at the ambulance corps! That's tough. I appreciate your reporting on this. I'm sure that standard response time has gotten better for FDNY, and I'm equally sure that BSVAC makes a difference. And, I loved the AI generated version of 60 Wall--a favorite old haunt of mine. I think AI is stoked (pun intended) on homeless = trashcan fires, so the flames are everywhere. I wonder what the Dick Cheney connection is though...? I'll get back to you if I find a link. So far, Iike this rendition best.
Anita your interpretations of the 60 Wall Street rendering made me laugh out loud.
And yes, response times have fallen throughout the city. But the BSVAC folks told me response times in their neighborhood are lower than the surrounding communities, so they do make a difference. They are actually expanding soon to Brownsville, Crown Heights and East New York so they can help in those areas too!
Loved the interviews with the members of BSVAC. They must have stories for days. Reminds me of the volunteer firemen in NYC. I had no idea volunteer houses still existed. Everyone knows the FDNY but there are still volunteer firehouses scattered throughout the city that respond to regular calls https://vfanyc.org/
Oh wow I had no idea there were fire vollies but I just Googled and you're right, Justin. Most of them are in Queens—Rockaway, Broad Channel etc.—which sort of makes sense. Those areas are sort of like small towns.
On that last page of Vanity Fair mag--the Proust questionnaire--in response to "Who do you most admire?" writer Jackie Collins said, "First responders." That was the first time I paused to think about how amazing they are. TO ARRIVE FIRST AT AN EMERGENCY--terrifying! I so appreciate Antoine, Melissa, Amy, and all the other brave people out there who do it. Also, I love what Antoine's dad with his tragic experience of his niece's death. And I'm bowled over by the people who first signed up to help him. Heroes, already, just by showing up.
Wow Courtney I did not think of that. But yes, when you are the first to show up, it's just you and your team and an unknown, unpredictable situation—a scenario so many of us work so hard to AVOID!
I also share your admiration for people like Antoine's dad, who show up and make SOMETHING where before there was NOTHING.
What I also love is that we can ALL contribute in the same way, in our own way, in ways large and small.
YES, to all of this! Another thing that blew my mind is that Antoine's dad twice set up shop right where his niece's accident was. Clearly that was important to him.
What a GREAT interview. You make me want to research this type of organization where we live in Houston. If you know of any, or a way to research, please let me know.
I have liked several of the comments because they say what I would say, so I have tagged them instead. But great, great again, just great. What I have been waiting for hasn’t appeared in comments yet, so let it be me. The last few weeks have been a countdown of sorts to the big 100 next week. If Beeston Fields in Middle England was within a few hundred mile of NYC I’d be bringing you a box of Greek torpedoes (chocolate eclairs anywhere else) by way of a big big thank you for the 99 issues of Cafe Anne to date. Next Monday can’t come soon enough. I hope some of your NYC neighbours give you cake. aka Kevin 🐰
In truth I am a little confused about what issue we are on, haha. Different tracking systems I have say different things. So either next Monday is 100 or the one after that. Either way I will for sure be celebrating!!!!
I agree Will! I was telling a friend, I am so glad there are people who are not just wiling but ENJOY this sort of work. And doing it for free is just a whole 'nother level....
Anne, this story is super cool! It’s a perfect Cafe Anne story in that it has a small town vibe right in the heart the Big Apple. Also, it’s super cool to see a story about people doing good work to help their community! My hunch is we’ll see a NY Times feature story on this same topic in a few weeks.
Oh wow, thank you Michael. Yes, I definitely got a very family/community vibe hanging out at the base. And I LOVE the DIY approach to improving one's own neighborhood.
amazing!! i had a number of friends who got EMT certified in college, and i would go be their human doll to practice loading people on stretchers, CPR, etc. both being that knowledgeable about healthcare and also being able to stay cool in a crisis seems so hard!
And yes, these folks truly have to be amazing on a number of different fronts all at once. I, meanwhile, literally have trouble walking and maintaining a conversation at the same time.
Thank you for the article on BSVAC. As former EMS myself I really enjoyed that. I was volunteer in my home town in CT at the same time doing inner city in Hartford in the 1990’s during the gang wars.
You really captured the individual spirits of each of those drivers. How fascinating. I had no idea that anything like this existed. Everyone involved deserves free bagels for life.
Thank you Justin. Yes! Free bagels for life!
couldn't agree more - free bagels AND unlimited cream cheese for life. on a serious note, thank you for including their donation information - I'm clicking that link next.
Oh cool! So happy to hear that Amelia. Thank you!!
So loved the profiles but what I really want to talk about is this AI art! I keep thinking it’s going to eventually put creatives out of work, but for now it’s MESMERIZING. I had the chance to mess around on Adobe the other day and wow. Seems like everything it creates is frighteningly good at first quick glance and yet when when you actually look at the parts, it’s like a bad acid trip. Like the microwave inferno! Or like the Buddha under a tree I asked for yesterday…. His face looked like it melted away and the tree, albeit beautiful and intricate, was growing out of (instead of?) his arm.
Maria it's so funny I feel the same! I said in the comments a few weeks ago, I feel we are in some golden age of AI art where it's both somewhat useful but also just "off" enough to be consistently hilarious. Soon it will be "improved"and thus not so much fun.
And I, too,worry about it putting creatives out of art while I am at the same time thrilled to have it as a resource to illustrate my newsletter.
I always tell myself that I'm safe, btw, bc no AI could ever create something like CAFÉ ANNE. But my past predictions have proven that I'm eventually wrong about just about everything so....
Try having Chat write an issue for you ;)
OMG I did recently ask it to write about something "in the style of Anne Kadet" and I have to say the result was just about the most annoying piece of prose I've ever read!
Clearly that microwave is a portal to the demon inferno. Open it, I dare you...
Not going near that thing, Michael. My own microwave is scary enough!
This was an educational essay and more importantly REAL FUN. I learned (1) we are very dependent upon volunteers and goodwill (2) made me look up the statistics in Minnesota. The numbers here are 88% of fire department positions are volunteer and 60% of EMS is volunteer -- wow! (3) I am going to resist signing up for generative art and keep that as free time – thx for letting me know what I am missing (4) 60 Wall Street should hire someone to maintain the flags (5) I would guess someone will spill a hot bowl of soup on the TV and their head shortly b/c they have to reach above their heads to use the microwave (6) Generative AI has a plan to kill us all by overeating (normalizing all of us to eat from 18" dinner plates). (7) I couldn't find Dick Cheney hiding in the Highlights picture.
Haha I noticed that weird tattered flags too, Mark. What the heck?
I wish I could make out what they are all eating but the closer you zoom in the blurrier the food gets!
I would imagine the Dick Cheney character (wherever he is) must be eating a plate of something he shot -- maybe an elk?
I agree about the blurriness. Everything looks like images on an old Atari.
Wow! What an inspiring group of people at the ambulance corps! That's tough. I appreciate your reporting on this. I'm sure that standard response time has gotten better for FDNY, and I'm equally sure that BSVAC makes a difference. And, I loved the AI generated version of 60 Wall--a favorite old haunt of mine. I think AI is stoked (pun intended) on homeless = trashcan fires, so the flames are everywhere. I wonder what the Dick Cheney connection is though...? I'll get back to you if I find a link. So far, Iike this rendition best.
Anita your interpretations of the 60 Wall Street rendering made me laugh out loud.
And yes, response times have fallen throughout the city. But the BSVAC folks told me response times in their neighborhood are lower than the surrounding communities, so they do make a difference. They are actually expanding soon to Brownsville, Crown Heights and East New York so they can help in those areas too!
I think I found the connection https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/washington/20fire.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Loved the interviews with the members of BSVAC. They must have stories for days. Reminds me of the volunteer firemen in NYC. I had no idea volunteer houses still existed. Everyone knows the FDNY but there are still volunteer firehouses scattered throughout the city that respond to regular calls https://vfanyc.org/
Oh wow I had no idea there were fire vollies but I just Googled and you're right, Justin. Most of them are in Queens—Rockaway, Broad Channel etc.—which sort of makes sense. Those areas are sort of like small towns.
Yup! I bet not many people know they even exist but its very cool. There was even some drama about 10 years back when a Bronx volunteer company kept responding to calls even though they didn't have the proper equipment and training https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/city-order-frustrates-bronx-volunteer-squad/
That is an amazing story! Die-hards!
The volunteer EMS workers are truly inspirational. Thanks for sharing their story.
I found them inspiration too, Vicki. Thank you!
On that last page of Vanity Fair mag--the Proust questionnaire--in response to "Who do you most admire?" writer Jackie Collins said, "First responders." That was the first time I paused to think about how amazing they are. TO ARRIVE FIRST AT AN EMERGENCY--terrifying! I so appreciate Antoine, Melissa, Amy, and all the other brave people out there who do it. Also, I love what Antoine's dad with his tragic experience of his niece's death. And I'm bowled over by the people who first signed up to help him. Heroes, already, just by showing up.
Wow Courtney I did not think of that. But yes, when you are the first to show up, it's just you and your team and an unknown, unpredictable situation—a scenario so many of us work so hard to AVOID!
I also share your admiration for people like Antoine's dad, who show up and make SOMETHING where before there was NOTHING.
What I also love is that we can ALL contribute in the same way, in our own way, in ways large and small.
YES, to all of this! Another thing that blew my mind is that Antoine's dad twice set up shop right where his niece's accident was. Clearly that was important to him.
What a GREAT interview. You make me want to research this type of organization where we live in Houston. If you know of any, or a way to research, please let me know.
Thanks Lynn! I just did a quick Google search on "volunteer ambulance Houston" and a number of listings came up:
Houston Hatzalah: https://www.houstonhatzalah.org/about/
Harris County Emergency Corp (they take volunteers) https://hcec.com/
Harris County ESD (also takes volunteers) https://www.hcesd48.org/volunteer/
I have liked several of the comments because they say what I would say, so I have tagged them instead. But great, great again, just great. What I have been waiting for hasn’t appeared in comments yet, so let it be me. The last few weeks have been a countdown of sorts to the big 100 next week. If Beeston Fields in Middle England was within a few hundred mile of NYC I’d be bringing you a box of Greek torpedoes (chocolate eclairs anywhere else) by way of a big big thank you for the 99 issues of Cafe Anne to date. Next Monday can’t come soon enough. I hope some of your NYC neighbours give you cake. aka Kevin 🐰
Awwww thank you AKA Kevin! So sweet!
In truth I am a little confused about what issue we are on, haha. Different tracking systems I have say different things. So either next Monday is 100 or the one after that. Either way I will for sure be celebrating!!!!
That was a very good piece on the ambulance service in Brooklyn. They are doing a great job!!
Thanks Irene. I agree!
Inspiring piece, Anne! Also: I loved ‘Items of interest!”
Yay! Thank you Jolene!
Thank you for such an surprising and inspiring article. Where would we be without people like this?
I agree Will! I was telling a friend, I am so glad there are people who are not just wiling but ENJOY this sort of work. And doing it for free is just a whole 'nother level....
Anne, this story is super cool! It’s a perfect Cafe Anne story in that it has a small town vibe right in the heart the Big Apple. Also, it’s super cool to see a story about people doing good work to help their community! My hunch is we’ll see a NY Times feature story on this same topic in a few weeks.
Oh wow, thank you Michael. Yes, I definitely got a very family/community vibe hanging out at the base. And I LOVE the DIY approach to improving one's own neighborhood.
Haha the NYT is ON IT for sure!
amazing!! i had a number of friends who got EMT certified in college, and i would go be their human doll to practice loading people on stretchers, CPR, etc. both being that knowledgeable about healthcare and also being able to stay cool in a crisis seems so hard!
Oh my goodness that sounds like so much Megan!
And yes, these folks truly have to be amazing on a number of different fronts all at once. I, meanwhile, literally have trouble walking and maintaining a conversation at the same time.
Thank you for the article on BSVAC. As former EMS myself I really enjoyed that. I was volunteer in my home town in CT at the same time doing inner city in Hartford in the 1990’s during the gang wars.
Wow. But somehow I am not surprised to hear this about you!
Thank you for the recommendation!! I appreciate your thoughtfulness
Happy to! It really is one of my favorite Substacks!
LOL