Episodes
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In the latest episode of Day Drinking on Delmarva, hosts Tony Russo and Todd DeHart delved into the intricacies of their working relationship, shedding light on the dynamics behind their successful podcast collaboration.
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Like any writer, AI is only as good as the person who makes sure its stories make sense.
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Missing episodes?
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In this week’s episode, Todd and Tony talk about the continued need for at least acknowledging video and maybe making some. This is especially true for small businesses that don’t want to get bullied lower on search results.
Plus, Tony has started hosting “The PinesCast” an interview show and the only official podcast of Ocean Pines.
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Delmar takes out the trash, Todd takes a dancefloor spill, and a Delmarva Shorebirds promise.
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This week we talk shoulder seasons, GenX empty-nesters, and how AI may open opportunities for people who make their own stuff.
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This week we discuss Spring Celebration in Berlin and beyond.
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In this episode, Todd DeHart and Tony Russo talk about St. Patrick’s Day, which is the unofficial anniversary of Good Clean Fun Life as well as the kickoff of lots of local places opening at the beach.
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As we discuss in the show, the AI is garbage so we won’t burden you with it anymore. Instead, here are some of our favorite moments from the show.
"There's nothing more different from an antique than something you buy in a mall." — Tony Russo
"You have to know what's garbage. Like, before you mess with AI, you have to know the difference between what reads like garbage and what doesn't." — Tony Russo
So the AI is interpreting that as a tennis court and then just going through its catalog of sound effects and pulling up, you know, racket whooshes and ball, bounces and stuff like that. It's cool. It's interesting. Practically, though, you're still just gonna be using the stuff that you're capturing to start with. — Todd DeHart
“You know, they have the chug a duck. You're drinking a natural light with amaretto on top of it out of a duck's, you know, out of a decoy”. — Todd DeHart
"Yeah. They have … Is it 311 or Blink 182? I don't know the difference." — Tony Russo
“I think that's one of the nice things about the art league and the film festival. They have international entries, and it's been going on for quite a while. And so it's not gonna be that over-processed, touristy, you know...” — Todd DeHart
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As always the following text as well as the title and the art are all AI. Here’s the essay Tony spoke about in the show.
Hey there, Day Drinkers!
In our most recent episode, we had a lively discussion about the importance of authenticity in storytelling and the threat of AI replicating voices. Tony shared his unique approach to writing without confining himself to a niche, while Todd emphasized the joy of doing what you love and letting your audience find you. We also delved into the success of a previous music festival and Todd's anticipation of this year's event.
We couldn't resist a bit of humor as Tony jokingly mentioned our show's supposed lack of substance, but we're committed to making it more searchable and accessible through Apple, so stay tuned for that update!
In other news, we explored Kelly's fascinating collection of old magazines and books, and Tony shared insights into the historical significance of hand-lettered magazine ads.
We also dived into the lineup for the upcoming Ocean's Calling event, shared personal anecdotes about the featured artists, and discussed the historical context of voting in Laurel, shedding light on the impact of Jim Crow laws on property tax payments.
We concluded with a valuable chat about refocusing on our creative work, the evolution of social media promotion, and the importance of building positive relationships with our clients.
As always, we're grateful for your support and can't wait to keep the conversation going in the next episode!
Stay delightful,
Todd and Tony
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One of the conceits of Day Drinking on Delmarva is that we let AI name our episodes and then feed that name into an AI image maker. I don’t know why there are bears in the image. I mean, the rest doesn’t make more sense, but the bears have me stumped.
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Welcome back to Day Drinking on Delmarva! In this episode, hosts Tony Russo and Todd DeHart discuss their recent hiatus from recording, reflecting on the challenges of getting back into the creative groove.
Tony shares exciting new projects involving old postcards and penpal relationships, while also announcing his resignation as president of the Maryland Writers Association Lower Shore chapter.
The hosts dive into discussions about audio editing, productivity struggles, and amusing encounters related to MLK day, including a humorous banter about addressing the holiday's significance. They share a captivating story about an escape from jail in Denton, expressing concern for a coerced 12-year-old inmate involved in the incident.
Additionally, they talk about their involvement in writers associations and Tony's current project writing a combat medic's war memoir. The episode concludes with a lighthearted chat about Prohibition and the amusing language used in a century-old newspaper.
Stay tuned for an engaging and humorous episode filled with witty banter and intriguing stories!
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In this episode, Todd DeHart and Tony Russo delve into a wide range of topics while sipping on their favorite beverages. This episode is filled with engaging conversations and insightful reflections.
Sorry, guys. This week’s AI was really just too awful to share. Enjoy the show and, if you’re in the mood, listen to this version of A Christmas Carol presented by the Lower Eastern Shore Maryland Writers Association.
We will be back in 2024. Enjoy the winter holidays!
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Hey Day Drinkers!
Hope you're all doing well and enjoying the festive season. In case you missed it, here's a recap of our latest episode.
In this episode, we had a lot to talk about. We delved into a heartwarming event happening on December 3rd, featuring tributes and activities to commemorate a beloved member of our community.
We also discussed the pressure of producing an annual Christmas video and the creative challenges involved in rewriting a song and creating a karaoke video.
Of course, we couldn't help but reflect on our love for what we do, despite the challenges and the pressure of meeting high standards. We even shared some behind-the-scenes insights into our filmmaking endeavors, including our adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" using green screens to maintain social distance.
Tony also discussed some exciting news about his upcoming book signing at the Greyhound Bookstore in Berlin, Maryland, on December 9th. Don't miss out on "Tony Russo Day" and a dramatic reading of "The Christmas Carol."
We even touched on the challenges of editing videos, the fun of working with a team, and the joy of creating new content. Plus, we threw in some lighthearted banter about Tony's mechanical pencil collection and his recent trip to New Jersey.
Remember, "it's happy hour whenever you say it is."
If you haven't had a chance to listen to the episode yet, be sure to tune in and catch up on what you've missed.
Here's to good cheer and great conversations this holiday season! Stay tuned for more entertaining content from your favorite podcast, "Day Drinking on Delmarva."
Cheers,
Tony & Todd
Hosts of Day Drinking on Delmarva
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01:18 Switching editing software to DaVinci Resolve, learning curve.
04:00 DaVinci Resolve: Affordable, robust software for editing.
07:06 Companies embrace podcast advertising for branding effect.
09:54 Emphasize genuine passion and interest in interviews.
15:21 Restaurants spend more for uncertain customer reach.
19:27 Fast, witty adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
22:16 Salisbury lacks arts, seeks community involvement in writing.
26:16 Creating bookmarks, available at signing event.
28:40 Memoir discusses accidental rap joke and nonfiction.
30:22 Don't forget to have fun at the beach!
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I love just running the AI headlines because they’re so earnest. So even though we make the podcast all by ourselves, we’ve handed the promotion over to the machines. The art and description of this podcast is provided by our benevolent computer overlords.
Enjoy!
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Todd and Tony dive into a range of fascinating topics, from the power of AI to the adventures of surf-bum turned brewer Little Brian. They also discuss subscription services, book publishing, and even share some insights into their own personal experiences. So grab a drink, sit back, and get ready to join the conversation on this week’s episode of Day Drinking on Delmarva!
AI wrote that for us. Bananas, right? Of course, AI also suggested “Ocean City, Mexicans, and the Under the Pier Experience” as a title. You’ll have to listen to the show to get why, but, Jesus, it isn’t whatever you think.
So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, take AI with a grain of salt.
Anyway, here’s the skeleton story we talk about. You can subscribe to my
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Todd and Tony talk Garth Brooks, who was accidentally timely when we recorded the episode. They also discuss getting social video right and why you still need a website.
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In this episode, we have sex-crazed priests, a swastika discussion and Tony’s unfortunate discovery that what he thought would make a good short story was actually an episode of Black Mirror some time ago.
As you may recall, we’ve been trying to use AI to write our newsletter, but our conversations are just too convoluted for machines.
Here’s what AI thinks this show is about:
Hello Day Drinking on Delmarva fans!We hope this newsletter finds you well. In our latest episode, DDD 9-6, we delved into some thought-provoking and controversial topics.
Here's a rundown of what Tony and Todd discussed:
1. Child Rape and the Power of Awareness: Tony shared his frustration and disappointment surrounding a situation where a person seems to be escaping punishment for heinous crimes against children. This topic led him to reflect on the importance of spreading awareness and not shying away from discussing difficult subjects. Stay tuned for updates on Tony's upcoming book on this very topic.
2. Swastikas in East Asian Buddhist Places: The presence of swastikas in East Asian Buddhist temples can be puzzling to some. Tony shed light on this matter, explaining that while the swastika symbol holds deep significance for many Buddhists, they are cautious about displaying it in public near temples to avoid hurting anyone's feelings. He even mentioned how some Buddhists cover up the swastikas when guests come over. For a detailed discussion, don't miss the episode!
3. Gaming the System: Drawing inspiration from a "Black Mirror" episode, Tony shared his idea about a world where positive mentions on social media generate income. He challenged our audience to offer suggestions on how one could manipulate this system to achieve their goals. It's a fascinating concept, so be sure to tune in and share your thoughts.
4. Show Recommendations: Tony suggested checking out "Behind the B******s" for an intriguing look into the world of the popular show. However, he did express some frustration with the banter in the beginning, so feel free to skip ahead to the main content. Additionally, Tony highly recommended the show "Behind the B******s," which dives into fascinating historical stories. Just make sure to skip the early banter there too!
5. Google Reviews and Social Proof: Moving on to business-related topics, Tony highlighted the significance of online reviews and ratings. He mentioned that Google reviews hold great trust among people, making it the go-to platform for testimonials that cannot be easily manipulated. Don't miss Tony's valuable insights on the importance of testimonials and how they can impact a business's success.
We hope you enjoyed this recap of our latest episode. Remember, you can always listen to the full episode for a more in-depth discussion. Stay tuned for more exciting topics and engaging conversations on Day Drinking on Delmarva!
Cheers!
The Day Drinking on Delmarva Team
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Hello Day Drinking on Delmarva enthusiasts,
We hope this email finds you well and ready for some exciting updates from your favorite podcast. In our latest episode, Tony Russo and Todd DeHart dive deep into the world of creative projects, photography, and Todd’s recent adventures in Austin, Texas.
📸 The Importance of Headshots
Tony expresses his shock at the number of people who don't have headshots. He firmly believes that headshots are essential for various individuals, from authors and real estate agents to companies and podcast hosts like themselves. Tony's wife is a portrait photographer, so he gets new one’s every six months. Treating yourself to at least one every other year is worth it.
🎉 Birthday Celebrations and Austin Adventures
Todd recently turned 50 and celebrated with a bang! His favorite band played at the cherished Starbird venue, creating an unforgettable atmosphere. However, he admits that post-celebration blues inevitably followed. To lift their spirits, Todd and his wife embarked on a trip to Austin, Texas, to visit friends and enjoy the vibrant city's offerings.
🎥 Independent Filmmaking and Book Publishing
Our hosts contemplate the rise of independent authors in the publishing industry and wonder if the same trend will emerge in filmmaking. By avoiding reliance on big industries for funding, independent filmmakers can exercise greater creative control and potentially rejuvenate the industry. Tony also discusses an intriguing podcast that explores the challenges faced in getting movies produced.
📚 A Not-So-X Generation and The Strand Theater
Have you ever wondered about the origins of the term "Generation X?" Tony sheds light on the fascinating history behind it and shares his thoughts on his own generation's lack of a cool name. Moving on to the cinematic world, he delves into the intriguing evolution of The Strand Theater, from its humble beginnings as The Marks Strand to its association with fun fairs and even adult films.
📷 Soul Fire Collective and the Art of Capturing Beauty
In photography news, Todd is gearing up to do headshots for Soul Fire Collective, a sought-after yoga studio in Northern Virginia. With new speed lights in tow, he has delved into the world of lighting and learning to capture the essence and beauty of each individual. Additionally, Soul Fire Collective has exciting plans to expand their offerings, bringing more joy and wellness to their community.
Remember, our podcast wouldn't be the same without your enthusiasm and support. We can't wait for you to listen to the latest episode and join us on this journey of exploration and conversation.
Stay tuned for more exhilarating content, interesting guests, and thought-provoking discussions, all in the spirit of Day Drinking on Delmarva.
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Welcome to another episode of Day Drinking on Delmarva! In this episode, our hosts, Tony Russo and Todd DeHart, share their experiences and insights while enjoying some bourbon. They start by discussing a canceled shoot due to bad weather, but Tony is surprisingly okay with it.
Then, they dive into the topic of a powerful tool called Cast Magic that Tony has recently discovered. Tony finds Cast Magic impressive, as it provides timestamps and creative titles for interesting parts of their podcast, making editing much easier. Tony shares his thoughts on their podcast being somewhat of a vanity project and his struggles with promoting it. However, he is amazed by the capabilities of Cast Magic in summarizing and extracting key information from their podcast, which he believes can help attract more listeners.
In their quest to encourage more people to write, create, and enjoy art, Tony and Todd express their disinterest in voting on budgets or being on committees. They mention their Substack account, where they publish news and sell Tony's book, "Being Burly." While some content requires a minimum payment of $6 per month, they also provide free content to engage with a broader audience. Tony emphasizes the importance of enjoying the present moment, regardless of the time of year, although he admits struggling with this concept and sometimes waking up with negative thoughts.
He encourages the audience to engage with them on social media and provide feedback on their newsletter, partially written by AI, where any mistakes are promptly fixed, except for instances where they may have said something inappropriate. Moving on, they discuss the Maryland Writers Association's annual conference in October and encourage people to attend.
They also mention the "3rd Fridays" art walks that take place in various towns, including Salisbury, Berlin, Crisfield, and Cambridge, and Tony declares his plan to participate in as many third Friday events as possible. Touching on a serious topic, Tony reflects on the perception of white people being racist and shares personal experiences of racism directed towards white individuals.
He discusses the challenges of distancing oneself from racist views expressed by others and even mentions how wearing masks during the mask controversy could temporarily shield one from racist comments. Tony expresses concern about computer algorithms categorizing individuals as racist and its potential impact on the content they see. He also shares his frustration with algorithms making assumptions about his preferences based on his identity, especially regarding the lack of diversity in recommended content.
Tony contemplates sending a note to Amazon to actively seek movies with black actors, in an effort to broaden his entertainment choices. As the president of the local chapter of the Maryland Writers Association, Tony talks about its role as a state-sponsored arts project and his involvement in preventing negative impacts caused by COVID-19. He briefly mentions the association's monthly meetings, which discuss budgets and other writing-related topics, but admits not paying close attention to those discussions.
The hosts engage in a lively debate on whether July 4th is considered the beginning or middle of summer. Tony shares his personal perspective, defining summer as the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day, taking into account the school schedules of high school and college students. He playfully concludes that the love of summer solely belongs to the month of July. Throughout the episode, Tony emphasizes the importance of taking time to acknowledge and enjoy the present moment. He shares his personal experiences, such as playing golf with friends during the summer, and encourages listeners to do the same.
In discussing their work with various clients, Tony mentions his control over specific channels, including the search page and the "for you" page. He highlights the personalized algorithm that reflects his interests and preferences. Tony mentions his new restaurant, Starboard Claw, and expresses frustration with irrelevant content appearing when searching for it, but he intends to train the algorithm to better suit his needs.
To wrap up the episode, Tony reveals that he hosts a podcast called Funeral Service Insider for funeral directors and recently recorded an episode on Green Burial, a popular topic. He shares his excitement about a transcription tool they discovered that provides 80% accurate transcriptions, assisting with SEO and generating text for their podcast episodes.
Furthermore, Tony is thrilled that the tool creates introductions, reel scripts, social media posts, and tweet threads for different platforms, ultimately streamlining their content creation process. Be sure to tune in and enjoy this episode of Day Drinking on Delmarva, where Tony and Todd cover a wide range of engaging topics while sharing their love for bourbon and the present moment. Cheers!
TRANSCRIPT
This week though is the Maryland Writers Association because I am a member not only that, I am the president of the local know I had my first meeting this week. And if you are a member of the Maryland Writers Association, I apologize in advance because I'm going to talk a little Maryland Writers Association s**t because I think it's adorable. And I mean this all with love in my heart, but have you ever been to so I'm on the state board. So the Maryland Writers Association is a state sponsored arts project and I'm a member of that esteemed board. And they get together once a month and they talk about writing stuff. I've got to be honest, I didn't pay real close attention. They talk about budgets and things like that. And the reason that I wanted to become president of the local board is that nobody else was and I helped found it and I didn't want to see it. Got it got you know, kind of run over a little bit by COVID. And Stephanie has been out of her mind busy and she was the president for like six years. And it is a kind of thing that'll wear you down. One of the things that wears you down is this monthly meeting where it's about I've got to admit I have no idea how long it was either. It was anywhere between it was maybe an hour, maybe 2 hours.
You were writing the whole time, weren't you?
Well, I don't want to give away too much, but I was in one of those conditions where I'm like how much time has passed, man? Like four years. So I'm not sure how long the meeting is. It could be an hour, could be two, could be ten. But people don't get into writing to be on boards. It's not pleasant. And I see why people do it. I don't see how anyone enjoys it. I use all my spare time to do more writing. It's this thing that always bothered me about Ocean Pines. You work your whole life in upper middle management in a Fortune 1000 company and you bust your ass and you don't know your kids names and your grandchildren don't talk to you. And then you retire to Ocean Pines and you get on their board of directors and like really?
Yeah, really.
I don't know. It's not my scene. I guess what I'm getting at, I'm not a really good representative.
But you are.
You can't put me on a board. I mean you can put me on a board, but you can't like I'll go to the thing. I'm not going to participate, but I will make an announcement from the board. There's a Maryland Writers Association has an annual conference in October and they want people to go. So you should go to Mwa.org or whatever and find out about Ever. What I do want to talk about are third Fridays before I use up all my commercial time. Salisbury has third Friday events, which are art walks. Lots of places have them. We're going to try to do as many as possible. So when there's something in Berlin, if they're letting art things come for free, we'll do that. There was one in Chris Field, as I understand it, one in Cambridge, my second favorite town on the Eastern Shore. And all those places have them. We're going to do them all. One of the things we're going to do, though, and I want to entice you, this is coming out on it would be a miracle if it was out on Friday the 21st. I've got to be honest. So let's say this comes out Monday, which is July 24. On my calendar, there's a third Friday every month. So please put August 18 in your schedule, because what we're doing is something called the Exquisite Corpse. And as I explained to Todd, we're going to start off with one sentence and then we're going to let someone read that sentence and write the next sentence, and then we're going to cover it up and cover it up so everyone can write a sentence. Everyone who wants to can write a sentence based on the previous sentence, and.
Todd DeHart [00:04:39]:
We'Ll see what kind and nothing more.
Tony Russo [00:04:41]:
And nothing more, right. And so we'll see what kind of it's like a weird kind of telephone, almost, right, where you have enough information, you have information to continue, but you don't know if you're making any sense.
Todd DeHart [00:04:56]:
I feel like this is like an improv kind of it is.
Tony Russo [00:05:02]:
And that's my promise as the new MWA lorison Shore. By the way, that's M-W-A-L-E-S. So it's like MW ales or M wales, but I like MW ales instead. What I want to do is I want to get more people to write, more people to make stuff, more people to enjoy it. I don't want to get people to vote on budgets. I don't want to get people to be on committees, which is what makes me a mediocre president, but hopefully an effective one where we get more people who are writing, making stuff. We're going to bring back one true thing for sure, hopefully in the winter, once we get everything else together. So please stay tuned to that and you can follow everything that I do on my substac by substack is bytonyruusso substack.com and all of my news and stuff is on there. You can buy my to. I meant to tell Todd. Oh, I think I did. I've started my Burly book is now out, and every Friday I publish another section of a book that didn't get published called Being Burly. And as I'm going back through it. I've said it before and I've said it again. It's pretty good. So it's $6 a month is the minimum to have access to all that. Although there's plenty of free stuff. I write one free thing and one paid thing each week. Sometimes I write two paid things, but I write at least one free thing every week, and it's fun to read. And that's the end of my commercial. You talk now while I get a drink? Yeah.
Todd DeHart [00:06:46]:
What are you drinking today?
Tony Russo [00:06:49]:
I am drinking water. The people I'm sorry, they don't know this, but you do, Todd. We moved it back to 04:00. We usually record at three. Today we moved it back to four. I started writing at two, and Tod texted me at, like, 410 to say, are we still doing this or what? I didn't get a drink. I have the last little bit of some soda water, and I have about half a thing of regular water, half a container of regular water, and then a little bit of coffee left from this morning. So I have a nice collection of cups here on the side of my desk, but nothing alcoholic. I saw you were drinking something alcoholic and brown.
Todd DeHart [00:07:28]:
I am drinking a little bit of bourbon, and because we got pushed back a little bit, we had a shoot that actually ended up getting canceled because of the weather, which is fine, because I, too, was kind of in the zone and had sent you an email at 330. And then I looked up and it was 410. Are we still doing this? But no, it's been fun. Bourbon is a way of life for me. The one cool thing that we've been doing is a tool that you actually introduced to me last week on Wednesday. I record the Dewey Beach podcast on Thursday, and I ended up playing with this tool called Cast Magic, and it was pretty robust. I mean, you sent probably an hour after we finished recording an email to me that said, this was generated by AI in whatever, under ten minutes. And it was a synopsis of the show. It was a great newsletter and fantastic. So it was a neat tool, especially for somebody who does podcasts like we do, because I am always in the frame of mind. Well, I'm always doing so many other projects. And truthfully, the podcast, I some feel like it is a vanity project, right? In some respects. So I want to promote it. We talk about this all the time is that we don't really do a good job of pushing our own show that we've been doing for a know recording as long as Joe Rogan has, with a fraction of percent of the success. But this was a really neat tool. Cast Magic is I was able to go into my Dewey podcast, and because it gives you timestamps of interesting parts in my editing, I can go right to that and be like, oh, boom, there it is. They give you creative titles. They give you a lot more than just the breakdown or newsletter. I was really kind of impressed in the volume of stuff that they were able to just pull out and then slice and dice. Some of it's repetitive, but it's good. It's probably the best bit that gets what is happening in the podcast that I've seen so far.
Tony Russo [00:10:22]:
Absolutely. I started using it at work. I do a podcast called Funeral Service Insider, the podcast, and if you're into, like, death stuff, you should listen to it. It's mostly for funeral directors, so some of it's inside baseball, but some of it is cool stuff to know. I just recorded one about Green Burial, which is a hot topic, but what I discovered, I can't remember. I would love to tell you who I got it from, but I can't. I heard about it on a podcast. And what this does is it does a transcript. So the transcript has got to be 80% accurate. It's just as good as one that you'd pay for, except that it's part of it. And one of the things that I liked about the transcript, which was really the first thing that drew to me, is for my podcast at work. And now, of course, for this podcast, there's SEO to be had if you have a lot of text about everything that we talk about just gets put onto text. So I like that. And then I like the summary. It will write an introduction. It will write a reels script. It will write a social media post for LinkedIn. It will write a tweet thread for Twitter, and now a thread thread for threads.
Todd DeHart [00:11:44]:
Yeah, I love it. To give you ten options for each of those platforms.
Tony Russo [00:11:51]:
Yes. And you can scroll through and get extra ones. The other thing and maybe we can start to do this next week, the other thing it gives you is discussion questions.
Todd DeHart [00:12:00]:
Yes.
Tony Russo [00:12:02]:
And the discussion questions I find wonderful. But last week it's funny to hear a computer critique you. And last week I felt a little critiqued by the computer because the computer didn't want to repeat what I said. Something like, Tony had some controversial thoughts about Andrew, and I'm like, wow, the computer is hedging. Maybe I did go off the rails a little bit. I don't want to self censor because I'm afraid of the computer, but it is something that when I saw that the computer was, like, afraid to kind of try and contextualize what I said, they're like, you know what? Listen to it if you want. I wouldn't. This guy's a maniac who wants to kill everyone.
Todd DeHart [00:12:57]:
Yeah. Soon, in the not too distant future, you'll actually be linked up to the computer that will be monitoring live. It'll give you a little shock, like a little zapper from the e collar to be like, no, pull it back in. Pull it back in.
Tony Russo [00:13:14]:
Well, I'm making that part of an essay. I don't think it'll be out this week. It'll probably be out next week on Substac bytonyruusso Substac.com about I don't care if people think I'm racist, but I do care if computers think I'm racist.
Todd DeHart [00:13:34]:
Interesting.
Tony Russo [00:13:35]:
And the main reason is because if people think I'm racist, there are probably other white people, and I don't care, as one of the, quote, curses, if there is a downside to being a white guy, it's that all the racists treat you like you're on their team because you're a white guy. And sometimes you have to be like, yeah, I don't really agree with that. Or sometimes you just have to say, oh, I'm late for something and leave. But people say awful, vile things to you as a white guy that, I swear to God they don't say to anybody else. Yeah. And so there's no point in me wearing a sign. I guess back when there was the mask controversy, that was convenient. You could wear a mask and no one would say anything racist to you. They're like, oh, you're a mask person. That means you're not a racist. I don't know why, but if the computer thinks you're a racist, it's going to change what it shows you. And I don't want to miss out on stuff because the computer thinks I'm a right. So while I was on vacation, I watched a movie. I watched, I think, two whole movies the entire week. One of them wasn't a good movie, but I want to talk about it. It was called Safe, and it stars Denzel Washington and Reynolds. Like, how bad could that movie be, right? It wasn't great.
Todd DeHart [00:15:04]:
It was was it would be Ryan Reynolds being Ryan Reynolds cast opposite an incredible actor in.
Tony Russo [00:15:15]:
It was it was a spy thriller. It was very Jason Bourney like, by minute two, you're like, okay, I see how this goes. But on Amazon, there were two promotional videos for Know. Amazon has the previews, right? They'll show you, like, the COVID all right? So if you look up Safe and I took pictures of it, I don't know if you can still do it today, but I challenge you to try. If you look up Safe, there's one with Denzel Washington on the COVID and then there's another one with Ryan Reynolds on the COVID Right. And to hopefully get more diverse suggestions from Amazon, I clicked on the Denzel Washington cover, and it said, this title is not available. But then I clicked on the Ryan Reynolds title and was subjected to two and a half hours of very predictable spy.
Todd DeHart [00:16:25]:
So title not available under Denzel and completely available.
Tony Russo [00:16:34]:
That's interesting.
Todd DeHart [00:16:34]:
I don't know.
Tony Russo [00:16:36]:
And I wonder if it's because last year when we went on vacation, the house we rented, we believe had been rented by a black family before. And the reason we believe that is because there's a black Netflix, like there's s**t that you will never see because you're a white person and what you watch. But they were still signed into their black Netflix unquote. And so all of the suggestions were movies that I'd never seen, television shows I had never seen, people that I'd never heard of. And my wife explained to me that this was normal and that everybody knew it but me and apparently you.
Todd DeHart [00:17:17]:
I didn't know that. Wouldn't it, though just be the previous family regardless of yes, it could have.
Tony Russo [00:17:25]:
Been a white family that only watched black entertainment. It's true. But my guess is whether the point is whatever they watched, they were getting suggestions that I had never even seen. There were movies on there that never come up in my spectrum. And that's when I started realizing that our choices, our online choices make us racist by accident. Because if we don't choose enough black things, then they stop showing us black things and then we won't get to see cool black things when they come out.
Todd DeHart [00:18:04]:
It is interesting. I'm going to interject, if you don't mind, handling several different channels for several different clients and then including my own. A number of the channels that I handle, I solely handle. So like the search page or the for you page kind of reflect the stuff that I get personally. So if you go to the back end of the Starboard Instagram handle and you look at and you do a search, there's going to be some marvel stuff in there. There's going to be some lacrosse highlights, right? The algorithm is tuned into me. What is interesting is so we had a couple of new restaurants open up and then it's like what the baseline is before me and or the business has established. And I don't know. We opened Starboard Claw and it is all a bunch of big boobed women holding fifth for some reason at the beach. And I'm like scroll. Scroll? All right, cocktail video. Let's look at that. Like seafood. Let's look at that. You have to train the algorithm a little bit, right?
Tony Russo [00:19:29]:
Because it knows who you are or it's got a good guess who you are. But who I am isn't what I want to be or who I am isn't who I want to be. I don't want to miss out on things just because of previous choices, which is of course how life works and why it can be disappointing, but that should be with people. But when it's with the algorithm, it's worth knowing. It's worth knowing. So you make other know. The movie wasn't any good, but at least I showed them that I'll click on a black face sometimes. You could show me more black faces. I'm not afraid. I just want to send them a note. I want to send Amazon a note and say, listen, yeah, I'll watch movies with black people in them. If you show them to me. But if you keep them hidden from me, then I won't. And then I'll just reaffirm how narrow minded I am when it comes to tune in, tune out entertainment. Right.
Todd DeHart [00:20:31]:
Well, I wonder if they need a category and not stuff you might like. It would be stuff if you're thinking about expanding your horizons or if you want to learn something about somebody that's not like you, that should be a whole category on Netflix, right?
Tony Russo [00:20:51]:
Yeah.
Todd DeHart [00:20:53]:
Stuff you might potentially hate. And this is why.
Tony Russo [00:20:57]:
Well, I guess they could turn it inside out. I don't know if you know about the Napoleon Dynamite complex and Napoleon Dynamite problem.
Todd DeHart [00:21:07]:
No.
Tony Russo [00:21:08]:
So Netflix has and I think they still have it a contest every now and again. The first one they had was for Napoleon Dynamite. And it was a million dollars to improve their who did the best improvements of their algorithm. And the problem that they had was Napoleon Dynamite became crazy famous on Netflix. And there was no rhyme or reason for who watched Dynamite. Like, it was people who watched The Notebook, people who only watched you know, it was like there was no napoleon Dynamite didn't fit anywhere in the algorithm.
Todd DeHart [00:21:55]:
Right.
Tony Russo [00:21:56]:
And they're like, well, how can we make the algorithm find more Napoleon Dynamites that everyone's going to love? And that's something that they've been doing for a long time. But I think that, as you said, maybe throw a couple in there that I'm going to hate. Like, you have to watch this. That's right. For 1495 a month, you get Netflix. For 1395 a month, you get Netflix. But they get to choose the first movie you watch of the week. And you can't watch any more movies.
Todd DeHart [00:22:27]:
Until you watch that.
Tony Russo [00:22:28]:
Until you watch that whole one.
Todd DeHart [00:22:30]:
It would be great. It would be like an amuse boost for your viewing pleasure. It's like, you need to watch this because we know you, and this is going to make you a better person and viewer.
Tony Russo [00:22:47]:
This is a hole in your instead of trying to make a pile of stuff that I like, fill the holes of my mean, I I'd be for really it's rare that I watch a movie because they're always bad. And as I was watching this stupid Denzel Washington movie, I'm like, man, now it thinks I'm a racist and I have to watch this bad movie because I don't turn movies off. Once I started, I'm committed.
Todd DeHart [00:23:13]:
Yeah, now they think you're a racist and like bad.
Tony Russo [00:23:16]:
I know. I know.
Todd DeHart [00:23:18]:
Let's give this racist jerk some more crap.
Tony Russo [00:23:22]:
All Chris Pine all the time. That's all I can see. Chris Pine movies. Oh, and that other guy, the jumping around guy from The Office that's playing Jack Ryan now. John Krasins.
Todd DeHart [00:23:37]:
Oh, yeah.
Tony Russo [00:23:40]:
Unlikely. White guys doing action movies. Go. So that's my thing on AI. You wanted to talk about July, and I want to let you okay.
Todd DeHart [00:23:56]:
So I feel like this comes up every time this year, and I always like the question to be, is July 4 the beginning or middle of summer? And a lot of people have different answers. I personally always fall in the middle because I'm looking at summer as being between Memorial Day and Labor Day. But a lot of high school kids are in school through the middle, at least of June, and a lot of college kids have to go back in the beginning of August. If you want to boil it down, the love of summer is solely the month of July. So that would make sense that July 4 is actually kind of the beginning, but it's also the middle because it's compressed so much. But it's always been something. And I don't know. It's kind of a silly question. And people have strong opinions either way. But what I realized is somebody it's kind of like take a step back and when you're sitting and it's freezing and you're daydreaming about the best time of year could be up for interpretation. But a lot of people think about summertime and vacation, schools out, all of that. And the importance is to take time in this moment right now, the middle of July, the middle of summer, and just acknowledge it and enjoy it. Be a little present if I can borrow from my yoga practice a little bit, right? I played golf yesterday, played golf at Glen Riddle. And I kind of despise the purpose of golf, but it is what it is, and I think the best explanation I heard, it's sport for white guys who hate water. Something about arrogance. But I enjoy being with my friends and I enjoy being outside, and it's the middle of the month. It's the middle of summer, the middle of the season, and we played Twilight because we're cheap and wanted to get a better rate, and it was fantastic. And I was super tired, and it was a little bit run down from a busy weekend and week, but it was great. So take time. Remember the moment you're in, and it's up to interpretation as to what the best time of year is, because then you can always look forward to the next best time of year.
Tony Russo [00:26:59]:
Yeah. And at the risk of getting too Zen about it, you can just also kind of learn to enjoy the moment that you're in, whether it's your favorite time of year or not. I'm not good at that. As we said in the beginning of the show, every time I wake up and I'm in Del Mar, it's not going to be a great day. The only other options I have is to not wake up, which is going to be even a worse day. And that's the last thing I think before I fall asleep every night. All right, well, we are up against it, and we had a great time. Please do all the social things that we ask you to do or not, but we should ask. Do it and tell me how you're enjoying the newsletter. I sent out the one newsletter. I'm going to send out another one. And we're letting AI write it. I'm fixing stupid mistakes, but not like when the machine's like, oh, Tony really put his foot in his mouth this time. I'm leaving that in. I don't care.
Todd DeHart [00:28:08]:
Soon the AI newsletter will just be and Tony says something controversial.
Tony Russo [00:28:15]:
I love being a cliche. Well, I'm out of stuff. How about you?
Todd DeHart [00:28:21]:
I got nothing.
Tony Russo [00:28:22]:
All right. Well, remember, until next time at the.
Todd DeHart [00:28:24]:
Beach, it's happy hour whenever you say it is. Cheers.
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