1. I'm the monkey, I'm surrounded by monkeys, and I deal with the monkeys.
2. Yes, very much so. But not in the same way as Michael. Having never met him in person, I surmise Michael gives off a nervous, inviting energy, which makes him approachable. I tend to be a weird-person magnet, but I also insert myself into lots of crazy situtations and make them even crazier.
3. My life is one long contemporary satire in the vein of Catch-22. Everyone around me is insane, except me, which makes everyone around me think I'm insane.
Omg ty so much, Amran, ty so much listening to Michael's episode & for these AMAZING (& highly relatable) answers. I too, like you, am surrounded by insane ppl who think I am insane. It's a daily battle. Those asterisks are actually, according to KV, assholes. If you love Catch 22 & haven't read Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, I think you'd really dig it. I'm so thrilled you enjoyed Michael's interview!
57th??? He's gotta be higher than that! Clearly Substack is still working the bugs out of their comedy ranking system. But I take yr kind words to heart, & v happy you felt I did right by yr beloved author.
1. Sometimes I deal with the monkeys, and sometimes I am the monkey. Rarely do I panic.
2. I can't say I attract weird happenings quite like Michael. Maybe I just don't notice them like he does.
3. If I wrote the story of my life, it would be a "coming of age" story. I'm constantly coming of age.
4. You can't call your newsletter Kurt Vonnegut Radio, draw an asterisk, and pretend it isn't a butthole. It's a butthole.
5. The first time, it was a colony of rats trained by Tesla. The company recycles the precious metals and uses them in their batteries. You know, for the environment. The second time? I don't know. His racist neighbour.
Andrew, I LOVE your answers, you are seriously raising the comment genre to art form, that last line abt his racist neighbor, whew. And while KV refers to it as an "asshole" I checked w the judges & they said "butthole" def counts, so congrats, You Win. Also thanks so much for listening to Michael's episode & for yr super kind & thoughtful answers!
I panic, as in getting short of breath and a heartbeat like a big brass drum, but then I get to deal with the monkeys. I try to be the monkey, but I get flustered.
I don’t feel like the magnet, but certainly weird things happen to me. Recently I had a “discussion” with a big internet bank that I’ll call Big One. They insisted they had to cancel my account because I don’t have a real residential address. “But I’ve had an account with you for over 20 years. I’ve even been into one of your few physical locations. The US Government Department of Homeland Security believes my address is good enough for a Real ID Drivers License. The state of Florida believes my address is good enough for voting and a Drivers License.” Nothing I could say would work to convince this Big One bank that I deserved an account. Wouldn’t be so bad, but they returned my paycheck and cut off my access to my money. Now that’s strange to me.
My genre would be comedy for sure. It’s the crazy stuff that happens to me.
The asterisks look like squashed spiders to me. Is this a Rorschach test? Did I win?
It certainly was one of the Situation Normal readers that stole his cat converter so he would have fodder to write about.
I can’t help but feel partially responsible for the bank situation. They probably saw the charge for Not Safe for Work and determined that you could not be trusted. But I agree with Gabe, you have won.
Omg these are some of the Greatest Possible Answers, KdD, thanks so much! I especially love your answer to last question abt catalytic converter. I love that Situation Normal readers would sabotage Michael's life life to give him something to write abt!
The asterisk is a drawing Kurt Vonnegut did in Breakfast of Champions, & it is a drawing of an asshole.
But you did Win. Congrats, I'm not sure what you won, but you did win.
And the reason you Win is because the quality of yr answers suggests that you, as Situation Normal reader, thinks I did honor to Michael & his writing, which was my goal all along!
Anne, I'm so excited for you to hear Michael's episode & SO EXCITED to interview you next week & to dive into the mysteries & wonders of yr amazing Cafe Anne for our listeners! Yay
Yes!! Michael is the man! Been following him since I got on here and now that I know he’s a fellow Sedaris fan, I like him even more. We even have a similar writing style in that we both observe and report!
Omg ty so much for listening, Camden, & for yr super kind words! So thrilled you connected w Michael's episode like that & I agree w you that he's the absolute best. And we all 3 have a love for Sedaris in common. <3
Great interview - I really enjoyed that. As for your questions:
1. I don't panic but I don't deal with the monkey either (it's actually happened. A real monkey).
2. Being in a line up to greet a group of visiting French pilgrims at an Anglo Catholic church (I am neither a Christian nor a good speaker of French).
Thanks for listening, Jeffrey! And if I should ever be charged with stealing my own catalytic convertor for a story, I sure hope you're not on the jury :)
Omg ty Jeffrey these are The Greatest Answers & I am whatever it's called when you die laughing & gasp in astonishment at the same time rn, & ty so much for listening so deeply to this episode, I had ton o fun & learned a lot too!
all fine interviews depend on interesting voluble and seldom boring subjects this one combines the two effortlessly
love the idea of partnership and believe substack as a gathering place provides a certain echo of that for those who may not have it say within daily shared experience of mini-bars or stolen auto parts or complicated neighbours bouncing ideas off those you admire or groping towards similar truths whether via the revealing humour which comes so naturally to Mr. Estrin or other pathways was a thoughtful angle to explore here no man (or woman) is an island and even if they were you got monkeys right?
Ty so much Appleton, & I agree (we all got monkeys) & yr comment is honestly like a whole new genre of comment & I am in awe of it & also super grateful to you for taking time to listen to Michael's episode & for yr super kind words!
Bobbe, thank you so much for listening! But also, thank you so much for sharing a little bit about you and your husband. I'm really glad to hear that Gabe's audio project is bringing joy, on many levels, to you and your husband.
1. I'm the monkey, I'm surrounded by monkeys, and I deal with the monkeys.
2. Yes, very much so. But not in the same way as Michael. Having never met him in person, I surmise Michael gives off a nervous, inviting energy, which makes him approachable. I tend to be a weird-person magnet, but I also insert myself into lots of crazy situtations and make them even crazier.
3. My life is one long contemporary satire in the vein of Catch-22. Everyone around me is insane, except me, which makes everyone around me think I'm insane.
4. They look like a type of sea anemone.
5. The Deep State.
Great interview!
Omg ty so much, Amran, ty so much listening to Michael's episode & for these AMAZING (& highly relatable) answers. I too, like you, am surrounded by insane ppl who think I am insane. It's a daily battle. Those asterisks are actually, according to KV, assholes. If you love Catch 22 & haven't read Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, I think you'd really dig it. I'm so thrilled you enjoyed Michael's interview!
Thanks, Gabe! It's tough being a sane person in the world.
I can see the asshole resemblance. I'm relatively underread on Vonnegut -- I loved Slaughterhouse 5, of course -- and need to rectify that.
I'm always around, if you ever wanna tell me what you thought of a Vonnegut book (he & Heller were good buddies)
I'm gonna take you up on that.
I loved this interview. SO nice to hear Michael's voice. What an interesting guy!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this, Sharron! Thanks for giving it a listen, and for coming over to KVR to say hello!
Omg ty so much for listening, Sharron, & for yr super kind words! Totally agree w you abt Michael, a truly fascinating fella!
He's got a lot of fans! I believe he is the 57th most popular funny man on substack! ha ha ha We love him. Thanks for the spotlight.
57th??? He's gotta be higher than that! Clearly Substack is still working the bugs out of their comedy ranking system. But I take yr kind words to heart, & v happy you felt I did right by yr beloved author.
1. Sometimes I deal with the monkeys, and sometimes I am the monkey. Rarely do I panic.
2. I can't say I attract weird happenings quite like Michael. Maybe I just don't notice them like he does.
3. If I wrote the story of my life, it would be a "coming of age" story. I'm constantly coming of age.
4. You can't call your newsletter Kurt Vonnegut Radio, draw an asterisk, and pretend it isn't a butthole. It's a butthole.
5. The first time, it was a colony of rats trained by Tesla. The company recycles the precious metals and uses them in their batteries. You know, for the environment. The second time? I don't know. His racist neighbour.
I really like you answer for #3, Andrew! Perpetual coming of age is a genre that I am here for!
Andrew, I LOVE your answers, you are seriously raising the comment genre to art form, that last line abt his racist neighbor, whew. And while KV refers to it as an "asshole" I checked w the judges & they said "butthole" def counts, so congrats, You Win. Also thanks so much for listening to Michael's episode & for yr super kind & thoughtful answers!
Woohoo! I win!
I panic, as in getting short of breath and a heartbeat like a big brass drum, but then I get to deal with the monkeys. I try to be the monkey, but I get flustered.
I don’t feel like the magnet, but certainly weird things happen to me. Recently I had a “discussion” with a big internet bank that I’ll call Big One. They insisted they had to cancel my account because I don’t have a real residential address. “But I’ve had an account with you for over 20 years. I’ve even been into one of your few physical locations. The US Government Department of Homeland Security believes my address is good enough for a Real ID Drivers License. The state of Florida believes my address is good enough for voting and a Drivers License.” Nothing I could say would work to convince this Big One bank that I deserved an account. Wouldn’t be so bad, but they returned my paycheck and cut off my access to my money. Now that’s strange to me.
My genre would be comedy for sure. It’s the crazy stuff that happens to me.
The asterisks look like squashed spiders to me. Is this a Rorschach test? Did I win?
It certainly was one of the Situation Normal readers that stole his cat converter so he would have fodder to write about.
I can’t help but feel partially responsible for the bank situation. They probably saw the charge for Not Safe for Work and determined that you could not be trusted. But I agree with Gabe, you have won.
Omg these are some of the Greatest Possible Answers, KdD, thanks so much! I especially love your answer to last question abt catalytic converter. I love that Situation Normal readers would sabotage Michael's life life to give him something to write abt!
The asterisk is a drawing Kurt Vonnegut did in Breakfast of Champions, & it is a drawing of an asshole.
But you did Win. Congrats, I'm not sure what you won, but you did win.
And the reason you Win is because the quality of yr answers suggests that you, as Situation Normal reader, thinks I did honor to Michael & his writing, which was my goal all along!
Oh boy this is going to be soooo fun!!!!
Anne, I'm so excited for you to hear Michael's episode & SO EXCITED to interview you next week & to dive into the mysteries & wonders of yr amazing Cafe Anne for our listeners! Yay
ask her about Aharon please!! i believe he is the wind beneath her sails haha
at any rate sooooo very funny
!!!!
Yes!! Michael is the man! Been following him since I got on here and now that I know he’s a fellow Sedaris fan, I like him even more. We even have a similar writing style in that we both observe and report!
Keep it up y’all! Killing it!
Thank you so much, Camden! Really appreciate you giving this a listen.
Anytime, good sir. Been a fan for a little bit. Going to be a fan for awhile.
Omg ty so much for listening, Camden, & for yr super kind words! So thrilled you connected w Michael's episode like that & I agree w you that he's the absolute best. And we all 3 have a love for Sedaris in common. <3
I knew I like you’s guys for some reason 😃
Great interview - I really enjoyed that. As for your questions:
1. I don't panic but I don't deal with the monkey either (it's actually happened. A real monkey).
2. Being in a line up to greet a group of visiting French pilgrims at an Anglo Catholic church (I am neither a Christian nor a good speaker of French).
3. High Bureaucratese.
4. No idea.
5. He did. Obviously.
Thanks for listening, Jeffrey! And if I should ever be charged with stealing my own catalytic convertor for a story, I sure hope you're not on the jury :)
Omg ty Jeffrey these are The Greatest Answers & I am whatever it's called when you die laughing & gasp in astonishment at the same time rn, & ty so much for listening so deeply to this episode, I had ton o fun & learned a lot too!
all fine interviews depend on interesting voluble and seldom boring subjects this one combines the two effortlessly
love the idea of partnership and believe substack as a gathering place provides a certain echo of that for those who may not have it say within daily shared experience of mini-bars or stolen auto parts or complicated neighbours bouncing ideas off those you admire or groping towards similar truths whether via the revealing humour which comes so naturally to Mr. Estrin or other pathways was a thoughtful angle to explore here no man (or woman) is an island and even if they were you got monkeys right?
Ty so much Appleton, & I agree (we all got monkeys) & yr comment is honestly like a whole new genre of comment & I am in awe of it & also super grateful to you for taking time to listen to Michael's episode & for yr super kind words!
Bobbe, thank you so much for listening! But also, thank you so much for sharing a little bit about you and your husband. I'm really glad to hear that Gabe's audio project is bringing joy, on many levels, to you and your husband.