Live and Learn
I tried to make a go of it at Beehiiv, and well…here I am again. I wanted to stick it to Substack, and instead I ended up sticking it to myself. Here’s what happened:
Deeply irritated with Substack’s policy towards hate speech and their disingenuous dealings with major publications, I looked for a new platform. Beehiiv seemed like the best option, and so I tried to make it work over there only to run into a series of issues. While I think Beehiiv could be a great platform one day, it simply isn’t ready for prime time. There are confusing redundancies in its toolset, the tutorials are outdated (it’s great having YouTube videos, but less great when you’re using a UI in the video that no longer reflect the UI available to users), and I was bleeding subscribers.
If I were a bigger name, I could maybe weather this issue. If you’ve got 20,000 subscribers and you lose 100, you’ve still got 19,900, so you’re doing okay. But if you’ve only got 500, well… I hadn’t lost 100, but I’d lost ten in the span of a month even though nothing had changed in terms of what I was producing. Only the platform was different, which told me that there must be some sort of issue with Beehiiv that went beyond my capabilities to solve. To borrow an old adage, I was drinking poison and hoping Substack would get sick. If I’m going to continue this project and grow it, I need to be where I can focus on the writing and distribution, not hoping that Beehiiv starts clicking or that I make such a splash in another arena that people feel compelled to follow me to a new platform.
If you signed up for paid subscriptions, that will now transfer over to Substack. If you don’t want to have that payment routed through Substack (and want to simply switch back to the free tier), just let me know, and I’ll give you a full refund.
I’m not thrilled about returning to Substack, but I can’t win every battle. I don’t begrudge anyone who left this platform, nor do I begrudge anyone who no longer wants to read this newsletter. But this is where Commentary Track lives for the foreseeable future. If you want to chat further with me about that, I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.
Recommendations
Always read Margaret Sullivan. If you’re as frustrated as I am that the media has jumped all over the “Is Biden Too Old?” story, then this latest from Sullivan is a great critique. This really is “But Her Emails” all over again, where we’re not really talking about the topic as much as generating a superficial narrative.
Here’s the thing: if Biden’s opponent were even a decade younger than him, I think the age question would be a valid one for independent voters. But that’s not what we’re talking about, just as the proper handling of emails wasn’t really the topic with Hillary Clinton. When people ask, “Is Biden too old?” they’re asking if he’s physically and mentally fit for the duties of President. And if that’s the question, then it also should apply to his opponent. Watching The New York Times try to paint Trump as some kind of elderly adonis sure is something:
Mr. Trump, by contrast, does not appear to be suffering the effects of time in such visible ways. Mr. Trump often dyes his hair and appears unnaturally tan. He is heavyset and tall, and he uses his physicality to project strength in front of crowds. When he takes the stage at rallies, he basks in adulation for several minutes, dancing to an opening song, and then holds forth in speeches replete with macho rhetoric and bombast that typically last well over an hour, a display of stamina.
Well, I guess he should be President then? Out of curiosity, what would be the contents of those speeches? Ah, he said Democrats will change the name of Pennsylvania, and also that Putin is free to invade Europe unless NATO “pays up,” even though that’s not how NATO works.
Anyway, if you’re worried about mental acuity, then I think you have to make the case for why Trump is sharper than Biden beyond “he applies bronzer poorly and does a little dance.”
Over on Amazon, my favorite film of 2011, The Grey, is only $5.99 (60% off). Yes, it’s got Liam Neeson fighting wolves, but it’s also a great existential drama set in the wilderness. If you haven’t seen it, take a chance on this one, and thank me later.
I’m also going to recommend BASEketball, which is also $5.99 (60% off). Is it a great movie? No, but it has scenes that make me giggle, and my brother and I can quote it back-and-forth to each other. It’s also a fascinating historical record of when South Park was so hot that a major studio thought to make its creators into the stars of a wide-release theatrical picture despite Trey Parker and Matt Stone having limited acting ability. Anyway, if you’re wondering what comedy for teenage boys was like at the close of the 20th century, this film provides a good example.
Note: I get a small cut of sales made through my Amazon Associates link.
What I’m Watching
Last night I saw Madame Web, and hooooo boy. You know how some movies stay in development hell, and whenever a producer or director is asked about the project, they say something like, “We’re really trying to make sure we have the script just right?” That clearly did not bother the people behind Madame Web. It’s probably for the best that the superhero genre is receding, because there’s really no need for this movie to exist. I’ll have more on the film and Sony’s Spider-Man problem in Sunday’s issue, but for now I’ll say that Madame Web is both a disaster and also kind of boring.
I think I’m going to have a lot of thoughts on True Detective: Night Country when it wraps up on Sunday night, so for now, I’ll simply say that I think that they’re going to have trouble finding a satisfying conclusion in only six episodes, but I hope showrunner Issa López proves me wrong.
I continue to slowly make my way through The Curse. I have three episodes left to go, and I find the show compelling, darkly funny, and unbearable. The three lead characters are awful people, and the satire is so biting that it breaks the skin. I’m curious to see where the show leads, and eager for it to be over.
Finally, I had to bail on Masters of the Air after two episodes. There are hints of a more interesting show, but the entire thing feels like it was done on a green screen even when it’s simply “airfield in England.” It’s a show about World War II that rarely seems tactile, and most of the characters simply aren’t that interesting. It bums me out because Band of Brothers and The Pacific felt like events, and Masters of the Air is just another expensive streaming show that no one will remember.
I also watched this Hot Ones episode with John Oliver, and it finally clicked why I no longer watch Last Week Tonight. Even by Oliver’s own admission here, he’s force-feeding his audience important information. They’re trying to do it with comedy, but I think after ten years, even he knows that his show is a massive bummer. You can spend HBO’s money as irresponsibly as you want and end every story with a goofy mascot, but every episode is basically, “Here’s how the system is irreparably broken. There are fixes, but those in power won’t do them. Here’s a goofy summation of the story that just made you die a little inside.” There is educational value here, but I’m not sure it outweighs the deep feeling of powerlessness that accompanies that education.
Oh, and Jon Stewart is back! I love Jon Stewart, and I also think that he is wrong on the facts here. It’s fine to criticize both Biden and Trump for their age and mental acuity. But when Stewart says that you have to think about the time after Election Day and that the same anonymous people in government will be toiling away at their jobs no matter who wins, that’s simply wrong. Trump has promised a purge of government employees who he feels are not sufficiently loyal to him. Part of the reason our COVID response was so poor is that he didn’t fund the anonymous workers who would have been instrumental in a pandemic. Anyway, I didn’t completely dislike his opening segment, but I also feel like he’s overlooking some key stuff.
What I’m Reading
I’m still making my way through Invisible Man and Before the Storm. Both are tough reads in their own ways. Invisible Man is consistently heartbreaking while Before the Storm is dense. But I’m enjoying both even though I need to watch some puppy videos on TikTok afterwards.
In other reads:
Destroying Movies for Fun and Profit by Jacob Oller [Paste] - The news that Coyote vs. Acme will be deleted because it’s easier for WBD to take the write-off isn’t surprising, but is depressing, and Oller gets to the heart of why this new practice is so corrosive. It used to be that when a new regime came in to a studio, they would simply bury films from the old regime since they wouldn’t get credit for a hit but would be blamed for a loss. Now studios are just taking the tax write-off, and as Oller points out, “But one day, this will happen to something that you were looking forward to. It will happen to something that would have moved you. Something you’d have remembered fondly, something that would’ve turned your day around. But even if you’re the most jaded, anti-art, movie-hating curmudgeon, you should remember that, released or not, you’re helping pay for this scheme anyways.” My personal opinion is that once you take the tax write-off option, it should move to public domain. There needs to be some kind of tangible benefit for the taxpayers where destroying art isn’t rewarded with less of a tax burden for the arsonist.
Raging Bill by Reeves Wiedeman [Intelligencer] - All the money in the world apparently can’t buy self-awareness. I’m begging dorks like profile subject Bill Ackman to try and imagine something larger than their own petty grievances. He has billions to spend! He could buy anything, do anything, learn anything, and instead he’s angrily tweeting because his daughter went to his alma mater (Harvard) and had different views than him. Ackman being a billionaire doesn’t make this story grandiose or important; it just shows that he’s smaller than life.
What I’m Hearing
This was an interesting episode of Fresh Air since the term “immigration crisis” is now casually tossed around in reporting without really understanding its dimensions or causes. This helped provide a bit of clarity.
What I’m Playing
I’m afraid I am playing Duolingo again. I would like to learn how to say some basic phrases in Spanish, so I’m getting about fifty notifications a day from the app. The green owl haunts my dreams.
Elsewhere, I’m enjoying Final Fantasy VII Remake while also slowly coming to realize that I might not finish my second play-through before Rebirth arrives. So it goes.
So long as Commentary Track continues to grow, I'm happy!
Excellent! A great return to your old platform.