Reply All: #20 I Want To Break Free

April 16, 2015 1:11 PM

Yes Yes No returns, and the story of two people who created a company designed to ghostwrite people's emotionally difficult emails.
posted by radioamy (8 comments total)

YYN vs. Joyce Carol Oates was priceless. I enjoyed this whole ep so much. Choire sounds exactly like I'd imagine him to, which is unusual for writers you've read for years.
posted by Gin and Broadband at 1:54 PM on April 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

I never in a million years would have guessed that Choire Sicha was pronounced CORE-ee SEE-ka. Like I didn't even *process* listening to the podcast that the guy speaking was someone I was familiar with until you wrote his name out, G&B. Huh.

Other than that, loved the ep. So happy to have YYN back...although I prefer it at the end of the show.
posted by radioamy at 6:52 PM on April 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

The first time I discovered how you pronounced his name I had the exact same reaction. There was quite a bit of head tilt.

Confession time: I'm one of the people who tweeted Alex.
posted by Gin and Broadband at 11:47 PM on April 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

Oh I also tweeted Alex. Immediately. Come on, it was glorious.
posted by radioamy at 7:36 AM on April 17, 2015 [3 favorites]

I also tweeted Alex AND was extra proud of myself for taking the time to verify that I was tweeting at the right Alex (@alexgoldman had an interesting week as well).

I'd actually love it if they dove more into the idea that some folks just shouldn't have Twitter. I've learned from experience that it's often a bad idea to actually meet your heroes. Twitter makes it really easy for famous folks to say things, unfiltered, that don't necessarily pertain to whatever I happen to like [insert hero here] for, and it often turns out to be a disappointment.

The biggest damn example of this phenomenon for me is Adam Baldwin and his #goobergolem shenanigans. It makes me not even want to wear my Jayne hat (that I knit for myself because I was that much of a fan) anymore. I'm not naive enough to believe that there aren't plenty of celebrities that are more secret about their abhorrent true natures, it's just so much easier to separate the artist from the art when the artist doesn't assert himself constantly 140 characters at a time.
posted by sparklemotion at 10:52 AM on April 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

sparklemotion, you make a good point. I've actually had a good experience with my "heroes" on Twitter, but I would be crushed if one of them was a jerk.
posted by radioamy at 12:17 PM on April 17, 2015

Sparklemotion, I learned that one when I made the mistake of following Brent Spiner. I still can not rewatch STTNG despite trying because I loved Data and I just....can't see him without immediately thinking of how he talked to his fans on twitter.

I have a Jayne's hat whiskey cozy that I knitted myself.
posted by miss-lapin at 4:05 PM on April 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

I once found myself getting narked by an author I followed who never responded to my (witty and insightful) attempts at engagement with her tweets; I caught myself slipping into an entirely undeserved sense of entitlement and knew I was being silly, hastily unfollowed and stepped away from the computer. But it let me see how the faux-proximity of twitter can do a number on your (basically one-sided) relationship to someone you admire.

Yeah, in this story I come across as the creepy and inappropriate one, I know.
posted by Gin and Broadband at 8:08 AM on April 19, 2015 [1 favorite]