14 Comments
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Paul Noth's avatar

The Semifinal poll somehow was left off again, and now has been added

Jean  Tillson's avatar

Don’t worry too much (or at all!) about the paywall thing. I would never have noticed the difference if you hadn’t mentioned it, and I don’t feel the least bit ripped off for not getting any hidden content. I suppose you need SOME WAY to encourage people to pay, though. How about once per month you select a paying subscriber at random to receive a signed doodle of some kind. One that fits in a regular envelope and can be mailed with a single stamp? Just trying to think of a way to keep it simple for you.

Paul Noth's avatar

That’s a great idea! Something like that might work better than having pay-walled posts, which I always feel reluctant to do. Thanks! And thanks also for your support, Jean!

Colin's avatar

I have trouble voting, because I always like them all! That's why I'm here 🤓👍🏽🥰

Smash the Hype!'s avatar

🧵Shameless plug, I suppose, but you might want to check out my latest Substack article.

It’s not finished.

I originally began it as a reply to YOU, but I decided not to inflict my ranting directly on you.

But the NYTimes today, this Sunday issue is a perfect encapsulation of our sick times!

I need some hard drugs. Something.

Smash the Hype!'s avatar

🧵Here’s Joyce Vance, from Twitter, that rickety🪑platform formerly known as ‘X,’ and Indeed, I pay cash💰money for her content right here.

Anyway, under the rubric of “President Nuts,” I include two screenshots*

1–Joyce Vance from Twitter;

2–My reply to her there.

——

* That you can only see IF one clicks Repies DIRECTLY from your thumbnail title card, rather than clicking your thumbnail first, and only THEN clicking Replies. @Substack Team, fix this!

Smash the Hype!'s avatar

🧵Our President is freaking NUTS!

——

Also, I’m attaching screenshots. Some ways they are seen here, other ways not!

Screenshots:

“President Nuts”;

“Steve Mnuchin & Natasha Fatale”

Smash the Hype!'s avatar

🧵I REALLY need more caffeine, but the sky in wintery grey here in Fredericksburg, Va., and (apparently) we’re supposed to get more snow (but I think it’s just going to be rain, although YOU really will be getting a blizzard (if you do live in N.Y.C.).

Meanwhile the caffeine: Your jokes keep going right over my head: The STATE of the STACK, riffing on the State of the “Union” speech by you-know-who!

Got it now.

——

Here are my feeble attempts in reply:

“It’s contenting to be paid.”

“It pays to be contented, 😌!”

Smash the Hype!'s avatar

EDITED:

Your PUNCHLINES are just incredible, fantastic, make me laugh out loud!

THAT’s why I have to pay you. I PAY for my content, 😉👋🏽!

Paul Noth's avatar

Thank you so much. I appreciate the encouragement.

Smash the Hype!'s avatar

“Drywall,” it took me a moment to get that, 😉!

Because there are “dry walls” made of fieldstone, without using any mortar.

But “drywall,” one word, I’m tracking with you now.

“He who laughs last thinks slowest”: ME, 😉👋🏽!

Smash the Hype!'s avatar

🧵I LIKE paying. I LOVE paying for good content, good writing (in which drawing is obviously included).

I believe in “creators”. I believe in artists. Artists need to be PAID, so they can be free to think.

I’m the old-fashioned guy who always liked getting his software ON A DISK! Remember them days? I generally do not mind online updates of computer applications, but I loved having the disk, man.

Same with 🍏-TV—do I really OWN the movies they say I own & stream from them?

I used to say, “I don’t rent my life,” referring to “renting” movies from Apple. Please, 🙄‼️

I must have c. $1000 tied up in my 🍏-TV film library! At c. $15 a pop, that’s about 67 movies that I “own”. I probably own that many.

Although Bose just bricked all its older SoundTouch radios. I was able to keep WAMU 88.5 FM by putting in a direct URL feed from them, but my other 5️⃣ presets are gone as of now. But I can at least listen to The Big Broadcast, (old time radio📻), every Sunday evening.

I DON’T TALK TO MY RADIOS📻! My radios talk TO ME, 😒‼️

Paul Noth's avatar

Thanks so much for your support. I really appreciate it!

Smash the Hype!'s avatar

That’s me there, baby, buried under the paperwork, 😉!

When my incredible mom died of abject dementia in March 2017, I stopped filing. (And I used to be a crack accountant, too, and I don’t mean for drug dealers! My filing systems, based on numbered files, and a constantly updated & sorted File Index, is second to none.)

And my father died badly in a nursing home as well, in 2019. I took over his house and did many repairs (new roof & gutters, etc.).

And that bastard Trump, and his ridiculous Cabinet, Mnuchin & his wife, Natasha Fatale! Betsy DeVos.

Then Covid hit hard in February-March 2020.

Then on Thursday, March 5th, 2020, a date which will live in infamy, I got into a BIZARRE GARDENING ACCIDENT with my quince bush, it of the needle thorns!

Although the most active sites on my arms & legs have subsided extruding thorns constantly from then to now, there is one active site that just emerged, a crater, pushing out the dreaded thorns even now! Almost SIX years!

And MAGA. And Congress. And Trump again! And the fucking “ballroom”.

So I had reasons!