Photo by Derek Berg
• Two East Village businesses detail their retail struggles (ABC 7)
• Jacqueline Lewis, senior minister at Middle Collegiate Church, which was destroyed by fire on Dec. 5, talks about celebrating Christmas in 2020 (WNYC ... previously on EVG)
• B&H Dairy on Second Avenue is in danger of closing again (GoFundMe)
• The great Cozy Soup 'n' Burger on Broadway at Astor Place could use some business too (Official site)
• Gem Spa is auctioning off its sign, rolldown gate, etc. (Official site ... previously on EVG)
• Investigation: NYPD used excessive force during George Floyd protests (Gothamist)
• New York State doing its best to permanently shutter restaurants (NBC 4)
• Second-generation Chinese New Yorkers are trying to help businesses in Chinatown establish an online presence and adapt to the pandemic (Gothamist)
• The future of independent theater (B&B)
• A food vendor on 14th Street — in 1904 (Ephemeral New York)
• 10 punk Christmas songs (Alternative Press)
• Diversions: The Stooges and the legend of "Metallic KO" (Dangerous Minds)
• And I appreciate Alex keeping the blogging spirit alive in this era of Substack, etc. He always has interesting posts. Give him a visit. (Flaming Pablum)
2 comments:
Interesting you mention Substack. There is a craze of writers joining the platform but I don’t understand how it’s different that other platforms for writing. If the benefits were entirely true and unique then writers wouldn’t be able to spin up their own site and charge the cost of their writing nearly equal to what Substack provides. It reminds me of the empty promise of Medium. What I think is happening is the usual trend of “the readability is better here and the platform isn’t as crowded, plus they made flashy emailing tools” that writers often claim as promising. Substack essentially provides an index of content just as all services before did. Though just wait until the platform starts drooling out the regular low quality writing and the top writers don’t enjoy being a part of a sea of mediocrity.
I think if more writers would embrace technology and understand a bit more about it they would see how easy it is to gain the benefits of Substack without the middleman.
‘"All I have to do is find a few thousand people who will pay me $10 a month or $100 a year and I'll have one of the best jobs in journalism," Newton said.’
If it really is so easy then there’s no reason a writer should need to give Substack a cut. Casey was given an opportunity on a platform that is subsidized by investors because he has established presence. There’s no indicator in the future that business model is sustainable or that once investor funds dry up other writers will have the same opportunity.
I found a cassette of Metallic KO in a cutout bin for 2 bucks about 40 years ago - my favorite song is "Got a Cock in my Pocket (and It's Pushing Up Through My Pants)". One and only time I've ever seen it, and I treasure it.
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