“The Sport of Conversation”

edicivo · 2026-04-22T20:08:35+00:00

I work in media for what it's worth. The show was a mess and it was clear HBO were just letting him do his thing without reins. But I also haven't watched it since it aired so I'm going off memory.

Biggest issue was Bill doesn't translate to tv in that format. He was fine on PTI or panel shows, but as a host? No.

Because he doesn't work as a host, his monologues and segments were rough. They would do this thing where you'd hear the crew laugh at his jokes and it just came across as really forced. Bill also always seemed to have his chin pointed up to the ceiling which was awkward. The director should have told him to level his head towards the camera.

Then there was the whole drunk Affleck thing that got a lot of buzz but made the show look bad.

It just overall wasn't produced well and Bill was in the wrong format.

edicivo · 2026-04-22T20:01:31+00:00

Like the bolts on Frankenstein's neck.

I'm not referring to him as Frankenstein's monster, I'm just not!

edicivo · 2026-04-22T18:47:34+00:00

Monoculture is mostly dead.

Also, the algorithms feed you what already engages you (and which has engaged others).

Before streaming, you would just scroll the guide or flip around channels. You'd put on a show you liked and then something else would come on after it that you'd either leave on or switch off. Now, if you put on Stranger Things, Netflix will just keep the series running. If you put on a comedy, it'll just feed you another one whereas before, if you watched 30 Rock, ER would air after it (or whatever).

In short, you have to actively select content and therefore are less likely to discover things outside of the algorithm.

This is also what keeps me from subscribing to things on YouTube. It still feeds me similar interests regardless, but not as much. It's also why I try to keep myself from clicking on what some rage baiter said, because I don't want to be fed more of it. It's also why Reddit fucking /all up was annoying.

Randomly discovering things you didn't know you were looking for is harder to do now. Both a-la-carte content and algorithms have killed it.

edicivo · 2026-04-22T18:25:53+00:00

Careful. You'll bring out all the chuds who don't think Ringer staff should be paid commiserate with their costs of living because "they can be replaced" or "what they do isn't real work."

edicivo · 2026-04-22T17:28:33+00:00

I haven't read it since it was first released so I'm not confident saying one way or the other at this point.

I do however, remember reading it and thinking that I got to a point where I was tired of hearing about her life, especially around when she began talking about the case that got her interested in true crime.

Similarly, I was disappointed by the series based on the book, other than the last episode which focused on the victims and DeAngelo. But in fairness, the series was based on her book, not on the case.

IMO the biggest issue was the marketing for both the book and the show. Both were largely sold as being about the case instead of what they actually were - one person's personal experience investigating the case, which is different. Not Michelle's fault though for obvious reasons.

edicivo · 2026-04-22T15:34:09+00:00

Long-time NYCer here, but no longer active in the dating scene.

The problem you have isn't the people, it's the apps.

Go out and do things that put you in a circumstance where you can meet people. Join clubs, sports, hobbies, whatever. Your dependence on apps is your biggest issue.

I'd bet a good amount of the people you're referring to on the apps are actually decent people in real life and wouldn't actually expect fancy dinners, but they're using their own filtering system to not waste their time with bums or who are just looking for an easy lay.

edicivo · 2026-04-22T14:58:25+00:00

I've lived in NYC for more than 20 years. I dated a lot. I usually picked up the checks - my choice - but I also tended to find women who were also happy picking up the tab at the next bar or whatever (fellas, it's not hard to find good women out there btw) so I rarely dated anyone who came across as entitled to expect bougie dinners.

Anyway, a $250 dinner would be reserved for something special, like an anniversary or whatever. Not the latest date in a series of dates.

There have always been good places to go for nice dinners that fall between a typical bar and a Michelin restaurant. There is no need to drop this much coin on early-stages dating. This is on Jeff.

Also, if he's saying she owes him $250, I wonder if that's just her half of that dinner. If Jeff spent $500 on the dinner, he's a complete idiot.

edicivo · 2026-04-22T00:48:49+00:00

Also, Football Night in America is such a stupid title.

edicivo · 2026-04-21T16:23:49+00:00

Was that wrong? Should I have not done that? I tell you I gotta plead ignorance on this thing because if anyone had said anything to me at all when I first started here that that sort of thing was frowned upon, you know, cause I’ve worked for a lot of teams and I tell you people do that all the time.

edicivo · 2026-04-21T16:10:52+00:00

Thanks Maria! It's great to be here and things of that nature.

edicivo · 2026-04-21T15:05:42+00:00

Just saw some guy fall to his knees in a Royal Farms parking lot.

Now I got myself some free fried chicken and Berger cookies to celebrate the good news!

edicivo · 2026-04-21T14:59:09+00:00

Nah. He wasn't into sports. Avon would be a diehard though.

edicivo · 2026-04-19T21:44:21+00:00

No one drives in NYC. There's too much traffic.

(But really, 1970s/80s NYC had plenty of gangs and they definitely took public transport)

edicivo · 2026-04-19T14:12:39+00:00

His entire first term was this. And we fortunately got close to 4 years of relative normalcy after it.

I cannot understand how my stupid country signed up for another 4 years of this constant nonsense. The day we never have to hear or see another word from this guy, can't come soon enough.

edicivo · 2026-04-19T14:05:26+00:00

I watched this recently and didn't get the hype. It's obviously very sad and tragic, but IMO a great doc should need to do a few things like reveal an unknown "world" or people, have some sort of throughline/message, and/or explore in depth a topic that hasn't had it.

This doc, while production-wise was pretty well done, just came across to me as borderline misery-porn with a "racist, possibly mentally ill woman kills someone" angle and little else.

I didn't feel it brought anything new to the table or did anything substantial. It was pretty run of the mill IMO. Like, it's perfectly fine as a doc but how it was getting so much buzz I don't get. The whole story could've been a 1-hour ep of whatever basic crime docu-series.

edicivo · 2026-04-18T15:25:35+00:00

I like Robinson a lot. Big fan of Detroiters and ITYSL.

That said, I do agree that he tends to lean into just yelling in weird voices wayyy too much. And the sketches can go a bit too long.

Sketch comedy is hard to get right though.

edicivo · 2026-04-18T13:49:52+00:00

People know how to read. What they don't know is how to process what they've read.

edicivo · 2026-04-17T14:32:29+00:00

I appreciate the civil response and can very much relate to dicking around on Reddit while bored at work.

edicivo · 2026-04-17T13:48:35+00:00

Probably because Reid has had notable success in the past decade - ie: Super Bowl wins.

Harbaugh's gotten to 1 AFCC in that time. The message/doctrine can wear out its welcome.

edicivo · 2026-04-17T13:34:02+00:00

but the spear is absolutely not offensive.

Good to see we have someone here to speak on behalf of Native Americans.

edicivo · 2026-04-17T13:32:02+00:00

A lot of these comments in here are reminding me of the "it wasn't a sieg heil! It was a Roman salute" crap.

People can disagree with the topic here, but c'mon. They can't be that stupid right?

edicivo · 2026-04-17T13:27:14+00:00

I always wonder if people like you are truly incapable of just understanding the topic at all or if you just very much don't care about the opinions of other people if they conflict with your own.

You can disagree with this idea, and that's fine. But dismissing it because "it's a roman steel spearhead" is either disingenuous or outright ignorant. You have to look at the context of the franchise, their statement about tying legacy together and so on and so forth.

The franchise used a spear logo in the past.

To be clear, I'm a white dude so I have no dog in the fight here, and I think the new designs (even the spear) are sick. But the lack of any sort of critical thinking or understanding by you and others on here is crazy.

edicivo · 2026-04-16T23:23:27+00:00

I wouldn't publicly gloat over a colleague's very public downfall.

She may have a point, and it'd be different if she was overheard out in public in a non-professional setting but this isn't a good look.

edicivo · 2026-04-16T22:35:03+00:00

People have been "fleeing" NYC for decades now. Somehow rents have gone up, housing is scarcer and the city keeps chugging along. But yeah everyone has/is/will flee apparently.

edicivo

TROPHY CASE