Gary Will
@garywill.com
Spent decades building expertise in areas I don't pay attention to anymore. Now read a lot about plants. Wikipedia says I'm best known for a wrestling history book. Southwestern Ontario.
A book of mine from 25 years ago currently listed on eBay for US$650. It's been signed by some of the biggest names ever in wrestling (Thesz, Bockwinkel, Hodge, etc.) but the seller doesn't seem to have any idea and doesn't mention any of them in the listing.
December 2, 2025 at 5:11 AM
A book of mine from 25 years ago currently listed on eBay for US$650. It's been signed by some of the biggest names ever in wrestling (Thesz, Bockwinkel, Hodge, etc.) but the seller doesn't seem to have any idea and doesn't mention any of them in the listing.
The new slide decks in NotebookLM are pretty amazing. Certainly in appearance. Art work looks great.
November 22, 2025 at 9:37 PM
The new slide decks in NotebookLM are pretty amazing. Certainly in appearance. Art work looks great.
Reposted by Gary Will
The outpouring of mourning for the great and hilarious "alt-country" genius Todd Snider seemed an excellent reason to devote this month's Big Lookback to a Barnes & Noble Review appreciation I wrote about Snider more than a decade ago. robertchristgau.substack.com/p/the-big-lo...
The Big Lookback: Todd Snider
"Preaching Agnosticism (With Laugh Lines)," from "The Barnes & Noble Review," April 30, 2012
robertchristgau.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:44 PM
The outpouring of mourning for the great and hilarious "alt-country" genius Todd Snider seemed an excellent reason to devote this month's Big Lookback to a Barnes & Noble Review appreciation I wrote about Snider more than a decade ago. robertchristgau.substack.com/p/the-big-lo...
I'd feel like I owe an apology to Neil Young if I hadn't bought so many of his albums over the years
Spotify lossless is more of an improvement than I expected
November 16, 2025 at 10:06 PM
I'd feel like I owe an apology to Neil Young if I hadn't bought so many of his albums over the years
Spotify lossless is more of an improvement than I expected
November 16, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Spotify lossless is more of an improvement than I expected
Reposted by Gary Will
I'm very sorry to report that the great alt-country singer-songwriter Todd Snider has died at 59 of undiagnosed walking pneumonia. I stick by what I wrote about him in 2012. www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bn/2012-0... Here's Rolling Stone's coverage. www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Robert Christgau: Preaching Agnosticism (with Laugh Lines)
www.robertchristgau.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM
I'm very sorry to report that the great alt-country singer-songwriter Todd Snider has died at 59 of undiagnosed walking pneumonia. I stick by what I wrote about him in 2012. www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bn/2012-0... Here's Rolling Stone's coverage. www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Have been a Todd Snider fan for over 20 years. A great songwriter whose stories were even better. Wrote a fantastic memoir too.
Todd Snider - Bill Elliott Story - Visulite Theater - Charlotte, NC - 2011-03-16
YouTube video by pieceofwork35
www.youtube.com
November 15, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Have been a Todd Snider fan for over 20 years. A great songwriter whose stories were even better. Wrote a fantastic memoir too.
The only part of Facebook I still used
Starting December 15, users will no longer be able to log into the apps and will be automatically redirected to the Facebook website to access Messenger.
Meta to shut down Messenger desktop apps for Mac and Windows | TechCrunch
Starting December 15, users will no longer be able to log into the apps and will be automatically redirected to the Facebook website to access Messenger.
techcrunch.com
October 16, 2025 at 6:27 PM
The only part of Facebook I still used
People who talk about "tall poppy syndrome" usually seem to be smug, pompous jerks.
"All you piddly crabgrasses need to keep quiet. It's terrible to live somewhere where everyone isn't always talking about how worthy of adoration I am."
"All you piddly crabgrasses need to keep quiet. It's terrible to live somewhere where everyone isn't always talking about how worthy of adoration I am."
October 8, 2025 at 9:52 PM
People who talk about "tall poppy syndrome" usually seem to be smug, pompous jerks.
"All you piddly crabgrasses need to keep quiet. It's terrible to live somewhere where everyone isn't always talking about how worthy of adoration I am."
"All you piddly crabgrasses need to keep quiet. It's terrible to live somewhere where everyone isn't always talking about how worthy of adoration I am."
Normally, I'm not impressed when new CEOs think that changing the logo is a priority.
I'll make an exception here.
I'll make an exception here.
September 15, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Normally, I'm not impressed when new CEOs think that changing the logo is a priority.
I'll make an exception here.
I'll make an exception here.
It's come to the point that when the Ontario government goes to Kitchener to announce $5M in funding for entrepreneurs, it's money for a DMZ program.
Ontario Newsroom
news.ontario.ca
September 10, 2025 at 7:39 PM
It's come to the point that when the Ontario government goes to Kitchener to announce $5M in funding for entrepreneurs, it's money for a DMZ program.
Great AI you've got there, Google. So glad you place this at the top of the search page.
(Terry Kath didn't write any of these.)
(Terry Kath didn't write any of these.)
September 1, 2025 at 4:53 AM
Great AI you've got there, Google. So glad you place this at the top of the search page.
(Terry Kath didn't write any of these.)
(Terry Kath didn't write any of these.)
CBS had YouTuber Rick Beato redo something from recent video -- using AI tools to create a name & image of an imaginary musician (Sadie Winters), lyrics and then a finished song. Then someone created an AI video for the song.
Walking Away (Music Video) | Sadie Winters | Emotional Ballad on Letting Go
YouTube video by 80s Rock Revival
www.youtube.com
August 23, 2025 at 5:45 AM
CBS had YouTuber Rick Beato redo something from recent video -- using AI tools to create a name & image of an imaginary musician (Sadie Winters), lyrics and then a finished song. Then someone created an AI video for the song.
Shatner: "All I saw was death [in space]. I saw a cold, dark, black emptiness."
"Someone once said that space is dark and cold and full of death." -- ST:SNW
A character on this week's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gave a nod to William Shatner.
A character on this week's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gave a nod to William Shatner.
August 22, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Shatner: "All I saw was death [in space]. I saw a cold, dark, black emptiness."
"Someone once said that space is dark and cold and full of death." -- ST:SNW
A character on this week's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gave a nod to William Shatner.
A character on this week's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gave a nod to William Shatner.
August 22, 2025 at 3:05 AM
"Someone once said that space is dark and cold and full of death." -- ST:SNW
A character on this week's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gave a nod to William Shatner.
A character on this week's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gave a nod to William Shatner.
"You've raised a very insightful point that gets to the heart of a common misunderstanding"
-- AI-speak for "what you just said is stupid"
-- AI-speak for "what you just said is stupid"
August 17, 2025 at 10:11 PM
"You've raised a very insightful point that gets to the heart of a common misunderstanding"
-- AI-speak for "what you just said is stupid"
-- AI-speak for "what you just said is stupid"
I had to copy and paste answers from NotebookLM into ChatGPT to get it to acknowledge basic points about a document it was supposed to be analyzing.
Everyone was right -- ChatGPT 5 is utter garbage. Big errors (sometimes repeated after being corrected), missing critical details and would identify them as huge omissions once prompted, inane 3-sentence answers where it would have written a page before. Just have to hope they haven't ruined 4o.
August 16, 2025 at 5:58 AM
I had to copy and paste answers from NotebookLM into ChatGPT to get it to acknowledge basic points about a document it was supposed to be analyzing.
Everyone was right -- ChatGPT 5 is utter garbage. Big errors (sometimes repeated after being corrected), missing critical details and would identify them as huge omissions once prompted, inane 3-sentence answers where it would have written a page before. Just have to hope they haven't ruined 4o.
August 16, 2025 at 5:53 AM
Everyone was right -- ChatGPT 5 is utter garbage. Big errors (sometimes repeated after being corrected), missing critical details and would identify them as huge omissions once prompted, inane 3-sentence answers where it would have written a page before. Just have to hope they haven't ruined 4o.
Ode to the Boston subway line.
I lived in Cambridge for three years, so this is probably funnier to me.
RIP Tom Lehrer
I lived in Cambridge for three years, so this is probably funnier to me.
RIP Tom Lehrer
July 27, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Ode to the Boston subway line.
I lived in Cambridge for three years, so this is probably funnier to me.
RIP Tom Lehrer
I lived in Cambridge for three years, so this is probably funnier to me.
RIP Tom Lehrer
Hulk Hogan was in the main event of the top-drawing wrestling shows in Toronto in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s:
1986: Hogan vs Paul Orndorff
1990: Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior
2002: Hogan vs The Rock*
All drew over 60,000
* Not the advertised main event, but definitely the main event.
1986: Hogan vs Paul Orndorff
1990: Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior
2002: Hogan vs The Rock*
All drew over 60,000
* Not the advertised main event, but definitely the main event.
July 24, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Hulk Hogan was in the main event of the top-drawing wrestling shows in Toronto in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s:
1986: Hogan vs Paul Orndorff
1990: Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior
2002: Hogan vs The Rock*
All drew over 60,000
* Not the advertised main event, but definitely the main event.
1986: Hogan vs Paul Orndorff
1990: Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior
2002: Hogan vs The Rock*
All drew over 60,000
* Not the advertised main event, but definitely the main event.
Most days I'd rather be at Point Clark ... but maybe not today
July 24, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Most days I'd rather be at Point Clark ... but maybe not today
You know that when an AI chatbot begins its answer with "You're on the right track!" that it's concluded that you have no idea what you're talking about.
July 2, 2025 at 3:40 AM
You know that when an AI chatbot begins its answer with "You're on the right track!" that it's concluded that you have no idea what you're talking about.
I guess Chicago (still touring) got the last laugh on Dire Straits.
June 21, 2025 at 9:20 PM
I guess Chicago (still touring) got the last laugh on Dire Straits.
Getting feedback from ChatGPT is like the Westworld version of being back in school.
June 4, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Getting feedback from ChatGPT is like the Westworld version of being back in school.
Relieved to hear that it's now safe to say that I was still listening to Taylor Swift original recordings.
May 30, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Relieved to hear that it's now safe to say that I was still listening to Taylor Swift original recordings.