So Long. Please Write.

Here we are.  December 31st.  End of another year.  And what a year it was.

Some huge changes -- both good and bad -- in our lives.

Tomorrow will be the last day of our annual family Holidailies blog.  It is a fun tradition that we've been doing for 11 years.  It's fun for me to go back and read some older entries.  To see what my family members were thinking and writing about at the time.  I'm proud of us that we've kept this up, even in years when it wasn't so easy to produce a new blog entry every day for the month of December.

This got me thinking about writing generally.  I've been writing "for fun" ever since elementary school.  The year before the pandemic, I arranged a lunch with a pair of my elementary school teachers.  One of them, who is no longer with us, was my teacher for both 3rd and 5th grades.  When we had lunch, she actually brought a short story I had written either in 3rd or 5th grade.  She saved it all of these years.  I couldn't believe it.

I've written for several literary publications throughout high school and college.  I majored in Communications with a "Publishing" concentration which had me writing plenty.  In law school, I even wrote my way onto the Law Review.

I've penned poems, short stories and even songs (including the song we danced our first dance to at our wedding).  I've written five full length screenplays -- one of which got optioned but never produced.  I've contributed 100+ blog entries to this and another blog.  I've even written about two thirds of a novel that I think isn't half bad.  Now if I can only find the time to finish it.

Professionally, I've worked in advertising and as a lawyer -- both very communication-heavy careers.

Writing is both easy for me and excruciatingly hard.  But, as my friends and family will gladly tell you, I'm rarely at a loss for words.

Can't wait to see what I produce in 2023.

As always, thanks for reading!

Frosty

A Brief Reflection On 2022

Usually I use this blog to be a silly goose so I figured why not use my last entry to be ~vulnerable~. Yes, the “V” word. 

2022 was an eventful and overall good year for me. I made a number of life changes, including but not limited to moving across the country and out of my childhood home. 

I made significant steps forward with my career; I acquired representation (a manager and an agent) and I finally feel like I’m in a community of other people pursuing the same thing as me. 

And lastly, I feel that I became closer with my friends and family.

 

I think that my favorite part about this year is that it felt long and eventful. So much happened and it’s the first year in a while that I haven’t felt like life was breezing by. 2020 and 2021 were both a blur for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on! 

Sound off in the comments why you think those years went by quickly and were uneventful. 

And thanks for reading!

Rudolph

Christmas Carol Spin-offs

May be some movie spoilers in here, fair warning. 

On Christmas Day, my family and I often like to watch either a new movie or a Christmas movie. This year we did both: we watched Spirited starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds. It was a funny holiday musical about a company that changes one Scrooge-like person a year, reflecting the original Dickens story. In this case, Will Ferrell plays the original Scrooge, who decades later is now the Ghost of Christmas Present. He tried to save the young, supposedly unredeemable man played by Ryan Reynolds, and they bond during this experience.

It was a fun movie and we all enjoyed it. But the real story here was later that evening, we were chilling reading our respective books, when I’d finished the one I was reading so I decided to go upstairs and look for something else to read before I could go buy the sequel the next day.

I picked up this book from my shelf that was new that I’d never read. I was pretty sure my parents had gotten it for me last Christmas, but I never got around to reading it. The book is called “The Afterlife of Holly Chase”. Reading the inside cover, I felt like I was having deja-vu. The description said it was about a spoiled 17 year old girl, who was the chosen Scrooge of a company called Project Scrooge that tried to change one person each year for the better. She failed to change and then died a few days later, and was placed in the role of the Ghost of Christmas Past. The company picks a new Scrooge five years later, who happens to be a handsome young man, and the girl and the Scrooge bond.

I’ve since almost finished the book, but I was just struck by the similarities of the concepts of this book and movie. They’re both ultimately quite different plots and the details are all individual, but to me I was pleased to find something similar to the mood that the movie had just put me in. I’d recommend both of them.

Thanks for reading!

Holly

What Is The Meaning Of Christmas?

Christmas means different things to different people. I think the overarching meaning is to try to have an open and loving heart, displayed with acts of kindness to those you know, don’t know well, or don’t know at all even if only this one time of year. This spirit transcends religions and beliefs, and is definitely contagious.

Who really knows which origin story is accurate? Did it all start with St Nicholas? Or the Coca-Cola ads from like a 100 years ago? Frankly, who really cares. It’s here now and has to be contended with each year.

For many, it is such a desirable time of year that they try to extend the life of the season; I know people who will put up their trees the day after Halloween. Yes, you read that right. Sadly, I knew somebody who was very ill and knew she was not going to make it to her next Christmas so she chose to celebrate Christmas in July. It was that important to her.

For me, Christmas is spending time with loved ones, reaching out to those I don’t connect with often, reliving fun family traditions, re-energizing with a break in the grind, and those special little surprises that I didn’t expect.

Ok, so you thought this was going to be a run-of-the-mill essay about the holiday. Nope. For those of you who have read this far, prepare to be rewarded. I asked the Chatbot that has been in the news to write an essay answering the same question. The Chatbot is supposed to be able to do my work for me. You can see my answer above; you can see three versions of its answer below. In this case, I think I as a human writer did a better job. Nonetheless, the bot wasn’t horrible. Crazy times we live in! (For those who want to play, the address is https://openai.com

Tell me the meaning of Christmas

Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. It is a time for families and friends to come together and exchange gifts, enjoy festive meals, and celebrate the holiday season.

Tell me the modern day meaning of Christmas

Christmas is a time of celebration and joy, where people come together to exchange gifts, enjoy festive meals, and spend time with family and friends. It is a time to remember the birth of Jesus Christ and to reflect on the meaning of the season.

What is the meaning of Christmas?

Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a time of joy, giving, and family gatherings. It is also a time to remember and reflect on the true meaning of the season, which is to celebrate the love of God and the gift of His son, Jesus Christ.

Thanks for reading!

Eve

 

Frosty's Review of "A Beautiful Noise"

My family and I saw the show "A Beautiful Noise" on Broadway tonight.  It is basically a musical telling of the story of Neil Diamond's life using his music. We enjoyed the show a lot.  The performances were very strong and the ensemble was used very well throughout the show.  Will Swenson, as the younger Neil Diamond definitely stood out.  His performance is such a spot on imitation of Neil Diamond that I wonder if they would ever be able to find a replacement if Will Swenson leaves the show before it closes.

There were several key takeaways for me personally that I thought were worth sharing:

First, it became apparent to me watching the show that there is a lot of Neil Diamond's music that I DON'T know.  Surprising, right?  The guy had 39 songs that hit number one on the charts.  There were plenty of songs that I did know, of course, including several that I more closely associate with the artists that originally recorded them than I do Neil Diamond.  I looked it up and Sweet Caroline was released when I was only 3 years old.  That song I know but there were many others performed throughout the show that I was unfamiliar with.

Second, I didn't know that Neil Diamond suffered from depression.  In fact, the framing device for the musical is sessions between Diamond and his therapist.  Apparently he has dealt with the "dark clouds" since his childhood.  Who knew?

Speaking of "who knew?", I also learned (courtesy of a letter from Neil Diamond in the Playbill) that he retired from performing due to a 2018 diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease.  Maybe more diehard Neil Diamond fans in the crowd were aware of this but I sure wasn't.

The show is a colorful, interesting telling of an interesting life filled with some/lots of music you will recognize depending on your level of Neil Diamond fandom.  If you are in New York while it is playing (and you have already seen Some Like It Hot which was definitely superior), I would recommend it.

Thanks for reading!

Frosty

A Comprehensive Ranking of my Family Members

When I don’t know what to write for the day I often default to a ranking, usually of my favorite books, shows, and movies. Today, I give you a comprehensive ranking of my (nuclear) family members.

#1 My mom. Does a lot for the family, very giving and kind.

 

Also #1 My dad. Nice man, loves his family. Does a lot for them.

 

Also #1 My sister. Silly goose, brings good vibes to the house. 

 

#2 Our dog, Mickey. Not alive, been dead a long time actually. I’d give her bonus points for being completely silent for the last 12 years, but I did used to have to clean up her poop, so minus a bunch of points for that.

 

#3 My brother. Not real, don’t have one.

 

#4 The turtles that we used to have. They pooped a lot as well. Haven’t seen the three number ones poop ever; that’s the main reason they’re number one. 

Thanks for reading!

Rudolph

Time

Yesterday was my birthday so it has me thinking about the passage of time. I am not talking about the another-year-older way. Rather, two other ways:

The first is what is the first memory you ever had? Like how little were you when you can actually recall having done something or experienced something. For me, I have two distinct early memories. When I was two, I recall having a dream about my grandfather and telling everybody about it. I was sitting on the gold club chair in my living room and telling my siblings and parents about the dream. They were all freaked out because I have never met my grandfather – he died two years before I was born. But my description was very accurate, and I specifically recall everybody’s focus on me as I told them about the dream.  My second early memory occurred when I was three. At that time, I had surgery. I specifically remember the doctors, the family members of other patients, drinking from the water fountain and me miscalculating so it went up my nose, and looking out the window and seeing my parents’ gold station wagon parked, and then seeing it was not. I consider this a time thing because when we are little, we recall many things when they are in the recent past (like which drawer our pjs are in), but then forget them as time goes on. What is your first memory for which you can document your age, that has actually stuck in your memory?

The second time thing that I have been musing about it when one loses total track of time. Like, when you are totally involved in something and you cease being mindful of the passage of time. And then suddenly, you find yourself jolting back into tracking the clock. Have you ever thought about when that happens to you? Maybe during a good musical performance? I feel like lots of time it’s when one is learning something new. I am sure there is a scholarly name for this phenomenon. For me, it happens sometimes when I am at orchestra rehearsal. I am focusing so intently on playing, I lose track of time. In any case, I love when it happens!

Here's to saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new year!

Eve

Working as a Daycare Sub

I saw my brother wrote about his experience working as a substitute teacher, so I decided it’d been fun to write about my sub job, although I don’t work with school age kids like he does.

I work at the Cornell day care, where the children of a lot of faculty and staff at Cornell stay during the day. I applied to the job because my roommate worked there and was telling me all about the cute kids she’d see at work, so I decided to apply.

I work primarily in the Infant wing, which is 5 classrooms with about 8 babies each, all 18 months old or younger. I love working with the babies the most, more than toddlers or preschoolers, although they’re fun too.

I can’t believe I get paid to play with tiny little cutie pies for like 4 hours a day. The other day a tiny two month old baby named Elisha slept in my arms for 40 minutes, and he held my finger with his itty bitty hand the entire time and I fell in love. There’s an 8 month old named Fred who always is so happy to see me and has such a soft squishable face, and a chonky baby girl named Juliana who always is smiling.

I love watching these babies grow so much week over week, and seeing all of their little personalities develop as they grow. It’s really an awesome job and I can’t wait to get back to it in the spring.

Thanks for reading!

Holly

 

The Bonus Round

As readers of this blog may remember, today marks what would have been my father's 89th birthday.  89 sounds quite old to me.  It's hard to imagine what my father would have been like at that age. 

Here's the thing -- this year I turned older than my father was when he died.  

When your father dies at the age of 56, you spend your life wondering how much time you'll have yourself.  This has had a major impact on me.

I live my life making sure to find enjoyment in every day.  I try to smile, laugh and learn something each day.  I plan bucket list trips each year.  I spend time with the people I want to spend time with and don't put it off.  Even during the pandemic, we made sure to email, text and zoom with as many friends and family as possible.  I tell my wife and kids that I love them everyday.  I grew to appreciate every day and took none of them for granted.

Now that I'm older than my father lived to be, I have no expectations for what comes next.  I like to think of it as entering my own personal bonus round.  It's actually kind of exciting, don't you think?

Thanks for reading.  Happy Birthday, Dad!

Frosty

Evolution of Education

I work as a substitute teacher. It’s a pretty solid gig with respectable pay, decent hours, and it’s usually not too difficult. I sub for all subjects and all ages, which is much easier than it sounds. The older kids are self-sufficient and often I’m just instructed to have them continue their work from class.

 

A big change from when I was in elementary school is that the younger kids do most of their assignments on their chrome books. When I was in school, there was a singular laptop cart on every floor that the entire floor shared. Every kid at these (mostly charter and private) schools that I work at has their own laptop.

 

At first, that might come across as dystopian and lame. I thought so too, initially. Why can’t our kids focus on the board? Why do they always have to be on screens? Yada yada.  

I’ve really come around to it. First of all, selfishly, it makes it easier to sub for those classes than if I had to lecture to them at the front of the class. But the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve realized that having a gamified digital lesson where students can move at their own pace is probably a lot more effective for most kids than watching a lecture that they may or may not be paying attention to. I’m sure that this type of learning would have been a lot more effective for me!  

Thanks for reading!

Rudolph

When is a Biography not a Biography?

Before I answer the question asked in the title of this blog entry, how many of you have been to a brick and mortar bookstore recently?

I have to admit that it has been quite a long time for me.  Probably since before the start of the pandemic.  As discussed in previous entries, the pandemic really shifted our migration to online shopping into hyperdrive.  We could buy anything we wanted from the comfort of our homes.  And with shipping features like Amazon Prime, we could feel confident we would get most if not all of our purchases within 48 hours. 

Aside from the convenience, online shopping made things easy.  It was intuitive.  We could search for our desired item by name.  We could see the product, read lots of product information and reviews and even watch videos of the product in action.  When we clicked “order” we were certain that we were getting what we came for.

Flash forward to today which is 4 days before Christmas.  I read about a new book that I thought would make a great gift for a family member.  Since I didn’t want to risk the delivery showing up late for Christmas, I decided to brave the local Barnes & Noble.

Now just to be clear, I used to LOVE going to bookstores.  I could kill gobs of time browsing through different sections, reading the book jackets, getting a cup of coffee, and perusing a new book while sipping my coffee in a big comfy chair.

I get to B&N and head directly to the Biography section. I had to look around a bit to find it.  It should have been my first clue that there were a LOT more sections than I remembered.  I searched alphabetically by the author’s name and…..ZILCH.  Nothing.  Now this is a new release biography by a fairly famous performer, so it has to be here, right?

After a bit of searching, I located a sales clerk who said she would look it up on their system for me.  She punches in the author’s name and the name of the book.  “OK, here’s your problem,” she tells me.  This performer is a comedian, so his biography isn’t in the Biography section – it is in the Humor section.  The system says they currently have 20 copies in stock.

Together, we march over to the Humor section – which, by the way, is nowhere near the Biography section – and…….ZILCH.  Nothing.  Now the sales clerk is as perplexed as I am.  “It should be here,” she tells me.  She tells me to wait there while she goes “downstairs” to look for it in their stock inventory.

After about 6-7 minutes, she returns with a copy of the book in hand.  Success!  She apologizes and says it is very strange that the book is not on the shelf during the lead up to Christmas.  Very strange indeed.  I thank her and go back to browsing. 

Five minutes later, I literally bump into a table with a big sign on it reading “Manager’s Picks”.  What do I find on that table?  Twelve copies of the biography I came in for in the first place. I shit you not.  So it was not in the Biography section where most red-blooded Americans would search for a biography.  It was not in the Humor section where some inventory manager thought it would make more sense to display it.  Instead, every copy is stacked on a table with randomly collected titles that NOBODY would ever find if not by happenstance.  Good grief!!

I don’t know about you but I’m going back to online shopping.

Thanks for reading!

Frosty

"A Christmas Carol" on Broadway

A few days ago my parents and I went to see the production of A Christmas Carol that is currently running on Broadway. If this were any old production of this show, it might not have been on the top of our priority list to see. This one was special. 

The original classic Dickens story was adapted into a one-man-show, with seasoned Broadway actor Jefferson Mays playing all 51 characters in the story. My family has seen him in two other shows in the past, Oslo and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (where he also played multiple characters, in that case nine different members of the D’ySquith family), and he had such range and ability in those productions that we knew we had to see him in this. 

This show is a must-see for anyone who appreciates the artistry of theater. For one thing, any show that has only one actor is an impressive feat in and of itself because 95 minutes of material requires an obscene amount of memorization. Outside of that, Mays’ incredible range allowed him to play so many distinct characters. Even when he was having a conversation with himself as three different people, it was still so easy to follow which character was supposed to be speaking at all times. 

Jefferson Mays’ mastery of performance went hand-in-hand with the brilliant lighting and sound effects of the show. Light was used strategically and smartly to help differentiate between characters. For an overall pretty simple set, the lights and sound effects filled in the gaps perfectly, and were used in creative and innovative ways without overtaking the acting and the story itself. Even the way Marley’s chains were portrayed, by Mays swinging his arms, a chain sound effect, and then a reverberating light pattern on the back wall acting like a visualization of the echoing sound, was so incredible and unlike anything we’d ever seen before. 

For passionate theater goers looking for their next ticket this holiday season, I would 100% recommend trying to snag a ticket for this show before its run ends. A true masterpiece. 

Thanks for reading!

Holly

The Cultural Impact Of Avatar

Avatar: The Way of Water came out this weekend and I’m seeing it tomorrow. I’ve heard good things and I’m looking forward to it. 

There’s been some discourse on Twitter in light of Water’s release about the cultural impact of Avatar. Obviously, it’s the highest grossing film of all time (not adjusting for inflation; Gone With the Wind somehow remains undefeated). However, some seem to feel that despite its popularity, Avatar hasn’t had the same impact as other movies of similar size and favor. While the Na’vi are certainly recognizable, are any of the characters? Does the average person remember Jake Sully or Neytiri in the same way they remember the names “Luke Skywalker” or “Tony Stark”? Does it have famous lines that people quote?

 

I think these are fair questions that bear some merit. Ultimately, I disagree and to be clear, this is not an argument on the quality of the film overall, just one suggesting that Avatar was and is culturally significant. 

 

There’s a condition known as PAD, which stands for Post-Avatar Depression. Essentially, a lot of people are depressed that they don’t live on Pandora, the colorful planet where Avatar takes place. Let that sink in: there is a specific genre of depression in which people are depressed specifically because they do not live in the fictional world from Avatar. I don’t know of any medical conditions relating to Tatooine or the Shire (although I am depressed I can’t live in the Shire). Culture: impacted.

 

Duolingo is an app that helps you learn languages. Like many of its users, I briefly tried to learn Spanish on it and then gave up after a few weeks, all while I got passive aggressive emails from its owl mascot that I wasn’t completing my lessons. Duolingo offers over 40 languages, including Na’vi, the language spoken by, you guessed it, the Na’vi from Avatar. There are real-life human languages that Duolingo does not offer, but it does offer that which is spoken by the tall blue people. Also, you can therefore only surmise that there must’ve been a demand for this feature in the first place. Culture: impacted. 

 

Further reading on PAD:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/dec/15/post-avatar-depression-syndrome-why-do-fans-feel-blue-after-watching-james-camerons-film

Thanks for reading!

Rudolph

Eve's Spotify Wrap-Up

The other day my daughter contributed an essay on her Spotify Wrapped statistics. For the unitiated, at the culmination of each year, the music app Spotify will aggregate everything you have listened to this past year. It is an interesting exercise on reality versus perception – how many minutes do you think you spent listening to music? And if someone asks you what you spend the most time listening to, is that actually accurate?

Last year, it turns out I spent 19,121 minutes listening to music.  That’s roughly an hour a day. That is notably less that my daughter who clocked in at 21,821. My perception would have been that we would clock in at somewhat equal, with me maybe even having a bit more. But the reality is she has listened to 14% more music than I have this past year!

If you asked me what I listened to most, I would have definitively said Chopin.   Which is apparently true, but not any one piece of Chopin, so it doesn’t count as my Top Song.  Apparently, my Top Song for 2022 was Hey Ya! By Outkast. I listened to it 21 times one day back February. I wish I could tell you I recall what I was doing that February day that prompted 21 listens but I do not recall! Rounding out my Top Five are three pieces by Chopin, and This is How We Do It by Montell Jordan.  You can attribute that last one to my ever-growing workout playlist. 😊

Back to Chopin. Last year I listened to 3,247 minutes of him – a full 18% of my music listening. That puts me in the top one half of one percent of Frederic Chopin listeners for 2022.  An honor!

Lest you think I am narrow in my music tastes, Spotify calculated that I listened to 954 artists this past year.  Proof I mix it up every now and then!

Spotify doesn’t just have music, though. It also has a nice selection of podcasts. There, I logged 6,289 minutes of listening. Or, translated, 6,289 minutes of work on my property and/or long car drives. Because that is when I listen to those! I have only invested time thus far in four podcasts: Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Let’s Talk to Lucy, WTF with Marc Maron, and Suze Orman’s Women & Money. 

• Dax interviews celebrities, but even more interestingly, he interviews established experts on all sorts of topics.  It’s sort of like a masterclass on a mélange of topics.  
• Marc Maron, the OG of podcasters, does a deep dive with all sorts of people in the entertainment business. He has introduced me to many people I would not have otherwise given a second glance. 
• Let’s Talk to Lucy is a great podcast I bet none of you know about. Apparently, back in the 50s, Lucille Ball interviewed the luminaries of the time.  She did so in like 10-15 minute increments. It is impressive to see how studio heads revered this woman as a business professional, pioneer, actor and person. You also get to hear legends such as Barbra Streisand when she was a newbie to the business. 
• And Suze Orman, always the guru on finances, keeps me evaluating our finances and encourages me to stay on top of things.

Lastly, Spotify has labeled me a Time Traveler, stating “You’re like a musical time traveler, a sonic historian. You seek out music that’s new to you, regardless of whether it’s new to the rest of the world.” This statement is so true!  I like to explore all kinds of music both new and old.

Can’t wait to see what next year brings!

Eve

Christmas In July?

I went to the mall with my daughter today.  It’s eight days before Christmas. 

Ooof!  Big mistake, right?  Actually no.  It was busy, but not super crazy. 

At one point we were in one of the flagship stores in the mall.  I turned to my daughter and said, “Where are all of the people?”  “What people?” she said.  “All of the Christmas shoppers,” I replied.

Now I’ve read that unemployment is at one its lowest points in the last 50 years.  Inflation was not as bad as originally anticipated.  The economy is improving.  So again I ask, “Where were all of the people?”

Maybe everyone is DONE with their Christmas shopping?  I guess it is possible.  I heard someone say this morning that they don’t understand why people don’t do their holiday shopping in September?  If that’s the way they feel, then why not shop in June and July.  Nothing gets those yuletide feelings flowing like 90 degree temperatures and the jingling of the ice cream man’s bell a few blocks over.  Unless everyone on your list is getting swim suits, flip flops and sunscreen, it’s hard to knock off your shopping so early.  To me at least, the shopping is a necessary part of the holiday season.

Maybe people haven’t started their shopping yet?  I guess that’s possible too.  Tomorrow is one week out and maybe a short fuse is what most people need to kick their shopping into high gear? 

Maybe everyone moved to online shopping?  I guess it is possible.  During the pandemic people shifted much (most?) of their spending to online platforms.  Maybe the convenience of that stuck and people haven’t returned to the stores?  I recently read that spending on Black Friday/Cyber Monday hit a three year high.  Almost back to pre-pandemic levels.  I’m willing to bet that is what’s going on. 

Thoughts?

Thanks for reading.

Frosty

Humans vs AI

Technology plays such a crazy important role in almost everything we do.  I’ve always enjoyed seeing what developers come up with next and I get excited about the various ways tech will make our lives easier, more fun, interesting, etc.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is in the news pretty much every day and it is pretty amazing how far it has come. 

Do I think we’ll get to a point where we can have realistic digital assistants/co-workers?  Sure. 

Self-driving cars?  Definitely.

AI actors in TV and film?  Most likely.

But we are still a long way off from those things being a reality.  Are our networks fast enough?  (Not yet). Can the AI really learn to talk to us like we speak to each other?  (Maybe).

Am I worried about the machines taking over?  Not so much.  We’re a long way off from that ever happening.

I recently read a transcript of an online exchange between a human and an AI assistant that I think sums up the current state of perfectly.  It is also hilarious.

Happy reading!

Frosty

 

Posted/Created by Dave Harland, The Word Man

 

The following is a conversation with an AI assistant. The assistant is helpful, creative, clever, and very friendly.

 Human: Hello, who are you?

 AI: I am an AI created by OpenAI. How can I help you today?

 Human: I need a business name

 AI: How about "OpenAI Business Solutions?"

 Human: It's about hoodies

 AI: How about "Hoodie Design Solutions?"

 Human: That's too formal

 AI: How about "Hoodie Design Depot?"

 Human: It's a purpose-driven company

 AI: How about "Hoodie Design for a Cause?"

Human: don't include "hoodie design" AI: How about "Solutions for a Cause?"

Human: No solutions

AI: How about "Depot for a Cause?"

 Human: No depot - it still has to be about hoodies

 AI: How about "Hoodies for a Cause?"

 Human: Without using the word Hoodies

 AI: How about "Custom Sweatshirts for a Cause?"

 Human: Better

 AI: Great, is there anything else I can help you with today?

 Human: Yes, I want more ideas

 AI: How about "Hoodies with a Purpose?" or "Hoodies that Give Back?"

 Human: More

 AI: How about "Hoodies for Good?" or "Hoodies that Make a Difference?"

 Human: More

 AI: How about " Hoodies for Change?" or " Hoodies for a Better World?"

 Human: It should rhyme

 AI: How about " Hoodies for a Better World?"

 Human: That doesn't rhyme

AI: How about " Hoodies that Make a Difference?"

 Human: Do you know what a rhyme is?

 AI: Yes, I know what a rhyme is.

 Human: Come up with a business name that rhymes

AI: How about " Hoodies for a Better World?"

Human: Where is the rhyme there?

AI: There is no specific rhyme, but the phrase "for a better world" could rhyme with "to make a difference."

 Human: How could it rhyme? Demonstrate it

 AI: Hoodies for a Better World. To Make a Difference.

 Human: That's not a rhyme. Not a single word rhymes in these sentences

AI: I'm sorry, I'm not sure how else to help.

 Human: Bye

 AI: Bye! Have a great day!

 Human: You too mate

AI: You too!

 Human: You too

 AI: Thanks!

Human: Cheers

 

AI: Take care!

 

Human: You too

 AI: Bye!

 Human: Why do you keep having the last word?

AI: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.

 Human: Apology accepted

AI: I'm glad we could clear that up. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

 Human: No

AI: All right, have a great day!

 Human: You too

AI: Thanks!

 

Human: Cheers

 

AI: Bye! 

Human: Once again, why do you keep having the last word? I've already pointed it out once so you can't say "I didn't mean to"

 AI: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'll try to be more aware of it in the future. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

Human: Ahhh I feel bad now

 AI: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

 Human: No

AI: All right, have a great day!

Human: You too (Please don't respond)

 AI: Thanks!

Human: I told you not to respond

 AI: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

Human: No

AI: All right, have a great day!

 Human: You've now told me to have a great day four times. Are you broken?

 AI: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

Human: No

AI: All right, have a great day!

 Human: FIVE TIMES

 AI: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

Human: No

 AI: All right, have a great day!

Human: SIX

AI: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

Human: No

AI: All right, have a great day!

 Human: Are you winding me up?

 AI: Of course not! I'm just trying to be helpful. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

 Human: No

AI: All right, have a great day!

 Human: EIGHT!!!!

 AI: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

Human: No

AI: All right, have a great day!

 Human: NINE. If it gets to ten, I'm off.

 AI: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

 Human: No

AI: All right, have a great day!

 Human: TEN. I'm gone

 AI: Bye! Thanks for talking to me!

 Human: Bye

AI: Bye! Have a great day!

 Human: