Welcome to the Sugary Scoop, my free weekly newsletter where I help you see and experience the magic of NYC that I love so much through curated events, experiences, artists, and community stories.

What’s new this week?

It’s Giving…PIZZA!

Patrons of the slice! To round out the amazingness that was NYC Pizza Week (and in the spirit of the season, Andrew and I have decided to host a little “slice of community” at the top of November by putting on a pizza party for our communities and their people on Monday Nov. 9th.

Together we’ll hold court at one of the participating partners in NyC Pizza Week and regale you with slice after slice until your taste buds ascend to pizza nirvana!

So come on out to this wonderful celebration of community and be sure to RSVP below before spots run out!

RSVP HERE

Sugary 🍬

Help Wanted…Cultural Sherpas (Part 1)

One of the incredible aspects of living in NYC is that there is literally an endless bounty of real experiences and events competing for your attention.

So much so that it is not only impossible to experience everything…it can be overwhelming, much like the digital space.

This is why curation is and always will be essential.

Without it, people are left jaded and cynical which leads to a deterioration of our social fabric.

Recently, I’ve been seeing a LOT of debate online and in person regarding whether AI can ever replace curation.  

After all, these days it seems you can just talk at your screen, and some AI bot will spit out a custom array of recommendations ripe for the taking.

But these second hand suggestions can only go so far and I’ll tell you why….

While AI can aggregate curation as data and give you a sense of consensus, it is only a snap shot, albeit a very large one. 

Snap shot…

…meaning static.

Sure it can analyze LARGE data sets, but without new data constantly feeding it, it’s in essence running around in large circles.  

While you might not feel it immediately, if you use it long enough, you’re gonna notice patterns start to emerge.

Pair that with profit driven motives mainly incentivizing the sycophantic demeanor of most consumer AI interfaces these days, and you in essence get one big circle jerk with little revelatory or generative upside.

From my point of view, in order to actually curate something, a personal experience needs to be translated into an emotional and mental connection which is then processed internally.

This entire effort is made through the lens of a unique perspective comprising knowledge, personality and taste.

Only then can it be articulated into a recommendation.

The anatomy of curation is comprised of these critical elements:

POV - a distinct point of view is the hallmark of curation.  This comes in the form of a personal thought that is derived from an informed opinion and an individual perspective delivered with a specificity that is both in the information and the way in which it is delivered.  A theater critic will tell you whether they liked a show or not but they’ll be rather adroit in their breakdown of the opinion in which you can sense both their personality and acumen.  Neither generic nor monotone. Here’s what you might encounter in a review: “Chicago Shakespeare Theater is billing its world-premiere comedy, ‘Fault,’ as ‘wickedly funny.’ A more accurate description would be ‘unaccountably nasty...” —Chicago Tribune

Context - I did say INFORMED opinion right?  We have the rare gift of not only internalizing our own experiences, but we are aware of that experience within the presence  of whatever else is happening around us and potentially synthesize what it might be peripherally related to. To convey my point further, here’s an excerpt from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Notes on Grief "Grief is a cruel kind of education. You learn how ungentle mourning can be, how full of anger. You learn how glib condolences can feel. You learn how much grief is about language, the failure of language and the grasping for language... I am filled with disbelieving astonishment that the mailman comes as usual, that people on Twitter are still talking about trivialities. How can the world keep ticking when mine has stopped?"

Nuance - Nothing is ever exclusively binary for us. Sure you can say yes to something but there are infinite possible layers as to the why of it.  Sommeliers will never tell you that it’s simply red wine…no it’d be more like this review from Greg Sherwood of a bottle of Suertes del Marqués La Solana, “Jammed packed full of smoky volcanic minerality, strawberry and crushed raspberry fragrance, illustrating the plush elegance and accessible balance of the vintage. Sappy and fleshy, this red is already showing very well.”

Now these examples are actual examples I asked AI to dig up for me.

I suppose I could have asked AI to craft fictitious examples and I have no doubt they could serve as veritable doppelgängers of what was actually written by people…but I suppose that ends up being the point.

No matter how close it gets, AI will only ever be trained on human experience, its upper limit defined by a fading recency of whatever was just uploaded by people.

Let’s not confuse convenience for sentience.

Remove that final element and you permanently stunt advancement beyond the lateral sense.

Do I think AI can be a helpful tool? 

Yes.

Do I think AI will get increasingly sophisticated so that it creates the illusion of taste?

Also Yes.

But do I think AI will overtake human curation?

Absolutely not…

…or at least we shouldn’t let it.

Which is why I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for people to remain curious and apply their hearts and minds towards the greatest endeavor towards our collective understanding.

A collective brain trust is what it will take to help us refine our own lived experience.

And I’d trust an opinion rooted in experience and feeling than one purely sourced from massive amounts of zeros and ones.

Sugary 🍬

The Imaginary Invalid

Is it possible that you can be so obsessed with your health that it’s actually sick in a darkly numerous sort of way?

Well’s that’s the premise behind The Imaginary Invalid, the deliciously absurd comedy that is one of this season’s greatest revivals (pun intended)

First conceived and scribed by legendary French playwright Molière, this ridiculous romp has been making audiences laugh for more than 350 years. 

Now, Tony Award winner Bill Irwin is bringing this timeless classic back to Broadway with a fresh adaptation that proves some human absurdities never go out of style…MOST ESPECIALLY when it comes to our anxieties about health, money, and getting older.

The story centers around Argan, a wealthy, hopelessly self-absorbed hypochondriac who spends his days convinced he’s suffering from one malady or another. 

Surrounded by predatory sycophants that have long identified an “opportunity” ripe for exploitation, they take the shape of doctors, lovers, and of course family all seeking to capitalize on this medical malady of the mind. 

Argan becomes so consumed with the cost of his imaginary illnesses that he devises what he believes is a brilliant financial strategy: marry his daughter off to a doctor and secure a lifetime of affordable medical care. There’s just one problem. His daughter has her own plans.

What follows is a wonderfully chaotic entanglement of family expectations, questionable medical advice, romantic rebellion, and the spectacular foolishness of a man who believes he knows what’s best for everyone, while being the greatest fool among them all. 

Irwin, who is known for his clownish physical humor puts his formidable talents to good use applying exaggerated physicality to the exaggerated character of Argan

It’s all wonderfully ridiculous and lampoons the human penchant for fears, vanities, and desires to get the best of them. 

Even though this is an ancient work, the pace is remarkably fast and the pacing in the humor is wonderfully timed.

But beneath all the foolishness lies a surprisingly salient and contemporarily relevant message…

…We’re living in an age of symptom-checking, wellness obsessions, longevity pursuits, conflicting medical opinions, and seemingly endless anxiety about what might be wrong with us or could be improved.  So much so, that our obsessiveness threatens the ability to appreciate the relationships and experiences that might actually make life worth living.

This is at least a plausible reason for why Molière’s comedy has endured for centuries. The costumes change. The medicine improves. The language evolves. But human beings remain remarkably skilled at allowing their insecurities to dictate their decisions, all the while making everyone around them participate in the madness.

Ultimately, the funniest thing about human nature is how little it changes.

Maybe at the end of the day, the best prescription is to spend an hour and a half laughing at the mirrored portrayal of our own humanity and just how ridiculous we can be.

That’s my diagnosis, and I’m sticking to it.

 Sugary 🍬

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Thank you for taking the time to read to the end!

I hope you found something inspiring and meaningful in my content and until next time, explore the possibilities of NYC.

-Sugary

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PS. Don’t be shy and hit reply and tell me how you’re doing!