Handmade Tales
Published 3/15/2026, Substack Some thoughts on AI, Harvey Pekar, and giving stuff away Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist -Pablo Picasso One of the ways I save ideas about topics to post on Substack is to create animation using AI, to capture the essence of the idea I wish to post about. They’re like sound notes on a phone; some go to trash; some become songs. Anyone reading this or who has bothered to peruse my posts will see this quite clearly. They are meant as thumbnails; to highlight the content in a way that might pique interest to read it. Nothing salacious, gimmicky, or false-in other words, I’m trying not to create the dreaded “S-word.” And this made me wonder about some work from the past-how they came to be, how they were perceived at the time, and how they now sit in the culture. One person who I’ve been thinking a lot about recently with regards to the use of AI is Harvey Pekar. Watch the film, American Splendor or any of his appearances on L...