W. Kamau Bell has the most practical ‘most indispensable tool’
W. Kamau Bell has the most practical ‘most indispensable tool’
W. Kamau Bell 拥有最实用的“不可或缺的工具”
The comedian, activist, podcast host, author, and dad won’t leave his phone behind. 这位喜剧演员、活动家、播客主持人、作家兼父亲，片刻也离不开他的手机。
W. Kamau Bell is one of those people who has always just seemed to be there. From Totally Biased, to Politically Re-Active, United Shades of America, and We Need to Talk About Cosby, his blend of comedy, social commentary, and political activism has helped him stand out. He’s won a Peabody and four Emmys, been a Celebrity Jeopardy! champion, received honors from the ACLU, and been crowned the Ambassador of Fishbone by founding member Chris Dowd. Bell is, if nothing else, a busy man. W. Kamau Bell 是那种似乎一直活跃在公众视野中的人。从《Totally Biased》到《Politically Re-Active》、《United Shades of America》以及《We Need to Talk About Cosby》，他将喜剧、社会评论和政治行动主义融为一体，这使他脱颖而出。他曾获得皮博迪奖和四项艾美奖，是《名人危险边缘》（Celebrity Jeopardy!）的冠军，获得过美国公民自由联盟（ACLU）的荣誉，并被 Fishbone 乐队创始成员 Chris Dowd 封为“Fishbone 大使”。总之，Bell 是个大忙人。
So we’re very grateful that he took time between episodes of his podcast Who’s With Me, his comedy tour, and Substack of the same name, promoting his upcoming children’s book Rock Paper Scissors Cheese (out October 27th), and, of course, being a dad, to answer our weekly questionnaire. 因此，我们非常感谢他在录制播客《Who’s With Me》、进行喜剧巡演、撰写同名 Substack 通讯、宣传即将于 10 月 27 日出版的儿童读物《Rock Paper Scissors Cheese》以及履行父亲职责的间隙，抽出时间回答了我们的每周问卷。
What is your most indispensable tool? 你最不可或缺的工具是什么？
A charger. All of this is just shiny paperweights without a charger. 充电器。没有充电器，所有这些设备都只是闪闪发光的镇纸。
Which app is the most underappreciated? 哪款应用最被低估？
I probably use the map app every day. I wish MapQuest’s app was better, so I didn’t have to use the Trump Billionaire guys’ apps. You know who I’m talking about. The map apps that have the Gulf of Mexico listed as the Gulf of America. SOOOOOOOOO EMBARRASSING!!! 我大概每天都在用地图应用。我希望 MapQuest 的应用能做得更好，这样我就不必去用那些“特朗普亿万富翁”旗下的应用了。你知道我说的是谁。那些把墨西哥湾标成“美国湾”的地图应用。太尴尬了！！！
What is the first app you install on a new phone or computer? 你在新手机或电脑上安装的第一个应用是什么？
It’s been a long, loooong time since I had a phone that didn’t just transfer my old apps over, but I would guess that if I had a clean phone with only the basic apps on it, I would quickly install YouTube. What do you expect me to do? Just think my own thoughts all day? I need somebody constantly telling me something about something. Or singing me something about something. 我已经很久很久没有用过那种不能直接迁移旧应用的手机了。但我猜，如果我拿到一台只有基础应用的全新手机，我会立刻安装 YouTube。你指望我做什么？整天只思考我自己的想法吗？我需要有人不停地告诉我关于某事的信息，或者为我唱点什么。
What is one thing you wish you could change about your phone? 你希望手机能做出什么改变？
Just come in a hard case with that piece of plastic that claims it stops your screen from cracking already on the phone. I just bought it. I don’t need a project, and I’m not comfortable asking the person at the cellphone place to do it for me. Also, I’m sure it is a scam, but I just put it on there anyway. 手机出厂时就应该自带硬壳，并且贴好那层号称能防止屏幕碎裂的塑料膜。我刚买手机，不想再折腾这些，也不好意思让手机店的人帮我贴。另外，我敢肯定那玩意儿是智商税，但我还是会把它贴上。
How many tabs do you have open right now? 你现在开了多少个标签页？
I have 17 windows open across two different browser windows. That’s light work. When I’m writing a Substack article, I can get to 30 windows… easy. I only close them when I hit “publish” on an article. I have to earn the right to close a window. 我在两个浏览器窗口中打开了 17 个标签页。这还是小意思。当我写 Substack 文章时，我能轻松开到 30 个窗口……很容易。只有当我点击“发布”文章时，我才会关闭它们。我必须通过完成工作来赢得关闭窗口的权利。
Which social media platform do you use the most (if any)? 你使用最多的社交媒体平台是什么（如果有的话）？
I really want to thank Elon Musk for breaking my addiction to Twitter. It wasn’t healthy, so I can say that he really improved my life by ruining Twitter. These days, I’m an Instagram and Threads guy. Not that Zuckerberg is significantly better than Elon, but as a public-facing person, I do need these platforms. But Zuckerberg better be careful. My generation isn’t afraid to leave social media platforms. We left MySpace and Friendster, just like I left Twitter. 我真的要感谢埃隆·马斯克治好了我的推特成瘾。那并不健康，所以我可以说，他通过毁掉推特确实改善了我的生活。如今，我是 Instagram 和 Threads 的用户。并不是说扎克伯格比马斯克好多少，但作为一个公众人物，我确实需要这些平台。不过扎克伯格最好小心点。我们这一代人并不害怕离开社交媒体平台。我们离开过 MySpace 和 Friendster，就像我离开推特一样。
What is your happy place online? 你在网上的“快乐老家”是哪里？
Watching the latest Japanese video on YouTube or watching Lionfield videos with my 8-year-old on Instagram. 在 YouTube 上看最新的日本视频，或者在 Instagram 上和我的 8 岁孩子一起看 Lionfield 的视频。
What is your favorite gadget you’ve ever owned? 你拥有过的最喜欢的电子产品是什么？
Afro pick with extra-long metal teeth with a fist as the handle. 一把带有超长金属齿、手柄是拳头造型的非洲发型梳（Afro pick）。
Which was the most disappointing? 最让你失望的是什么？
A brush that claimed it could effectively comb Afros. I bought it because of Shark Tank. But I think my hair is just too long. Or the X-ray specs they used to sell in comic books. 一把号称能有效梳理非洲发型的梳子。我是因为看了《创智赢家》（Shark Tank）才买的。但我认为我的头发太长了。或者就是那种以前在漫画书里卖的“X光透视眼镜”。
What game do you have the fondest memories of? 你记忆最深刻的游戏是什么？
It is a tie between Civilization on the PC and NBA Live on Sega Genesis. I’m talking like NBA Live ‘95. I’M SOOOOO OLD! PC 上的《文明》和世嘉 Genesis 上的《NBA Live》并列第一。我说的是《NBA Live ‘95》那种。我太老了！！！
Which tech trend do you wish would go away? 你希望哪种科技趋势消失？
AI. 人工智能（AI）。
What is one thing you wish you had created? 你希望自己创造了什么？
Flappy Bird. But I would have let it rock instead of deleting it. Maybe because I have three kids, I can’t look a gift app in the mouth like that. You all would have had at least eight Flappy Bird movies by now. It would have out-Minioned the Minion movies. 《Flappy Bird》。但我会一直让它火下去，而不是把它删掉。也许是因为我有三个孩子，我不会像那样对待一个“天降之财”的应用。你们现在至少已经能看到八部《Flappy Bird》电影了。它会比《小黄人》系列电影更火。
What creation are you most proud of? 你最引以为傲的作品是什么？
My three daughters. It was a collab project. 我的三个女儿。这是一个合作项目。
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? 你收到过最好的建议是什么？
“Don’t think you are going to make it just by doing stand-up comedy. You need to learn how to write other things,” – Kevin Kataoka. “别以为只靠做单口喜剧就能成功。你需要学习如何写其他东西。”——凯文·片冈（Kevin Kataoka）。
What is your current obsession? 你目前沉迷于什么？
The NBA off-season. It is way better than the actual season, even with the Knicks winning. NBA 休赛期。它比真正的赛季精彩多了，即使尼克斯队现在赢球了也是如此。
What do you do when you need to focus? 当你需要专注时会做什么？
Coffee and extreme quiet… like leave me the eff alone… so I can listen to YouTube while I work. Middle of the night is the best time to work, but I can’t do that as often as I like… those three kids like it when both their parents are awake at the same time. My wife likes that better, too. 咖啡和极致的安静……比如别来烦我……这样我工作时就能听 YouTube。深夜是工作的最佳时间，但我不能经常这样做……那三个孩子喜欢父母同时醒着。我妻子也更喜欢那样。
What do you do when you’re feeling stuck? 当你感到卡壳时会做什么？
Change the song or play a silly cellphone game for four hours. Do you know YouTube has games now for free??? 换首歌，或者玩四个小时的无脑手机游戏。你知道 YouTube 现在有免费游戏了吗？？？
When was the last time you went somewhere without your phone? 你上次没带手机出门是什么时候？
Excuse me? EXCUSE ME??? WHY WOULD I DO THAT? 你说什么？你说什么？？？我为什么要那样做？
What’s the last piece of physical media you bought? 你最后购买的实体媒体是什么？
I’m a middle-aged-dad-who-buys-records-years-old. The guy at the shop (Mars Records in Oakland) holds things for me. I bought Fishbone’s first EP recently. I should really buy a record player. 我是一个买唱片的中年老爸。店里的伙计（奥克兰的 Mars Records）会帮我留货。我最近买了 Fishbone 的第一张 EP。我真的该买台唱片机了。
What do you think is worth splurging on? 你认为什么东西值得挥霍？
If you need a new computer, GET A NEW COMPUTER! 如果你需要一台新电脑，那就买台新电脑！
What would the tagline for your biopic be? 如果拍你的传记片，标语会是什么？
Doing the best he can. 尽他所能。