2025 LET'S GOOOOO

A vegan Trend Report™ which is to say: meatless, without essays, just links in the spaces of the news, the culture, and the sillies.

Surprise! We’re not back yet but there were too many stories to skip this week. Thus, a bones-only Trend Report™ meaning: all links, no essays. Normal programming will resume next week!

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Happy new year! See you next weekend! Share with your friends, etc.!

10 dead after car plows into a crowd
Suspect 'inspired by ISIS,' was military veteran
The news of the week, not to be outdone by…

Man In Cybertruck Was Decorated Green Beret
Cybertruck blast suspect loved Trump
Soldier left writing criticizing government
The first entry of the new sci-fi series Amerikkka 2025. This continues the Luigi item, in a way, as it feels like a spiritual extension of…

MAGA is fighting a ‘civil war’ over H-1B visas
Who’s Winning the MAGA-Musk Civil War?
“Oligarchy meets southern strategy”
"They want the power of whiteness"
Pre-Trump II in-fighting. It’s messy and hilarious but — like the above Cybertruck item, the Trump assassins, and the Trump immolator (and Aaron Bushnell and Luigi Mangione too) — you see a picture of an American mania, particular for men on the fringes of the right who are trying to get a message across. This is, um, definitely a “trend” that may prove that the bottom will attack the top or kill itself in the process, as insane theories spin for people at home via Sarah Adams types. (Also? Tesla sales are down for the first time in 12 years. Small win, I guess.)

What the ‘year of democracy’ taught us, in 6 charts
As you’ll see in this micro-report, I did a lot of catching up on FT stories. This one is, um, a fitting capturing of last year. Carve this line into your personal history book: “The incumbent in every one of the 12 developed western countries that held national elections in 2024 lost vote share at the polls, the first time this has ever happened in almost 120 years of modern democracy.” Also this line: “The year of democracy produced a cry that democracy is no longer working, with the younger generation, many voting for the first time, delivering some of the strongest rebukes against the establishment.” Something’s going to break this year, happening in between the Musk-MAGA war space and Luigicore.

The Militia and The Mole
An early must read of 2025! And early contender for gay man of the year! Anyway, to the above items — and we’ll talk about this at length next week — this may be what the left wing version of radical action looks like.

Meta Appoints Joel Kaplan to Lead Policy
Cook donates $1m to Trump inauguration
”Democracy dies at the Washington Post”
Will a weakened Hollywood embrace Trump?
How quickly everyone gets in line 🙄 (Also: we’ll see if Trump “saves” TikTok which…big W for him, big L for the Dems. Why isn’t Biden doing this in his last days? Hello?? VP Kamala???)

Apple: $95 million to settle Siri privacy lawsuit
lol

AI Needs Power, It’s Making Yours Worse
No shit. As I was talking to someone a few days ago, this seems to be the next major AI conversation: consumers — and local communities — rising up against the technology as it eats up their power and space. Pair this with it enabling a loss of critical thinking, you see the multiplicity of threats beyond “stealing jobs.” I wouldn’t be surprised if these come to a head during AI enabled summer brownouts.

US homelessness up 18%
Oof. Largely tied to affordable housing which…HELLO? DEMS?? Related: ProPublica did a great story on those who are homeless across the country.

Abortions are up in the US
A state of the union on abortions, where procedures are down, telehealth is growing, and people are travelling.

"We tested foods for plastic chemicals."
Foods With the Most Plastic Chemicals
"loaded with plastic chemicals"
None of this should be surprising, since plastics are in everything. It’s our lead.

Children are getting kidney stones.
Spoiler: it’s likely tied to high salt, fast, and processed diets.

The Cold Is Killing More Americans
This seems important? Especially considering “heat deaths” get all the attention (via climate change), while these are perhaps the fault of failing infrastructure (which are being stressed by climate change).

Homeowners Face Costly Choice: Raise or Raze
So this is insane. (I “get” one’s home being sacred but…this seems like one of the best metaphors for dealing with climate change by a certain set that there is. Thanks, FEMA!)

California squirrels show carnivorous behavior
We got carnivorous squirrels before GTA 6.

The fashion designers signing with top talent agencies
I know I’ve said this before but, while people ooh and ahh at Jonathan Anderson styling Luca Guadagnino movies, know this is the coordinated effort of two mega-industries coming together for a joint slay before they auto-asphyxiate.

Can fashion remakes live up to the original?
See above. Talk about symptoms of creativity strangled by capitalism!

"it was Samantha Diaz, the winner of American Idol 2020"
The story of Just Sam
Realted to the above too: a downer, which shows who truly really gets used by the entertainment system’s dream stealing machine.

"Video game graphics have become hyperrealistic"
A fascinating debate, which gets at how so many industries are collapsing because it’s not actually about becoming better and better: we’re hitting ceilings of what is actually needed to accomplish something. More capitalist gasps!

Billionaire pushed CoinDesk’s to remove article
The crypto brollionaire who bought Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian bullied a site to remove a critical story on him. These babies! Thankfully, you can catch the story here.

Social media, brain rot, the slow death of reading
Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone
“less and less fiction”
"people that do not value being intelligent"
“Not reading all that”
”No self-help books?”
“use cash around really small children”
I really, really need people to understand this: adults not reading is a direct line to children not reading. The proof is everywhere. And it’s not just literal reading but in understanding the world and having the mental capacity to think critically about things like money. The last item is a great example, in that kids (AND ADULTS!!) don’t understand finances because they “can’t see” money. We gotta get off our asses, put them phones down, and THINK HARD before it’s too late. (If you want more from Mellody Hobson, I liked this FT story.)

Calls for Cancer Warnings on Alcohol
How Much Alcohol Raises Your Cancer Risk?
Shares of alcohol makers fall
French red wine in sharp decline
US teen drug, alcohol, tobacco use declines
Cigarette Costs You 20 Minutes of Life
A maybe global, def Western, trend: the crusade against booze continues, as the Surgeon General suggests warning labels. Also? Young people continue to drink less. Alcohol is bad for you — that’s a fact — but it’s a tricky cultural situation as growing conservatism may mean tiptoeing toward (a youth led) prohibition happening in parallel to the death of nightlife. You don’t need booze or drugs to have fun, no — but a prude world pairs poorly with progressivism. Remember: being crunchy and ultra healthy is now a right wing thing!!

Costco pushing back against anti-DEI
Costco is that girl.

In Maine, remote work gives prisoners a lifeline.
“desk is inside his prison cell”
Love, but I’m sure someone will point out that it’s problematic, etc.

How Does Maryam Nassir Zadeh Stay in Business?
“how does she afford this”
We need more stories about public figures and successful (“successful”) people profiting off of others (family, spouses, eventually the public). Not a perfect article (too long, should be more direct) but could stand for more stories like this in post-Luigi times.

The best gift I received was this salad recipe
A lovely essay on the caesar salad, with a recipe that I’m dying to make.

“Trixie talks about breaking up”
Trixie and David Split After 8 Years
This was…a shock! But also: the way that it was delivered? Really the sort of candidness and vulnerability that people are longing for when they say “We want authenticity from celebrities.” What a queen 😭

“First trans bodybuilder”
Here’s a cute something: a TikTok star who documented her mental health and homelessness for years is now…doing well, not homeless, and making a living as a trainer! I followed her for years, lost touch, and saw the above video and had a parasocial pride in her. Love to see the internet pull through to actually help people!!

"never addressed her sequels"
"HELP MEEE 😭😭😭"
"vibe we’re bringing this year"
"video from five years ago"
"Just 3 drunk gays"
“In: familial lore”
"got a teacup for christmas"
"the preformance of a lifetime"
Some late December/early January posts.

"a youtube video from five years ago"
"The year 2050 is now"
"gen beta kids"
A little existential dread for you, as a treat. To the last one: it’s true.

"Why are members of European parliament"
Would EU Canada be cool? Unsure but lol.

"They don't know I'm pretending"
I feel like my whole life has been being a court jester to people like this 😞

"every gay pregame"
This is true, but for a very specific Gen Z/Zillennial queer.

"i just want to speak and think like this"
Unfortunately this is going to become one of the stims that will keep me up at night.

“wagon cam”
This is me, if you even care.

"drunkenly record a song idea"
The comments on this TikTok are great but I am…obsessed with this “evil macarena” song.

"1000x worse than bad American pop"
The best take on the whole “Who is Robbie Williams?” discourse.

“Every A24 Horror Movie”
Chills.

“Thought that was Elo-”
So did I.

“man simulator”
Maybe I should take a break from Balatro to play this. (If you’re playing Balatro…RISE UP IN THE COMMENTS 🃏)

“too many coins”
Poor baby.

“the sound my car is making”
This made me want to watch “shully gully and mercy.”

“ok thanks!”
Would you eat the popcorn or are you too scared?

"a wild ride forsure"
Do I need to read the Gypsy Rose memoir?

And, finally, a glimpse at my fit.

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