The Trend Report™: Co-Ops
A live report from *the* festival that says so much about the state of things.
Russians Turn on One Another Over the War
This is very “See something, say something.” taken to an extreme.
Trying Everything to Save Florida's Beloved Manatees
"an EIGHTH of the Florida manatees died"
This shouldn’t be surprising but, because of environmental changes, the underwater food that manatees survive on in Florida is disappearing – and they’re dying fast. Groups are turning to tossing lettuce into water (Literally!) to save them.
The Grim Journey of the Brooklyn Shooter
"$10,400,000,000 NYPD budget"
Gunman Opened Fire on the Subway
Everything about the Brooklyn shooting was bad. I know you know this but it says a lot about our public services, mental health, and violence-as-an-answer in this country.
CDC extends mask requirement to May 3
Not me, reading this while at Coachella for work.
Pandemic kids lack basic life skills
Woof. We’ve all had it bad but kids, again, have had it really bad.
Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter
I need this madness to stop. It’s exhausting. I hate this man.
Jack Dorsey's First Tweet NFT Sells
Anyway! This is great. Good job underpaying the rich!
The Woke Corporation Is Dead. Good.
I love this take because, as we know, people are seeing through everything and more and more people are seeing that brands – who treat us terribly, who are killing the planet – are doing woke drag to get likes. Down with them!!
Dianne Feinstein Is Losing Her Memory
We really gotta do something about representatives with dementia.
Why American Teens Are So Sad
Teens are sad, like the rest of us! It has to do with a lot – less socializing, more bad news – and it seems to capture why we are all how we are right now. Sad times!
A shortage of baby formula is worsening
Poor babies. Literally!
Not just Florida. More than a dozen states propose so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bills
We’ve been tracking this for weeks and months but homophobia continues to spread.
I am at Coachella for work. I didn’t want to go! But I had to. It was my first time and, hopefully, my last time. Because I didn’t have more time to write, here are some stray trends-and-not thoughts from being at the fest.
You know this but: no one cares about Covid. If I somehow make it out of the fest without contracting it, maybe I will believe we are officially in the post-times. I don’t think that will be the case though!
It was hot! But not that hot. It was windy though! Super wind, which means a lot of dirt in your mouth.
Most of Coachella is walking and waiting. Which is fine, the walking part – but the waiting? Jesus. What a nightmare!
China censoring Megan Thee Stallion’s outfits in the livestream is wild.
The Billie Eilish set was like a rave for babies. It wasn’t great. Megan should have been the headliner!! If she was able to bring out, say, Cardi and Dua Lipa, that would have been perfect.
Harry’s set was fine. But it took queerbaiting further.
Flume did a Sophie remix. It made me sad!
A lot of the performers sounded out of tune or lipsynched. Which is fine! But it made watching from home weird and not-great.
The fashion was unimpressive, as the biggest trend was people wearing nothing. I saw so many netted outfits along with literal painted on clothes.
All the men wore athletic shorts. Athleisure for men is tailored basketball shorts.
This said, I do think Emma Chamberlain was the best dressed. So sue me!!
The wine was not bad! But it wasn’t great. It was definitely not interesting.
The idea of a Coachella person doesn’t exist anymore. I thought it was children, I knew it wasn’t hipsters, but it’s neither: it’s mostly generic people, the mainstream, people who like to stand and watch things. It’s bridge-and-tunnel as a destination.
Festivals are now television-adjacent events watched together. That’s fine! Movies are the same thing. Is that interesting? I don’t think so.
This is to say: Coachella is Walmart. It’s not edgy, it’s not interesting, it’s not anything surprising. It’s Walmart at this point. It’s vanilla. It’s water crackers. It’s rice. It’s not anything of note. It’s something I can tell my mother about, which would inspire zero questions. Coachella is mass culture, our consciousness playing out in a concentrated area. It’s not edgy. It’s not young. It’s not cool.
All this to say: as a teen in my thirties, Coachella is everything and nothing. It’s America, it’s the world, it’s a specific place. It’s not worth our time but, like all dumb things like fossil fuels and plastics, it’s the most popular thing in the world. It’s why people disagree with Miranda: it’s easier to be comfortable than to care.
Don’t believe me? The person who technically owns Coachella is a climate denying, queer hating Trump guy. Remember how we were supposed to remember that while streaming this thing that isn’t actually worth our time.
Gay Yearning Drives Fandoms
This is a great story about the connection between a lack of queer representation in media and how this leads to creativity, in the forms of fandoms that imagine the possibilities by that which has gone unproduced.
a longer life, but under a cloud
A very interesting story about the relationship between Alzheimer’s and Down syndrome, as people with Down syndrome typically develop the disease in their forties or fifties – but aren’t included in new tries to help “cure” the disease.
Easy to Work Remotely (Unless You Work for Apple)
Interesting story about how Apple is forcing workers back in an aggressive way, despite creating the tools to work remotely. Such is life, when you build very expensive offices, only for them to go empty. Sounds familiar, as I’ve heard similar things (from people I know) happening at Netflix.
The Smart Way to Shift to a Four-Day Workweek
Interesting story about how and why to shift to a four day work week, as that is currently trending.
Spirit Halloween Store Film in the Works
If this isn’t the stupidest shit Hollywood has done in a while, I don’t know what is. Bygone industries and actors colliding!!
Top Model contestants say show was warfare.'
This was a big story and I haven’t read it all because I want to savor it.
Rihanna on Pregnancy
This shoot is incredible and, not that maternity needed to be reinvented, but Rihanna reinvented (Rihinvented?) maternity.
Bon Appétit’s video is ‘extremely dangerous’
The great Brad Leone reckoning is here.
CNN Plus drawing fewer than 10,000 viewers
Not to laugh but…flop.
Suspicious Minds
Read some nonfiction from my friend Tatiana!!!
The 2021/22 Métiers d’art Show
A late 2021 Chanel show features music by Oneohtrix Point Never / Daniel Lopatin and, while the show is cool, the music is sublime. Like ambient dance music!! 0PN should release more music like this!!! Instead he wants to be a pop-rock star and I don’t approve!!!! The closest he comes to this is “Love In The Time of Lexapro,” a perfect song, in my opinion.
Maggie Rogers - That’s Where I Am
Love the new Maggie Rogers song because the song – from the video to the lyrics to the production – is the best facsimile of mid-nineties rocker chick. It’s very well done. Her Coachella set will be great!
"if you wear tan shoes, you're a cop"
A good explainer for how to match shoes to tan suits (and suits in general).
"Advertising program to change its name to Creative Direction"
I literally wrote about how “Creative Direction” is a fake signal for Gen Z a few weeks ago!!! And, yes, the program is real.
"Technical detail looks like this!"
This makes me want to learn how to do a backflip (but I’m probably too old).
"my granddaughters are huge”
I, for one, like this mean sizeist grandma.
"kim kardashian referring to debra messing"
Now this is a perfect dig.
"nothing can prepare you for our son’s Easter drawing"
This is the bunny of Christ.
"picture makes it look like news came out in ‘60 minutes"
It really does. (The 16 minute Panda Bear ambient track in question is great too!)
"this just came on my fyp and i can’t stop laughing"
"NAUGHT GETTIEN SHLAUGHERED"
Started with naur, ended with British people as sea monsters. Watch the TikToks in the replies in the first one!
"Not you got a good heart 😭😭"
I am both Vince and not-Vince.
"This is cinematic excellence."
ManSmokingSayingPoeticCinema.jpg
"I *cannot* stop laughing..."
Girl, that’s a boy bootyhole lover!!
And, finally, the demons I am fighting.
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