The Trend Report™: Deflation
Exploring why everything is just so dang boring.
Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights
If you somehow missed this story, this was the only thing that really mattered this week, that Roe vs. Wade is likely to be dissolved.
Banning abortions will not stop abortions
Which is…to say so many things! About access to healthcare, about women’s rights, about control of one’s body, about “progressive causes,” about life and death and the failures of our government. Also? Abortions will continue – and they will end in a lot more problems than if they were just legal. What a nightmare.
A Gen Z organization is flooding anti-abortion websites
"over-educated"
"it's okay to break the law"
"Lucid dreams!! History!! Mugwort!!"
“she spilled idk”
“conservatives playing the long game”
“angry and upset”
"bro what the fuck”
A roundup of all the best culture items made around the Roe v. Wade decision. As we know, I think this maybe means the death of the Democrats. They have truly flopped to the point of no return.
What Supreme Court justices have said about abortion
A look back at what the justices have said over the years about the issue, for context on this week’s happenings.
Clarence Thomas worries respect for institutions eroding
God, he sucks. If you haven’t heard about his wife, you should read up on that wildness.
It's Time to Rage
I hate hyperbole but, as you can expect, the loss of something like Roe vs. Wade will mean other rights will be overturned too. Thus, this Roxane Gay opinion piece.
Trump Helped Save JD Vance in Ohio
Some wild election stuff happening. Fall’s gonna be something!!
A doctor told Oprah to 'embrace hunger.'
This story about Oprah, healthcare, and Blackness in America went very viral and is very good. But the most interesting part isn’t in the story itself: it’s that writer Marissa Evans of the Los Angeles Times was asked to write the story because Oprah read her essay about her father’s death.
Nearly 1 million COVID-19 deaths
This is a great look at – and look back – at Covid by the numbers in America.
Are the West's sanctions against Russia working?
Short answer? Yes and no. It’s a classic Vox story – Big question, wishy-washy answer. – but jumps out because we made such a hullabaloo around this, only to feel like the storyline disappeared.
US is recycling just 5% of its plastic waste
This study is fucking depressing but another reminder that recycling in America is a tragic lie to keep everyone feeling like we aren’t wasteful, lazy people killing the world.
Lone star tick that makes people allergic to red meat
Be careful, people in DC!!! God, ticks are the worst.
How Often Should You Feed Your Dog?
You heard it from science: feed your dogs once a day! It technically is better for them, according to a big, recent study.
Everything feels so deflated right now. Nothing is exciting! Everything is, still, bad and boring and all the means we once used to escape now hold no meaning.
While the aesthetics of boredom are not new, the subject has been on the mind as it seems to be consuming us now. We live a life that has gone beyond what any movie could have predicted – Contagion mis-predicted pandemics, Blade Runner misrepresented the future, The Day After Tomorrow misinterpreted climate change, The Purge mistook our politics – leaving us like the preppers: prepared for doomsday, but underwhelmed by the reality.
The “idea” of boredom seems to have gotten into everything too. Elon Musk, the person beyond the Boring Company, is bored of Tesla! Chips are boring! The apes are bored! We’re studying boredom! The stocks are boring! People who are retired and bored! Shawn Mendes worries people are getting bored of him! As the days become the same and the same and the same, with disasters upon disasters upon disasters, everyone is bored at boring jobs in our boring little routines. The world is ending – but it’s not even exciting.
This has left us with the feeling that the air has been drained from a balloon, that everything in entertainment is a let down because entertainers and their products simply aren’t rising to the occasion, instead casting themselves in tired, lackluster, and deeply boring performances. There are many examples of this in recent months. At Coachella, the festival turned into an influencer event with musicians copy-and-pasting tour shows, while admitting that either they were not-that-great or calling out the audience for lacking energy. At the Oscars, there were continued lows as far as viewership, while the most memorable item literally was a slap in the face that people are still talking about two months later. In personal style, we’re slipping back into a “makeunder” era, where the people lauded for having “the most style” are wearing jeans and tees.
The most recent (and perhaps most glaring) is the Met Gala, which many people pointed out as being supremely boring, inspired think pieces that capture how meh it all is. Okay, some people were minimal. But on a night of opulence? Zzzzzzz. Sure, Emma was sustainable, and I love that – but was it interesting? No. Yes, Kim wore Marilyn’s dress, as a flex that she can mold her body into a 1960s physique by shedding 16 pounds and because she got Marilyn’s hair. But why? It was a needless, fraudulent picture of a picture. It’s boring. It’s all so boring because billionaires are boring (and didn’t even raise that much money).
Everything is lopsided, yes, but entertainers leave us wanting more, especially in an economy where we are fully aware that 90% of people we pay to make us feel better are nepotized photocopies of something more exciting. They are just doing a really, really bad job at their jobs, especially in ongoing terrible times. You know this but, in the past week, rights to one’s own body in America eroded further while the things that should be mundane like food costs continue to astound, all while a major conflict continues between Russia and Ukraine. Maybe life will become boring again, so we can find satisfaction and relief in escapism, but most likely we will continue to see entertainment spiral, becoming more and more useless as we turn to each other for an escape.
Living Architecture by Refik Anadol
“ live mapping of Casa Batlló ”
Bobby and I are currently in Barcelona and we had the chance to see artist Refik Anadol’s “live mapping” of Gaudi’s Casa Batlló, where he basically transformed the building’s façade through lighting and projections all by interpreting the image (and related images) through artificial intelligence. It was…mesmerizing, truly one of the most spectacular, cross-cultural artistic items you’ll ever see. It was one-night-only but an NFT is being sold of the work. If you ever get a chance to see Refik’s work, you must.
He Spurred a Revolution in Psychiatry
An incredible story about a queer doctor who helped make psychiatry more welcoming, by protesting and wearing a Leather Face mask.
Should nurses be charged with crimes for medical errors?
"very out of the ordinary"
One of the more interesting situations happening now is a case where a nurse’s error is seeing her potentially charged with murder. It’s a huge story that I keep seeing but don’t see people talking about, especially given the ongoing nursing crisis.
Groomsperson
My friend and artist Pau Pescador is making a short film, that ties up a lot of the things their work is all about: queerness and self-expression through clothes. Give the lil film some love, please!!
BeReal Is Trending as 'Casual Instagram'
BeReal
I just joined this and I think it’s cute.
Spice Girls’ Emma Bunton & Mel B Turn Up the Heat
Netflix may be dying but, boy, are they doing a good job of keeping the gays interested by adding Spice Girls to The Circle.
Kailia Posey's Death Confirmed by Family
The news of Kailia’s death is very sad, given that it was by suicide. But what was most interesting to me is that it was Wednesday’s major news story, which says something about celebrity given that she was “unknown” by most but was a major GIF star. Interesting how those whose images we use most but know least become the most parasocial!
TikTok & Mormon moms love dirty soda
What Is 'Dirty Soda'?
“dirty Shirley Temple”
“trying jam with water”
Something is happening now with “innovative” takes on sparkling water and sparkling drinks. Ever day, we come closer to ridding the world of Coca-Cola, I guess!
“ this stylist’s 3 word method”
I too am obsessed with this stylist’s three word method. I haven’t figured out mine yet but I love the simplicity of it!
Senior Copywriter at XX Artists
Also…are you a writer? Have you worked editing other people’s writing? Are you a great shitposter? Do you want to work with me? Apply for this job then!! (Also it says Los Angeles, but don’t let the location prevent you from applying.)
A big reason why things are deflect is because we’re mad, because capitalism sucks and we are in the jaws of the beast. This week alone, stories about inflation leading people to go hungry and Starbucks working to pay union workers less (as they try to undo these groups) seemed to prevail. And it sucks!
But there are bright spots: we’re starting to stand taller, combating these issues with a bit more confidence. We’re not just saying “Met Gala is boring because you’re rich.” but are making moves to actually eat-the-rich. Some examples of this that I liked!
Christian Smalls, the person who led the Amazon labor union efforts in New York, spoke to congress this week and emphasized that "people are the ones” making businesses work – not corporations. This had me salivating to eat the rich. (And don’t mind Smalls’ meeting with Biden: it’s a cover.)
Two semi-viral TikToks are spreading the love of how to undo capitalism: first, anti-capitalist and climate activist Laura Oldanie shared a really thoughtful post about how to uncompromise yourself under capitalism; next, @chronicphillosophy explained how rent hikes and “being bound to the land” reveal the techno-feudalist society we live in.
A great story from the BBC explained something we all know: companies blame us for climate change, when we all know their negligence is what got us here to begin with. This attempt to brainwash us into thinking we can recycle-our-way-out of the problem is exactly how we ended up here to begin with.
A new book posits how crop circles were anti-capitalist, non-profit art for all. I love this positioning of this very late twentieth century thing.
As people return to offices, workers are standing up and saying fuck off. A majority of people would rather quit, while Apple employees are revolting against required return-to-work policies. A job should work with and for you – not the other way around.
There are more examples (Hollywood has been giving billionaires a break!) but I thought these were all special little anti-capitalist angels to put on my mood board. Soon, comrades. Soon.
"Molly Shannon is the GOAT."
“at least I’m out here”
Neither are new, both likely from Molly Shannon’s book press tour, but you have to watch her explain why we all need to run at life, full speed, and why pursuing something even if you’re failing is still success. Molly is…….one of the top ten best people, I think.
“kid was fighting for his life”
If you watch one TikTok this week, let it be this one.
“lmao”
Horny man believes in the right things.
“what a fancy thigh high”
“Are you wearing – ” “A condom on my leg? Yeah, I am.”
“never in my life seen”
I need her react to more things and, before you click, yes, this TikTok includes “a horse bootyhole.”
“potato puppet”
I am so obsessed with this potato puppet. Get more views of it on Insta!
“Thee Stallion and Tocarra Jones”
This……is a great take.
"next level hating"
People need to mind their own business!!
“pissing my pants”
Pee pee pants style is in, baby!!!!
"i don't know anything about fashion"
The only Met Gala reviewer is back for the second year in a row.
"practicing for the met gala"
But what was the best Met Gala content? This video. “The earrings are Astrazeneca.” makes me lose my mind.
And, finally, a video where I play every character.
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