The Trend Report™: Falls Apart
Why things are falling apart and how days like MLK Day expose a modern type of hypocrisy.
Antigen Tests: Real World Data
A really good read on how rapid tests work and when to take them!
Czech singer dies after catching Covid intentionally
This story is wild.
"McConnell says the quiet part out loud"
In case you missed this week’s egregious racism from the GOP.
"closing and proposed closing of over 700 schools in Puerto Rico"
That’s racist imperialism, baby!!
Doomsday Clock reveals how close we are to...doom
100 seconds to midnight! nbd!!
Tonga Tsunami relief
Malians say they once appreciated French military support
Virgin Chair: Nobody Cares About Uyghur Genocide
Some items that are maybe going overlooked.
"more student debt than money in the bank"
This is interesting! Inflation is actually good for those with student debt, because prices of everything else goes up – but the cost of your student loan stays the same.
House committee in Florida passes 'Don't Say Gay' bill
This sounds like a pro-queer semantic play but it’s basically the LGBTQ+ equivalent of banning Critical Race Theory, as it ban educators from talking about queer subjects.
"Y'all wanna see a dead body?"
I will give this to the Dems (Amy) that, yes, this is good.
This new map shows where nature is, in fact, healing
I leave you with some good news!!!
You know what’s trending now? Violence, murder, and other objectively bad things. Across the country murders are surging, from New York (where someone died after being pushed onto the subway) to Los Angeles (where someone was stabbed to death at a furniture store…two blocks from my apartment). This is less a problem of nefarious actors organizing but speaks more to high-profile instances of American madness in this moment. As the New York Times has written, America is falling apart at the seams. Why? Because everything is increasingly polarized and everyone is mad. We were trained to fight and disagree and now that’s all we do: be frustrated to the point of violence.
Now, this isn’t happening in a vacuum. No one is going to knock on your door and beat you up and kill you: that’s not it. In Los Angeles, for example, crimes are getting attention because they’re happening in Beverly Hills, with situations like someone getting attacked for eating outside while wearing a $500K wristwatch. Um. Excuse me? Yes, crime is not-good – but so is inequality. These crimes coalesce so many macro-issues, so many problems of the moment, added to a pile of “badness” like train heists and shoplifting surges.
The writing is written on the wall but no one seems to be reading it. There is a nursing home staffing crisis like nothing we've seen before while parents and caregivers are reaching a pandemic rock bottom as hospitals facing grim conditions, all of which have people wondering why we’re all in an existential crises. Why are we having existential crises? Because we’re literally having macro-crises, which we suffocate with work or television or bickering about politics or [insert ridiculous non-issue]. There is suffering everywhere and, for those who are too sick of it or who cannot afford to be distracted anymore, violence and thieving are viable solutions.
Things are bad. We know this! It’s hard not to connect these things and realize that, yes, people are losing their minds. Quite literally! We all need to go to some mass rehabilitation center, where we can reset our brains and not have to do things like work and worry, where we don’t have to pay rent or student loans. Life right now is clearly unhealthy and unsustainable. This is what happens when enough is enough.
Finding the flavors of Indonesia in LA
My friend Rax wrote this great story about Indonesian food in Los Angeles for the LA Times!! It’s fabulous!
The Joys (and Challenges) of Sex After 70
Some beautiful photos here by Marilyn Minter! And some fascinating thoughts about sex and dementia.
Penis Fills With Foam After DIY ED Treatment
Don’t like this!
Japan's Monkey Queen Faces Challenge
A new gay icon emerges.
Louvre May Take Far-Right Marine Le Pen to Court
My favorite beef of the week is the Louvre versus Marine Le Pen.
Rachel Zegler Apologizes for Britney Spears Monologue
I don’t care what people say but I think this is hilarious. It’s the name at the end that really sells it.
Vogue’s Silence on André Leon Talley
It was so sad to hear about the death of Andre Leon Talley! But even sadder was how Vogue did nothing about it, which is particularly tragic if you’ve read his memoir and how Talley’s relationship to the magazine was that of an unloved child. Fuck Vogue! Fuck Anna “Racist Grand High Witch” Wintour!
some Latinos have embraced gender-neutral identity
A good look at the always divisive word Latinx, which I will be sending to my mother. (And it features a friend, Edgar, whose new book is out now.)
I Got Sober in the Pandemic. It Saved My Life.
Come for the sobriety, stay for a wonderful rumination on why failure is good.
fired for refusing to discard bones at Texas construction site
Interesting story, where archeology, history, and protection of Indigenous artifacts meets managers bootlicking for the man.
DJ Benjamin Alexander qualifies for 2022 Olympics
This is cool! And first person to represent Jamaica in alpine skiing.
Lusia Harris, woman drafted by NBA, dies at 66
The prevailing takeaway from this story was “Why did I know about this until she died?!” The Times doc is worth watching, to learn about Lusia’s incredible story. Note that it will make you cry.
We're All 'Experts' Now. That's Not a Good Thing.
Tressie with a great connection between American higher-thinking and the propulsion of the scam. This is what happens when we all think we know everything!
Men’s Fall-Winter 2022 Fashion Show
This is an incredible piece of fashion, performance, music, and memorializing. This would have been spectacular, regardless, but the context of it being Virgil Abloh’s last show was quite devastating.
This was a big week for people and brands exposing themselves online. Not literally, of course, but intellectually.
Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day saw everyone from politicians to corporations speaking out about how we must continue to honor the words and values of Dr. King, even if they themselves do not. Alabama Republicans, who continue to be racist? They took to praised Dr. King. Wells Fargo, who preyed upon Black and Latinx homebuyers? They shared how they’re honoring his legacy. The FBI? They’re committed to protecting communities (even though they killed Dr. King). CVS? They think Dr. King would have loved their health plans.
One of the worse Dr. King moments was “Democrat” Krysten Sinema remembering his legacy. Many pointed out her hypocrisy, as she works against abortion and against workers and against the climate, but claims righteousness. The condemnations were vivid, from Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib conjuring James Baldwin to Bernice King, Dr. King’s daughter, suggesting she be a vessel for what’s right.
As mentioned earlier, people are tired – and they’re tired of empty platitudes. As if right on time, a Twitter study found that people want brands to stop invoking causes and social justice unless they’re going to do something about it. The self-righteousness is suffocating, posing questions like would MLK have taken money from Shell. These people, these brands, largely work against Dr. King’s principles, bringing to light that these entities would not have supported this radical thinker if he were still alive.
This represents frustration, something that is going to reach a tipping point this year as people are over it. The “America is falling apart”-ness of it all is best caught on days like Martin Luther King Jr. Day, where brands and representatives speak for what is objectively right, while they work and act in ways that are not-right for the rest of the year. This calls into question reality in the sense of why vote or why go to work or why do anything when people are going to do wrong regardless of them knowing what is and isn’t right. Why do we have to be good when those in power do not have to be? That’s why these reactions are so discontented: people are realizing, despite hopelessness, how sick of it they are.
Politics Reporter, Right-Wing Media
lol @ this New York Times job. “Prerequisites include the backbone to withstand aggressive blowback.”
"m"
"this is my truth"
“they told the green”
“non-binary candy”
As the story goes with this (dumb) rebrand, let the Green M&M “be a nasty little slut.”
"mom leaves you in line at the grocery store "
I still get this feeling and I am 35.
"most deranged interaction I’ve had on this website"
I wrote about this phenomena in the end-of-year trends and the sociological/hyper-aware culture is rearing its ridiculous head again.
"pretend her fluff is her"
Absolutely obsessed with this fucked up TikTok.
“Shaggy to the mystery gang”
Related and not to the above, although this is a callback to this TikTokers other TikTok.
“make everyone in them look not at all famous”
This is how someone described what happens when Robert Pattinson takes photos with other people. It’s truly remarkable.
“jpeg is”
Time for a French lesson!
“the bottom of a map”
A blessing from Drag Race.
"Adele has to personally fly her out"
Please stop canceling your shows, Adele, because this girl’s life is being ruined!
And, finally, me reading.
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