~Living directly inside of the Internet~

HAPPY DECEMBER, Y'ALL. Today marks the official start of the winter holiday season, and because the winter holidays are about family/faith/giving/etc, it appropriately kicks off with a veritable orgy of online shopping. Shoppers are expected to spend $2.5 billion today, which is more zeroes than I can arrange mentally. Unfortunately for all these salivating shoppers, myself included, there's plenty of indication that online deals are actually ... not, always. But I'm really amped about this discounted lightsaber remote (?) thing (?), soooo ... let's go to the links!

1. Deck the halls with ... robot skeletons? I don't know what Malia and Sasha were rolling their eyes at last week -- the Obamas seem PRETTY HIP to me. Case in point: The White House Christmas decorations, which are always a fascinating glimpse into the national psyche, have gone digital this year. Think 3D-printed ornaments, a council of "science advisors" ... and yeah, a robotic Bo.

2. Bitcoin goes to Disney World. For a weekend in October, a group of Bitcoin enthusiasts gathered in Orlando for their inaugural "Coins in the Kingdom" conference. The event had two purposes: to rally the cryptocurrency base, sure, but also to prove that Bitcoin is hip, cool, and mainstream. Which went exactly how you might think!

3. Photoshop has nothing on the people who retouch movies. Think the camera adds 10 pounds? Film retouching, Hollywood's little "secret," can take weight off, years off -- you name it.

I just discovered the hedgehog category on Giphy. :) :)

Pocketable: We think the Internet connects us -- but maybe we're thinking all wrong. (4341 words/17 minutes)

Postscripts: Jets for pets. Pugs in tubs. The horrible bane of screencap culture. How the color of your mug changes the taste of your coffee and how to outsmart the impulse buy. Pizza Hut wants to read your mind. Amazon robots will ship you your presents on time. Did Netflix ruin Christmas? Are lefties forever cursed? Today in Buzzfeed hires: Charles Dickens and a Buzzfeed satirist. (Related: If I ever say my ultimate goal is "living directly inside of the Internet," plz let me know I'm the worst.)

Until tomorrow!
@caitlindewey

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