The less sense it makes, the more attractive it becomes
The less sense it makes, the more attractive it becomes
This week: buttercream, Biden's dogs, AI romance, Instagram as religion and TikTok therapists
I know there’s a lot “real” news breaking this week, but all I really want to read about is Joe Biden’s dogs. Particularly the little bad one that breaks feet and bites people. As one often does, I turned to Wikipedia.
I love Wikipedia for topics like this. The talk page is at least 500% more entertaining than the content itself. See, for instance, this lengthy debate over whether the dogs are truly “notable,” and if so, if they achieve notability as individual canines or only as a dual pup package. Also: this brief back-and-forth on the relevance of the lack of dogs in the prior administration. Or this stern correction of Major Biden’s (Major Bitin’s?) exact coloring. Finally: this impassioned argument for “these beings’ status and sentience” (w/r/t describing them not as Joe Biden’s dogs, but members of his family).
Unfortunately, I did not find what I most wanted to know, which is *how* the most important dogs in the free world have been trained. Also, how it compares to the training I’m desultorily attempting to give Nemo, who like Major is a German Shepherd rescue and gunning for trouble at every opportunity. Last week, for instance, Nemo ate several bunches of grapes off the counter, generating a vet bill the likes of which I’m unlikely to cover with classified ads. But Nemo’s antics are not the subject of painfully scripted presidential statements … and I am grateful for that.
P.S. Two weeks ago, this intro asked “who the hell is paying thousands of dollars to only-sort-of-own a digital image of Santa Claus jerking off (?) … to a pile of hamburgers (??) … in a graveyard (?????).” Art News has the answer! and it’s much as I expected.
P.P.S. Here’s a good follow to our interview on the false promise of the “passion economy,” also from two weeks ago: “Why Popular YouTubers Are Building Their Own Sites.” (“In the back of our heads, we've always said... it's not under our control.”)
If you read anything this weekend
“Nothing Breaks Like A.I. Heart,” by Pamela Mishkin in The Pudding. I don’t even know what this is, tbh?, which is probably why it’s so compelling. Part personal essay, part GPT-3 stunt, part rambling meditation on what tech can and can’t solve … really, it’s cool! Just take my word for it.
“How to Become an Intellectual in Silicon Valley,” by Aaron Timms in The Baffler. This is one of those pieces that, even as you read it, you know you’re gonna think about for many months after. Very funny, very sharp and full of small, terrifying observations about the “thought leaders” shaping tech culture.
“How Getting Rich Went Full Internet,” by Felix Salmon in Wealth Simple. Speaking of sharp observations — this is a little tedious at points, but it also contains the best and clearest framework I’ve read for the whole NFT/Gamestop/etc movement. “The less sense a value preposition makes, the more ironic it becomes, and the more ironic it becomes, the more attractive it becomes — until, in the self-fulfilling manner of all popular culture, it finally starts making sense.”
“For Creators, Everything is For Sale,” by Taylor Lorenz in The New York Times. It’s not clever or witty to compare real-life developments to Black Mirror anymore, but wow wow wow, the quotes in this article! “We’re building an economy of attention where you purchase moments in other people’s lives.” “Have you ever wanted to control my life? Now is your time.” Now is decisively not my time, actually, and I would like out. God, remember when the grossest version of this was Klout??
“Desperate Times Call for Elaborate Buttercream,” by Madeleine Davies in Eater. Behold: a literal palate cleanser! I loved this dissection of viral, fussy layer cakes as cultural artifact. Who among us hasn’t binged British Bakeoff this year and contemplated (note: merely contemplated) a grammable, weekend-long baking project…?
The classifieds
This edition of Links is powered by The Arkells, the enormous and sure-to-be-disappointed hope I’m drawing from vegetable garden prep, and the following very wonderful sponsors:
Let's Know Things — a calm, reserved, weekly news analysis podcast that is non-polemical, non-shouty, and dedicated to putting what's happening today into more intelligible, useful context. Subscribe here.
Just Buffalo Literary Center — The Buffalo-based center for readers & writers hosts Pulitzer-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson for a virtual reading & conversation on Thursday, March 18. Register here.
Infinite Games — Will you be ready for your first post-quarantine party? Drink your ass off and watch your friends do stupid stuff with the hilarious card game CoolCats & AssHats.
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Postscripts
AI-generated rejection emails. Turntable.fm is back (x2). Real-time bird migration forecasts. (C’mon! Birding is pandemic-cool.) Can software recreate the social vibe of an office? A podcast that describes memes for people who are blind. I’ve resisted the flood of lookbacks on the pandemic anniversary, but I like this one on our long year of being mad online.
The Official Catholic Ranking™ of fast-food fish sandwiches. That TikTok influencer is not your therapist. On the weird pseudo-religion of Instagram influencers. “It’s a weird time to become rich.” NFTs are bad for the planet. Facebook is bad for civic discourse. Last but not least: I wonder how much the plague-year mainstreaming of OnlyFans will force people to adjust their views of sex workers.
That’s it for this week! Until the next one. Warmest virtual regards.
— Caitlin