[SIC] 258: Channeling Clarence

Volume 5, Number 50

Ben Dietz

Aug 10, 2023

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Corollary sources this week (all worth your review, and all easily discoverable): The Future Party / 1440 / Retail Innovation Week / After School / Splice Slugs / The Medium / Axios / Courier / Future Perfect / Kottke / Morning Consult / Why Is This Interesting / The Business of Meaning / Daily Upside / Lean Luxe / Politico / PSFK / Metaproof

Hi all,

We’re coming up on the last two issues of [SIC] Volume Five, which means my annual re-fix of the sletter is imminent. Expect changes; some big and some small. New section header titles, some stylistic tweaks, maybe a winnowing of the total number of links, maybe a bit more analysis. Perhaps the return of [SIC] Talks and/or “Five Questions For.” Et cetera, etc.

I mention it because I've gotten a bunch of helpful feedback and suggestions from readers (and my superstar regular contributors), and there’s still time to offer your guidance. The goal of [SIC] has always been to lend my POV on the state of things - but unless it’s working for you, it’s not working as well as it should. LMK what you want to see in the comments, or by reply to this email, and I’ll take it all on board.

Meantime, tons of fun stuff this week below. Thanks to Ben Young for the [SIC] shout out in Hugh Garry’s “Attention Matters” newsletter. And thanks to Iolanda Carvalho for sending it (and other links) along. Speaking of which - big shout to Molly, Celeste, Piers, Isaac and Geoff for contributions, too. Keep em coming, please.

And as a reminder, Breakfast Club is open to all every Wednesday, if you’re convenient to NYC. Come hang in person; I’m happy to add you to the email reminder list if you like. Expansion chapters likely coming to LA and Austin soon, and looks like I’ll be in London in September, so we’ll do one there too.

Ok. The links!

Ben

======[SIC] 258: Channeling Clarence======

Zeitgest / Gestalt

Welcome to the Cult Era / Lefsetz Letter
When Does Art Make Monsters of Its Fans? / Hyperallergic
Corollary: the artist Karl Holmqvist wants you to know that language is a virus. Or viral, at least / 032C
Related? Artist Bordalo II calls out the cost of hosting Pope Francis in Lisbon with a guerrilla “red carpet” installation printed with €500 banknotes / Hyperallergic
From Molly Raskin: Burnout Is Back in a Big Way/ Bloomerg
Pretty in pink: What China’s Barbie-mania tell us about the nation’s rising ‘she economy’ / Jing Daily
But how long can the #barbiecore craze last? / Vogue Business
After seeing Barbie, some women are "deeply reconsidering" their relationships / Huffpo
Related?!, from Piers Fawkes: “Sprinkle sprinkle.” The new influencer dating doctrine for single women is extreme – but I can see why it’s popular / The Guardian
Entertainment Industry Discovers Women Enjoy Entertainment / Back Row
Related: The Women’s Magazines of 2023 Are in a Facebook Group and Your Inbox / NYT
Affluent millennials are building homes similar to those of previous generations / Business Insider
Speaking of previous generations: Was the pre-smartphone era just endless boredom? / The Atlantic
How Gen-Z became a generation of grail-finding fashion archivists / Hypebeast
The Era of Ultracheap Stuff is Under Threat / WSJ
Suits aren't dead; they're just more fun / Sprezza
Gen Z’ers are freaking out after realizing their kids will be “Gen Beta” / Insider
Fashion Execs Can’t Stop Talking About AI / BoF
So … Are models the next to unionise? / Vogue Business
From Molly Raskin: Is It Time To Embrace “Opinion Fatigue”? / Bustle
Corollary: The World Is Toxic. Welcome to the Metabolic Era / Wired
From Piers Fawkes: “WTF is Cornplating?” / i-D
From Celeste Blewitt: “This feels and reads like we are looking into the future, watching a 90's film on what will happen when computers take over the world…..insight into the data behind TikTok Live … and the many terms used in the online world. Blew my mind just a little.” ['What In The World Is Happening On TikTok Live?’] / The Atlantic
Downtown DAO Serving the People’s weekly Discussions are now on Apple Podcasts / Apple

World Order

The End of Legacy Admissions Could Transform College Access / The New Yorker
The Race to Save the World’s DNA / The New Yorker
Because? Global sperm counts are falling. This scientist believes she knows why / FT Podcast
So… What will the world look like with less babies? / The Lindy Newsletter
Apropos: The true nature of American polarization: Single ladies run American politics / Marginal Revolution
In any case, Gen Z will be the last generation with white majority in the US / The Guardian
That in mind: Are Democrats Tricking Republicans Into Nominating Trump? / NYT
The truth about decoupling. The US and China are tightly linked in more problematic ways than anyone had ever imagined / FT
Cop-watchers are now YouTube celebrities. They’ve changed how police work. / WaPo
The world's next Holocaust museum is being built inside popular video game Fortnite, Axios
Peter Zeihan asks Is the LK-99 Superconductor the Key to Green Energy? / YT
Welp. It turns out that its most likely a funky magnet with potential. Dreams of a groundbreaking superconductor have been corroded, but not completely dashed / Quartz
The European urban mall market is experiencing a boom while US suburban malls are struggling / Kottke
The American Dream has lost its hustle / Axios
But not Dallas Fort-Worth, which added more people than any other U.S. metro between 2021 and 2022, with 170,396 new residents / Census.gov
Older Americans are increasingly live solo / CNN
But U.K. Millennials are being labeled “GUPPIES” because they’ve given up on owning property and have mostly moved back in with Mum and Dad / Fortune
Airfares may finally drop this fall, but it isn't all good news / The Points Guy
Arizona is now so hot that it's killing off saguaro cacti / Reuters
Hence? from Celeste Blewitt: ‘The Australian Town Where People Live Underground' / BBC
While above ground, Dome-shaped homes are getting fresh interest as disaster-resistant dwellings in a changing climate / Axios
Hot weather can exacerbate mental health disorders / NYT
One solution? Zürich’s cool weather ring is one of many ingenious ways to keep urban temperatures down this summer. The ring turns airborne moisture into a cooling mist. / Monocle
"Now is the time for the creative industry to rise up and grab the reins" Earth Overshoot Day, which marks the date when consumption of resources exceeds the planet's annual capacity to regenerate them, took place on 2 August this year / Dezeen
The future of vaping looks a lot like cigarettes / FT
Elsewhere in ‘meet the new boss,’ from Celeste Blewitt: “Deep into MBS and diplomacy, and fashion. Loved the term 'diplowashing’” [‘A Fashion War & M.B.S's Diplomatic Play' ]/ Puck News Podcast

The Speculative Future

W. David Marx on Our Natural Human Defenses Against A.I. Culture / Culture an Owners Manual
Related: Say hi to Pi . Beyond ChatGPT, a new category of AI assistants is emerging. Pi, Poe, Personal.ai and Woebot are personal AI chatbots / Ben’s Bites
Cybercriminals are creating their own versions of ChatGPT / Wired
From Piers Fawkes: “interesting to use gen ai imagery to show a past which was denied.“Brazilian Bank Uses AI To Celebrate Women's Soccer As It Should Have Been.” Itaú Unibanco imagines women’s football without Brazil’s four-decade long ban / Marketing Comms
From Celeste Blewitt: “One I'm finding a conversation starter is 'The Future Of Geography: How Power and Politics In Space Will Change Our World' by Tim Marshall, discussing the politics of space / Simon & Schuster
As Cruise Expands To Los Angeles, Self-Driving's Breakout Moment Has Arrived / Big Technology

Pop Cultures

When BRUTALISMUS 3000 first emerged on the scene, they were accused of making “music for crackheads and kids.” They laugh about the latter being true / 032C
Related: How “Planet of the Bass” became the unlikely song of the summer / GQ
And How A24 took over Hollywood / Kottke
Why One Photographer Still Influences the “Look” of the Elite / Vanity Fair
Menswear is genreless. The new genre is no genre / Sprezza
While on the women’s side: [SIC] Talks alum Eugene Rabkin contends that Phoebe Philo doesn’t exist / Style Zeitgest
All Rap Is Local / NPR
The Black History of the Montgomery Brawl Folding Chair / Hyperallergic
The story of hip-hop can be told through the stunning evolution of bling / NYT
The Less-Is-More Mastery of Painter Mathew Cerletty / Pulling Weeds
Phillips launches Dropshop, selling newly commissioned works direct from artist to collector / The Art Newspaper
Related, from Geoff Renaud: Just saw you mention him.. David Shrigley: All Puns Intended / ArtNet
From Piers Fawkes: RIP, Jamie Reid’s Sex Pistols artwork was a glorious assault on authority / The Guardian
The Contender Turns Three and Coggins reflects on what he’s gleaned so far / The Contender
The just-launched biannual Whitney Review of New Writing reviews anything put into words, from memoirs and novels to tweets and IG captions / Whitney Review
Picking up the Shards, or Why You Should Listen to Bret Easton Ellis / The Drift
From Piers Fawkes: From Big Macs to Baftas: the incredible story behind the hit video game Vampire Survivors/ The Guardian
Some Hollywood productions are being allowed to continue, despite the writers’ and actors’ strikes — and it’s not always clear why / NYT
London’s retail scene looks to China’s Gen Z / Jing Daily
How Delvaux, the world’s oldest luxury leather goods maison, emerged as a Gen Z fave / Jing Daily
From Molly Raskin: Sandy Liang and The Big Business of Dressing Like a Little Girl / NYT
Gender-neutral fashion has a sizing problem / Vogue Business
Why luxury retailers are investing in private clubs / Vogue Business
How Jay Chou, Blackpink, Roc Nation are using Web3 to orchestrate a new era of fan engagement, as they increasingly connect via NFTs, virtual meet and greets, and metaversal concerts / Jing Daily
From Molly Raskin: From Taylor Swift to Beyoncé, Concerts Are Turning Into Something New / NYT
Scandinavian heavy metal: Why Earth’s happiest place makes the darkest music / Big Think
The Craft of Method Acting. Vincent D’Onofrio, Ethan Hawke and author Isaac Butler in conversation / Criterion

Media Happenings

Barstool’s Dave Portnoy beat the house / Axios
Barstool Sold High and Bought Low / Money Stuff
Because? Barstool's controversies pulled legs out from Penn's stock / Axios
Related: The dark side of the US sports betting boom. many fear a surge in gambling addiction is coming / FT
Despite getting ESPN into gambling, Disney may want Apple to eat it up / The Future Party
A factor? Streamers face shrinking catalogs / The Future Party
Meanwhile, Substack promises A better internet for readers / Substack
And Reddit thinks it’s cracked the back to school rush / The Drum
While BuzzFeed is still burning through millions in cash / The Wrap
In contrast: An amusing brand kit confirms the X logo is here to stay / Creative Bloq
Elsewhere, from Iolanda Carvalho: Broadcast doesn’t have a ‘fragmentation’ problem. It has a TikTok problem. Key Quote: ”TikTok is not simply a substitute of viewers’ attention from traditional media formats. The rise in demand for ‘snackable’ content presents a much bigger cultural shift" / The Media Leader
How Tiktok Changed the Meaning of A Million Followers / Time
Related: TikTok is the new food network / The Future Party
But TikTok users in Europe will soon be able to opt out of receiving personalized content as the platform makes changes to yield to the EU’s Digital Services Act / Mashable
Apropos of data: Axios has 20 people in its data visualisation team. This is how they work / Nightingaledvs
YouTube released six new ways to create on YouTube Shorts, including livestreaming / Youtube

Market-ations

From Molly Raskin: How shopping went social – and hooked a new generation / The Guardian
UGC is growing—but can it overtake traditional influencer marketing? / Marketing Brew
Voice memos boom in popularity / The Future Party
Hence? Why brands that own the market will own voice search / Creative Review
Hip Hop and Advertising: How The Music, Style and Influence Transformed Marketing and Culture / AdAge
"How Polaroid is using influencers to pitch analog imperfection to Gen Z.” / Digiday
Also analogue: Tesla's wildest product is... a Cybertruck cat tray / Creative Bloq
In contrast: Microsoft is deepening its ties to the blockchain world as part of its AI effort / TechCrunch
While the New Nike collection gets the royal virtual try-on treatment / Crypto Inside
And Nordstrom is introducing a new tool that shows the carbon footprint of products/ London the Inside
After reconsidering free returns, fashion brands get creative / Vogue Business
Related: Resale Sites Inch Closer to Profitability / BoF
What luxury brands can learn from Apple’s viral ‘Buddhist’ livestream / Jing Daily
Nearly one in four Gen Z shoppers won’t buy if “Buy Now Pay Later” isn’t offered / PYMNTS
Geico made more money after giving its famous gecko a break / Quartz
Gap doesn’t need to be more like Barbie. It needs to be like McDonald’s /FT
Lululemon is growing its men's range / Cherry Flava
In contrast: Anheuser-Busch is offloading eight of its beer and energy drinks, including Shock Top, Blue Point and HiBall Energy, to cannabis company Tilray Brands / WSJ
Taco Bell is giving away tacos everywhere…except New Jersey / CNN
The 3D billboard is advertising’s shiny new toy / Marketing Brew
Rowing Blazers is Target’s next big collaborator / GQ
Palace and Crocs have teamed up / Hypebae
LEGO x Disney celebrates the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney and his creations / Yanko Design
Less celebratory: Beyond Meat’s new ads send the trillion-dollar meat industry a coded message: Here’s what they mean / Fast Company
While Campbell Soup agreed to buy Sovos Brands, the maker of [SIC] fave Rao’s pasta sauces, for $2.7 billion to expand in the premium sauce market / CNN

Superficial Interest

Deep listening: A Spotify playlist of songs from the vinyl records found in James Baldwin's house after his death in 1987. Over 24 hours of music / Spotify
From Celeste Blewitt: I wonder, how does one gain an invitation to what reads as the most sublime place … 'Li Galli: The Most Magical Place In The Mediterranean' / FT
Also magical in the right moment: How to Find a Public Restroom in New York / Hyperallergic
From Iolanda Carvalho: I ❤️ Joana! Joana Vasconcelos unveils pastel wedding-cake pavilion / Dezeen
Boobs. Bags. Cameras. Bikes. Kicks. Cars. Chairs. Jeans. Cartoons. Vacations. Arts. Boats. Sweaters. Tags. Flags. Loafers. Dudes. Books. Lamps. Cords. Houses. Razors. Cages. Jackets. Clogs. Speakers. Tees. Vests. Dogs. Stills. Desks. Graphs. Quotes. Butts. Fits. Shorts. Belts. Pots. Locks. Boxes. Rings. Candles. Socks. Epitaphs. And Boobs. All of the utmost quality. It’s allegedly the whole JJJJound archive / Are.na

Food / Drink

Chicken has overtaken beef and pork as the most popular meat in the world / Our World in Data
Related: The History (and Terrifying Present) of Highly Processed Foods / The New Yorker
Also high salt content: Pickle-flavored cocktails are booming / Today
Why the West Village is best... again. After years of stagnation, New York’s counter-cultural hub has become the centre of a dining revolutioN / FT
Chefs Would Actually Love It if Normies Used Restaurant Lingo in Real Life / Eater

Useful Diversions

Read: From Isaac Dietz: “Snake America has a book coming out- cool for vintage heads. The Los Angeles launch will be at Varsity Los Angeles at 7 PM this Saturday, Aug. 12.”
Listen: Charanjit Singh playing tracks from his 1982 album "Synthesizing: Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat" – an acid house-style record recorded years before anyone in the West did anything like it / IG