[SIC] 260: Slippery, People.

Volume 5, Number 52

Ben Dietz

Aug 24, 2023

The [SIC] newsletter on Thursdays is free, and will be forever, unless I change my mind. Unlikely.

But you CAN pay, if you want. I’m into it. Monthly or yearly, or founding support. Paid subscribers get an additional [SIC] Sundays newsletter each week. And founding supporters get invited to a dinner at my home in NYC with special guests.

Meantime, enjoy. And do please pass along to people you like (or people you need to be smarter).

Share [SIC] Weekly

Corollary sources this week (all worth your review, and all easily discoverable): After School / Lean Luxe / Morning Consult / The Medium / Marginal Revolution / Elevator / Daily Upside / Motive Unknown / 2PM / Exec Sum / PSFK / HAL / The Future Party / Lerer Hippeau / Politico / 1440 / Morning Brew / Public Announcement

Oh also when I’m not newslettering I’m @dietznutz everywhere (IG / X / In / Threads). Follow away.

Hi all,

Greetings from a day trip to Beantown, where this final edition of [SIC] Volume Five is likely beaming to you from inside a tunnel, soundtracked by “Slim Shady” on Suave 104. The absurdity of the modern condition, as we used to say.

Lots of new stuff coming in Vol 6 starting next Thurs, as teased last week - including a [SIC] Day update each morning for paid supporters, so if that sounds good sign up before then for volume five rates; prices going up next week.

Meantime, lots of good stuff here. Thanks to Iolanda, Scott, Celeste, Molly, Piers, Kling, Gerhard, Marcella (and Johnny, who I forgot to thank last week) for contributions. You might just see contributors take a more prominent role in Volume Six, so as always if you run across something [SIC]-applicable, pass it my way.

OK, now the links.

Poolside rephotography

======[SIC] 260: Slippery, People.======

Zeitgest / Gestalt

The Modern World was invented in 2012/ The Intrinsic Perspective
And now The Playa is Flooded / Business Insider
Related: The Worst Storm of All Time Hurricane Hilary and the Culture of Catastrophizing / Monologue
Elsewhere: The Hottest Shop in America Is Your Local Gas Station / WSJ
Because?! Cars And Big Houses Are Becoming Unbuyable / The Daily Upside
So… Being a landlord is cool now (?!) / The Lindy Newsletter
Tho from Celeste Blewitt: Even Gen Z Is Investing In (Second Hand) Quiet Luxury' /Vogue UK
Why ‘Everybody wants to look rich,’ per the Real Real / WWD
Bama Rush Is a Strange, Sparkly Window Into How America Shops / The Atlantic
Millennial and Gen Z couples say they aren’t getting married because it’s too expensive right now / Fortune
Gen Z’s pickle obsession is very Millennial / Embedded
Corollary, from Scott Schiller: Who Needs an Entree? Diners Order Salad and Fries and Call It a Meal - WSJ
From Molly Raskin: Was There Life Before The Group Chat? / Byline
Another from Molly : Is Having Too Many Followers a Turnoff? / NYT
Corollary: Trends that brands should keep tabs on for the rest of the year. Six trends, including “pop nihilism.” / Marketing Brew
Apropos: Adderall Shortages Are Dragging On—Can Video Games Help? / Wired
Unrelated: 25 Truths About How Things Really Work / Context Collapse
Also true: Rolex was 2022’s most sought after watch brand…by thieves / NYPost
On the screens, A new breed of eco-thrillers feature down-to-earth heroes in an era of environmental collapse / NYT
While in the meantime Billionaire Techno-Oligarchs Are Creating an Alternate, Autocratic Reality / Vanity Fair
Which is giving: Tech's broken promises: Streaming is now just as expensive and confusing as cable. Ubers cost as much as taxis. And the cloud is no longer cheap / Business Insider

World Order

The transfer of wealth from boomers to ‘zennials’ will reshape the global economy / FT
Close to half of American adults favor TikTok Ban / Reuters
Pioneering wind-powered cargo ship charts course for greener shipping / Dezeen
Peter Zeihan on The Secret of Texas’s Success / YouTube
"Space is the next cybersecurity frontier.” / Axios
While from Celeste Blewitt: 'The Future Of Recycling Is Sorty McSortface’. AI, bots and ChatGPT are all integrated into sorting, processing and the level of detail required / / The Atlantic
Speaking of a good sorting out: “The Race to Regulate Artificial Intelligence.” / Foreign Affairs

The Speculative Future

What Is Code Poetry? / Hyperallergic
Universal Music Group experiments with AI royalties / The Future Perfect
The scary truth about AI copyright is nobody knows what will happen next / The Verge
So AI art can't be copyrighted (but is this the end of the story?) / Creative Bloq
Hence: Generative AI boom "could come to a fairly swift end" / Dezeen
Corollary: These Women Fell in Love with an AI-voiced Chatbot. Then It Died / Rest of World
A computer science student explains his breakup with an AI “agent.” / The New Atlantis

Pop Cultures

Kenny Schachter On the Transformative Power of “NFTism” / Jing Culture & Commerce
Harmony Korine’s Hi-Tech Vision for the Future of Movies / GQ
What the Hollywood Strike Has to Do with MrBeast / The By Product
How a New Wave of ‘Hypersentimental’ Portraiture Is Serving Up Painting for the Age of Vibe Shifts and Nano-Influencers / Artnet News
Speaking of influencers: Pharrell Williams Shares His Inspirations, From Henry Taylor to ‘Jabberjaw’ / NYT
Super fans may not be super enough / Music Industry Blog
Zane Lowe on Why UK Music is Stronger Than It's Ever Been / Hypebeast
What is ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ doing to soccer? / NYT
Inside Anchorman’s Epic Battle Sequence / Vanity Fair
Xbox’s new “8 strikes” mod rollout judges hate speech 3x worse than cheating / Ars Technica
From Gerhard Stochl: “We know the story but it’s a good listen with all the important players who are still around participating” [Transmissions: The Definitive Story of Joy Division and New Order] / Apple Podcasts
From Molly Raskin: Noname’s Ambivalent, Triumphant Comeback / The New Yorker
Also an ambivalent, triumph; Oliver Anthony fans fans who used a quirk of the charts to boost its position — a tactic that K-pop fans also use / NYT
Last Thoughts on Night Life. A ecology for the New Yorker’s “Goings on about Town” / Beat Connection
The economics of acting. Just how difficult can it be? Very — and for most actors outside the A-list there just isn’t very much work to be had / FT
From Piers Fawkes: BikeLife: Matthew Joseph captures the humanity of a misinterpreted underground movement / Creative Boom
Colson Whitehead on the Monocle Pod / Monocle
The Brooklyn Circus is dressing a global village / BK Mag
But maybe “Going Shopping is dead” Retail shopping used to be a pleasurable, social activity; now it’s miserable due to understaffing, inventory issues, and security measures / Vox
Why Anne Imhof, Queen of Hardcore, Is Selling Merch / BoF
How young corporate goths bring alternative style to their 9-to-5 / Teen Vogue
“Caddyshack was apparently a “permanent cocaine party.” / Farout
From Piers Fawkes: nyc old pics fodder: Allen Ginsberg's vintage portraits of the Beat generation / i-D
Endlesss unveils Clubs: 'Discord servers made for music-lovers' / Musically
Can an ethical Made in New York label scale? / Vogue Business
More made in NYC: fave skate shop KCDC spot lit on Thrasher’s ‘established’ series / IG
Also made in NYC: A new exhibit in New York celebrates 50 years of hip hop culture, showcasing a 'visual mixtape' of graffiti art, lyrics, and photos of past and present rap stars, as well as a 10-minute documentary which explores the evolution of hip hop as a cultural trend / Fast Company

Media Happenings

X will remove headlines and excerpts on linked news articles / Fox Business
Because? Twitter Can’t Seem to Buck Its Advertisers-Don’t-Want-to-Be-Seen-Next-to-Nazis Problem / Vanity Fair
Media heavyweights form new research group to support free press / Axios
Meta to Launch Web Version of Threads / The Information
The New York Times Has Had a Summer of AI Anxiety: “They’re Freaking Out” / Vanity Fair
Conversely: LinkedIn became cool by being stable / The Future Party
Netflix may be losing approval during the writers strike, but the kids still love it / Tubefilter
From Marcella Farman-Dietz: “The 40(ish) Most Important People In Podcasting 2023 / Hollywood Reporter
Related: How Podcast Producers Became Rising Stars in the Creator Economy / Fast Company
After Record Downturn, Media M&A Shows Signs of Rebound / Adweek
Atlas Obscura Ads Are Crushing; But What's the Story With Experiences? / A Media Operator

Market-ations

TikTok's nascent shopping service, is expected to lose more than $500 million in the U.S. this year / The Information
Hence? TikTok Mulls Banning Links to Outside Commerce Sites / The Information
Also, ads are coming to TikTok search results / The Verge
Why are TikTok creators so good at making people buy things? / BBC
‘Subliminals have a power no teen can explain’ / The Atlantic
Why brands are hijacking the music video / Creative Review
Speaking of hijacks: Pornhub has just started the year's funniest logo battle / Creative Bloq
While Adidas x Bape rewrite the streetwear playbook / Jing Daily
Plus, the Met brings art history to Roblox / Jing Daily
Related, from Jeff Kling: The Met Keeps Releasing Clothing With Pacsun. Why? / NYT
Corollary from Celeste Blewitt: The growth of 'On Running' and how the brand has grown so quickly in three years. Cult athletic status. 'The Most Impressive World Championship Team Isn't A Country. It's A Brand' / NYT
From Piers Fawkes: it’s actually pretty strong and attractive. Conran Design Group crafts new logo and identity for global comms group Havas / Creative Boom
On the other hand, good God: Skechers signs Harry Kane, plans soccer debut / Retail Dive
Michael Lewis has made a career of minting ordinary heroes. Then he introduces them to his speaking agent / Semafor
[SIC] homie Ben Lerer on Warby Parker / WWD
Lab-grown diamonds may not be forever—but their rise is driving down prices / Quartz
Ford Partners With Madewell for a limited-edition capsule combining Madewell’s premium denim with Ford’s history, inspired by 1970s Ford Bronco racers/MediaPost
Stores are leaving San Francisco. Ikea is opening this week / CNN
And will offer "sustainable, plant-based options" separate from Ikea's traditional food hall / San Francisco Chronicle
No plants, but based: KFC issues a rare and heartfelt apology to all the utensils that get forgotten when people eat its chicken/ The Drum
Also forgotten? Brands’ metaverse leads: where are they now? / The Drum
Vendr dropped a banger of a report on Q2 SaaS buying patterns / Mostly Metrics
Spotify Leans Into Gen Z's Sadness With 'Bummer Summer' Campaign / Ad Age
Not summery: Ice drifting with the real Michelin man / FT
Also outdoors: Gorpcore brands are becoming more mainstream / Modern Retail
Corollary: Nike stock suffers record rout on China concern, inventory woes / Bloomberg
While Dick’s Sporting Goods blamed organised retail crime for lower Q2 margins / BoF

Superficial Interest

The Beekeepers Who Don’t Want You to Buy More Bees. In Slovenia and around the world, conservationists try — and mostly fail — to combat the widespread belief that honey bees are in danger / NYT
Which begs the question: Is Beekeeping Wrong? Parasites and pesticides have brought chaos to bee colonies throughout the world / The New Yorker
The biggest search for the Loch Ness monster in 50 years is about to kick off. Enthusiasts will be armed with drones and underwater acoustic devices, which have never been used to look for the mythical beast / The Guardian
While in bodies of water closer to home: Tits Out Under the Verrazzano / The New Yorker
The states that produce the most creative types / WaPo
From Piers Fawkes: Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea and NBBJ launch renovated nickerson gardens playground in LA / Design Boom
The Winningest Team in Sports History is … a public High School on the Upper West Side / Duplex Deli Sandwich Club
A clock that plays music with the current time in the song title / The Pudding
Ecstasy is considered one of the safer illegal drugs. But there are risks. / NYT
Obsessing over your productivity? Try percolation instead / Quartz
The key to depression, obesity, alcoholism – and more? Why the vagus nerve is so exciting to scientists / The Guardian

Food / Drink

From Iolanda Carvalho: Just this one 😉 Wine trending colors...Category on the Rise: Orange Wine / BevAlc Insights
How to talk to a sommelier / FT
Alcohol is bad for you (above small doses) / Twitter
Cactus Plant Flea Market is collabbing with Erewhon on a $22 smoothie, with a portion of sales going toward Maui relief efforts / Highsnobiety
Does That Crisper Drawer Even Do Anything? / Bon Appetit
A new restaurant row blooms in Brooklyn, in a one-block cul-de-sac in Greenpoint / Eater