[SIC] 265: Houseplant Consulting

Volume Six, Number Five

Ben Dietz

Sep 28, 2023

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Corollary sources this week:Future of Transportation / Public Announcement / Quartz / Marginal Revolution / Motive Unknown / 1440 / Milk Road / The Future Party / Culture: An Owners Manual / Context Collapse / Kottke / Brendans Communication Miscellany / Service95 / Dealbook/ The New Statesman / Blazer

On the road again. Sending from an Uber this week, so you’ll be spared a lengthy rumination. Thanks Ed Cotton, James Friedman, Piers Fawkes, Matt @The Technorati, Iolanda Carvalho, Celeste Blewitt and Rob Hubbert for contributions, and shouts out to Clayton Chambers (whose Sprezza newsletter is a fave) for hosting me and other subscribers the other night in Williamsburg, and to all of you for tuning into this week’s digest. Enjoy.

Ben

what passes for a selfie / statement of mood around here

======[SIC] 265: Houseplant Consulting======

The Macro Narrative

Inside the Roosevelet Hotel aka the New Ellis Island, the city’s main intake center for homeless migrants / NYT
The US is on the brink of a new growth cycle. There are reasons to believe the economy is primed to deliver robust and durable expansion over the longer term / FT
But then again: Models can mislead us on the impact of global trade. Predictions are only as good as the assumptions on which they depend / FT
On the topic of misleading: Black Americans still don’t trust new sources / Pew
Because? What is news, anyway? Readers’ answers depend on how much they see people like themselves in the story / Nieman Lab
Corporate America Promised to Hire a Lot More People of Color. It Actually Did. "The year after BLM protests, the S&P 100 added more than 300,000 jobs — 94% went to people of color." / Bloomberg
Elsewhere in the workplace: How Terrible Meetings Took Over Corporate America / VICE
Corollary, from Ed Cotton: “Some great thoughts and data in this piece by Ted Gioia on what's been happening recently and over the past few decades with music and culture. Sad Summer: Why Is Music Getting Sadder”/ Notes from an Honest Broker
Why don't more women date short men? Why exactly? / Arnold Kling
From Piers: “Related to loneliness: New York’s Running Clubs Are an Opportunity for Exercise and Community / NYT
Another from Piers: 'Nothing super new about the rationale but maybe a data point re how the end this side of pandemic. Isn’t the same for people as the previous side” [Gen Z loneliness is so bad that some young adults are spending thousands trying to make friends through gym memberships and social clubs] / Insider
Lonely but never alone: The average kid in the US between the ages of 11 and 17 receives at least 237 notifications a day — mostly messages from friends or memes on socials / The Future Party
Related: “Yearnposting” is a growing trend on TikTok characterized by melancholic content often set to gloomy music, featuring sad quotes, and referencing classic literature and cinema / i-D
Reigning The Internet: Rayne Fisher-Quann discusses parasocial relationships, her upcoming book, and the performance of being a woman on the internet / Byline
We were never supposed to see our own faces this much / Dazed
Cause? Cultural capital is no substitute for cold, hard cash / Jacobin
Related, per Casey Lewis: “I spend a significant amount of time online, and I only recognize about half of these 50 honorees, which speaks to the sheer size of the creator industry” Forbes Top Creators 2023 / Forbes
Here’s GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 2023 list, too / Teen Vogue
So Much for ‘Learn to Code’ / The Atlantic
ChatGPT can now see, speak, and hear / OpenAI
Apropos: Kyle Chayka on Rethinking the Luddites in the Age of A.I. / The New Yorker
Spotify is going to clone podcasters’ voices — and translate them to other languages to automatically create foreign-language versions of their shows / The Verge
From Celeste: Swiftposium: Australia To Host Academic Conference On Taylor Swift / The Guardian
Related, then: “The End of Privacy is …. a Taylor Swift Fan TikTok Account Armed with Facial Recognition Tech.” /404 Media
Corollary to that: The Death of the Big Idea And the Birth of the AI-Generated Proven Idea / The By-Product
Digesting GenZ-eitgeist clean up on aisle cringe / Snaxshot
The Poo-Ification of the domestic colorscape / For Scale
Aesthetically oriented: The city of imminent doom: why the coolest, edgiest TV shows and books are set in Naples / The Guardian
Speaking of doom: Singapore has warmed at twice the global average over the past six decades. Now, it is rethinking its urban spaces to dampen the effects of climate change. Can the city be a model? / NYT
From Piers: “People sound the same when migration happens and people have to communicate with one another” Are America’s distinct accents dying out? / Big Think
Related, also from Piers: “It’s been interesting to see how gen. a (less z) slip between listening to spanish and english language music without much friction.” Spotify Taps Into a Mexican Music Genre Exploding Among Gen Z / AdWeek

Generationations

Weird Corollary: Adam Sandler is Gen Z’s definitive it boy / Bustle
Less “it”: Teens barely spend any time on Snapchat anymore / Fast Company
Gen Z’s favorite Netflix show that actually aired on NBC — The Office — is currently “set to do a reboot,” / Puck

Platformations

Why the fuck are people watching TV on TikTok? / The Drum
Because?! The makers of counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags are promoting their wares with live fashion shows on TikTok / Mastodon
Meanwhile, the real Louis Vuitton is on Discord, where it’s planning to engage its NFT audience on topics like products and even business strategy / Vogue Business
From Celeste: “Yet another powerplay on the streaming platforms.” [Bob Iger And Brian Roberts Lock Horns Over 'Kingmaker's Asset' Hulu]/ FT
From Iolanda: Apple’s plan to change sport / WARC
But why doesn't Apple care more about gaming? / TwoFiveSix

Stylistics

From [SIC] Talks alum Joy Howard … “recently published two underground hits: My fishing story with Yvon Chouinard at Patagonia / Early Majority
And an essay on Ethical Extravagance! / Early Majority
Elsewhere in essaying: Annie Hamilton On Failing / Byline
The Eternal Glamour of Amanda Lepore / Frieze
Also eternal: Kate Moss at Almost 50: In Denial About Aging, All In on Crystals / Vanity Fair
In contrast, fading fast: The great Italian Tailoring Crisis / GQ
To that end: John Fetterman Should Wear a Suit. Republicans Should Put a Sock in It / Politico
Or maybe he should cop some Union x J.Crew? Geddit?! / IG
Elsewhere, from Piers: The ‘Fairycore Kit’ of Colombe d’Humiere Studio’s enchanting collection / Numero
Meantime, Gucci Was Determined to Make Us All Look Up 'Ancora' / Back Row
From ‘Celeste: “Great brief read on the culture of fashion shows, gate-keeping and points of entry to what was once an invite only club, to now being a pay as you go moment” Front Row Seat? That'll Be $3,000' / The Cut
So, then How Does PETA Keep Crashing Runway Shows? / GQ
Cause really? Fashion Activism vs Fashion Innovation - do we have to choose? / Futurevvorld
Actually, maybe?! Silkworms were genetically modified to make spider silk. The material is six times tougher than kevlar / New Scientist
Speaking of spinning: The Hundreds’ 20th anniversary, the fashion brand is spinning off its iconic Adam Bomb logo into its own sub-label/ Hypebeast
While Ganni unveils handbag made from bacterial leather at LDF / Dezeen
With new Meta devices, smart glasses are in focus for fashion / Vogue Business
Related: Taylor Lorenz on the Future of Fashion Influencers / Backrow
Print's not dead: the best magazines for graphic design inspiration / Creative Boom
Corollary proof: Basic Books is re-releasing W. David Marx’s Ametora (How Japan Saved American Style) with a new cover and an afterword about what happened in this story after publication in 2015 / Amazon
Also: How [the film] Dazed and Confused Reinvented the 1970s for the 1990s / Mr. Porter

Culturations

The avant-garde origins of Gumby / Animation Obsessive
From James Friedman: “Sick shit for [sic]” The Emotionally Haunted Electronic Music of a Digital Trickster / The New Yorker
Continued, from James: “Curious how some of the topics touched on in the NYer article above also showed up in the BBSP interview this morning. Paul Schrader, OPN’s low key but distinct personal style. I’m fascinating by his success because his music is so damn difficult but I’m more fascinated that even a supposed friend (Jonah) and an august outlet like the NYer clearly relied super heavily on a press release to fuel these conversations…./ Blackbird Spyplane
The Talks talks to Futura: “Artists have got to Stop Compromising / The Talks
Elsewhere downtown: Julia Fox Didn’t Want to Be Famous, but She Knew She Would Be / The New Yorker
Meantime, uptown: Everybody loves Tom Wolfe again / Esquire
While back in slightly: A brush with… Sarah Lucas / The Art Newspaper
From Celeste: Everything You Need To Know About The Landmark Rothschild Auction At Christies / Tatler
Four Artists Doing It Differently, According To Reilly Davidson / Byline
Corollary: The Motherwitch Oracle Deck is the brainchild of Natasha Khan, BKA Bat For Lashes / She’s Lost Control
Feels related, somehow: Keeping up with the Cronenbergs: Why Kim Kardashian’s casting in “American Horror Story: Delicate” makes sense / The New Yorker
How Instagram Ruined Personal Style / Pulling Weeds
Corollary: Wes Anderson on His New Short, Screening Movies for His ‘Little Club’ of New York Filmmakers, and the Possibility of Directing for the Stage / Vogue
While Wes’s immaculately practical designs in “Asteroid City” have taken over Fondazione Prada / Hypebeast
Speaking of film: What comes next after writers strike ends? / Axios
More questionable futures: Oliver Anthony seized on a moment with ‘Rich Men North of Richmond.’ Now what? / WaPo
Also what about Music Festivals in the Time of Extreme Weather / Pitchfork
Why Black Audiences Love Italian American Screen Icons / Vanity Fair
And How Hip-Hop Fueled the The Chicago White Sox's 1990 rebrand / MLB
Apropos of chain reactions: What comes first—a thriving local art scene or the outlets that deem it such? Notes From Here: Art Publishing Coast to Coast / Cultural Counsel

Technopolis

From Matt: Sam Altman Is the Oppenheimer of Our Age. He insists the artificial intelligence he is creating could destroy civilization even as he hastens its advancement / /NYMag
Oh and OpenAI announced that its data no longer cuts off at September 2021 / Twitter
Ergo? Why Silicon Valley’s biggest AI developers are hiring poets / Rest of World
Getty Images gets into the generative AI race with its own image platform / Digiday
Getty's new image generator could make AI art truly mainstream / Creative Bloq
Meanwhile, Meta introduced a flurry of new features that it will bake into its array of products, including Instagram and WhatsApp / NYT
Media.Monks applies AI to generate highlights, new media content for Gen Z / Digiday
While The New York Times is seeking a senior editor to lead the newsroom’s efforts to ambitiously and responsibly make use of generative artificial intelligence / NYT
AI may be news reporting’s future. So far, it’s been an embarrassment / WaPo
From Piers: Indian Actor Anil Kapoor Wins Court Order Against Unauthorized AI Deepfakes / Voicebot
And the US and UK see new efforts to ensure AI doesn't harm musicians / Music Ally
From Prada and Porsche, to Tissot and Tesla: Brands collaborate with virtual humans in China / Jing Daily
NASA is teaming up with Lonestar and the Isle of Man to use blockchain technology to safely secure data on the Moon / Science Focus

Media-tions

Press freedom means controlling the language of AI / Nieman Lab
Microsoft’s Advertising Ads for Chat API product will serve users sponsored links related to their conversation with Snapchat’s My AI feature / TechCrunch
Because, from Iolanda: We are entering the age of “reaggregation” of media data in the coming years" / The Media Leader
While Google Podcasts will shut down in 2024 / TechCrunch
Media's uncanny valley / The Rebooting
How is the outdoor advertising industry responding to ‘faux-out-of-home’? / The Drum
How Formula One's 'huge surge' in the U.S. is capturing the attention of marketers and publishers / Digiday
CollegeHumor Changes Name to Dropout, as Digital Comedy Player Rebrands for Streaming / Variety

Market / Influence

[SIC] homie and Calvin Klein’s CMO Jonathan Bottomley on taking a different path from rival luxury brands / The Drum
From Rob Hubbert: “This feels timely….” Airlines are just banks now / The Atlantic
Volvo redesigns its shop uniforms to make service jobs more women-friendly /AutoNews
USA Pickleball wants to make the sport quieter while continuing to grow
Lululemon and Peloton are becoming workout buddies. The fitness apparel company is getting out of the hardware business and partnering with Peloton / Quartz
Celsius keeps bulking up its big-name influencer partners / Marketing Brew
Personalized texts will be fueling Black Friday marketing / Modern Retail

Eats, Drinks and Ephemera

Paging Stefon: New York's Hottest Steakhouse Was a Fake, Until Saturday Night / NYT
The era of America’s subminimum wage for tipped restaurant workers may be ending / CNBC
New York City's new mandatory composting law could usher in an era when organic waste collection becomes commonplace in U.S. cities / Axios
The best US cities for vegans and vegetarians / Wallet Hub
In contrast: “Meatfluencers” are gaining wide followings on social media / The New Yorker
The bizarre new frontier for cell-cultivated meat: Lion burgers, tiger steaks, and mammoth meatballs / Vox
What can we do about ultraprocessed foods? / Knowable Magazine
From Piers: Next time you read a food nutrition label, pour one out for Burkey Belser. Origin story of the nutrition label / NPR
Corollary, from Celeste: “A deep dive into the inefficiencies and confusions with purchases, in this instance fruit, online. Hilarity ensues often.” 'Why Can Nobody Order The Right Amount Of Bananas From Instacart' / Bon Appetit

The Natural (?!) World

A proposed mine in Alaska would destroy the world’s largest salmon fishery / NYT
Goro, Italy, is famous for its clams, but an invasion of blue crabs is threatening its spaghetti alle vongole / NYT
Lindsey Bro on the Cathartic, Humanizing Effect of Bathing Rituals / The Slowdown