[SIC] 335: Time of a Dream Machine

Vol. 7, No. 25. [SIC] Talks with Sean Monahan. How to read [SIC]. Chaos Magic. Summer 1991. And many, many links you should be reading post-hastily.

Feb 27, 2025

[SIC] Weekly is a digest of developments intended to be read linearly; consume it as you would a bulleted list. Feel no compunction to open every item in a new tab. 

This specific digest was sent free on 2/27/25 to 6960 subscribers. The original source is cited with each item. Corollary sources are listed at the end of each digest.

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Special thanks this week to Kevin Kusatsu, Molly Raskin, Piers Fawkes, Celeste Blewitt and Iolanda Carvalho for suggested links and commentary. 

Comments, Questions and Contributions are invited from everyone.

Hi all,

I think maybe I’ve mentioned recently in [SIC DAY] but I’ve lately gotten involved in helping a friend (and [SIC] Talks alum) produce a summer exhibition at an art museum that’s near and dear to me; can’t say much right this minute about it - mainly because it’s all coming together real time - but I can say it’s had me DEEP in my nostalgia bag of late. Lots of photos, video and print collateral from my teens and twenties, including these two images from my buddy Dan Leone of us having stumbled upon an Elvis impersonator performing in an AM/PM gas station parking lot for an audience of adults with special needs, which stopped me in my tracks last night.

Highly doubtful these pictures will make the show, but they reminded me once again of the unbelievable power and mystery of making myself available to the world and letting serendipity work its magic. And then letting it flit away again to find some other beneficiary. I have no recollection whatsoever of this afternoon in the summer of ‘91 or so - but it was very clearly magical.

To that end, this week I got a text from Kevin, pasted here:

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

“This made me think of you (its from Alan Moore)”

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

…also you read Pynchon ?”

Not sure what KK was implying exactly (I do love Pynchon) , but the simple mention of Chaos Magic brought me serendipitously to [SIC] Talks this week.

[SIC] Talks #96: Sean Monahan

I’ve wanted to talk to Sean for literally years (and we’ve had to reschedule twice), so it was a real pleasure to get 45 minutes with him yesterday. Reading 8Ball regularly (as I do) it’s easy to imagine Sean as something - a Big Brained theoritician, a McLuhanian analyst, a tortured academic - that he’s not. It isn’t to say that he lacks any of those capacities - just that he doesn’t make being smart and prescient into his personality. And so consequently the conversation flowed as naturally as with anyone. Enjoyed it. My advice: Have a listen, subscribe to 8Ball, and dig into Sean’s oeuvre.

Among the items we talked about:

Sean’s recent “potions and spells” post about the new metaphysics of technology / 8Ball
The OG Normcore Report from 2013 / K-Hole
The K-hole follow up on (as mentioned) Chaos Magic : A Report on Doubt (from 2015) / K-Hole
Sean’s infamous Vibe Shift post, from 2021. Lede line: “the old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.” / 8Ball

We didn’t talk about it on the pod but off-mic Sean gave me a little preview of his post from yesterday on “robophobia/ why robots scare me more than ai” post on 8Ball. It’s good.

I’ll be 50 soon, so listening to Sean talk about robots I was reminded to re-investigate Old Glory Insurance: Robot Insurance for when the metal ones come for you. (And they will). / YT

On the topic of aging: [SIC] homie Rei Inamoto tackled Aging and Relevance this week, prompted by ”Another trip around the sun and thoughts on relevance,” and ends on ‘It’s never too late to learn, start, and create something new.’ / The Intersection

In contrast (but saying something similar, it’s Rishad with Old School Cool - about the qualities of durability worth aspiring to as leaders - and as colleagues/ The Future Does Not Fit in the Containers of the Past

Apropos of that:

Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick

’s Sunday sletter 😈 become unmanageable 😈 (about) “why workers need to reclaim their power while serving up a plate of reheated nachos,” got me thinking about all the fun we’re going to have launch HIP REPLACEMENT, our new podcast, next week/ The Trend Report

Last thing before the links:

Happy to announce I’ve been invited to produce and moderate a conversation at the inaugural Brands & Culture event in NYC on April 2. It’s titled “Pods & Sletters: The Next Condé Nast is Already in Your Inbox” and it’ll feature a trio of illustrious [SIC] Talks alums. Brands & Culture kicked off last year and is produced by vets of the Cannes Lions industrial complex - so it’ll be fascinating, I think. Expense yourself a ticket and come hang: - use the discount code Ben25 for 25% off registration.

Ok - now the links.

Ben

[SIC] 335: Time of a Dream Machine

Polititrix (Cause We Can’t Not 🤦‍♂️)

From Molly: Techno-Fascism Comes to America. The historic parallels that help explain Elon Musk’s rampage on the federal government / The New Yorker
IE: Actress Hunter Schafer's gender marker was changed to "male" on her US passport due to Trump's anti-trans passport rules / Teen Vogue
Corollary, from Molly: The Adolescent Style in American Politics. The version of manhood placed on display by Trump and his aides is the one imagined by teenage boys / The Atlantic
Tho … Judges, the Economy, and Even Elon’s Own DOGE Team Are Turning Against His Wild Plans / Vanity Fair
Because?! ‘It’s a Psyop’: Inside Elon Musk’s Empty Ultimatum / The Atlantic
Not a psyop: The U.S. Economy Depends More Than Ever on Rich People / WSJ
Hence, also from Molly: Bernie Sanders on Battling a Government ‘Of, By, and For’ the Billionaires / Rolling Stone
One data point: Congestion pricing program appears to be working. traffic is down, foot traffic is up and toll revenue has exceeded expectations /NYT
Tho across the pond A row over a “fish disco” at a long-delayed British nuclear plant could further slow the project / Semafor
Raising the question Can Ultimate Frisbee Heal the Middle East? The spread of Ultimate Frisbee testifies to a kind of Western soft power in the Middle East, one far friendlier than bombs or bullets / Reason

AIAIAI

Anthropic launched the world’s first “hybrid reasoning” AI model / Wired
Corollary; The Reality (or Lack Thereof) of Agents/ BRXND Dispatch
On the topic of agency: UK develops AI CV-writing tool to ease pressure on job support staff. Plan will free up work coaches for more ‘valuable’ work as ministers seek to cut welfare bill / FT
To that end, From Piers: AI opens 'endless' doors for fashion models, closes others / Fashion Network
Hence: Artificial intelligence is coming for beauty, but the technology is still relatively nascent / Vogue Business
So Will AI revolutionize online shopping? As shoppers grow weary of traditional e-commerce, a new AI-powered startup is hoping to revitalize the online shopping experience / Jing Daily
Also wearying, from Piers: “It was a dream all along Remember the Rabbit R1?” [The company just introduced a new Android AI agent]/ Mashable
The New Aesthetics of Slop Or what happens when vulgar technocrats control the arts / The Honest Broker
Case in point?! Front uses AI to translate sketches into "brilliantly bad" objects / Dezeen
Ergo, Copywriters and art directors: creativity is about ‘knowing when not to use AI’ / The Drum
Corollary: “Graphic designers are not magicians”: is the industry getting too demanding? / Creative Bloq

Platforming

From Molly: How 12 Americans See Life After Watching a Lot of TikTok / NYT
Launch your own live video show on Substack, suggests …Substack / Substack
Because? “Social doesn’t have to be core to your career” Carla Lalli Music talks about leaving YouTube algorithms behind to find success on Substack / Substack
From Iolanda: Movements... [Social media in 2025: why creatives are ditching 'rented' spaces for owned platforms] Fed up with Facebook, Instagram, and X? Creatives in 2025 are reclaiming control, ditching social media for owned platforms that foster independence and authenticity / Creative Boom
Corollary: the startup Yope is sparking Gen Z (and VC) interest with an Instagram-like app for private groups / TechCrunch
Meanwhile in oppositeland: As Facebook abandons fact-checking, it’s also offering bonuses for viral content / Nieman Lab
Useful timing, then, for A list of instructions on "how to change your settings to make yourself less valuable to Meta" / johnoliverwantsyourraterotica.com
Speaking of viral: Tumblr Users Broke Global Music Charts With A Dance Track Full Of Homophobic Slurs credited to Tumblr user bigfoots-biggest-fan / Garbage Day

Coolture

Mammalian e-girls: Daisy Alioto and Francis Zierer in conversation with reporter and internet culture writer Katherine Dee / Tasteland
Corollary to that: Cybersigilism: The forever Trend. Difficult to describe, but easy to spot. From club kids to high fashion and pop icons like Grimes and Playboi Carti, the style, which infuses ancient symbols with digital dread, has become a permanent mark of the post-plague era / 032C
More clubbing: A Gen Zer created something called the Club Club — a club that involves going to the club — because no one is going to clubs anymore / Tiktok
Meantime, tho: The Wellness Club is Gen Z’s Country Club / Vogue
Counterpoint: Teenagers are dropping air fryers on their feet for TikTok views / VICE
Also doing it for clout, from Molly: A Fyre Festival Sequel? What Could Go Wrong? / NYT
Back to the clerb: Dreaming Loud: Respect at Twilo '98. A poster, a party, and the night it all became real / Nouveau York
But today The best club in Europe is not in Berlin, it’s in Wuppertal / 032C
Dancefloor corollary: Even the guy who wrote The Brutalist’s disco song isn’t sure why it’s in the movie / Vulture
Apropos, from Celeste: “Pertinent to the conversation of Babygirl, The Substance (haven't seen, can't stomach horror) and Bridget Jones, an excellent insight into why Gen Z are loving Bridget and all her foibles” [Messy, Imperfect, Chaotic - Why Gen Z Can't Get Enough Of Bridget Jones] Elle UK
Also, from Molly: Women Watching Women Watching Women. A new kind of woman has emerged onscreen thanks to more of them being behind the camera, finally / NYT
Elsewhere: The Duperre court in Pigalle got a fresh coat of paint / NYT

Marketeering

Changing search habits matter for advertisers. Shifting search habits have put a dent in Google’s market dominance. It’s not the only company affected, though / Digiday
Hence, from Iolanda: “VHT - Very Hot Topic” [How can brands navigate increasingly divisive consumer opinion?] / Marketing Week
More hot topic: How the Internet Made In-Store Shopping Miserable / WSJ
So, like, Why does Walmart want a shopping mall? / Retail Dive
Also dubious, given the seasons they’re having: Qualcomm CMO Don Maguire on why Man United deal is proving to be a brand breakthrough / The Drum
More sport: Zara created a collection with Padel brand Nox / Zara
Unrelated: Why Are Most Real Estate Listings a Vibe Killer? Rationale for a different look and feel / Untapped
Apropos to vibe killers: Comedians are turning to LinkedIn to find a new audience / Fast Company
while Luxury brands are turning to LinkedIn to find new professional (read: wealthy) customers /Fast Company
While Senior living communities are courting Gen X / Marketwatch
Meantime, your car may become a new advertising portal / Wired
Hence?! Polestar is offering Tesla owners a $20k credit to switch brands / Polestar
As predicted: Duolingo resurrected its mascot, surprising no one / Adweek
Related to that: From McDonald's to Kellogg's: Why are so many brands ditching their logo? / The Drum
From Piers: celeb food brands don’t cut the mustard - Investors Sour on Celebrity Brands After Spree of Launches / The Information
So why (also from PIers) did Pantone just name a color after Drew Barrymore? / Fast Company
Speaking of colors: Technicolor Group, the parent company of production and visual effects studios The Mill and MPC, is closing down operations in a major blow to the advertising and creative production sector / Adweek
Related to that: A visual deep dive into the history of color theory / c82
Randalism: Creative agency gets revenge on vandals... with a font. When DUDE London's offices got tagged it appropriated the spray-painted lettering and made it available to all / Creative Bloq
From Celeste: [Can Mecca, Australasia's Top Beauty Store Go Global?] / FT

Life / Rights

Something never change, though: Sexy, reinvigorated. Sexy is back and it's more inclusive than ever / VML
But Can You Sell Sexual Wellness Without Sex?. As mainstream retailers retreat and social media censorship restricts digital marketing, brands are rethinking their approach to retail partnerships and are finding creative ways to navigate the shift towards cultural conservatism. / BoF
I know, let’s ask The Internet’s Favorite Sex Researcher, Aella, who went from selling sex to studying it / The Atlantic
More studying: According to the researchers, this is your brain on psychedelics / Doubleblind
While apparently There’s a new state of matter. Microsoft’s new “topological qubit” is not based on a solid, liquid or gas. It is another phase of matter that many experts did not think was possible / NYT
Brain matter corollary: From Leann:”Founder of Bloomscape starts a “plant-based intelligence” company (my words). Fascinating read and would be really cool (to say the least) if they pull it off: [We are Planetary Gardeners]
Speaking of cultivations: To succeed in life, everyone should have a nemesis / NYT
Also contentious?! Our obsession with this d-word is only growing Have we reached peak “deep”? / WaPo
Meantime, Employees at newish startups are being offered modern, specialized, and personalized perks designed to communicate the culture companies hope to foster… / Business Insider
But Return-to-office won't actually make your employees more productive, McKinsey says / Quartz

Media Ors

From Iolanda: “This is cool - like finding a Superformat that works for each one... “[From 'Trad News' to AI: The evolving journalism landscape] A visual breakdown of how and where news is produced in 2025 / Project C
+ [The News Ecosystem 2025] / Canva
Related, from Celeste: “Turning a media business into profitability and the concept of future proofing with AI and embracing it without turning into an AI bot” [The Atlantic's AI Survival Kit] / The Grill Room - Puck
Speaking of lowest common denominators: Max is pulling CNN content from its cheapest streaming tier / Hollywood Reporter
While ESPN breaks up with MLB after 35 years / Axios
In the pitch for brand dollars, retail media networks turn to creators / Digiday
Creator Economy Consolidation at Center of Media M&A in 2025 / A Media Operator
Inspiration from?! Timothee Chalamet Does Awards Seasons A Little Differently / NYT

Worn Out

25 bags and shoes that transformed fashion / NYT
Also bag-gy: The most shoppable brands in the Magasin universe Brand Rank: 2024 edition. A data-driven index of the top trending fashion brands surging in real time / Magasin
Corollary to that: The Price Ain't Right (w/ Amanda Mull) / The New Garde
From Celeste: “Burberry is in every feed right now...” [Burberry's Daniel Lee Documented His Whirlwind Week In The Lead Up To London Fashion Week For British Vogue ]/ Vogue UK
Oh, This Old, Tattered, Moth-Eaten Thing? “So-called thrashed clothes — garments resembling something closer to rags — are coveted by vintage fanatics.” / NYT
Clare Waight Keller: Uniqlo’s global creative director on bringing excellence to wardrobe basics / Monocle
Jil Sander on maximalism and why timelessness has had its day / Monocle
Also not forever: We don't Build Stores. We Build Stories. This past weekend, [The Hundreds] closed [its] LA flagship store after 18 years. How did it last so long and why did it end so soon? / Monologue
Apropos of ending: How Ivy Ends “Menswear's favorite look has been going hard for a century. How much longer can it last?” [Mensweird]
The Question of Milan Fashion Week: What’s Next for Gucci? / Show Notes
Another buring Q: Should men wear white jeans? / NYT
Apropos of that: The difference between $50 jeans and $500 jeans / Huffpost
From Piers: “Interesting but there’s a point when you look at this and check it’s not April 1” [Vans X Nicole McLaughlin Slip-On RS is eco-consciously customized with an array of hiking gear] / Yanko Design

Art & Artifice

Notes From a Post-DEI Art World / Hyperallergic
Architecture being killed by "woke take-over”: Zaha Hadid Architects principal Patrik Schumacher, claims that "woke virtue signalling" has destroyed the intellectual rigour of the profession / Dezeen
Larry Gagosian Talked the Future with 60 Minutes: ‘I’m Not Ready to Pass the Reins’ / Artnews
Apropos of pronouncements: Los Angeles Toasts Clear Air, Conceptual Art, and Mysterious Mike Kelleys During Cautiously Optimistic Frieze Week / Artnet
While Art About Resilience and Resistance Dazzles at Frieze LA / Hyperallergic
Also resilient: Great Wall of China Is 300 Years Older Than Previously Thought / Artnet
Elsewhere, the film “Universal Language” Brings Tim Hortons to Tehran / Hyperallergic
Alex Israel Talks Noir-Inspired Gagosian Show: ‘We Live at the Precipice of an Apocalypse’ / Artnet
More talking (less apocalypse): [SIC] homie Todd St. John on the Design Matters Podcast / Spotify
The Singular Vision of Peter Hujar. Artist, photographer and printer Gary Schneider reflects on his relationship with the legendary American photographer / Frieze

Sustenances

Cheerful! Scented products cause indoor air pollution on par with car exhaust. Be careful breathing nano-sized particles / New Atlas
And There's a Spoon's Worth of Plastic in Our Brains. Now What? / NYMag
From Molly: Don’t Try This at Home. Kate Berlant and Jacqueline Novak search for their health holy grails / The Cut
Matter of fact, from Piers: skip the grocery store strategy [How Food Delivery is Shaping the Plant-Based Industry] / Vegconomist
Bird Flu Wiped Out His Entire Farm . Doug Corwin was forced to cull 100k ducks after the virus came to his century-old Long Island farm / grubstreet
Also fowl: Five companies control half the egg market in the United States, a factor — along with bird flu — that may explain why prices have soared / NYT
Similar: Coffee Prices Are Soaring, but Growers Aren't Celebrating/ NYT
While there’s Fears of Matcha Shortage: A surge in global demand for matcha is forcing shifts within Japan’s tea industry / Semafor
Also shorting, from Celeste: [Where Did All The Good Bars Go?] / Esquire
Canada is pushing to sell maple water / Semafor
From Piers: not quite how i picture regenerative farming but then again, maybe it needs to get less hippy [Get Free Fries At Chelsea Market While Learning About Future-Focused Farming At This Interactive Event] / Secret NYC
From Celeste: [A Love Letter To Greek Diners In New York City] / Town & Country

[SIC] 335: Time of a Dream Machine

Corollary Sources This Week: After School / Offball/ The Future Party /Dealbook / Feed Me / Politico Future Daily / 1440 / Kottke/ The Material Review / Dinner Party / User Mag

[SIC] 335: Time of a Dream Machine

Vol. 7, No. 25. [SIC] Talks with Sean Monahan. How to read [SIC]. Chaos Magic. Summer 1991. And many, many links you should be reading post-hastily.

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