[SIC] 352: Binn Chillinn

Vol. 7, No. 42. HIP REPLACMENT EP. 16 Anto Aestesthics, Colleagues on Tiktok, AIiiightgeist and some links you should ingest for smarts.

Jul 04, 2025

[SIC] Weekly is a digest of developments in trends, tech, media, marketing, fashion, food, places and events, published free on Thursdays. Feel no compunction to open every item in a new tab; [SIC] is intended to be read as you would a bulleted list.

This digest was sent free on 7/3/25 to 7704 subscribers. Original source is cited. Corollary sources are listed at the end of each digest.

I'm Ben Dietz, longtime media/entertainment business guy, and now advisor-for-hire to brands, publishers and agencies. 

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New original art each issue is courtesy of Gordon Hull.

Special thanks this week for stories: Piers Fawkes, Celeste Blewitt and Iolanda Carvalho.

Comments, Questions and Contributions are invited from everyone.

Hi all.

Blackout (again) here this afternoon, so excuse the late send. Hailstorms in July will do that. Anyway, back from a week off, back in the swing. Plenty to pay attention to this week, starting with:

HIP REPLACEMENT EP. 16 Antonia Bentel

Antonia was dialing in from a sweltering London, where she publishes the excellent Anto Aesthetics. Among the stuff we talked about: Why Plastic Surgery Social Media Is ‘Spiritually Rotten’ (tho not specifically this Back Row piece), whether ‘writers’ can actually just be writers anymore, and of course Anna Wintour succession BINGO (with shouts out to [SIC] homies

Mark Guiducci

and

Willa Bennett

Here’s the Spotify link, for the majority of you who are less visually inclined:

Another reveal from the conversation, apropos of whether writers can just write: Kyle launched a tiktok opinion series (with an insight from me in the first ep). I also got a shout for setting the stage for

Moose Huerta

’s new East Coast Special pod about surfing, and cited, circa Cannes, in

Oren John

and

Clayton Chambers

’s highly relevant

Hyper

dispatch.

Those, combined with series producer Campbell eating a lot of tendies for a Gymnasium Applebee’s troll-cum-economics/ late capitalism explainer and [SIC] Talks alum Alyssa Vingan’s excellent edition of “My Internet” for Embedded reinforced the need for redefinition of what any formerly ‘pure creative’ pursuit actually requires.

This has been evident for years, but like I mentioned to Clayton when we talked, the rubicon has definitely been crossed. We’re all vidiots now. Case in point: Video is helping smaller creators on Substack grow their subscriber numbers faster, per Digiday (tho larger creators aren't experiencing the same boost). Hence Substack updating its live streaming tools (per TechCrunch), even if the recidivists at Vulture (who still won’t let me go, a year and a half after I started unsubscribing every day) want to venerate the ‘stack as a place Where Writers Go to Be Weird. It’s not that that isn’t true. It’s that it doesn’t matter.

I could go on about this forever (and probably will, in future dispatches) but in the interest of getting you to the links, some events you should think about maybe, starting Saturday July 5th with. 30 Years of Duck Down Records (at Lincoln Center no less)

Not an event exactly but something I’ll be throwing my hat in the ring for: NEW INC’s open call for Mentors ends next week. The program is dedicated to supporting creative practitioners as they pursue a sustainable practice or bring a new business to life, circa the New Museum

Then next weekend (July 11 and 12), the Magnum pop-up Warehouse Sale @ Photodom in Brooklyn will feature ‘a trove of photographic treasures’ including iconic photo books and rare, out-of-print titles to posters, zines, and other collectible ephemera from the Magnum archive, from as low as $5. RSVP here via Eventbrite

Also next weekend and last one for now: Trend lord / futurist / artist (and [SIC] Talks alum) Emily Segal’s NEMESIS FREE WRITING WORKSHOP is Sunday July 13, 9am PDT / 12pm EST / 6pm CET - 60 minutes. Free and open to the public via Zoom (signup required). Recommended.

Okay, now the links….

Ben

[SIC] 352: Binn Chillinn

AIiiightgeist

The Vulgar Image. AI is co-spawning a visual culture beyond any imagination. Will an overthrow of good taste re-vest pictures with their mysterious power? Or are we chasing our machines into pastiche hell? / Spike Art
Corollary to that, Markus Bosch’s re-up on Synthetic Propaganda / Understanding Tiktok
Ergo? People are opening up to chatbots during psychedelic trips. / MIT Technology Review
And LLMs are optimizing the adult industry / The Verge
Also optimizing: how AI Is Redefining Managerial Roles. Harvard Business Review
Tho… AI job substitution is real, but narrow, per new study / Axios
Case in point: LinkedIn CEO says AI writing assistant is not as popular as expected / TechCrunch
Hence: Reddit vows to stay human to emerge a winner from artificial intelligence / FT
So, from Piers: Reddit may soon ask: “Mind if I scan your eye?” / Web Designer Depot
Which begs the question: Whose job is safe from AI? Technology can make a boring job even more boring and an interesting job even more interesting / FT
Apropos, from Piers: “personal submission - feel free to ignore” [Digging Moats in the Age of AI]/ Linkedin
One possible moat; AI is bad at Snacks / Money Stuff

Publishments

Vogue faces new headwinds as Anna Wintour — who agency execs say made ad dollars flow — shifts focus / Digiday
G/O Media, the digital publisher that once ran sites like Jezebel and Deadspin, said it was winding down / NYT
From Iolanda: Optimizing for AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) [AEO or SEO? Use this flowchart to decide] / AdAge
Among the questions to ask, from Celeste: “#monkmode is the new trend of now, given over consumption is at an all time high.” Should I Go #MonkMode? / The Cut
And, also from Celeste: “Linking in with #monkmode, the eat the rich genre popularity is waning and becoming diluted.” [From The Better Sister To Sirens, TV Has Reached Peak Eat The Rich ] / Elle UK

The Arts and Artists

Peter Saville's Artistic Influences. On the anniversary of Unknown Pleasures, the artist discussed his design inspirations / Frieze
From Iolanda: Also this one, cause I'm a huge fan of everything that Yancey builds…[Why Artist Corporations?]/ Ideaspace
Christian Marclay's Doors Debuts at Brooklyn Museum / BK Mag
The Eccentric Story Behind History’s Most Fabulous Cat Painting /Artnet
Speaking of incentives: Will Art Lovers Flock to a Tiny New York Village? This New Triennial Hopes So. The village of Medina is home to just 6,000, but is already drawing attention for a “culinary and cultural renaissance.” / Artnet

Fashionz

If the attention economy is bringing out the ugliest in people, it’s also true that no picture distills our new internet quite like the meme coin / Spike Art
Rick Owens is selling feet pics on OnlyFans / The Cut
Rick Owens talks launching an OnlyFans, runway dicks, and 30 years of ‘cheerful depravity’ / GQ
From Piers: IP move - fragrance into alcohol (same base product??;) [‘My new era in taste’ – Jo Vodka takes flight in travel retail with Avolta] / Moodie Davitt Report
‘Smellmaxxing’ and ‘frag heads’: how the gen Z perfume boom came up roses for indie brands / The Guardian
Corollary: The best clothes have a smell. And there's an epidemic of "good" ones that don't / Blackbird Spyplane
France is poised to pass legislation that would regulate ultra-fast fashion by taxing each item €5 (increasing to €10 by 2030) / Sustainability
The Designer-Retailer Friction Edition On payment terms, order fluctuations, and turning down the dollar / WITI
Ergo, from Piers: “Ready to cape?” [How to choose the right merch strategy] / The Sociology of Business

Sound and Vision

He Filmed Your Favorite Skate Videos: The Jon Miner Story / YT
More faves: Eighties samba LPs to relax/chill to. The music of Agustin Pereyra Lucena / One Thing
CorollaryL; A new album and art installation by Bicep combines Arctic field recordings and indigenous-inspired music to document the effects of climate change/ Semafor
Elsewhere, Blumhouse is shifting its strategy to make more event-driven horror movies / Hollywood Reporter
But Could the Cat in the Hat be Warner Bros's Pixar moment? / Creative Bloq
meantime, A remake of The Running Man directed by Edgar Wright? Yes, please. Here's the trailer / YT
From Iolanda: Girls at the movies... [Beyond rom coms: How brands can engage today’s female film fans] / Shots
Speaking of engagement, If this guy can credibly do this over your music, you should rethink all of your artistic choices / Instagram
Because?! Record Labels Are Running on Empty / The Honest Broker
Related: Nue Agency analyzes the state of the creator economy in entertainment with their Beats+Bytes 2025 Half Time Report / Nue Agency

Brandalists

Peroni Wants Italian Beer Ice to be the Drink of Summer / AdWeek
Brands bet on Labubus, (Modern Retail) / Modern Retail
Corollary: Can Lululemon make a federal case out of ‘dupe culture’? / Retail Dive
Also, from Piers: "At some point you realise you can’t leave", [The Strange appeal of (so called) Prison Stores] / Insider Trends
and: “ok, can we argue that phone tilt is valid interface design?” [Tamagotchi Torture Chamber Is Equal Parts Nostalgia And Sadism] / Lackaday

Big Questioning

The State of American Manufacturing, According to 10 Companies / InsideHook
The Whole Country Is Starting to Look Like California / The Atlantic
Pynchonian corollary: Did the "Deep State" Invent the UFO Craze? / NYT
More ‘spiracy: Three Long-Shot Ways to Solve the Global Baby Bust / American Enterprise Institute
Meantime, Norway Is Proving That Homelessness Is a Solvable Problem / Reasons to be Cheerful
Not NYC tho, per GAY TALESE'S LOVE/HATE LIST/ Dream Baby Press
Tho: New York Is Hungry for a Big Grocery Experiment. Small towns have tried public grocery stores. How would they fare in a major city? / The Atlantic
Corollary: Treating Romance Like a Math Problem / Many Such Cases
“All Sticks, No Carrots”. An Interview with Adam Tooze / The Drift
But, like, What do contemporary economists do? / Nicholas Decker
Do or do not do?! The Case For Idleness. Don't Be Too Productive / The Contender
From Celeste: In the era of no-alc beverages, this is intriguing to see the turn for Gen Z to head back towards drinking culture. Gen Z Acquires Taste For Drinking As Cost Of Living Pressure Eases / FT

The Natural Worlds

The largest digital camera ever made is revolutionizing our view of space / Vox
On the streets with New York’s ‘rat tsar’ / FT
Elsewhere in wildlife: Inside the Dangerous, Secretive World of Extreme Fishing / The Atlantic
Also wild: From Piers: apparently it’s the shit [The Giant Intestine Hotel] / 4Hoteliers
Also giant: UK making solar a requirement on new homes / The Carbon Almanac

Foods and Dranks

A Haitian restaurant in Portland, Oregon, is the world’s first to serve lab-grown salmon after US regulators approved it earlier this year / Semafor
Related, trom Piers: “Farm raised, fresh caught and now sand stewed.” [New batch of ‘desert seafood’ from northwest China's Xinjiang to hit market] / ECPN
Closer to home, Public Health Has a Blueberry-Banana Problem / The Atlantic
Ergo? From Big Gulps to Raw Milk: The Rise of MAHA / Reason
Corollary, from Piers: “ nature gives no fucks ” [The Delicious, Life-Saving Joys of the ‘Trad Trans’ Lifestyle] / Eater
Last two, from Celeste: “Excellent podcast episode on the brilliance of Substack as a platform, with the push for subscription rather than the algorithm of the push for eyes and views.” [Is Substack The Most Exciting Place For Food Writing? Austin Tedesco Thinks So] / This Is Taste
From Celeste: As a compare and contrast with Substack and the above episode, … the insight of working in the test kitchens, the art of food writing and creating a recipe was excellent. Big Flavours, Banned Words, And 20 Years At Conde Naste With Chris Morocco / This Is Taste

[SIC] 352: Bin Chillin

Corollary Sources This Week:The Unskippables / Kottke / Politico Future Daily / The Future Party / AdWeek Daily / Marginal Revolution / Blazer/ Back Row / Lerer Hippeau / Brendan’s Communications Miscellany/ The New Statesman / American Enterprise Institute / Dealbook / Garbage Day

[SIC] 352: Binn Chillinn

Vol. 7, No. 42. HIP REPLACMENT EP. 16 Anto Aestesthics, Colleagues on Tiktok, AIiiightgeist and some links you should ingest for smarts.

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