[SIC] DAY TWO HUNDRED NINETY ONE

Vol. 3, No 10. Unlocked.

[SIC] DAY TWO HUNDRED NINETY ONE

I’m talking tomorrow to Sean Monahan of the excellent 8 Ball newsletter for [SIC] Talks, and in preparation I realized I had (unintentionally) been collecting stories that overlap with a lot of his analysis and forecasting, as I see it. So that’s today’s spine.

My buddy Kevin Kusatsu says of him, “🎱 Monahan, a real artist with an observatory sized lens” and that seems about right to me; among other things Sean coined the “Vibe Shift” a few years back to mark the coming change in our zeitgeist, which he recapitulated last week in his Potions and Spells post as “a broken spell” of the neo-liberal conception of the world. That’s on top of being part of K-Hole, the 2010s art collective behind The Normcore Report among other astutely observed and prescient bangers.

I’m very interested to see what Sean makes of the apparent chaos of the current moment (in markets, in politics, in media) and the ley lines that are starting to become visible. To that end, I’d love to hear what you, my paying supporters, want to know, to - any questions leave them in the comments and I’ll ask! We’re recording at 3pm ET tomorrow (Weds Feb 26) so get them in by them. Meantime, some stories to set the stage:

1. Culture Has No Name for This Cursed Vibe. It’s Everywhere / Artnet

2. Case in point? Feltzine’s deeply cool / very cursed Exploring Street Car Culture & Dreamcore with Digital Artist Sakiramods / IG

3. Apropos: In 2025, corporate eccentricity is a feature, not a bug. In some cases, oddball ideas can turn into corporate empires / MSN

4. Hence? Why Every Brand is Trying to Be Your Cool Friend™ These Days / LInkedin

5. And… Why Everyone [is] Talking About Getting ‘Oneshotted’. Slang for the extremely online also serves as a weird mirror of the internet experience / The Atlantic

6. Apropos of K-Hole (and [SIC] Talks), Sean’s former colleague and Talks alum Emily Segal’s new gang on Returning to [their] Umami Theory of Value, five years later / Nemesis

7. Speaking of macros: How did liberalism become uncool? / Slate

8. Corollary to that: The Politics of Brutalism. Call them monuments, foreign elements, eyesores — Brutalist buildings have become another battleground in President Trump’s culture war / NYT

9. Speaking of the ‘built’ world: DIY Birkin? Gen Z 3D prints dupes. Armed with affordable 3D printers and free design templates, young consumers are crafting their own versions of iconic luxury accessories / Jing Daily

10. So then a question for gatekeepers: Is Creative Snobbery Holding Us (Me) Back? A frank look at creative gatekeeping/ Unorthodox Blend

[SIC] DAY TWO HUNDRED NINETY ONE