The other day I went to the dentist. Usually his small talk before the sharp tools come out is all about the weather. Well this time he hit me with “have you or anyone close to you been impacted by the government layoffs?” Come on man, it’s bad enough you’re going to be all up in my mouth for a half hour, do we have to talk about this too? Cool country.

Anyone else feel absolutely insane doing just about anything at all? Is it just me?

Social Media and Electric Cars (Killed Us)

I’ve been thinking about how social media changed the world for the negative. It was a great big wave that crashed hard. Everyone has a voice! Anyone can become famous! What a horrible recipe that was. It was such a great thing for so many reasons, but then randos with a Twitter account convinced people they more trustworthy than subject-matter experts with decades of experience. Ordinary people could step up and let the grift times roll. All you had to do was be really loud and really confident. Never back down. Keep pushing. Qualifications meant nothing. They killed context. They weaponized words. They took targets to task. They locked logic away. I thought higher of the general public. I believed in common sense. I believed in critical thinking. I was wrong. Turns out we couldn’t handle the democratization of ideas. Anyone who ever posted on a message board regularly knows troll behavior, and trolls took over and are in positions of power, and they control the megaphone. So sad.

I’ve also been thinking about how just a few years ago, buying a Tesla was seen as a progressive move. Electric vehicle! You care about the planet! You probably donate to NPR too huh? Go you! Now, driving a Tesla might not make you a de facto Nazi but it sure makes people wonder, even if you bought it back when it was a net plus decision. Irony is cruel: all those people tried to do their part to save the planet but meanwhile helped enrich a maniac who then bought his way to co-President and is now destroying the government. That same government who has given him and his companies 38 billion in taxpayer money. The same guy who said people who benefit from government funding are part of the “parasite class” didn’t hesitate to take that money. So weird.

I’ve been working on an essay about how the US is the largest Nigerian prince scam (inspired by that fantastic Tiktok song) ever but haven’t quite landed it yet. Probably something to keep in the drafts. Either way, I think it’s true. So scary.

Okay Here Are Ten Good New Songs

Here’s a link to the playlist on Apple Music & Spotify or you can listen below.

Bartees Strange - “Sober”

Dead Bars - “I Wanna Be a Ghost”

Pictoria Vark - “I Pushed it Down”

Cheekface - “Living Lo-Fi”

Michael Cera Palin - “Wisteria”

Lucy Dacus - “Ankles”

PUP - “Hallways”

Arm’s Length - “Funny Face”

Momma - “Bottle Blonde”

Mia June - “Brain Like Computer”