First Word #15
Wow… Everything’s computer (and also mostly bad)
Imagine a defeated populace. Here inside the era of terminal polycrisis—a time of secular stagnation, deliriously ascendant neofascisms, climate collapse lurching nearer in increments less and less negligible every day—this should not be too taxing.
Apocalypse Later: How the World Used To End // Peter Coviello // Parapraxis
I know this is unconventional, but I’m going to start by telling you the ending.
The Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians // Evan Ratliff // WIRED
People are posting pictures of their dumbphones on the internet.
I’ve rec’d Augusta Lamm on this newsletter and I am pro-dumb phone but I feel that this is interesting #discourse.
Pete Hegseth’s Department of Defense has marked an image of the USAAF B29 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima for deletion—and its reason may be the perfect illustration of why right now really isn’t a good time to be closing the Department of Education.
Is Pete Hegseth Targeting “Gay” Planes Now? // Edie Olmstead // The New Republic
From our very own Edie.
Scrambling to replace their health insurance and to find new work, some laid-off federal workers are running into another unexpected unpleasantry: Relatives cheering their firing.
Thrust into unemployment, axed federal workers face relatives who celebrate their firing // Matt Sedensky // AP
On the best days, of which there are now so few, “professionalism” is an unwholesome aspiration.
Memos of Blood and Fire // Peter Coviello // n+1
From Sophie.
After 15 months of displacement in the southern Gaza Strip, I thought I had lost the ability to be surprised. But I was wrong.
Israel left a “gift of death” in my home // Rasha Abou Jalal // Electronic Intifada
Bonus article: King Ketamine
Orange wine is a hot commodity in Minnesota. I spent a long weekend practicing geo-locating skills, my elevator pitch, and my coding with fellow journalists at NICAR last week (National Institute for Computer Assisted Reporting [awesome acronym]). The morning after enjoying the Twin Cities finest natty wines and $4 wells at their newly reopened gay bar — I had what felt like a near death experience.
In the words of Donald Trump on the recent plane malfunctions and crashes: “They have times when things happen a little bit more often than normal and then it goes back and then you go many years without having a problem.” I hope he is right… On my flight from MPLS to NYC we experienced what was deemed a routine mechanical failure. The plane shook violent (different than turbulence!), we diverted from LGA to JFK to deal with the emergency, and the pilot told us to brace for landing and severe braking when we made it down to the ground. For 45+ minutes we circled closer and closer to JFK and the flight attendants didn’t utter any words of comfort as people vomited on themselves out of fear— not me though I played chess on the screen. The landing was as smooth as it could be given whatever was going on (they never told us!) but we were greeted with neon green airport fire trucks and emergency vehicles, so much for routine. Most surprisingly of all, no one clapped, not one person. Yes, planes falling apart in the sky is scary but more upsetting to me the dissolution of this social contract. I’m not even the type of person who has ever clapped for the pilot but he definitely deserved it. Instead everyone was silent, trying to snap a pick of the firetruck and texting their loved ones. I felt incredibly alone.
Also in the words of Donald Trump this: “Wow… Everything’s computer.”
I’m still trying to parse if AI was used to identify Mahmoud in this week’s regime milestone. Regardless, tech is being used as defining vibe/visual/mission for this administration. Does resistance have an obligation to resist tech? As I texted people the link to my birthday last week (Alphaville 4/5, come thru) lots of folks remarked that it was cool it wasn’t a p*rtiful link—to which I took the chance to reply with this incredible research about their sketchy surveillance state connections. Will I actually not use p*rtiful going forward? Hard to say.
Stupidly or bravely I got back on a plane 48 hours after my dissent to head across the ocean. I always opt out of the facial scanning stuff at TSA but they are making more and more of it each time I visit the airport. Often it’s easy ask them to not scan your face but sometimes you are hit with anything from exasperated sigh to being detained for an hour or being lead around the airport in a maze of underground hallways (shoutout Miami airport). Today/yesterday, I was greeted by even MORE scanning at the gate, the line moved exponentially longer than standard checking. When I tried to opt out the gate attendant let me but the machine had scanned and matched my face before I could move out of the way.