Nothing like Nixon era Paul Simon to remind you that our 20 year cycle has been going on forever. The ‘70s were prime time for ‘50 nostalgia. We’ve got Stranger Things, MST3K & random cameos from the Backstreet Boys ... back then it was American Graffiti, Grease & a worn out Elvis at the Vegas Hilton.

I’ve been preparing for ‘90s nostalgia, but it’s still so weird to see it play out in real time. I remember having a few conversations back c. 2010 — when it seemed like the ‘80s obsession was just passing its peak — about whether or not we’d live to see the ‘90s resuscitated in fashion/entertaintment/etc. Until a…

*off the rails

Pence 46 would just make everything simpler. Right now we’ve got to fight everything that comes with Trump — disinformation, chaos & a culture war that’s flown off the — & at the same we’ve got to keep an eye on the GOP goons who are running the legislative show. I’ll take Prez Pence in a heartbeat.

I expect the Irish to know a little more about the consequences of intransigent partisanship than the rest of us. The guy might have a ludicrous self image as a rock & roll messiah, but he’s got decent political instincts.

Yea, this piece was excellent. Thx for linking! The conclusion is so, so good.

There’s a great essay over on Medium this week about 4Chan, Anonymous, gamergate & the rise of the embittered, emasculated troll contigent. It’s hands down the most illuminating piece of writing I’ve read since election day. I’m still chewing it over.

The ironic-yet-also-sincere ‘Friends’ tattoo had me thinking Kyrie must be the NBA’s token millenial internet kid. His casual YouTube trutherism here just clinches it ...

*It’s one weird mashup, but once it got stuck in my head ...

h/t to Coriolanus -- it’s relevant AF right now, & a fresh, apropos production went up in NYC coupla months back.

I’m almost more troubled by the long term trends that made Preznit Trump possible than I am by the short term destructive potential of the new administration. Politicians come & go, but the online information landscape is here to stay. Viral misinformation, the filter bubble, an algorithmic feedback loop that arrests…

*for

It sure would have been bold to say fuck you!, but what would that accomplish?

I think we need to reevaluate the idea that offending someone is a good way to change their mind.

IDK, I think that subtlety made it brilliant. She made a stand for the radical inclusion she’s always tried to represent, but she gave the average viewer spoonful of sincere, patriotic sugar to make that medicine go down. If she had flipped the bird at the Preznit, it all would have backfired.

It’s funny — while the multicultural message of This Land Is Your Land + Born This Way might’ve gone over the heads of a million football fans, I’m afraid that the unionist message of America the Beautiful & that great big twinkling flag might be going over the heads of a million Gaga fans. We shouldn’t dismiss those…

It was a political choice to sing the Guthrie chorus, but it was also a political choice to lead with America. She started with a sincere patriotic invocation & paired it with an a h/t to radical antifascism. Then she stepped right off the sentimental high ground & dove into the popular culture with Let’s Dance. When…

If that game was some kinda symbolic struggle between the disciplinarian Patriots & the fresh young hopeful Falcons, then the spectacle of George HW flipping the coin was a little too on the nose, I gotta say ...

I say pressure drop, oh pressure

*I’m not quite sure how to juggle those priorities.