Extra, Extra
White Noise: “The community’s two architects — a classically trained French horn player who has livestreamed his own sex videos, and a former jazz pianist arrested but not charged for attempted murder in Ecuador — say they must personally confirm that applicants are white before they can be welcomed in.” The Founders of This New Development Say You Must Be White to Live There. (We’re in an era when the worst of the worst feel empowered to publicly celebrate their worseness.)
+ Dead Lines: “The interview triggered a feeling that has become exceedingly familiar over the past three years. It is the sinking feeling of a societal race toward a future that feels bloodless, hastily conceived, and shruggingly accepted. Are we really doing this? Who thought this was a good idea? In this sense, the Acosta interview is just a product of what feels like a collective delusion. This strange brew of shock, confusion, and ambivalence, I’ve realized, is the defining emotion of the generative-AI era. Three years into the hype, it seems that one of AI’s enduring cultural impacts is to make people feel like they’re losing it.” Charlie Warzel in the The Atlantic (Gift Article) after watching an interview with a dead person. AI Is a Mass-Delusion Event.
+ Weird Flex, But OK: “Teachers from New York and California who apply to teach in Oklahoma will now have to answer questions meant to screen out “woke indoctrinators” with left-wing views — the latest attempt by Oklahoma officials to push the state’s education system rightward.” Oklahoma will test some incoming teachers with ‘America-first’ exam. (Moves like this should help Oklahoma maintain its educational rank among states. It’s currently 50th.)
+ Every Cop is a Criminal and All the Sinners Saints: “A Maine police officer arrested by immigration authorities has agreed to voluntarily leave the country, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Monday.” (Feel safer?)
+ Error Force: Air Force’s top uniformed officer is retiring early in latest Trump military shake-up. Apparently, being a command pilot with more than 4,600 flying hours is too woke.
+ The Man With the Golden Pen: “Mr. Caroff’s designs were familiar, but his name was not. He did not sign much of his work and largely avoided self-promotion.” But from the James Bond logo to posters for hundreds of movies, you definitely know his work. Joe Caroff, Who Gave James Bond His Signature 007 Logo, Dies at 103. From from John Gruber: “Caroff had a remarkably accomplished career. He created iconic posters for dozens of terrific films across a slew of genres. The fact that he created the 007 logo but only earned $300 from it is more like a curious footnote than anything.”
