🪟 Adobe now has a tool to get rid of ugly window reflections in photos /// The Verge

This sounds incredible and an actual good use of AI.

🎸 United Health by Jesse Wells

There’s hardly humans in humanity.

This already made the rounds, but worth checking out if you haven’t yet.

🧳 Top Travel Destinations for 2025: 50 cities make the list including one in Illinois /// WGN

I lived in Oak Park for a bit and it’s absurd that it’s making this list, even if towards the bottom. It’s nice, but not top 50 in the world nice.

💵 What it costs to make Hyperfixed. /// Alex Goldman

Cool to get some transparency into what it actually takes to make a podcast like this. This convinced me to pay for both Hyperfixed and Search Engine.

🍃 VESSELS by Robert Van Vliet

If you liked ISLAND (published on foofaraw earlier this month), then you’ll love Robert’s new book, which is officially released tomorrow.

Affiliate link goes to support foofaraw contributors

💥 “When you decide on a grid initially do you just mess around in your sketchbook till you come across a particular grid shape you like then pick it? Or is there more to it?” /// Jesse Lonergan

Lonergan is a master (maybe the best) at utilizing grids to build movement and momentum in comics so it’s cool to see how he thinks about setting up and choosing a base grid to work with.

🍷 Pizza Hut Uncorks Tomato Wine: Here’s What It Tastes Like /// Today

Sent this to my wife since she works in wine and she said she’s going to be trying it today at work. Sounds disgusting, but who knows…

🎧 Univershuffle

New app from Adam Linder, developer of Albums, is coming out Jan 7 and you can preorder it from the App Store now. Albums continues to be one of my favorite apps (just renewed it for the 3rd or 4th year), and this new app gives you a way to discover new music in a new non-AI non-algorithmic way by shuffling all the music.

🧅 Sale of Alex Jones’ Infowars to The Onion rejected /// AP News

Boo.

🍲 Best Food Blog

Bon Appetit gets the Defector/404/Hearing Things/Aftermath treatment with Best Food Blog. Looks eerily similar to Perfectly Imperfect though.

🤥 Trump Tests Ethical Boundaries With Branded Merch. (And All Sales Are Final.) /// NY Times

He doesn’t do much well, if anything, besides identifying a mark and taking advantage of them. From Chinese Swiss watches, to temu-looking shoes, and now, what I can only assume is some store brand febreeze in a perfume bottle. All sales final.

📹 Make AI Mediocre Again /// Cadbury 5 Star India

What a fantastic ad.

🎧 The Best Rap Albums of 2024 /// Pitchfork

I don’t think I’ve ever felt this out of touch with rap. No Tyler, Tierra Whack, (new to me) Doechii, Heems, Kendrick, or even Cordae.

🤖 Manchester City is letting fans design its new kit with AI /// The Verge

I hate everything about this: Manchester City, AI, and holding a fan contest to avoid paying real designers.

🎁 Spotify Is Using You /// Hearing Things

The other new inclusion to 2024 Wrapped is called “Your Music Evolution” and gives a superficial glimpse of how your taste changed throughout the year. They anoint these micro-eras with goofy names like “Alien Permanent Wave Art Pop” (because I listened to a lot of Björk, Fiona Apple, and Charli that month) and “Indie Sleaze Catwalk Pop” (because I listened to a lot of Charli, Chappell Roan, and Beyoncé that month).

I like seeing peoples Wrapped and think the micro-genres and micro-eras are pretty neat. But also, stop shitting on ways people find enjoyment. You want to shit on Spotify for their business practices, then do that, not the people sharing their likes.

🏞️ Koel

This isn’t for me, but if you are looking for a tool to be able to stream your own music, this looks pretty great.

🌍 The unexpected global tech winners of 2024 /// Rest of World

Cool to get a sense of how other countries are developing and using software.

🏀 Inside Lonzo Ball’s unprecedented 1,000-day return to the NBA /// ESPN

Really is an incredible story to see what he has gone through, take a risk and big swing on a surgery and after 1000 days, make a return to the court and be able to still be an impact player.

🔫 Was the UHC assassin a “pro”? /// Read Max

I’ve been waiting to find the right “in” to talk about it, but Max captures a lot of my thoughts well so it feels like as good a place as any to jump in. To start, nobody knows how a “real assassin” would act or handle certain situations. As a matter of fact, the closest thing we do have to fact comes from the CIA citation Max points out and how Russia has handled dissidents, neither of which involve guns at all. Lastly, murder is obviously never the answer nor is celebrating it. Every life is meaningful and should be valued. But I’m also not going to blame anyone for not shedding a tear. Those who say celebrating his death is worse than the murder itself are insane though. Healthcare CEOs and politicians who refuse to make the American healthcare system work for Americans are themselves responsible for millions of deaths.

🎤 Doechii /// Tiny Desk Concert

Yooooo! I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of Doechii before, but she’s a new(er) rapper that actually has flow (which is rare, if you ask me) and this Tiny Desk Concert is killer. I don’t know what her music sounds like on an album without a full band and horns, but this is just so good. Again, another point for “real instruments make better music—even in rap.”

📢 The correct amount of ads is zero /// Manu

Manu is spot on here. I just paid for The Verge and I don’t even mind the ads at the very bottom, but if I’m going to pay. Don’t put it in the middle of the article. I still don’t know how to get the full RSS feed as a paying subscriber either…

🏒 Blackhawks fire coach Luke Richardson after dismal start to season /// Chicago Sun-Times

I love watching hockey, but because I came to it late and never played, I don’t know the first thing about strategy or being able to assess what’s really happening, besides the obvious. I do feel like they should be better and finding more ways to get and keep Bedard involved throughout the game though.

💵 Johnson eyes spending cuts to PBS and Planned Parenthood /// The Hill

Another day; another fuck off. Maybe this becomes a daily recurring segment here: “The Daily TIV Fuck Off” has a nice ring to it.