🏹 Iran sends Russia hundreds of ballistic missiles — Reuters

Duckers. Pardon my French…

⌨️ Mini Manifesto — Robin Rendle

Killer stuff, as always from Robin.

[+] 20 Feb 2024 — foofaraw[+]

I’ve been riffing on this “foofaraw[+]” idea for a little bit now and I think I’ve nailed the format with this issue.

👻 The Ghost in the Vending Machine — Flaming Hydra

The intellectual-property industry has labored tirelessly to convince the public, which loves storytelling and painting and film as much as it ever has, that art is never individual, and that artists are not real, or no longer real. The reconfiguration of art—just generating a clause about art—is now to be reckoned the same as the entire creative process. Anything people really like, in this construction, was just the collective work of semi-skilled craftspeople interpreting the audience’s own brilliant whims, those whims having been carefully winnowed by a wise and benevolent overclass of creative executives.

Too good not to quote that much.

🧃 Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre bring hit ‘Gin & Juice’ to the beverage space — Food Dive

Surprised it took this long for this to happen. While I’m tired of celebrity brands, I’ll definitely be trying it.

🇷🇸 How Nikola Jokić Became the World’s Best Basketball Player — New Yorker

I always appreciate Thomas’ writing. She’s able to simplify for the audience (can’t imagine too many die hard NYer readers are die hard sports fans), while providing insight and going deep. And who better to go deep on than Jokić.

🦇 Batman Comic Writer James Tynion IV Launches Multimedia Production Company Tiny Onion — Variety

Tynion is pretty prolific as a writer, but this announcement is just so vague. It’s more of a proclamation of ambition than anything else.

🕷️ “Life with Spider” — New Yorker

This was a fun, odd, and sometimes a little creepy short story.

🦖 Tech was something that would free us — Dinosaur Comics

Speaking of tech’s “promise”…

🚕 The high cost of Uber’s small profit — Disconnect

The profit it’s reporting is purely due to exploitative business practices where the worker and consumer are squeezed to serve investors — and technology is the tool to do it.

Its only real innovation is finding new ways to exploit labor.

This is a really terrific piece. The quotes above come before Paris even gets to algorithmic wage discrimination.

⚾ Nike And Fanatics Have Truly Fucked Up MLB’s New Uniforms — Defector

I’m not a big baseball or jersey person, but I could care less if they “look cheap” and are lighter. Lighter actually sounds better. I do, however, understand the complaints about fit.

🧌 Sasquatch Sunset — Trailer

This looks terrificly delightful. I’m not familiar with the work of the Zellner’s, but this feels like it could’ve come from The Daniels. It’s Swiss Army Man meets the rock scene from Everything Everywhere All at Once. What more could you want?!?!

🔍 The FBI is seeking documents on some of Napa’s most famous wineries. The question is why — SF Chronicle

I haven’t lived in Napa long enough to know anything about the local politics, but there definitely seems to be a lot of smoke around this Pedroza guy.

👺 A Second Trump Term Would Be Hell for LGBTQ People — TPA

They are showing us who they are, and every American should believe they are serious. This is a nightmare scenario that can’t be enacted if everyone who cares about their freedom and future turns out to vote.

I’d like to think that the conservatives in my life would be horrified by this stuff, but no one actually pays attention anymore—it’s just pick a side and stick with it.

🦸 ‘Fantastic Four’ Cast Revealed for Marvel Movie — THR

Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn. I can dig it. Still, Marvel should probably just take a couple years off as a little sabbatical.

🎪 Jon Stewart Knows “The Daily Show” Can’t Save Democracy — New Yorker

By hinting at how he’s rethought some of his stances, Stewart has made us curious once again about what he has to say.

Just got done watching—I’d say the jury is still out. I feel like I was one of the few truly excited and not skeptical, but this was just an intro in my book.

🌁 How San Francisco staged a surprising comeback — The Economist

If you want good schools, public transport or public safety, San Francisco is not the place for you. If you do not need these things, or you can buy your way around them, then the city remains a great place in which to innovate.

Yikes.

🥸 Democrats Flip Santos’s House Seat in Early Election-Year Test — NY Times

Hey! Look at that, some good news for once in congress. I love to see it.

📸 Photos of Carnival 2024 Around the World — The Atlantic

Some stunning shots featured here. I think my favorite are the fight with oranges and the dancing in foam spray.

📹 Bored — Waxahatchee

Fun little music video to get me even more pumped for Waxahatchee’s forthcoming album.

🧴 No, Michael Cera Is Not the Mastermind Behind CeraVe — NY Times

Related to last night’s post… if you missed the guerrilla marketing Cera and CeraVe were doing leading up to the commercial, it’s 100% worth checking out.