Dog Whistles, But For Your Home Networks and Digital Assistants.
Good morning! Not to add to your Black Mirror-like stress dreams, but there are certain sounds the human ear cannot hear, but home technology like Alexa can. YAY coolcoolcoolcoolcool, there’s no way nefarious actors are already taking advantage of that and building ways to puppet our digital assistants.
Come for the amazing photo 90’s photo of Gore and Clinton looking at a computer, stay for the discussion of why some writers head into online journalism instead of into academics. Notably absent from this perceived binary career choice for the writing-inclined: public relations, which definitely doesn’t fit into the lofty ideals of the just-graduated liberal arts student but employs castaways from both journalism and academia en masse. Sorry to say, late-stage capitalism isn’t exactly the stuff of trapper-keeper dreams, my doves (but hey, we’re hiring ;) )
So one of my favorite shows Brooklyn Nine-Nine was recently cancelled by Fox (nooooooooo!) only to be resurrected by NBC a day later after a fan outcry. But I the reason I bring up the show is not to fixate on the politics of network television, but instead to direct you to my absolute favorite explainer on why I love the character of Amy Santiago, zealous detective, un-ironic know-it-all, and generally amazing lady. In Type A(my): An Ode To ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ For Celebrating Ambitious, Perfectionist Women, Jaime Green described Melissa Fumero’s character as “a controlling, perfection-striving, overachieving Type A woman who not only was never made out to be a monster or a bitch but, also, was honored for who she was, making her a pop culture unicorn.” As an unabashedly enthusiastic person, I love that the character exists in our TV lexicon.
And finally, Matthew Yglesias lays it out: Cruelty is the defining characteristic of Donald Trump’s politics and policy.
Y’all are awesome. Be kind to each other.