BirchtreeI’ve come to the conclusion that streaming music platforms are a shared lie we all agree to that suggests we’re paying for music when we’re actually may as well be pirating it, we just pay $10 a month to keep the cops away.It’s been fun to see Matt’s evolution of thought here, going from not thinking...

404 MediaUsers voted to restrict Anthropic’s Claude to its own channel, but Jason Clinton, Anthropic’s Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and a moderator in the Discord, overrode them.The word of the year might be Slop, but the theme of the year is companies forcing things on their users that they...

BlotNew theme fo the Blot CMS I use learned about via their newsletter. It’s styled after Obsidian Publish and looks terrific. Making me think I should give a digital garden another go…

TheWrapThis might come across as insensitive… but what on earth did Charlie Kirk do in 2025 to deserve Person of the Year? Besides getting shot… If getting assasinated is the requirement, I’d like to nominate Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman, and their spouses, Mark and Yvette.

PitchforkKing Gizzard frontperson Stu Mackenzie said in a statement to the Music that he was “trying to see the irony in this situation.” He added, “But seriously wtf we are truly doomed.”Continuing the conversation about “ethical streaming services…” I’m not going to say this wouldn’t ever happen on Apple Music...

VogueBut this strangeness is always a stylish statement, unlike, say, Supreme’s infamous brick. “A24 chooses objects and ideas that are too strange or too narrow for a normal marketing department, and turns them into talismans,” says Martin Mangez-Casey, previously global director of digital communications at Louis...

Letters from an AmericanThe final document began with a preamble explaining that a UDHR was necessary because “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,” and because “disregard and...

BandcampH/t to Crucial Tracks for this incredible find. So much fun listening through the demos that led to the creation of the best album of the year.

I'm not really supposed to do self-promotion here... but I was featured on What's in my NOW? if you care to give it a gander.

Sticky comicsIn fashion language, white suggests luxury, like, you don’t have to work, because if you worked, you’d wear a more practical color that won’t get stained within 5 minutes. Staying clean is a privilege — the aristocracy keeps their hands clean and the working class gets dirty for them.I’m going to go out...

Crucial TracksI don’t think it’s ethical to use Apple Music, but I DO think it’s unethical to use Spotify. I don’t think the “How to quit Spotify” article made any point other than finding a more ethical alternative to Spotify, which isn’t hard… and yes, pay per stream has to be a part of that equation.Related to...

WSJOver the next six months, Van der Velden toiled with her 15-person team to nail down the look of her leading lady, creating 2,000 iterations of an actress unbound by the limits of physical ability, age or talent.In recent weeks, she has signed about 60 nondisclosure agreements for hybrid movies (with real...