we talked to 3 guys with Punisher tattoos about MLK Jr's legacy

pitching NYTimes opinion pieces

Hi!

Thanks for opening this email / reading this post.

me, waiting outside of Elizabeth Warren’s house so I can scream at her

Serving up some spicy links:

• Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day to everyone except white moderates!

• I’m eternally grateful that YouTube didn’t exist at the peak of my delusions and desire to be seen (age 10-21), but I cannot even begin to fathom the harm to kids who are exploited by adults they trust, just for a little internet fame. This Teen Vogue article interviews “influencer children” after their years of labor and the result is devastating.

• Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO/current Burning Man enthusiast, is building a bunch of murder drones paid for by the Pentagon. While that sounds very scary, allow me to share a little insider info: I have personal experience working for a Schmidt project (just admin, I am too old to be his GF/CEO), and it gave me an intimate whiff of the indelible stench of failure that befalls everything he touches. So don’t worry too much about these specific drones!

• A scientific lyceum for the new century: Sephora reviews.

• This business venture has a dystopian climate disaster veneer, but at its core, it’s about scamming Dubai’s wealthy, and that is a beautiful thing.

re-reading the classics

Tunes to start the week with:

There’s a great clip of Yasiin Bey, fka Mos Def, going around where he comments on the commerciality Drake’s music (prompted by the brilliant and not-hyped-enough Recho Omondi on her Cutting Room Floor fashion podcast). This sound bite, and the subsequent slander from Drake stans, got me thinking about the Mos Def tracks that have stuck with me through the years. Some faves below.

Ms. Fat Booty from Black on Both Sides - for the uninitiated, THE Mos Def track.

Auditorium, with Slick Rick, from The Estatic - platonic ideal of rap for me. The antidote to Busta’s terrible “Arab Money.”

Ghetto Rock from The New Danger - goes insanely hard, the production is way ahead of its time.

Definition, with Talib Kweli, as Black Star - just two buddies making hip hop together! This whole album is VERY late 90’s, and a cute trip down memory lane.

xx