Kim Kardashian & Hey Arnold
Mōrena lil shits!!
You all know how I shorten words (embarro, newsy, edish etc???) WELL, another one I often shorten that never lands is ‘imp’ (short for important.) So yesterday I used it & once again... I wasn't proud of it. In my head when I say it I see an imp from Runescape, but Rubes and Liv both said it made them think of the word 'impotent' (for anyone who doesn’t know what this means it’s when you can’t get it up). And of course, me being me, this word had a story to go with it (and one that I've been meaning to tell here.)
So when I was little I was in the supermarket with my Mum and I was an impatient kid (...and adult), so in a burst of angst I yelled out “I’M SO IMPOTENT!” Idk if I thought it was a sub for the word inpatient or if it just came out like that, but Mum PISSED HERSELF and took me to an aisle to explain to me that being impotent means you can’t get a *shudders* ‘stiffy’ (SHE USED THAT WORD AND I'M NOT EVEN SURE IF I KNEW WHAT IT MEANT???)
Anyway, there’s my daily embarro moment for you and you should maybe consider becoming a paid member to the newsletter for that alone???
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In today’s newsletter:
Kim Kardashian Has Unhelpful Advice For Women in Business
NEW EPISODE OF THE SHIT SHOW
Russia/ Ukraine update
The Nickelodeon Cartoon That Taught a Generation to Hate Capitalism
Elon Musk & Grimes had a secret second baby???
Idk if you have noticed but fuel is really expenny atm
Honed in or Homed in?
Kim Kardashian gave us all some business advice
The Kardashians are well and truly into their PR circuit for their new Hulu show, and Kim K had a bit of a Molly-Mae moment in an interview with Variety yesterday, where she said:
“I have the best advice for women in business. Get your fucking ass up and work… It seems like nobody wants to these days.”
EEEEEK. If you feel like you’ve just seen something like this, that’s because we’ve literally just discussed Molly-Mae’s “everyone has the same 24 hours in the day" statement which is obv rooooooted in privilege and did not really go down well in the always nuanced ✨online space.✨
Liv and I have discussed this before, about how statements like “just get up and work” and “you have the same 24 hours as Beyonce” are the epitome of the type of #girlboss mentality that we grew up with (and have #thankfully moved on from.) I would love to give Kim the benefit of the doubt and say that this isn’t the way she really thinks - we all know how quotes can be taken out of context, espesh when you’re on the spot, and to give us some credit, I think we're critical enough thinkers to know that despite what Kim says, it’s not as easy as getting you’re ass up to work, and people, in fact, do want to.
I also really hate the term “famous for being famous” which I’m seeing thrown around again (as it does every time a reality TV star does anything - despite them idk being a lawyer or businesswoman or mother) because I think it’s so reductive to all these people’s other endeavours/ it’s mostly levied at women, and I always think about how we love these people when we want the content they’re giving us (especially when it’s reality TV) but as soon as we’re done with them, or are no longer using them for our entertainment we can just turn on them with a click of a finger (or in this case, a bad pull quote in an interview.) It feels like a really disposable way of viewing people/ celebrities - like they’re just another commodified good that we churn through. We’re literally the ones that put them up there & then we’re also the ones to tear them down - it's a pretty vicious cycle if you ask me.
Another thing: I really hope I don’t see this quote/ story being used in any way to try and justify the Kanye West situation - Kanye has been displaying literal abusive behaviour, and just because Kim is being dragged right now does not mean that she deserves any of what he’s put her through or that they should even be looked at in the same light.
Wow! Lots of thoughts!!! And funnily enough, our discussions about both Molly-Mae and The Kardahsian PR machine are both in one handy episode of Culture Vulture which you should go & listen to here!
Keeping Up With The Kardashian's PR Machine - Culture Vulture — open.spotify.com
We start off with a discussion about Molly Mae, Tom Holland and Zendaya, before discussing the Kardashian's carefully calculated (and annoyingly effective) PR strategy. From intentional photoshop fails, new relationships, pregnancies, song lyrics and cheating partners, a LOT happened over summer to distract from Astroworld.
The Nickelodeon Cartoon That Taught a Generation to Hate Capitalism
I loooove cartoons & I love using pop-culture references to make sense of the world, so this piece by Slate really tickled me. ‘Hey Arnold!’ is one of my faveeee childhood tv shows (an Arnold sticker features on both my laptop and my bike helmet!!) but I probs didn’t realise what it was teaching me about gentrification/ capitalism - I think there was just something about football head that I loved which kept me watching. In hindsight, though, this piece is so right - there are episodes like “The Vacant Lot” which is about urban planning and ensuring there’s public space for working-class people, there’s “Save The Tree” which looks to save the town's oldest tree when someone wants to pull it down to build an emporium of sorts, and “Casa Paradiso” where a rich dude wants so come in and buy up Grandpas boarding house to develop it. In fact - the whole damn “Hey Arnold Movie” is about a developer wanting to turn their neighbourhood into a high-rise shopping mall!
Personally, I don’t think I was old enough to be watching Hey Arnold and make the jump to “I hate capitalism” (there is no way I would have registered what any of this was trying to teach me back then) but I love finding new meaning in (or at least re-analysing) old things I’ve loved, (turns out other people do too and there’s actually a few podcasts that I should go and listen to where people have gone deeeep into “Hey Arnold!” theory!!)
The latest from Ukraine:
First of all, Squish and I did a biiiiig one for you on this weeks episode of The Shit Show!
A Huge Russia/ Ukraine Update! - The Shit Show — open.spotify.com
We're coming at you with a big old update on Russia's invasion into Ukraine. Why are pro-war Russians drawing "Z" everywhere? How is crypto being used by both sides? How are digital activists using targeted ads to help the cause? Why can't I get a large coke in a Russian maccas anymore? All your questions answered (in words you can understand!)
Here’s your daily summary from the BBC:
The International Committee of the Red Cross warns that food and water supplies in besieged Mariupol are running dangerously low. Ukrainian officials say 1,207 bodies have been collected from the streets there in recent days, and that attacks are continuing on the port city
Half the population of Ukraine's capital Kyiv have fled since the invasion began, its mayor says
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the government could take over the assets of foreign companies pulling out of Russia, and told Russians “there’s nothing we can’t resolve” in the face of Western sanctions
Ukraine is set to dominate the EU summit getting under way in Versailles, where member states will discuss ramping up sanctions and moving away from dependency on Russian energy
Little progress was made during peace talks between Russia and Ukraine's foreign ministers in Turkey this morning
In the UK, the government has imposed financial sanctions on Chelsea football clubowner Roman Abramovich. His assets - which include the club - have been frozen, but the team will be able to continue playing under a special license
And the UK government has removed a layer of red tape for Ukrainians wanting to come to the UK, by introducing online visa applications from next Tuesday
And here’s the latest from The Kyiv Independent:
Grimes and Elon Musk have a secret new baby???
I read this right before I was about to send this newsy out & just had to include it. In a new Vanity Fair profile on Grimes, this whole interaction happens:
“About 15 minutes after we sit down to discuss her new music, a “space opera” due this spring-ish tentatively called Book 1, I hear what sounds vaguely like a lone cry from an infant upstairs. I think I notice Grimes wince, but I say nothing and move on. Could be anything.
Another few minutes pass. Just as I’m about to bring up one of Book 1’s highlights, a soon-to-be-ubiquitous banger called “Sci-Fi” that she cowrote with The Weeknd and his longtime producer Illangelo, I hear it again. This time it’s multiple cries, and it’s unmistakable. I’ve got two kids. That’s a baby. And I can tell by the frozen look on my host’s face that she heard it too. So I brace myself to ask the strangest question of my career: Do you have another baby in your life, Grimes?
Her body clenches and she looks away.
“I’m not at liberty to speak on these things,” she begins, and then all in a tumble she says: “Whatever is going on with family stuff, I just feel like kids need to stay out of it, and X is just out there. I mean, I think E is really seeing him as a protégé and bringing him to everything and stuff.… X is out there. His situation is like that. But, yeah, I don’t know.”
She’s rattled, and I’m mortified by even accidentally making a woman—a new mother, no less—feel exposed and vulnerable. I suggest we pause for a moment to discuss the surreal professional ethics at play, which are that I can’t pretend I don’t know she’s got a secret baby with the world’s wealthiest man hiding upstairs. Especially when she invited me here. It’s a calming period that breaks with a sitcom punch line: full-blown infant screams upstairs, followed by the voice of a woman pleading SHH. Now we both start laughing.
Did she really think I wasn’t going to hear a baby?
Grimes just shakes her head. “She’s a little colicky too.” She laughs again and buries her face in her hands. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Congratulations to Grimes and Elon Musk on the birth of their second child together! It’s a girl!”
The piece goes on to note that they used a surrogate, they call her ‘Y’ (makes sense) and no one really knows if her and Musk are still together. You should go and read it here!
Idk if you have noticed but fuel is really expenny atm
Is it honed in or homed in??
Honestly I’ve always said “honed in,” but a bunch of you requested this one. Allegedly it can be both (according to Merriam Webster) PS - who is Merriam Webster?? Update: the last names of a bunch of dudes:
“In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as G & C Merriam Co. in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1843, after Noah Webster died, the company bought the rights to An American Dictionary of the English Language from Webster's estate. All Merriam-Webster dictionaries trace their lineage to this source.”
Anyway back to the incredibly important point which is that:
94% of you say honed
6% of you say homed
A Huge Russia/ Ukraine Update! (The Shit Show)
The complicated life of Kanye West: Part 1 (Culture Vulture)
‘Who Am I Without My Anxiety?’ (The Cut)
Of Course Putin Is Being Canceled (The Atlantic)
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler mistaken for bank robber (BBC)
Disney CEO Will Take a Stand Against ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill After All (The Cut)
The Myth of the ‘First TikTok War’ (The Atlantic)
You can listen to us talk about all things pop culture on Culture Vulture, about THE WORLD on The Shit Show or watch us explain the internet on Extremely Online.
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LOVE YOU THE MOST, LUCE XX
