The complicated life of Kanye West
Mōrena lil shits!!
First of all I want to set the scene of me writing this rn, because I am playing with fire. It's 6:07am and I'm writing this in bed, I have a stack of like 7 books on my bedside table, and there is a piping hot coffee sitting on the very top of them all. Now, the reason I'm telling you all this is because I know that one day it will spill, and I will want to tell you about that and I also wanna be able to reference myself from the past noting how stupid I am :P
Also, thank you to everyone who sent me in their embarrassing period stories - you may or may not be featured in a very special podcast we're dropping at some point 👀👀👀👀 (it's also the most responses I've had to a newsy EVER - you are seriously the best!!)
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In today’s newsletter:
Bring back cringe emoticons
A Russia/ Ukraine update
The complicated life of Kanye West: Part 1
Activists are using ads to sneak real news to Russians about Ukraine
Introducing the Balldo
Do you brush your teeth before or after breakfast/ coffee?
Bring back cringe emoticons
My fave way of getting content for this newsletter is from conversations I’ve had with you in the emails, and yesterday I had two good ones:
“LUCE!!! The guy I’m sleeping with just used :p in a text. Found my ick.”
And someone else just used “XD” as if it was no biggie (which I respect and love.)
Then Rubes and I started chatting about how we used to use :P :L :p :O :o and xD and we decided that we’re… kinda into them again :P
AND Ruby said that whenever she sees XD she sees Cartman doing this:
In our research, we also found out that some platforms (Facebook) do NOT want us reverting back to those times, because they automatically change your :P and :O face to actual emojis :/
FUCK IT I'LL SAY IT:
THE DEATH OF THESE EMOTICONS VIA THE WIDE ADOPTION OF EMOJIS IS OUR GENERATIONS 'VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR'
Yes, this section was completely pointless and self indulgent but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The latest from Ukraine:
Here’s your daily summary from the BBC:
The UN says two million refugees have now fled Ukraine since Russia invaded
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gives an unprecedented address to UK MPs in the House of Commons
Speaking by video link, he welcomes sanctions on Russia but repeats an appeal for a no-fly zone over Ukraine
He references Winston Churchill, saying "we will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets"
A short while earlier the UK announced it would phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2022 as part of sanctions on Russia
US President Joe Biden has also confirmed a complete US ban on Russian oil, gas and coal imports
He says the move means the "American people will deal another powerful blow" to President Putin's leadership
The EU has also made moves towards reducing the continent’s reliance on Russian gas
And here’s the latest from The Kyiv Independent:
Russia's Invasion of Ukraine: Explained - The Shit Show — open.spotify.com
Everything you've been wondering about what's going on in Russia/Ukraine right now, in words you ACTUALLY understand.
New Culture Vulture episode!
The complicated life of Kanye West, Part 1 - Culture Vulture — open.spotify.com
In episode one of our two-part series on Ye, we dive into the formation of Kanye West: his background, his ever-growing ego, and his rise to fame. Who was around him? Who was checking in on him? How did he become the Ye we know today? Listen wherever you get your pods!
Activists are using ads to sneak real news to Russians about Ukraine
"From pop-up notifications to Facebook ads, campaigners in Ukraine and beyond are using any means necessary to beat Russia’s information firewall."
Honestly, activists are fucking amazing. We’ve been speaking a lot in here about the media’s role in a war/press freedom in Russia, and we know that for Russian people, reliable news is hard to get. International press like BBC and Voice of America have been blocked, independent stations have been shut down & state news outlets are saying that the invasion is a ‘defensive move.’ Activists are taking it upon themselves to try and fill this void with good info & are ‘exploiting holes in the Russian firewall” to get the truth out there, and it's pretty fucking incred.
Here are some of the ways they’re doing that, as per MIT Tech Review:
Russia’s Google:
Digital campaigners have been bombarding Yandex, the Russian equivalent of Google, with falsified reviews of major locations in the country that spread the truth about Putin’s incursion into Ukraine.
Pharmacy Apps:
Users of the Russian pharmacy chain Ozerki’s app received push notifications overnight on February 28 telling them to “wake up” to Vladimir Putin’s attempt to steal the lives of Russian soldiers, alongside the Russian population’s money, by sending his countrymen to war.
Pop-ups
New Now, a Web design agency in Berlin, has posted a web script on GitHub that will push a pop-up onto any web page where the script is included, telling those accessing the website from a Russian IP that their government is lying to them, and that innocent people and children are being killed.
Online ads
London marketing and communications professional Rob Blackie is crowdfunding targeted ads that are designed to funnel Russian readers to independent Russian-language news sources about the Ukraine conflict.
Rob Blackie first used this method - of buying targeted ads to push people to good news sources - in 2014 when Russia captured Crimea. “He used location targeting to send ads to people living in Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea, and show the news of the Russian invasion. It ended up in front of 1,000 pairs of eyeballs. It was a very small experiment, but it showed he was able to penetrate the Russian firewall of fake news.”
This type of innovation from activists/ people who aren’t physically fighting in the war is truly the embodiment of doing what you can with what you have - and it's genuinely amazing to read/learn about.
Introducing, the Balldo:
“We definitely live in the worst timeline, but I'm glad I get to see things like this," my friend messaged me, along with a link to the Balldo.”
It’s a ball-dildo and it’s probs NSFW but here it is if you’re interested.
Harry styles used tellytubbyland for a Pleasing photoshoot:
also
🤔 🤔 🤔 🤔
Here, have some horoscopes:
Here are yours
Here is mine (Libra):
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to shout your biggest, boldest feelings from the rooftop, stall no more! Not only is the Gemini moon cruising through your candid ninth house, but it’s getting pinged by cosmic lovebirds Venus and Mars from your flamboyant fifth. Even if your sentiments have a touch of TMI, they’ll still feel “adorably honest.” When you get that fluttery feeling in your chest, don’t second-guess yourself. Pour your heart out. Not quite THAT forward? Say it with a playlist or a hand-picked gift that lets ‘em know, “I see you.”
Oh god, as if I wasn’t already giving you enough ‘adorably honest’ insight into my feelings…
Do you brush your teeth before or after breakfast?
43% before
57% after
I'm defs an after!
The complicated life of Kanye West: Part 1 (Culture Vulture)
The internet was built to tell an only-bad-things narrative (Embedded)
My Miscarriage, in Photos (The Cut)
The loss of insects is an apocalypse worth worrying about (Vox)
WHY IS MY BENTLEY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN? (The Shit Show)
Russia's Invasion of Ukraine: Explained (The Shit Show)
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
