you couldn't PAY me to be 13 again

+ he’s cheer captain and Taylor Swift is on the bleachers!

Sep 25, 2023

Angels! Writing to you today after my first-ever swim in the Atlantic Ocean (life-changing), meeting a stranger and asking him to explain the different public transport cards to me (life-changing), and having THIS as my view on my way to my morning WIP with Rubes:

But also, we have a VERY blocked shower drain right now, so amidst the beach and the sunrise was a bit of this:

And on that - if anyone has any hacks for dealing with a shower drain that won’t drain, Bel and I are here for any and all suggestions!

AI-generated images of naked children shock the Spanish town of Almendralejo
Being a 13-year-old in 1998 and 2023
The Hollywood Writers’ Strike could be ending
He’s cheer captain and Taylor Swift is on the bleachers

AI-generated images of naked children shock the Spanish town of Almendralejo

Deepfakes strike again, and this time they’re of young girls, and they’re circulating in what is being described as the ‘sleepy town’ (why are towns always talked about like that?) of Almendarlejo.

"One day my daughter came out of school and she said 'Mum there are photos circulating of me topless'," says María Blanco Rayo, the mother of a 14-year-old.
"I asked her if she had taken any photos of herself nude, and she said, 'No, Mum, these are fake photos of girls that are being created a lot right now and there are other girls in my class that this has happened to as well.'"

So far more than 20 girls aged between 11 and 20 have come forward in Almendralejo alone, saying that photos of them had been taken from social media and put through an app that renders new images of them without clothes on.

The parents of the girls have formed a support group and police are investigating how this is happening, with 11 boys so far being found to have been involved in either the creation or circulation of the photos.

Being a 13-year-old in 1998 and 2023

This weekend I (and I assume MANY other people) read Being 13, in The New York Times.

“Three girls, one year. This is what it’s like to be 13 today, in a world that can’t stop talking about the dire state of your future.”

This piece is so fucking good, perhaps even one of the best things I’ve read/ interacted with this year. It’s a mixture of voice notes, diary entries, and other phone activity from three different 13-year-olds and it’s just chefs fucking KISS!

Funnily enough though, as I was searching for this link to send to you all, I also stumbled upon Being 13, in The New York Times, but a version written in 1998 and found that interesting in its own way too. Here are some quotes from it.

“Teen-agers, and teen-age girls especially, already have considerable economic clout. They spend about $122 billion a year, and not all of it on going to see ''Titanic'' again.”
This generation ought to be of interest even to those of us who aren't selling them anything. They are our children, after all -- literally and metaphorically -- and in the not-too-distant future, when we have shuffled off to our retirement communities, they will in a sense be our parents as well. They will be making the rules -- or trying to. (Luckily, unless we die with unprecedented swiftness, we will still outnumber and outvote them.)
“…most of today's teen-agers, unlike the slackers of Gen X, actually believe that things are improving and that they will lead even better lives than their parents.”

Going back and reading about 13-year-olds back then was a real trip, because the pressures of fitting in, or being part of the crowd were still front and centre, sure, but it feels like without the complexities of the internet, times were definitely simpler. Maybe I’m romanticizing a time when photo albums stood in place of Instagram and the boomers’ biggest worry was “that they are bound to wreck more cars and drive up auto insurance rates,” but after comparing the two pieces, it’s hard not to!

The Hollywood Writers’ Strike could be ending

Huge news out of the states today: screenwriters in the US say they have reached a “tentative deal with studio bosses” which could mean the 5-month long strike is ending.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) said it was "exceptional - with meaningful gains and protections for writers". WGA members must still have a final say.

It’s probs useful to note that this is separate from the strike that involves actors, but this will hopefully give a necessary push to those negotiations too!

He’s cheer captain and Taylor Swift is on the bleachers

Taylor Swift surprised us all today by showing up to support footballer Travis Kelce from his family suite at the Kansas City Chiefs vs Chicago Bears game (cannot believe I’m writing about this rn.)

The hype around these two started when Kelce went on his podcast and said that he tried to slip his phone number to her at the Era’s tour by putting it on a friendship bracelet he’d made. Even though he was unsuccessful in getting it to her, he later went on ESPN and said: “I threw the ball in her court and told her, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead. You might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead and see which one’s a little more lit.’”

So she did, and the internet is obsessed with this because Kelce seems like a man who very publicly admires her, and actually realises that she is the Taylor Swift. He’s also, you know, hot.

PS: