Culture encompasses books, movies, television, music, video games, internet memes, and thousands of branches of art. And sure, culture includes the latest entertainment news too. At The Verge, we construct entry points both into the mainstream and the niche, the tentpoles and the hidden gems, to help make the most notable and discussed parts of the cultural conversation understandable and accessible to everyone.
In the new season of the HBO show, Jason Isaacs’ character sulks around the luxury resort in a shirt from his alma mater. One scene in particular (warning: spoilers!) has become something of a meme. Duke says it didn’t approve of its logo being so prominent, telling Bloomberg that the imagery is “troubling” and “goes too far.”
[bloomberg.com]
The New York Times reported in 2023 that Keita Takahashi gets no royalties from his quirky roll-up-the-world’s-objects-into-a-blob game series — which wouldn’t terribly surprise me. Royalties aren’t common in an industry that doesn’t treat workers well in general. But I imagine he’s getting something from cute licensed products with his name on them, right? Right?
The desk mat is $28, and I just bought one for my wife. (We bonded over Katamari in our dating years; Don’t tell her, it’s a surprise!)
Ahh MySpace. A website from simpler times when the worst you had to worry about from social media was falling out with the friend that didn’t make your Top 8. It has since puttered along morphing into something completely unrecognizable...until now. Game designer Ste Curran has created SkySpace, a website that’ll take your Bluesky profile and make it into a MySpace page complete with a customizable background, a Top 8 you can set, and even a music plugin.
After hearing an AI facsimile of his voice, the famed Simpsons voice actor said it “felt like what it was, which was just a vocal version of printed text” in this New York Times video.
Voice acting requires more than talking, as he demonstrates. But he figures that as AI improves, people will “listen to and enjoy and watch what they like, and they’re not gonna care whether AI generated it...”
The New York Times reunited with the subjects of a 2022 story about a group of teenagers who had traded iPhones for flip phones and sworn off social media. Two years later, some of them have defected as they transitioned to college — but the movement seems to be growing.
[nytimes.com]
Would you buy a designer handbag from Walmart? Through a partnership with Rebag, shoppers can buy secondhand luxury accessories like Louis Vuitton wallets and Chanel shoulder bags from Walmart’s site.
The move may be in part a response to Hermés Birkin lookalikes — “The Walmart Birkin” — that went viral earlier this month and quickly sold out.
If the phrase “Hawk Tuah girl” means nothing to you, I urge you to continue in blissful ignorance. If “Hawk Tuah shitcoin scam” resonates, you’ll enjoy Katie Baker’s rundown of what, exactly, happened.
[www.theringer.com]
Not even authority, just the signifiers of authority
We didn’t all flock to a new platform or build on a thrilling new protocol. We went everywhere, and did everything, all at once.
The internet is forever. Well, it was supposed to be. What happens when websites start to vanish at random?
An extremely beige influencer’s allegations she was imitated by another, also extremely beige, influencer have cleared an early legal hurdle:
The judge apparently found plausible Gifford’s allegation that Sheil imitated her “outfits, poses, hairstyles, makeup, and voice” in a way that enabled Gifford’s followers to identify Gifford as the person whose identity was appropriated.
Be careful out there, beigefluencers.
[Technology & Marketing Law Blog]
The Onion’s parent company issues some rousing praise of a judge blocking its purchase of Infowars:
The experience was long and punishing for all involved, and the final outcome is inconclusive: The InfoWars assets remain in limbo. Everything is now in doubt and everyone is worse off than before.
In short, it is the kind of world we at Global Tetrahedron have always envisioned.
[The Onion]
The shooter had a message, and the internet was happy to spread it.
I always love seeing what famous people’s phones look like, and almost did a spit take at this clip of a Spanish politician’s Sonny Angel attachment.
Óscar Puente, minister of transport and sustainable mobility, is apparently a fan of the viral miniature cherub dolls that have amassed an almost cult-like following.
Erin Kissane’s take on “the dark forest” idea of the internet suggests that context collapse is what makes the internet deranging. So how do you build a network where people matter?
[wreckage/salvage]
After days of explosive growth on the platform, the Bluesky Safety team posted Friday that it received 42,000 moderation reports in the preceding 24 hours (versus 360,000 in all of 2023).
The team added that it’s working to bring on new members and asks users to help by reporting troll, spam, and scam accounts. Bluesky has also implemented email verification for new signups.
A live-updating tracker using Bluesky’s API puts the site at over 14,980,000 users right now.
The site has been growing fast lately, possibly spurred most recently by the US presidential election.
Verge staffers review election.omg.lol: “Both horrifying and kinda helpful.” “This is a hell site.” “This rules.”
[election.omg.lol]
Mariah Carey has once again emerged from the Halloween cobwebs with an elaborately produced video reminding us the holiday season — and nonstop replays of “All I Want for Christmas is You” — is upon us.
As far as celebrity memes and bits go, I respect the dedication and raw capitalism with this one.
[YouTube]
Last year the YouTuber sued his business partner in charge of MrBeast Burgers, after customers complained about “inedible” and “revolting” food. Undeterred, this year MrBeast partnered with Logan Paul and KSI to launch Lunchly, a line of Lunchables-style snack boxes — that are apparently full of mold. If your kid asks for them maybe show them these pictures.
New fear unlocked: that even death will not release me from the Zoom meetings.
