It used to be in US politics that presidential candidates wanted to be the guy you went for a beer with. Reading the Atlantic link about Vance reinforces that, on the right anyway, they're competing to be that bloke at the bar who you try to avoid eye contact with and even makes the landlord look uncomfortable.
What's so fun about your writing is I can fully hear it in your voice in my head, especially when it gets quippy.
I love Rogan. I think he's great. I would even say I think he's broadly a force for good, but obviously anyone that powerful merits criticism.
But I appreciate the fact that you came at him with a reasonable open-mindedness, coming in sharp at times but without a think-of-the-children breathless panic.
JD Vance is a huge closet case. His misogyny is the bitchy, cartoonish, over-the-top kind that is characteristic of the repressed gay male who has been performatively acting like this since high school to try and deflect suspicion, fit in with his fellow bros and appear like a normal red-blooded dude. Chicks be cray, amirite
As usual, a nicely eclectic selection, amusingly curated for the average midtown agnostic. As always, the gift articles are very much appreciated (I’m not cheap, I’m on a disability pension.).
As much as I hate men who are obsessed with female reproductivity, I didn't think that was your strongest piece. Like Trump, most of Vance's nuttiest statements have a basis, somewhere, in a fact or stat that makes sense in a different context. I am not going to do a full fisking because it doesn't deserve that level of energy, but I found myself reading the piece with "yes but" running in the back of my head. Also, I have not verified this firsthand, but on The Fifth Column they mentioned that in a subsequent interview he had a longform response to the childcare question which was more thought-out and detailed.
I tried to be fair to him, but if you go back and engage with it all, there’s a definite hardening of his rhetoric between 2020 and now. He’s a smart man who has mashed together the rationalist/IDW idea that everything is up for grabs with the MAGA imperative to make the libs cry harder.
I'm all for dunking on Vance for being a dangerous weirdo, and I detest the Eric Weinstein, but the question of why menopause isn't fatal is interesting from an evolutionary biology perspective.
That’s not quite the right question, though — the question is why a species would have a menopause rather than maintaining fertility until death (albeit at declining levels).
Oh my god no. Bleeding until I die? I'm not hating menopause so far. Sure I get hot, then cold. But I've been angry my whole life so I'm not noticing the mood swings...
Because women tend to do all the work associated with childcare, and we deserve to rest (or at least have labor be optional) instead of literally dying with a baby in our arms. I think Sarah Blaffer Hrdy noted that where the gathering is good, a young grandma can provide more calories for her grandkids than either parent. But that is because she isn't weighed down by kids. (It should be noted that her actions are also voluntary, not something she's shamed into by community leaders.)
You win this round Lewis... but you haven't seen the last of me.
Years ago, I read something about post-menopausal Orcas... there might be something interesting there... I think they lead during migration and live significantly longer than males.
Who can say. I don't think "the point of menopausal women is to look after grandchildren" is terribly sophisticated evolutionary thought, but equally it could be one influence on how things are. Maybe menopause kept older women alive who'd otherwise die if they kept trying to reproduce, and so conferred some group selective benefit. Whatever, the original seems like an OK idea by the standards of evolutionary just-so stories, not an absurd one or one to mock out of hand for political reasons. Eric Weinstein says many other ludicrous things on scientific topics, as does his increasingly unhinged brother (Brett is his brother, right?).
In that Alberta piece he expresses surprise that Lee is much more polite in person than his Twitter persona
Why the hell would he be surprised???
Trump, Vance, Lee all these guys are what we used to call ‘Telephone Tough Guys’ but even more cowardly because at least Telephone Tough Guys can hear the responses. These cowards get to strut on their social media accounts with no fear of being challenged let alone punched in the mouth, when physically in front of someone of course they’re different.
On a related note I remain convinced the whole last 8 years could have been avoided if Jeb or Cruz had gone the full Prescott in 2016 when Trump criticised their wives, watching him cry like a baby would have shown the world what he is
Pedantry corner: I'm fairly sure a 'centimillionaire' would be someone taking Uncle Scrooge dives into a 100th of a million pounds/dollars/currency-units. Would hectomillionaire work? (also, consonant-wise, 'centi-' sounds a lot more cuddly than 'hecto-').
Pedantry corner (extremist annexe (terminology division)): I presume in any case tech bros would prefer to be 'gibidollaires', or 'gibibuckers', or something similar; being 'mebirich' would be right out.
Geez, here we go again. The fact that women, almost ALL women, have decided Donald Trump is the anti Christ and they need to go on record so everybody ( read “ other women”) know where they stand in this clown car of an election, is yet again an example of the mob-think women use to make a decision. Trump is the least liked candidate since Nixon. But if elections are really about voting for the least dangerous, he will get my vote. I cannot, in conscious, vote for the other goofball who I honestly believe just doesn’t get it, get ANYTHING. Women have been front and center this Fall; Harvard, Penn, MIT and their refusal to do their job so they could avoid confrontation says it all.
America has yet to produce a Golda Meir, Indira Ghandi or Margaret Thatcher women capable of making the tough decisions that would make them unpopular or hated.
Hi Helen, The excellent points you made about Rogan's podcast is exactly why I started my own podcast. I recorded my response to your observations here. https://vimeo.com/1009094131
From the Rogan article: “It’s good to be open-minded, but not so much that your brain falls out.” [Chef’s kiss emoji]
It used to be in US politics that presidential candidates wanted to be the guy you went for a beer with. Reading the Atlantic link about Vance reinforces that, on the right anyway, they're competing to be that bloke at the bar who you try to avoid eye contact with and even makes the landlord look uncomfortable.
Helen! Nicely done on Rogan!
What's so fun about your writing is I can fully hear it in your voice in my head, especially when it gets quippy.
I love Rogan. I think he's great. I would even say I think he's broadly a force for good, but obviously anyone that powerful merits criticism.
But I appreciate the fact that you came at him with a reasonable open-mindedness, coming in sharp at times but without a think-of-the-children breathless panic.
My one critique: you had Liquid Death?
Is everyone else hitting the paywall following the gift link ?
Would really love to read more, thank you for all this
Hmm, try this https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/10/joe-rogan-austin-comedy-club/679568/?gift=SKtFP-7gCBnFn1bNJdqPMor7tX1Fc8cd5FP7eHgUlMM&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
Thanks, I could not read it on your published link.
All the gift links in the newsletter stopped working for me a few weeks ago. I figured it was just me!
No - I can read it (but told it’s my last free article).
JD Vance is a huge closet case. His misogyny is the bitchy, cartoonish, over-the-top kind that is characteristic of the repressed gay male who has been performatively acting like this since high school to try and deflect suspicion, fit in with his fellow bros and appear like a normal red-blooded dude. Chicks be cray, amirite
I don't think this is even a little bit true.
Folks have been calling Republicans they don't like but get too much attention gay since the 90s. It was cringe then and it's cringe now.
As usual, a nicely eclectic selection, amusingly curated for the average midtown agnostic. As always, the gift articles are very much appreciated (I’m not cheap, I’m on a disability pension.).
Oh Emily in Paris. I'm not sorry about my enjoyment of that trash. I need it.
Same, heaven help me. I do enjoy the clothes so much. And whenever Luc shows up, we just start laughing in advance.
As much as I hate men who are obsessed with female reproductivity, I didn't think that was your strongest piece. Like Trump, most of Vance's nuttiest statements have a basis, somewhere, in a fact or stat that makes sense in a different context. I am not going to do a full fisking because it doesn't deserve that level of energy, but I found myself reading the piece with "yes but" running in the back of my head. Also, I have not verified this firsthand, but on The Fifth Column they mentioned that in a subsequent interview he had a longform response to the childcare question which was more thought-out and detailed.
I tried to be fair to him, but if you go back and engage with it all, there’s a definite hardening of his rhetoric between 2020 and now. He’s a smart man who has mashed together the rationalist/IDW idea that everything is up for grabs with the MAGA imperative to make the libs cry harder.
I'm all for dunking on Vance for being a dangerous weirdo, and I detest the Eric Weinstein, but the question of why menopause isn't fatal is interesting from an evolutionary biology perspective.
That’s not quite the right question, though — the question is why a species would have a menopause rather than maintaining fertility until death (albeit at declining levels).
Oh my god no. Bleeding until I die? I'm not hating menopause so far. Sure I get hot, then cold. But I've been angry my whole life so I'm not noticing the mood swings...
Because women tend to do all the work associated with childcare, and we deserve to rest (or at least have labor be optional) instead of literally dying with a baby in our arms. I think Sarah Blaffer Hrdy noted that where the gathering is good, a young grandma can provide more calories for her grandkids than either parent. But that is because she isn't weighed down by kids. (It should be noted that her actions are also voluntary, not something she's shamed into by community leaders.)
You win this round Lewis... but you haven't seen the last of me.
Years ago, I read something about post-menopausal Orcas... there might be something interesting there... I think they lead during migration and live significantly longer than males.
Who can say. I don't think "the point of menopausal women is to look after grandchildren" is terribly sophisticated evolutionary thought, but equally it could be one influence on how things are. Maybe menopause kept older women alive who'd otherwise die if they kept trying to reproduce, and so conferred some group selective benefit. Whatever, the original seems like an OK idea by the standards of evolutionary just-so stories, not an absurd one or one to mock out of hand for political reasons. Eric Weinstein says many other ludicrous things on scientific topics, as does his increasingly unhinged brother (Brett is his brother, right?).
In that Alberta piece he expresses surprise that Lee is much more polite in person than his Twitter persona
Why the hell would he be surprised???
Trump, Vance, Lee all these guys are what we used to call ‘Telephone Tough Guys’ but even more cowardly because at least Telephone Tough Guys can hear the responses. These cowards get to strut on their social media accounts with no fear of being challenged let alone punched in the mouth, when physically in front of someone of course they’re different.
On a related note I remain convinced the whole last 8 years could have been avoided if Jeb or Cruz had gone the full Prescott in 2016 when Trump criticised their wives, watching him cry like a baby would have shown the world what he is
Thanks, I remember that!
What‘s ‘going the full Prescott’? I can’t make the reference - sounds good tho
https://youtu.be/WKM6nn8ie2A?si=thzjmQDpXqMY9WZL
Pedantry corner: I'm fairly sure a 'centimillionaire' would be someone taking Uncle Scrooge dives into a 100th of a million pounds/dollars/currency-units. Would hectomillionaire work? (also, consonant-wise, 'centi-' sounds a lot more cuddly than 'hecto-').
Pedantry corner (extremist annexe (terminology division)): I presume in any case tech bros would prefer to be 'gibidollaires', or 'gibibuckers', or something similar; being 'mebirich' would be right out.
I would get out more, but I've got Table 7 of the 'SI Brochure' to ogle. http://www.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/ (gotta love a 100-page long styleguide)
Hectomillionaire is a cool word, I’m in it.
Great article, thanks for the free link, I enjoyed your compare/contrast of a city and a person.
I’m also something of a professor of semiotics myself.
Geez, here we go again. The fact that women, almost ALL women, have decided Donald Trump is the anti Christ and they need to go on record so everybody ( read “ other women”) know where they stand in this clown car of an election, is yet again an example of the mob-think women use to make a decision. Trump is the least liked candidate since Nixon. But if elections are really about voting for the least dangerous, he will get my vote. I cannot, in conscious, vote for the other goofball who I honestly believe just doesn’t get it, get ANYTHING. Women have been front and center this Fall; Harvard, Penn, MIT and their refusal to do their job so they could avoid confrontation says it all.
America has yet to produce a Golda Meir, Indira Ghandi or Margaret Thatcher women capable of making the tough decisions that would make them unpopular or hated.
You are aware that expressing a preference for one candidate or another is a fairly routine part of election cycles? It’s not limited to women.
Ah, passive-aggressive snark...now THAT is fairly routine in election cycles.
Hi Helen, The excellent points you made about Rogan's podcast is exactly why I started my own podcast. I recorded my response to your observations here. https://vimeo.com/1009094131
Didn’t Gillian Anderson let it be known she was into BDSM right at the peak of her X-Files fame?
I’m sure I remember something about that from that time