January 2020: Best of the Internet
Source: Unsplash
It’s January 85th and the web is a very sad place this week: The death of an internationally-beloved dad. The ineffable drag of a presidential impeachment. The epidemic that’s spreading faster than misinformation. Not a good look for Al Gore’s internet.
If you’re like me, you still can’t log off. Here’s a couple of things that made me laugh, cry or immediately forward to my college group thread.
Best Meme of the Month: I will not be taking any questions at this time.
Read:
Kobe Bryant’s Obituary from The Ringer
I love this outlet for a lot of reasons, but mostly for their thoughtful, candid journalism about the impact that sports have on who we are as a society. What makes celebrity deaths so devastating? “The vast majority of those who felt Sunday’s loss didn’t know Kobe,” Mahoney writes. “They just knew that he had always been there and what he had given them along the way. Sports are predicated on a commitment to something larger than ourselves, whether a striving team, a civic identity, or the simple magic of shared experience.”
J. Adam Lucas on UNC’s win over NC State
“Roy Williams knows how to win in Raleigh.” The Heels have a higher winning percentage in Raleigh than we do on our home court in Chapel Hill, and the end of Monday night’s game made their winning streak that much sweeter. Not pictured here, but also thirsting for more Heels victories this season is Chase Rice on this week’s episode of The Bachelor.
How the Bachelor Contestants Make a Career out of Instagram
“‘This gauzy ABC dating competition is ‘Jackass’ for women: a reality show that revels in emotional risk taking and rejection in the same way that ‘Jackass,’ the MTV series, celebrates men’s foolhardiness and physical pain,” chief New York Times television critic Alessandra Stanley wrote in 2002.”’ It would be 8 years before Instagram launched, and another two more before the influencer-in-chief Kim K would post her first selfie to the platform. Almost 18 years later, the cast of this god-forsaken reality show know they will reap inexhaustible benefits of the Insta-fame kind if they’re only willing to sleep in bunk beds alongside other 22-year-old women who are simultaneously being manipulated by the producers. Is it really worth it? This witty and incisive write-up asks: “Who is the franchise’s first self-aware patient zero?”
To quote my roommate who stormed off to bed after last night’s episode, “this show SUCKS and I will watch it till I DIE.”
QUIZ: Which Candidate Do You Agree With Most?
This clever interactive survey from The Washington Post is my favorite lil bit of innovative journalism I’ve seen in this election style. I love this quiz because I was surprised to find out which candidates actually support the things I care about — and it’s written in fairly plain language, which makes it easy to read. Don’t forget to check when your state’s primary election will be held (some of them start on Tuesday!) and please, register to vote. I’m literally begging you.
A note: a lot of the questions in this quiz use “consider” in the language about campaign ideas. For example, “do you think the U.S. should consider a universal income?” This doesn’t mean “do you think everyone should receive money they didn’t earn?” It means “do you think our elected representatives should officially discuss (aka consider) the implications of a constitutional way to provide people with the money they need to survive in this country?” It’s called cost of living for a reason.
Harnessing the Power of Emotions in the Workplace
Raise your hand if you’ve cried at work!!! I was relieved when this interviewee said that making decisions based on emotions isn’t a bad thing. It just matters that we differentiate between relevant and irrelevant emotions. They also validated that coping with emotions at work isn’t just a woman’s problem: Hello men who yell during meetings? We see you.
The World’s Only Asparamancer
The secret to clairvoyance is….asparagus? This woman predicts the future by tossing asparagus in the air and interpreting how it falls to the ground. She allegedly predicted the exodus of Megan and Harry from the Royal Family and believes that Trump may be re-elected (if you breezed past this second hyperlink I just want you to know that it leads to the national voter registration website ok bye).
Watch:
Netflix’s Sex Education Season 2
This show tackles all the parts of coming-of-age that we don’t usually get to see so candidly on screen: pansexuality, internalized homophobia, asexuality and fears of intimacy, sexual assault and consent, adoptive parent anxiety, abortion and discrimination, self-harm and negative self-comparison, feminist awakenings. But it’s not just candid; the writing and representation is thoughtful, funny and excruciating all at once. I cannot recommend it enough.
Kobe Bryant Died Doing What He Loved: Being A Girl Dad
As the father of four girls, Bryant once high-fived this pregnant news anchor and said he loved being a “girl dad.” Grab your tissues.
r/TippyTaps
Just a bunch of videos of animals doing a lil tippy tap dance with their feet when they get excited. Everything on this entire self-proclaimed “cutest subreddit on the internet” is gold. Sorry for derailing your work day.
Hyundai’s New Smart Park Commercial
Not every spot is worth skipping on your DVR.
