Things I Like That You Are Free to Like or Not Like Because Art is Subjective
All the news is about the same thing this week (Max Ehrich’s new Instagram girlfriend) so I will tell you about some things I am enjoying.
Spam Kings: The Real Story Behind the High-Rolling Hucksters Pushing Porn, Pills, and %*@)# Enlargements. I have such a soft spot for early aughts internet culture, where small enclaves existed in IIRCs and useret groups. Once email started, SPAM email was inevitable. I never really stopped to think there was an entire culture and community surrounding it. This is a detailed account of famous spammers and anti-spammer crusaders that is more interesting than any prestige television show. Also, I never stopped to think about how SPAM emails actually work- and that there is an actual human behind them.
My Immortal. I am about fifteen years too late on this one. It was always on my radar but recently it crossed my path. This story is a notorious work of Harry Potter fanfiction that is so bad that many theorize it may be satire. The main character is a goth girl dating Draco Malfoy and they go on a date to a Good Charlotte concert (I’m screaming). Since I am the foremost authority on camp, I think this is a prime example of digital camp, a concept that was a close second for my dissertation topic. A sample:
We frenched sexily. Vampire looked at us longingly.
Then………… I took off Draco’s MCR (My Chemical Romance) shrift and seductvely took of his pants. He was hung lik a stallone. He had replaced the Vampire tattoo that said Enoby on it. Black roses were around it. I gasped. He lookd exactly lik Gerard Way. Vampire took a video camera. (I had sed it wuz ok b4).
All the misspellings are just too bad to be real. Or are they? Is it someone’s satirical mocking a teen girl fantasy?
What is this? A semi-regular newsletter about culture and academia and academic culture. Do you like it? Great. Please share it widely. And consider becoming a premium subscriber.