great(ish) pt 20: Twister, sports journalism, Sufjan
Hello! Here's to another week of me showing heroic restraint by not telling you to watch Moneyball. Today: another classic film about people at work, an investigation into start up sports journalism, a Belarusian collection of essays, the costs of AI, and Sufjan Stevens' new video. Enjoy!
Article: Inside the Athletic: the start-up that changed journalism forever by Oliver Franklin-Wallis, published by GQ in March 2020
Incredibly, irresponsibly, (ice) hockey is back (“the most ambitious crossover event in history that is also an irresponsible, cynical money grab”), and so is hockey journalism discourse. Here’s a very brief intro: a few years ago, venture capital-backed journalism startup The Athletic essentially bought a large portion of established hockey writers, promising to provide coverage for every single team. Well, they did, until they started laying people off over the spring and summer. I’ve had an Athletic subscription for a while (because wow, do I love good sports writing), but I’ve had misgivings about their model and hiring practices for just as long. GQ’s longread from last March, focusing on the Athletic’s arrival in the UK and their attempt to completely take over football (or: soccer) coverage there, certainly didn’t help. It’s a great piece though! As are many pieces on the Athletic. Shame that venture capital is funding it.
Film: Twister (1996), directed by Jan de Bont
Yes, I’m recommending Twister. I randomly watched this for the first time in ages a month or so ago and let me tell you, I had a great time. Watching it with someone who feels total disdain for “most meteorology” as a science probably added to the experience, but I have a soft spot for mid-90s films and this was co-written by Michael Crichton (ER! Jurassic Park!). This film used to be on TV all the time when I was a child, but I only really remembered the last, ludicrous scene and Helen Hunt in her white tank top. Oh and I’ve always blamed my fear of weather extremes on this film. Just watch the trailer: “the research… is deadly…”
Book: A Large Czesław Miłosz With a Dash of Elvis Presley by Tania Skarynkina, translated by Jim Dingley
This collection of essays, memories and sketches by Belarusian writer and artist Tania Skarynkina (the cover image is one of her works) has been on my mind lately for obvious, sad reasons. I read this a couple of years ago on a summer holiday and really enjoyed being in the company of Skarynkina’s thoughts for a few hours – which is rare for me, because I hardly ever read essay collections, especially of the personal sort. This one, however, reads more like stories, mixing her experiences of small-town life with reflections on literature and the world. Published by the smallest of publishers and translated beautifully, I’ve been hoping that I’ll get to read more of Skarynkina’s work soon. For now, I’m keeping an eye on their website as they’re due to release another Belorusian novel in translation soon.
Learning: Anatomy of an AI system by Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler
I’ve been researching (read: googling) the impact of publishing on the environment (bad!), and it made me think about this project. I first saw this as a big poster in an exhibition last year; it is also a website & pdf that you can check out online. “An anatomical case study of the Amazon Echo as an artificial intelligence system made of human labor”, it lists every component that goes into the making of an Amazon Echo: not only the resources, but also the associated human and environmental costs of smelting, mining, transportation, warehousing, AI training etc. Oh, and about publishing? Ever noticed how lots of books have the Forest Stewardship Council's brand somewhere in their prelims? In 2018, Greenpeace didn't renew its FSC membership over concerns it was proving ineffective. Paper is bad. Bring back wax tablets!
Other: Video Game by Sufjan Stevens (official video featuring Jalaiah)
Sufjan has released a new song that sounds like my favourite era of Sufjan (Age of Adz – I’m not taking any comments or questions on this one other than, “You’re right.”). In the video, internet phenomenon and teen TikTok star Jalaiah dances for 4:30 minutes. Truly a highlight of any week. To read more about Jalaiah, check out this article by Taylor Lorenz (the NYT internet correspondent, whom I have disliked ever since I listened to a Longform interview with her where she came across as cynical, fame-hungry and entirely too proud of having made the pits of online “journalism”, MailOnline, what it is today. Congrats Taylor, your personal success created a monster!).
Twenty tinyletters, phew! Here's to twenty more. Take care!