Hello Sternal Journalists,
This is going to be an especially dumb and/or inconsequential SternJourn and it feels silly to do that without acknowledging that there is a lot of hurt being felt and awfulness being perpetrated around the world right now.
My reminder of just how little I understand about Israel and Palestine was underscored by the fact that, for what feels like first time, some of the institutions I look to for progressive self-education when I don’t understand a dark time are diametrically and vocally in opposition to each other.
It is awful and scary that people are dying and being tortured, and it is especially terrible to know that I have friends who know personally or otherwise have a deep connection to the very people who are dying and being tortured. I am sending love to all and, while it is nobody’s duty to educate me, I am very open to any resources that any readers think could be helpful for someone trying to better understand.
Love you all very much and I extend my love as far as it can go.
— — —
What follows now will be a very petty take about something I saw on TikTok, so if you don’t have it in you to take something like that in, I completely understand.
If you do? To quote my favorite French phrase that I’ve been using more frequently as I reenter the world of DuoLingo: ALLONS-Y! (Translation: LET’S GO!)
(Quick aside: do the French use “Allons-y” the way we use “Let’s fucking GOOOO!” And if so, is it “Allon-fuckin’-sy?” Google translate says it’s “Allons-y, putain!” Which I think is more like, “Let’s go, fucker!” which does not carry the same translatory weight (see last week’s SternJourn for more on translation).
Anyway, as I was allons-ay-ing, I saw something on TikTok today that ground my gears. It was this:
That’s right. We’re back into me chattering about the Roman Empire. But I think there’s an important meta-trend to point out here (when you have a weekly self-imposed newsletter, things seem especially important the day that you know you have to write something, of course).
What you need to know about the above TikTok that I didn’t even take the time to link because the TikTok itself isn’t important is that this creator is referencing the fact that there is a specific episode of a specific anime. That episode happened to be playing in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, and so it aired along with a news ticker that explained what was happening on September 11th. A song featured prominently in that episode. And so every time the creator of this TikTok hears that song, it takes them back to a moment they viscerally remember, and is also their last memory before the end of the pre-9/11 period of society.
That’s all fascinating.
And evocative.
It is worthy of expressing, and the 60,000 people who liked it surely appreciated that this person put it out into the world.
MY ONLY QUALM…
is that is not a Roman Empire phenomenon. That is a thing we already had a meme-y name for, and that name was “lives rent free in my head.” What the creator “Internet Historian” is saying is that they think about this thing a lot. But relatively speaking, they are describing a unique experience. That is not what the Roman Empire thing was.
The Roman Empire thing was one large group of people (women, mostly white women) asking another large group of people (men, mostly white men) if they think about this one thing, reporting back to their group (and the whole world) that, wow, they do in fact think about that thing, and then never getting any more information.
Here, however, we have a person who is willingly and openly sharing and bragging about and then (this is important) fully explaining why they think about that thing so much. It’s not only not the same as the Roman Empire thing. It’s sort of the opposite. Singular experience versus communal; the person doing the thinking is the subject versus the object of the experience; Fully explained out of tenderness versus unexplained out of apathy.
And to be clear, this is not “Internet Historian’s” fault. I’ve seen so many people being to use “My Roman Empire” as synonymous with “lives rent free in my head.” And obviously they’re allowed to. I’m not policing how people interact with memes.
But the reason it recreationally pisses me off and barely-but-a-little-bit worries me is it’s yet another way in which we’re letting a dedication to the distribution that comes with memery water down any sort of sharpening of form. And if we’re just letting the popular meme of the day dictate what form our expression takes—to the extent that within a matter of days, two memes (and therefore two distinct forms) can completely switch very specific definitions, we’re kind of just saying “whatever” to the idea of developing the our creative and expressive chops. And that’s a bummer!
So… if you’re gonna meme, maybe just ask yourself why you’re meme-ing that meme and if it’s really the coolest way you could be saying what you want to say.
As always, I am full of shit and could go back on this take within days, but until then, let’s “Allons-y, putains” and get a little more creative.
Recommendations
The Nation Goes Direct. Article. My friend over at the Psychic Therapist Substack, of which I previously published a great essay about cults and Tom Cruise, has now broken down the astrological compatibility of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. I honestly don’t give a big shit about astrology, but I know a ton of my readers would be into this and I greatly appreciated the sentence, “Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift began to date, creating the first complete Venn diagram overlap of citizen interest since WWII ended the Great Depression.”
It Takes 3. Song. I could talk about the J. Cole feature on the Drake album, I could talk about the Earl Sweatshirt/The Alchemist album, I could of course talk about the Jack Harlow collab with BTS’ Jungkook. But I don’t think any of them really need my bump. On the other hand, this Pitbull light reimagining of Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock’s “It Takes 2.” Pitbull is a legitimately good rapper even though he doesn’t prove it that often, but I found out about him (I think) when he was featured on the Baja Men’s Who Let The Dog’s Out for the version of the song that was to be included in the film, Rugrats in Paris. It Takes 3 has all of the charisma, unoriginality, and sheer boldness of a song that should be in the cash grab feature film adaptation of a beloved children’s television show.
How to Wear A.I. Podcast Segment. I liked this whole episode of the irreverent tech news podcast, Hard Fork. But I think it’s very worth knowing about the coming wave of AI wearables. Few of them seem like they’ll be mainstreamed just yet, but you never know. Also, I appreciate the focus on whether each item makes us more or less present, which is a good way to think about all technology.
How Them Browne’s Gray Suit Conquered American Fashion. Article. I don’t know anything about clothes except for graphic tee-shirts, which I’m a bit of an expert on. So I enjoy anything that helps me understand the artistry of making clothes. This was one of those articles. Also he runs 8 miles a day which is fucking insane if you aren’t training for something. That is goals. I ran 13 miles last week. I need to get more on my Thom Browne swag.
The Crossword Show DC. Show. I’m so upset I won’t be home for this, but my friends Zach Sherwin is bringing his incredible live crossword and musical comedy show to DC and it’s friction’ Planet Word, a WORD MUSEUM. Please go if you’re in Maryland or DC (or Virginia). You’ll love it.
Pound 4 Pound. Comedy Special. I was at the taping for this hot half hour of comedy from my friend Danny Sellers. It is very fun and funny. He’s introspective and wacky and put a lot of thought into not just the writing or the delivery, but the whole thing looks which makes it a special special. A wonderful way to spend thirty nine minutes.
Okay folks, that is all for this week. Sending so much love and wishes of healing and creation.
All the best,
Julian