I was very sleepy yesterday and I’m a lil sleepy today (hence the lateness of this email). But let’s get on with it:
Politics
An interesting write-up on the concerns of black activists not knowing who to trust when organizing on social media. They fear that bots who intend to fan the flames of polarization as the 2020 election ramps up will drown out their genuine efforts.
Plug for the self: I spoke with minorities at the Conservative Political Action Conference about Candice Owens, the communications director at Turning Point USA. Some didn’t have good things to say.
National
Remember Pharma Bro Martin Shikreli? He was reportedly still running his pharma company from his jail cell via a contraband phone. He’s now under investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
People across the country are fighting back against underfunded public defenders who allegedly left them with poor representation by suing the U.S. for the appropriate resources.
Please read this heartbreaking BuzzFeed report on the quality of care women receive in the armed forces. Genders assumptions reportedly left women with a decreased lack of care, which left them in debilitating pain and long-term health issues.
Culture
The Summer of Scam continues, this time with a fake doctor who conned media outlets into publicizing fabricated studies about various sexual topics and clients who paid him for his expertise.
Baby Phat is coming back! Yes, you heard me correctly.
Imagine hating your ex-spouse so much you rent an entire billboard in Midtown Manhattan with you and your new lover’s face on it on the same street you were supposed to move into (LOL).
What is the next “Instagram bait” trend for eateries? Maybe look down at your table…
The royal family finally took a public stance against the social media hate that is constantly directed towards Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, calling on folks to—essentially—cut it out.
Mini Movie Review: So, I think we can all agree that some pretty sexist sh*t was going on before Captain Marvel was even released. It was a box office hit, but as an MCU nerd and a fan of strong female leads in film… the film itself didn’t do much for me. I think the talents of Brie Larson, Jude Law, et. al. were kind of squandered in a muddy storyline. The final result was an Avengers origin story that Captain Marvel happened to be in… she didn’t shine in it, and I was not emotionally invested in her (which is such a shame!)
K-Pop plug: One of my favorite K-Pop groups, BlackPink, was recently on the cover of Billboard! This is so HUGE and really representative of the fact that K-Pop’s popularity is far beyond the confines of Korea and Asia now. (They’re also embarking on a U.S. tour pretty soon, and I was able to snag tickets! YAY!)
Das all for now!
See u on the flip!