Rise and Shine

with a bit of climate catastrophe thrown in

Early readers of this Substack may remember a time when I tried to write without mentioning Trump, well here I am almost a year later still trying not to stay up all night worrying about Trump and also trying not to mention World War Three. Fun times for the anxious (and everybody else on earth especially those who are actually physically affected). So here is a little of what caught my eye this week that was not war/Trump based.

Van Badham is a writer and Guardian columnist, she’s also very savvy and wrote a brilliant book called QAnon and On: A Short and Shocking History of Internet Conspiracy Cults. She knows a thing or two about disinformation and I really love what she recently said on her Facebook page about distinguishing between what’s real and what’s fake on the internet.

…I have spent the past four years researching disinformation and counterdisinformation for my books and it’s had a profound effect on how I engage online. I know HEAPS about AI and editing and media and deviousness and *I can’t tell* what’s real from fake anymore without some solid trust signifiers around it.

Don’t recognise the source? Don’t share it.

Can’t be verified? Don’t share it.

All just a bit too convenient? Don’t share it.

Deeply emotional? Don’t share it.

A gentle reminder for me to read from publications and people I know and trust. Not like this guy who I found while scrolling through Instagram looking for pottery inspiration. I came across this post on how to grow your audience. I promise I was not reading it for advice but, because Instagram is Instagram, it likes to pepper my feed with bullshit like this.

Yes, you did just read someone urging people to share negative content to grow their reach. WTAF? Things like this are the reason the internet is a cesspool. I am still unsure if I should even be sharing it…

But this also came up in my feed and I do love it when I see my own thoughts reflected in a viral meme (the tug of loving and hating the internet at the same time). I am the person who goes through her rubbish with a fine tooth comb seeing what I can recycle in the hope of saving the planet - and then there is this.

thelondoneconomic

A post shared by @thelondoneconomic

On the subject of Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez and the environment, this from Louis Pisano on Discoursted about Jeff Bezos and his ridiculous yacht in Cannes a couple of weeks ago, is brilliant (if not very scary) Here’s an extract but you can read the whole thing here.

We’re not just in the era of the billionaire. We’re in the era of billionaire moral cosplay, where obscene wealth and performative wokeness coexist without contradiction. One minute you’re flying to space “to see Earth’s fragility,” the next you’re launching rockets, torching oceans, and parking your teak-lined guilt barge off the coast of Cannes to go applaud your fiancé for saving the planet

In a just world, the only award Lauren Sánchez would be receiving at Cannes is Best Supporting Role in a Performance of Climate Denialism.But here we are: sipping champagne while the sea levels rise, applauding billionaires as they recycle the same six talking points about “urgency” and “innovation,” all while sailing literal metaphors into the bay.

Cannes isn’t the future. It’s a mirror, one held up to a civilization that knows exactly how bad things are, but would rather look hot in the group photo while it burns.

Luckily it’s not just the internet I have been reading - I also picked up Rise and Shine by Kimberley Allsopp. Her book reminded me of Holly Wainwright’s I Give My Marriage A Year in the nicest possible way. Rise and Shine tells the story of a couple who have been married for more than a decade. They don’t fight or argue but they don’t seem to talk or share their thoughts anymore either. They don’t dislike each other but they don’t seem to love each other either. It’s a love story and a break-up story all wound into a beautiful read.

It’s also book about finding happiness, finding yourself and finding your passion. It is gentle and easy to read (although there are some very sad parts) and Noah and August will make a little space in your heart - and so will their friends. It’s a book that anyone who has ever been in a long term relationship will be able to identify with.

Perfect for people who like a love story but know that relationships are about more than falling in love.

Thanks again for reading to the end. Hope you appreciated me steering clear of Trump and World War 3. Sorry I leaned so heavily on climate catastrophe…

See you next week

Lana