Interesting stat: "More than 70% of all the wealth in the country is held by people over 55, per Federal Reserve data."
Older Americans power a gray-shaped economy www.axios.com/2026/02/12/j...
If you like reading about why we do what we do, want what we want and have a little laugh while we dive into pop culture, sociology and psychology, it's a free subscription!
But my hands are not clean.
Read more about my thoughts here and why I'm part of the "events that do too much" problem with my nine-sausage rooftop cookouts, bulgogi cheesesteaks and homebrewing a beer for a specific party... moistcargoshorts.substack.com/p/why-everyt...
When every gathering requires output, opting out feels like a character flaw.
Sitting quietly can be read as disengagement. Watching reads as laziness. You're not just sitting out; you're violating the event's moral order.
But here's the tradeoff nobody talks about:
Communities aren't built on peak moments. They're built on repetition. The hallway nod. The saved barstool. The neighbor you keep bumping into.
Familiarity does the heavy lifting, not one night of screaming Wagon Wheel together.
And honestly? These events solve real problems.
Loneliness is up. Drinking is down. Unstructured social space can feel paralyzing when every moment might be recorded and posted.
Being told what to do is a relief. Structure absorbs the anxiety.
Karaoke is a great metaphor.
You don't just enjoy the song, you expose yourself. The quality doesn't matter. What matters is that you did it.
Somewhere along the way, "showing up" stopped being enough.
Now you have to sing, compete, dress up, and post proof. Box your situationship. Dodge balls while doing an open mic.
Presence is not enough. So many of today's events call for your #output on #SocialMedia.
Modern social life has a participation problem.
We don't go to events anymore. We perform at them.
I recently wrote about why everything feels like karaoke now (hyperbole alert) â and what we're losing in the process.
đ§ľđ
#CultureCommentary
Everything is karaoke now. Itâs not enough to attend â you have to perform. Sing, dress up, post it, prove it.
But community isnât built on intensity spikes. Itâs built on boring Tuesdays at the same lunch spot.
Let's talk about the trend of "events that do too much."
#psychology #culture
Agrivoltaics: "not just a land-sharing concept, but a systems-level solution to some of the worldâs most pressing challenges.â
6-7 Makes No Sense. That's Why it Works. Let's talk about nonsense as a powerful bonding tool. moistcargoshorts.substack.com/p/6-7-makes-...
Are platforms divisiveâor just very good mirrors?
A new Journal of Communication paper suggests political polarization emerges from a feedback loop: media adapt to audience demand, audiences adapt back, and small in-group biases get amplified.
academic.oup.com/joc/advance-...
#journalism #media
The Super Bowl marketing has gone too far.
Columbia Made a Beer with Bear Poop for the Super Bowl www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/go-outside/c...
In a world engineered to remove every bump, some people are putting them back.
It's life, but on hard mode. On purpose.
What is friction-maxxing? What is it doing for us and what is it not?
moistcargoshorts.substack.com/p/friction-m... #HumanBehavior #Psychology #DigitalLife #AttentionEconomy
Thanks! But, I still wince every time I have to imagine I have been doing anything for over a decade, I'll take it though! Like getting a virtual polar plunge right here in my home office!
In a world engineered to remove every bump, some people are putting them back.
It's life, but on hard mode. On purpose.
What is friction-maxxing? What is it doing for us and what is it not?
moistcargoshorts.substack.com/p/friction-m... #HumanBehavior #Psychology #DigitalLife #AttentionEconomy
Labubu, PokĂŠmon Go, and the realization that both have us running on a dopamine hamster wheel that's more similar than might appear: moistcargoshorts.substack.com/p/labubu-pok... #PsycSci #popculture #Labubu #PokemonGo #InternetCulture #DopamineLoops
It turns out the parking lot is a surprisingly sharp x-ray of how we treat one another. This is a fascinating little window into the norms we followâand quietly breakâevery day. www.zmescience.com/science/news... #PsycSci
Powerful piece from High Country News about how heavy metal, culture and community are helping Blackfeet teens carry each other through grief and toward hope.
If you care about music, youth mental health and Indigenous voices, this is absolutely worth your time.
www.hcn.org/issues/57-11...
Good read on the IEA leader Fatih Birol in the NYTimes:
Why Everyone Wants to Meet the âWorldâs Most Boring Manâ www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/c... #energysky
Grokipedia just launched â and itâs already quoting Wikipedia: www.theverge.com/news/807686/...
In the rush to automate everything, the best site to copy on the internet remains powered by people with consensus, transparency, and curiosity.
"Weâve known about sophisticated nut theft operations since at least 2006."
Until recently, I had no idea people still robbed trains... frequently.
Also nut thievery is apparently quite lucrative!
Please, someone, tell Netflix!
www.freightwaves.com/news/record-...
"Exxon Mobil sued California late Friday claiming that two new state laws that aim to fight climate change would violate the oil companyâs free speech rights." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/c... #energysky
BHPâs Mike Henry on the mining industryâs ânew realityâ: "Thereâs never been a more interesting time to be in the industry, with so much in flux currently.â www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
several days later and how does the louvre not have any video released of the baguetteaway
Another good read on AI (I promise it's not all I'll post about):
"It's just tech, everything doesn't have to become some weird religion that you beat people over the head with, or gamble the entire stock market on." www.anildash.com/2025/10/17/t...
TED Talk: The Emerging Science of Finding Critical Metals www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUn0...
"All I said was, is statistically speaking, you're probably not living your best life," I half-whisper as I'm kindly asked to leave another party.
