Brain Rot [05.05.2025]
the rot returns
My last few months have been consumed with the micro-hell that is navigating US bureaucracy. If moving to NY in a post-tariff world wasn’t off-putting enough, the data gathering associated with my immigration has been repellent. Now, finally, with a visa near-filed, I’m freeing up space to write again. Expect more pieces, more pitches, and of course the return of the rot.
+ if there are any friends/ colleagues/ family members you deem deserving of a dose of digital culture please…
SQUARE EYES:
INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS:
What the "unplug for self-care" crowd doesn't get is that you are part of a Giant Social Computer in the Cloud computing the future. The level and latency at which you consume information and act on it determines your "job" in the social computer. Your shitposting and FOMO are functional.
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STALK OF THE WEEK:
Cloudy Heart is the AI-generated, brainchild of Jon Rafman aka.‘the godfather of post-internet art’. Self-identifying as a ‘pop star living in between the pixels n dust on ur computer’ Cloudy began as one of several virtual artists imagined for Jon’s Main Stream Media Network (MSM) on show at Sprüth Magers. Since her birth in late-2024 Cloudy has grown to create content, make music and of course, shill a memecoin. Following in the footsteps of the IT-girls that came before her, Cloudy has already attracted interest from Timothée Chalamet and Eckhaus Latta – despite being entirely synthetic. Follow Cloudy on Instagram and Twitter, join her Telegram group and check out her songs.
THE DOOMSCROLL:
Online space are becoming new nations so much so that players are picking up accents — identified by Adam Aleksic aka: ‘Etymology Nerd’ as ‘Ludolects’ those who immerse themselves in games such as Fortnite and GTA are adopting specific ways of speaking. In a Wired expose Megan Farokhmanesh details increasing reports of players picking up a ‘cheery, high-pitched tone that sounds a lot like the stereotype of a teen girl uptalking’ and ‘ending even declarative statements in a way that sounds like a question’. As language is a core element self-identification, this both points to our increasing immersion in virtual worlds and to a future where online cultural influences supersede those of geographically imposed boundaries. It’s giving Fukuyama.
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