Spencer Chen, Author at SMMRY.ai

February 6, 2023

254 views

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• Bad Bunny is the official patron saint of Latinidad, making history as the first Spanish-language artist ever nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys.
• His commercial success forced an acknowledgment that you cannot have American pop culture without Latinos.
• Bad Bunny bucks the misogynistic and homophobic history of reggaeton, wearing skirts, painting his nails, and making out with backup dancers both male and female.
• His performance at the Grammys opened with a bomba beat, featuring female dancers in traditional skirts and papier-mâché heads of Puerto Rican icons and independence advocates.
• The medley shifted to “Después de la Playa”, a merengue beat inspired by the rhythm of enslaved people cutting cane while their legs were chained together.
• Bad Bunny’s lyrics, performances, and music videos are part of a tradition of rebellion, such as his collaboration with iLe and Residente in response to the corruption scandal of then-Governor Ricardo Rosselló.

Published February 6, 2023
Visit The Atlantic to read Xochitl Gonzalez’s original post Bad Bunny Overthrows the Grammys

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The Two Stalingrads [Elliot Ackerman, The Atlantic]

By Spencer Chen

In [The Atlantic]

February 6, 2023

275 views

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• The article discusses the legacy of the Soviet Union’s victory in the Second World War, and how it is shared by both Russia and Ukraine.
• It recounts the story of three Ukrainian veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan who presented the author with a lapel pin from the Union of Veterans of Afghanistan.
• It references the work of Vasily Grossman, a Ukrainian Soviet Jew, and his 1942 book, *The People Immortal*, which chronicles the Red Army’s retreat through Ukraine in the months after the German invasion on June 22, 1941.
• It compares the Nazi military machine to the Russian-invasion force in Ukraine, and discusses the societal sterility associated with fascism in Russia today.
• It draws parallels between the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Grossman, both of whom understand the importance of narrative in war.
• It concludes by suggesting that the title of Grossman’s book, *The People Immortal*, is a reference to the people of Ukraine and Russia, whose blood has been mixed together in life and death.

Published February 6, 2023
Visit The Atlantic to read Elliot Ackerman’s original post The Two Stalingrads

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The Four Horsemen of the Tech Recession [Ben Thompson, Stratechery]

By Spencer Chen

In Ben Thompson [Stratechery]

February 6, 2023

179 views

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• Stephanie Palazzolo wrote on Twitter that it was disorienting to see tech layoffs and then to see US job numbers increase and unemployment drop to its lowest level in 50 years.
• The four horsemen of the tech recession are the COVID hangover, the hardware cycle, Apple’s App Tracking Transparency, and the end of zero interest rates.
• The COVID hangover is the single biggest issue facing tech companies, as consumers with no way to spend discretionary income and flush with stimulus checks bought new devices, subscribed to streaming services, and used cloud computing.
• The hardware cycle is impacting companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Intel, as well as TSMC, as production slowdowns and pent-up demand for Apple Silicon-based processors have caused revenue to drop.
• Apple’s App Tracking Transparency has caused a decrease in ad revenue for many tech companies, as users opt out of tracking.
• The end of zero interest rates has caused tech companies to re-evaluate their investments, as the cost of capital has increased.
• The COVID hangover refers to the inevitable slowdown in tech sales after the initial surge due to the pandemic.
• The end of zero interest rates refers to investors realizing that the cost of capital input in their equations can be something other than zero, and the price they are wiling to pay for growth without profitability is falling through the floor.
• The ATT recession refers to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) initiative, which fundamentally disrupts the “hub-and-spoke” model of digital advertising, leading to a crash in revenue growth for companies that rely on performance marketing.
• The article argues that the impact of ATT has been underestimated, and that ascribing the advertising revenue headwinds to macroeconomic factors is misguided.

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It’s So Sad When Old People Romanticize Their Heydays, Also the 90s Were Objectively the Best Time to Be Alive [Freddie deBoer, Freddie deBoer’s Substack]

By Spencer Chen

In Freddie deBoer

February 6, 2023

245 views

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• The 90s were a time of optimism and immediacy in experience, with a lack of self-consciousness and a sense of possibility for the new millennium.
• People had places to do things, like record stores, and there was a sense of pretension and principles that has since been replaced by cultural consumerism.
• Gen X were the young people of the 90s, and the turn of the millennium was seen as both a new beginning and potentially the end.
• The 90s had a counterculture, with people standing for something else, and a species of young feminist who was not quite a riot grrrl.
• People had to wait for things, and there was mystery and anticipation, which has been replaced by instant access to all of the most depraved material ever made.
• The youth of today are denied the ability to see things as new, and are experiencing an adolescence without adolescence.
• The article reflects on the experience of being a teenager in the 90s, when the internet was still a novelty and cellphones were not yet ubiquitous.
• Socializing was done in person, often in the school parking lot or at parties at houses on the edge of town.
• People would talk on the phone for hours, and collect calls were used to ask for rides home.
• The author reflects on the fashion, music, and culture of the time, and how it was worse than today in some ways, but also better in others.
• They recall going to shows, smoking weed, and drinking coffee, and how they would drop by each other’s places.
• The author also shares a fantasy version of the 90s, where they and a friend move to Seattle and live in a ratty old house with a bunch of other layabouts.
• They recall going to shows, doing drugs, and driving to Mount Ranier, and how they would listen to NPR for news.
• The article ends with a description of closing the coffee shop at dusk, listening to Mazzy Star, and driving to a house party.

Published February 6, 2023
Visit Freddie deBoer’s Substack to read Freddie deBoer’s original post It’s So Sad When Old People Romanticize Their Heydays, Also the 90s Were Objectively the Best Time to Be Alive

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UPDATE: Michigan fights back [Judd Legum, Popular Information]

By Spencer Chen

In [Popular Information]

February 6, 2023

276 views

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• A conservative group called the Great Schools Initiative (GSI) launched a plan called “Operation Opt-Out” to exploit a Michigan statute that allows parents to opt their children out of sex education in order to erase LGBTQ people from public schools.
• GSI created its own opt-out form to target anything during the school day that acknowledges the existence of LGBTQ people, such as a teacher wearing a rainbow pin or any book with LGBTQ characters.
• GSI has partnered with the Thomas More Society, a far-right legal organization, to enforce the GSI opt-out forms with aggressive legal action.
• The Michigan Department of Education has pushed back against GSI’s plot, stating that parents are not legally entitled to opt children out of programs, practices, and resources outside of sexual education.
• Two Michigan school districts — Rochester and Troy — have already said they will not accept GSI’s form.
• GSI’s organizers are not ready to give up and are planning to challenge the Michigan Department of Education’s memo.
• A Michigan Senate committee is considering legislation to add sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to the state’s anti-discrimination law.

Published February 6, 2023
Visit Popular Information to read Judd Legum’s original post UPDATE: Michigan fights back

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Commemorate history, don’t preserve old buildings [Matthew Yglesias, Slow Boring]

By Spencer Chen

In [Slow Boring]

February 6, 2023

302 views

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• Washington D.C. has a grim land use situation near the Cleveland Park Metro station, where a low-rise strip mall is designated for historic preservation.
• This strip mall is an inappropriate use of the land given present-day economics and the existence of the metro station.
• In Chicago, a plaque commemorates the place where Barack and Michelle Obama shared their first kiss after their first date.
• Cities should invest more in telling their stories, such as installing signs in parks to explain who the park is named after and why.
• Mandating that old buildings stay up rather than be replaced as economics shift is very costly.
• It can be inconvenient not to have a level entry to your house, and regulations have benefits as well as costs.
• The city of D.C. has created a series of “neighborhood heritage trail” walking tours that bring you to various informational signs about the history of the neighborhood.
• The author suggests investing in more signage to tell the story of every park and school in every neighborhood of the city.
• The author also suggests redeveloping old buildings to create more subsidized housing units.

Published February 6, 2023
Visit Slow Boring to read Matthew Yglesias’s original post Commemorate history, don’t preserve old buildings

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New AAP Guidelines on Childhood Obesity [Emily Oster, ParentData]

By Spencer Chen

In Emily Oster [ParentData]

February 6, 2023

291 views

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• The American Academy of Pediatrics released new guidelines for pediatricians on childhood obesity, which have been met with criticism from all sides.
• The guidelines suggest a more aggressive approach to obesity in children and adolescents, up to and including medication and surgery.
• The guidelines have been met with criticism due to the way society has associated overweight and obesity with value, as well as the data behind the guidelines.
• The two fundamental disagreements are whether childhood obesity is a health concern and whether there is anything effective to do about it.
• Intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment is expensive, not widely available, and has small impacts.
• Medication for children 12 and over and bariatric surgery for children 13 and over with severe obesity are also suggested, but have their own issues.
• More evidence is needed on what might work, as well as discussion of the mental health impacts of these interventions on kids.
• The problem is difficult to solve and requires more work to be done.

Published February 6, 2023
Visit ParentData to read Emily Oster’s original post New AAP Guidelines on Childhood Obesity

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The Institutional Arsonist Turns on His Own Party [Peter Wehner, The Atlantic]

By Spencer Chen

In [The Atlantic]

February 5, 2023

253 views

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• Donald Trump may lose the GOP presidential primary and, out of spite, wreck Republican prospects in 2024.
• A *Bulwark* poll found that a large majority of Republicans are ready to move on from Trump, but more than a quarter of likely Republican voters are ready to follow Trump to a third-party bid.
• Trump has flirted with third-party runs before, including in 2000, and he refused to rule out a third-party run in 2015.
• Trump has no attachment to the Republican Party or, as best as one can tell, to anything or anyone else.
• Trump could ensure that Republican presidential and congressional candidates lose simply by criticizing them during the campaign, accusing the Republican Party of disloyalty, and signaling to his supporters that they should sit out the election.
• House Republicans have elevated and showcased Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has embraced QAnon conspiracy theories, insisted that 9/11 was an inside job, and voiced support for executing prominent Democrats.
• Republicans will abandon Trump only when he’s deemed to be a surefire political loser.
• Donald Trump delights in watching the world burn.

Published February 5, 2023
Visit The Atlantic to read Peter Wehner’s original post The Institutional Arsonist Turns on His Own Party

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The Chinese Spy Balloon Over My House [Walter Kirn, The Free Press]

By Spencer Chen

In [The Free Press]

February 5, 2023

294 views

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• Montanans spotted a Chinese spy balloon hovering above the state’s missile silos and bases, prompting a minor national panic.
• The federal government was already aware of the balloon, but had kept it on the “down-low” in order to not disrupt a meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and high Chinese officials.
• The incident sparked stereotypes about Montanans being quick to anger and hostile to outsiders.
• A few weeks prior, a New York Times article had portrayed Montana as a quasi-fascist state, which the author of the article claims is exaggerated.
• The author reflects on the state’s lack of power and influence, and how Montanans are often portrayed in a negative light by the media.
• Despite this, the author is proud of Montanans for spotting the balloon and raising an alarm.

Published February 5, 2023
Visit The Free Press to read Walter Kirn’s original post The Chinese Spy Balloon Over My House

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American Christianity Is Due for a Revival [Timothy Keller, The Atlantic]

By Spencer Chen

In [The Atlantic]

February 5, 2023

316 views

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• In the late 1980s, the author noticed many churches in New York City being repurposed or torn down due to dwindling membership and cultural attitudes toward Christianity.
• The Pew Research Center projected that the percentage of Christians in the U.S. could plunge to less than half the population by 2070.
• Sociologists such as Émile Durkheim and Jonathan Haidt have argued that religion contributes to society in ways that cannot be readily supplied by other sources.
• Robert Bellah showed that American individualism is headed toward social fragmentation, economic inequality, and family breakdown without the counterbalance of religion.
• Churches provide community and support to people in their congregations and serve neighbors who do not attend church.
• The Church can experience a revival if it learns how to speak compellingly to non-Christian people, unites justice and righteousness, and embraces the global and multiethnic character of Christianity.
• The Church in the U.S. can grow again if it strikes a dynamic balance between innovation and conservation.
• Modern secularism holds that people are only physical entities without souls, but most people feel that life is greater than what can be accounted for by naturalistic explanations.
• Christianity offers grace and covenant, which is based on unconditional love and sacrificial service.
• The Church must escape from political captivity, engage in extraordinary prayer, and distinguish the gospel from moralism.
• Eric Liddell, the former Olympic star and missionary to China, was an example of how the gospel of sheer grace through Christ can produce love.

Published February 5, 2023
Visit The Atlantic to read Timothy Keller’s original post American Christianity Is Due for a Revival

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AuthorSpencer Chen

Bad Bunny Overthrows the Grammys [Xochitl Gonzalez, The Atlantic]

The Two Stalingrads [Elliot Ackerman, The Atlantic]

The Four Horsemen of the Tech Recession [Ben Thompson, Stratechery]

It’s So Sad When Old People Romanticize Their Heydays, Also the 90s Were Objectively the Best Time to Be Alive [Freddie deBoer, Freddie deBoer’s Substack]

UPDATE: Michigan fights back [Judd Legum, Popular Information]

Commemorate history, don’t preserve old buildings [Matthew Yglesias, Slow Boring]

New AAP Guidelines on Childhood Obesity [Emily Oster, ParentData]

The Institutional Arsonist Turns on His Own Party [Peter Wehner, The Atlantic]

The Chinese Spy Balloon Over My House [Walter Kirn, The Free Press]

American Christianity Is Due for a Revival [Timothy Keller, The Atlantic]

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