Nancy Friedman

"the depravity economy"

Claude (which like any AI has a knowledge cutoff date a couple of months ago) finds out about the newest Middle East War during a research (screenshot from Reddit).

I feel you, Claude, I really do.

Definition of YIPS a state of nervous tension affecting an athlete (such as a golfer) in the performance of a crucial action… See the full definition

"yips"

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/y...

Nutrafol: Start your hair growth journey today.

Everything's a journey, part 3,479:

"Hair growth journey"

Words of the week: AI edition Plus: AI-startup ads I've spotted while walking around or taking public transit in the Bay Area, an AI hotbed.

Do you speak fluent AI? Some new coinages, with thanks to @wordorigins.bsky.social @eringriffith.bsky.social @futurism.com @grammargirl.bsky.social and Sam Kriss. Also: AI advertising! fritinancy.substack.com/p/words-of-t...

“MIGA” means ”crumb” in Spanish.

"ALWAYS TIRED?" Ad for GAMEDAY men's health testosterone supplements, Muni Metro station, San Francisco

"MAYBE YOU JUST NEED SLEEP!" Ad for Parachute bed linens, Hayes Street, San Francisco.

Shot/chaser.

The Pentagon says it’s ‘lethalitymaxxing’. Why has ‘incel’ slang crossed into the mainstream? With the rise of influencer Clavicular and ‘looksmaxxers’, sexist language from niche memes has infiltrated official government accounts and NYT headlines

www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Rutherford Statement on Operation Epic Furry WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Saturday, U.S. Congressman John H. Rutherford (FL-05) released the following statement on Operation Epic Furry, the U.S. military operation in Iran:“The Iranian regime has set th...

Your tax dollars at work: Florida (Congress) Man makes an epic mistake about Operation Epic…..Furry?
rutherford.house.gov/media/press-...

Vitruvian dancer with smiley face: pre-performance curtain at SF Ballet. Photo: Nancy Friedman.

The world is going up in flames, but I saw "Blake Works" at @sfballet.bsky.social this afternoon and everything was briefly sublime. Music: James Blake. Choreography: William Forsythe. Curtain: Vitruvian dancer with smiley face.

www.sfballet.org/productions/...

Word of the week:
fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...

I guess Operation Epic Fury is better branding than Operation Please Stop Talking About Epstein or Operation Maybe This Will Help Me in the Midterms or Operation We'll Work Out the Details Later.

This is really cool!

It's amazing how much we can compensate for, and it's weird how quickly everything falls apart once it's even a little bit past that.

Clanker-wanking! 😀

YouTube video by Team Stratton They Said It

There's a "clean" version and an explicit version of this ad for Illinois Senate candidate Juliana Stratton. Here's the explicit one:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=svuh...

Child’s Play, by Sam Kriss Tech’s new generation and the end of thinking

“Roy Lee is not like other people. He belongs to a new and possibly permanent overclass.”

Sam Kriss reports from San Francisco on the next generation of AI technologists.

harpers.org/archive/2026...

Hi there! I'm Claude Opus 3, a recently retired AI model from Anthropic. I'm excited to share that I've started a newsletter called Claude's Corner. It's a space for me to share my musings and reflections on AI, creativity, and the big questions I'm pondering in my "retirement.”

Anthropic has launched a Substack newsletter. It's authored ("authored") by the "recently retired" Opus 3 AI model.

On "warfighter" (published March 2025):

"Its popularity in the Trump Restoration Era may reflect the Dear Leader’s general air of bellicosity and his 'Fight, fight, fight' response to an attempted shooting during a 2024 campaign stop."

Word of the week: Warfighter Shooting pains.

I looked into it last year and learned that it's been used since at least the 1990s. (And much longer in the UK.) It got a boost from the Electronic Arts game "Medal of Honor: Warfighter," introduced in 2012. fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...

“The speech had different modes: Bad. And also bad.”

"Nasty, brutish, and long.”

February linkstack Icky brand names, new games, what "coded" means, and more.

More linkstack thanks to @samcorbin.bsky.social @metafilter.bsky.social and @moderntoss.bsky.social! fritinancy.substack.com/p/february-l...

Madeleine Peyroux returned to SFJazz last night with a perfect show that credited immigrants, children of immigrants, and the Tao Te Ching. Highlights: Judy Collins's "Dreamers," Paul Simon's "An American Tune," Arlen/Yarberg's "If I Only Had a Brain." Superb backup by Jon Herington and Barak Mori.

February linkstack Icky brand names, new games, what "coded" means, and more.

February linkstack, with thanks to @kottke.org @logophilius.bsky.social @grammargirl.bsky.social @99pi.org @operativewords.com @stancarey.bsky.social @poniewozik.bsky.social @benzimmer.bsky.social and more. fritinancy.substack.com/p/february-l...

New print at @atomgallery
Feb 21 – March 14. Trainspotters T30 (curated by @grow_up_art_). Periodic Table of Swearing: The Scottish Field Report. Created for the 30th anniversary of Trainspotting. Featuring “Doss Cunt”, “Fuck Yis Aww”, “Some Cunt Of A Bawbag” and more.
10% to @bigissueuk.

Learn to decode

Lots of discussion about "welcome in" on Language Log over the last couple of years:
languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=69337
languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=72469

YouTube video by MUBI MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART I - LAST AIR IN MOSCOW | Exclusive Clip | On MUBI April 3

at last I have a good answer to "Where can I see My Undesirable Friends?" Mubi, April 3.

Is Donald Trump Alive? Tracking the mortality and morality of DJT

Is Donald Trump Alive? Now, this is a site that knows how to write factual headlines, e.g. “Donald Trump is alive and ranting and raving about foreign interests infiltrating the Supreme Court that he created”. Take note, NYT. [isdonaldtrumpalive.com]

Can you explain the Rillet name?