Phil Nelson

Rise of the Nepo Babies

11:30pm Air Fryer Chicken, or as I call it The Fool’s Supper

Today, IGN Entertainment announced that it would be laying off eight members of the IGN Creators Guild. This is 12% of our bargaining unit, and comes just days after our sister union, the Ziff Davis Creators Guild, underwent similar layoffs impacting 15% of their members. It also comes just months after our multibillion-dollar parent company, Ziff Davis, instituted a company-wide buyout that shrunk our unit numbers, with the express intent of avoiding future layoffs. And it comes just a little over one year after three of our members were laid off almost immediately after our union went public. The company has told us that the reason for this layoff stems from a Ziff Davis-mandate to cut costs despite several quarters in a row of year-over-year revenue increases, to which IGN Entertainment responded by coming for our members' jobs. This is perplexing to us, as we are told again and again that IGN Entertainment has had a tremendously successful year thus far thanks to their hard work. In just the last few months, our members have been absolutely essential to major events and livestreams, including San Diego ComicCon, Summer of Gaming, and IGN Live. Every single person impacted today was involved in and critical to the success of those events. Meanwhile, IGN Entertainment continues to spend money on costly acquisitions, only to turn around and gut those companies in the same way it is cutting away at IGN itself. For instance, last year, it acquired Gamer Network, and almost immediately laid off a number of staff critical to making those sites successful. The company has not responded to the union's questions about whether its budget for future acquisitions is being reconsidered as a cost-saving measure alongside these other apparently necessary personnel cuts. At a time when it is more necessary than ever to support its creators, IGN Entertainment is choosing to eliminate the individuals who ensure IGN remains competitive as generative AI

threatens our reach. We have been told that expert opinion pieces, original interviews, and work that leverages our staff's deep knowledge of gaming, tech, and entertainment are all essential to combating AI summarization and regurgitation of our work. Management has responded by cutting several individuals who do that exact work, as well as others whose job it is to ensure that these written and video pieces are published in a speedy manner — another component of combating AI we're told is critical. This continued cycle of repeated, aggressive cuts to our staff and being asked to do more with less, only for management to continue to spend on new business it isn't interested in sustaining cannot continue. We will enforce our interim agreement that guarantees better severance and other protections to laid off members, as well as demand additional support for those impacted. We will continue to bargain over our first contract with the aim of enshrining even better protections against further layoffs, working conditions continuously degraded by understaffing, and the encroachment of generative AI. And we won't stop fighting to ensure IGN remains the best destination for trustworthy, original, exciting, and creative work covering video games, entertainment, and tech. While IGN Entertainment management may not value us, we value one another and the incredible work we can do together. Behind the articles, videos, social posts, playlists, and maps of IGN are human beings, not just numbers on a spreadsheet to be pushed around when some number at the top isn't big enough. Without us, there is no IGN.

Today, IGN laid off eight extremely valuable members of our union and workforce via directive from our parent company, Ziff Davis. This, after two incredibly successful live events IGN Live and SDCC, and yet another corporate acquisition.

Please take a moment to read and share our full statement:

Yep

One time my uncle Oli said “Sleepin’ pants and wearin’ pants is the same thing” in the most wholesome way

Next we need a few things: Raspberry Pi (any model) and a pretty specific model of USB modem. I used a Pi 4, and a Lenovo RD02-D400. The best place to find out which modems will work is Dreamcast Live website dreamcastlive.net/dreampi-tuto...

Dude the shipping situation is fuuuuuucked

I’ve always believed that the political destiny of great nations has often turned on weak men’s reaction to the equivalent of “Jenny laughed when I asked her to the Spring Formal”

Today I'm gonna have a great time spending most of the evening replacing my 5-port ethernet router with an 8-port ethernet router. Big fun tbh

Digital IDs Put Health Care Privacy at Risk Digital IDs threaten to expand government power to police people’s movement and medical care; this is particularly concerning as more people cross state lines to get necessary health care.

With Cynthia Conti-Cook and Sawyeh Esmaili, I wrote for @convergencemag.com about how expanding digital ID systems threaten to increase government power to police people’s movement and access to medical care, especially as more people cross state lines to seek essential health services.

So many promoted vids and ads these days have such threatening energy. I’m just trying to watch my stories, why is this motherfucker shouting at me? You cannot neg me into buying your soap, ma’am

A formative baseball memory

Happy Robin Ventura-gets-beaten-up-by-46-year-old-Nolan Ryan Day!

Hell yeah dude

I think really the story of the past ten years was people taking for granted 21st century liberalism was locked in and therefore you could just kinda be fashy for a laugh only to realize a moment too late Skinhead Steve wasn’t joking after all.

ive watched 5 docos in the last 6 months that directly reference twitter discussions, from breaking news to peoples reactions, and it's going to look so weird in 40 years time. a vacuum-sealed relic that didnt exist before or after. like trying to describe an 8-track to a zoomer.

“You’re upset Kamala brought a Republican onto her campaign, but you don’t understand why people are upset you brought a Republican inside you?”

*GUNSHOT*

YouTube video by LostTurntable Tower Records Shibuya - One of Tokyo's best (and biggest) record stores!

Tower Records in Shibuya, 2025 Edition!!

Over one hour inside the store, all floors and genres covered! Give it a watch!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ptws...

The Mothership Vortex: An Investigation Into the Firm at the Heart of the Democratic Spam Machine How a single consulting firm extracted $282 million from a network of spam PACs while delivering just $11 million to actual campaigns.

The annoying spam texts destroying the Democratic brand:

$678M raised through those spam tactics

$282M to one consulting firm: Mothership Strategies.

$11M to actual campaigns (1.6%)

The party isn’t just treating donors like marks—it’s being fleeced itself yet continues to back Mothership.

First up: Strip a phone cable, heat up the soldering iron, and jury rig us up a line voltage inducer. I did a VERY janky soldier job here. I’m using the schematic from this handy guide: www.segasaturnshiro.com/guide-build-...

You definitely need one of those keyboard reproductions

All of this stuff is the same in downtown San Francisco. Same people saying the same shit about my neighborhood across the continent

Americans Say No As Terrified ICE Agents Flee from Angry Citizens "It's gonna be like this every f*cking day you're coming. Every day, anytime you try to kidnap people, we are gonna be here!" a rapid responder yelled at fleeing ICE agents in Kansas.

"Did you not realize what this would be, being f*cking Gestapo? Quit your job. It's gonna be like this every f*cking day you're coming...anytime you try to kidnap people, we are gonna be here!” A rapid responder yelled at fleeing ICE agents in #Kansas. www.thedailypoliticususa.com/p/americans-...

Quid pro quo Cryptocurrency companies are reaping the benefits of their contributions to Trump and other pro-crypto politicians. Company Benefit Contribution Justin Sun and Tron SEC enforcement case stayed pending resolution Criminal investigation possibly paused $100 million to purchase $TRUMP memecoins $75 million to purchase WLFI tokens from Trump-owned World Liberty Financial $37.7 million to purchase $TRUMP memecoins (via HTX) Listed USD1 for trading on HTX Cumberland DRW SEC enforcement case dismissed with prejudice $100 million investment into Trump-owned Trump Media & Technology Group $100,000 to crypto-focused super PACs Ripple SEC enforcement case stayed pending resolution Joint request to return $75 million of previous SEC fine to Ripple $73 million to crypto-focused super PACs $5 million to Trump inauguration fund Coinbase SEC enforcement case dismissed with prejudice Relaunched bitcoin borrowing program previously shut down after SEC warnings $75 million to crypto-focused super PACs $1 million to Senate super PACs $1 million to Trump inauguration fund Sponsored Trump birthday military parade Andreessen Horowitz Four Andreessen Horowitz employees installed in formal or informal positions of influence at the White House $70 million to crypto-focused super PACs $5.35 million to Trump super PACs

Crypto.com SEC investigation ended with no action $10 million to Trump PACs Business partnership with Trump-owned Trump Media & Technology Group Gemini SEC enforcement case stayed pending reslution SEC investigation ended with no action $4.9 million to crypto-focused super PACs $2.6 million to Trump super PACs Kraken SEC enforcement case dismissed with prejudice Relaunched staking services which were shut down as part of a February 2023 SEC settlement $1 million to Trump super PACs $1 million to Trump inauguration fund $1 million to crypto-focused super PACs Circle SEC approved IPO Favorable stablecoin regulation $1 million to Trump inauguration fund $1 million to crypto-focused super PACs Robinhood SEC investigation ended with no action $2 million to Trump inauguration fund ConsenSys SEC enforcement case dismissed with prejudice $800,000 to crypto-focused super PACs Binance SEC enforcement case dismissed with prejudice Reported talks with US Treasury Department to remove compliance monitor Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao seeking pardon Listed USD1 for trading $2 billion investment from MGX denominated in USD1 Reported Trump family talks to acquire stake in Binance US

I've been tracking the quid pro quo between Trump and the cryptocurrency industry at www.followthecrypto.org/quidproquo

When the cryptocurrency entrepreneur Eric Schiermeyer heard that President Trump was holding small group dinners with major donors, he saw opportunity. Mr. Schiermeyer reached out to a lobbyist with connections in Mr. Trump’s orbit, who arranged for him to attend a dinner with the president at his private Mar-a-Lago club on March 1 in exchange for donations to a pro-Trump PAC called MAGA Inc. totaling $1 million. The personal and corporate donations were among dozens of seven- and eight-figure contributions to MAGA Inc. from crypto and other interests revealed in a campaign finance filing on Thursday night that hinted at the access Mr. Trump accords those willing to pay. At the dinner, Mr. Schiermeyer, who had never given a federal political donation before, presented an idea for a cryptocurrency called “U.S.A. Token” that would be distributed to every citizen, according to interviews and a flier he distributed to attendees that sets out details of the proposal. He hoped it could be su

Cryptocurrency interests, which have benefited from the Trump administration’s dismantling of a yearslong government crackdown and from the Trump family’s financial interest in the industry, appear to have been the most generous industry, accounting for nearly $45 million in donations to MAGA Inc.An affiliate of the exchange Crypto.com gave $10 million, while the crypto services company Blockchain.com donated $5 million. The venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, who are heavily invested in crypto, gave $3 million each. Ondo Finance, which has a partnership with the Trump family’s crypto company, donated $2.1 million to MAGA Inc., on top of $1 million to Mr. Trump’s inauguration.

The scale of Trump's pay-for-access scheme outlined by the @nytimes.com is mindblowing. Crypto contributions resulting in business deals with the Trump family crypto businesses, oil companies buying influence and later reaping benefits from friendly policies, and a $1 million pardon.

the subtitle of the webpage made me do a double-take, like, fuck did she die??

she posts videos of them trying to get away from her on tiktok that are sped up yakety sax style and scored by norteno music, theyre hilarious

I know the feeling, both of mine are gone, only one of them woulda thought this was funny

Damn, RIP Grams.

I was in the crowd for WM 31, we lost our minds