Hugging Face, I hope You Choke

Hey, Team.

Clément Delangue (CEO); Julien Chaumond (CTO); Thomas Wolf (CSO) watch your fuuuuuucking backs. Your company is dogshit, your spirit is hollow, you have no talent, joy, creation nor experience worth a single damn. Your bed will never be comfortable enough, your sleeves never the right length, there will always be a breeze right against your bare eyeballs. Your bodies will lay as piles of forgotten dust buried beneath the ashes of the world your machines devoured for no real reason at all. Suffer a thousand paper cuts and never heal, you hack shit losers.

The Rehearsal

What if the Joker spoke in a monotone, moved as if the air around him is viscous, and dressed like an immediately forgotten Gap campaign from 1997? You’d have Nathan Fielder, whose Joker crimes include recreating a Nazi war room to express his barely contained rage and feeling of impotence at the domino effect of Paramount+ Germany censoring his work. A corporate choice that led to a global erasure of an entire episode actually dedicated to eradicating Holocaust denial. He glares through the war room’s recreation leaded glass window, fuming at the claim of wanting to reduce anti-Semitism and his own apparent inability to put his foot down out of fear of professional repercussions. Reflecting on the failure of the gentle prodding in his jovial and accommodating inquiry emails, he watches a gaggle of actors perform an atmospheric loop of action in the courtyard below. The performers, dressed as jack booting officers sporting sky blue Paramount+ brassards on their arms, bark orders in German and run drills. The Curse is never getting renewed.

Andor

Star Wars Does Praxis is back, baby!! Sex and by extension sexual violence exists in Star Wars, it’s confirmed. Luke and Leia were born because of sex, not because of Force magic or heart wishes. Anakin’s penis ejaculated in Padmé’s vagina, his sperm travelled up her canal and fertilized her ovum.

That said, a content warning at the start of the episode “Harvest” would have been shall we say, classy.¹ I saw a complaint on Bluesky from an audience member who was triggered by the inclusion of an attempted rape. To be clear from the start, I sympathize with them being upset by the episode, I think it is unfair they did not receive adequate warning for what it contained. Who goes into a Star Wars story expecting to be triggered? Just about nobody, I’d wager. They went on to say they were left with an impression it was done for the sake of shock, comparing it to Jaime Lannister’s rape of his sister in Game of Thrones. It is here I must disagree. I believe the attempted rape of Bix by an Imperial officer was a harrowing but not pointless depiction of the violence that occurs in war and occupation. Rape is a major tool of warfare, take a peek at just about any imperialist occupation in history. If anything I was shocked that the word “rape” was used at all. I don’t imagine the scene of violence itself received much pushback within the studio, but I am positive actually calling it what it was, out loud, with no euphemism, went through ten rounds of meetings and arguments.

As for the Lannister scene in GOT, that was done only for the sake of shock. That was a pointlessly cruel degradation and torture of a female character. There was no reason for it other than to get people talking. It deviated from the character of Jaime so blatantly, it veered from the books so uselessly, it was egregious and shameless and showed a clear lack of care not just for the work but the audience as well.

Providing a content warning in this episode would convey that the creators care about their work and their audience. It would also give the audience the opportunity to either steel themselves for what was coming or opt out of subjecting themselves to something potentially triggering.

“Oh but it’ll spoil it” “Oh but then you spend the whole episode wondering when it’ll happen” “Oh but–” Content warnings aren’t spoilers. You know Andor is going to fucking die in the end, does that “spoil” the show? No. Shut the fuck up. Content warnings operate exactly the same as allergen warnings or those little chili symbols on a menu. You won’t be disappointed by a chocolate bar because you know it was made in a facility that also handles tree nuts. The green curry isn’t ruined because you saw that it’s two chilis hot. Grow up, idiot!

A video essay from The Financial Diet using the virality of Stanley Cups to talk about consumerism reaching a fever pitch and how that’s a reflection of our society crumbling under the fetid weight of capitalism’s bloated corpse! I have written (gently) about this in a past post heavily featuring Sonny Angels (hyperlinked above at the mention of a Third Location), so obviously this is a video I watched the moment it premiered.

Companion

Fun! It was fun. I went in knowing very little, which made me feel like a real smarty-pants calling every plot point and “twist” ahead of time. That definitely means the movie isn’t smart but far be it from me to deny enjoying a movie whose premise is “This Barbie is The Terminator.” I particularly liked the programmed loyalty and adoration as a parallel to navigating the gut churning confused and complex mental gymnastics that go into screwing up the strength to leave someone who hurts you while still being in love with them. It feels like going against your nature, but it has to be done! And soon enough you’ll find yourself waggling your exposed metal in cheerful solidarity at a pretty young thing who is just like you used to be.

Ex Machina

Alex Garland, you well-meaning buffoon. Ten years Companion’s senior, this movie is so hopelessly naïve for something presenting itself as a horror. In Garland’s mind, AI is capable, adaptive and evolving, something to fear for its astounding competency. Rather than what it is: slop sucking and churning bullshit that makes things worse with the added bonus of burning the world down as it shits itself all over the job that could’ve been done well–even when half-assed–by a human. Other than that, it’s a romp! It’s beautiful to look at (something that a screenwriting teacher told me is a Bad Sign for the quality of your story is if the first/main takeaway an audience member walks away with is “it was beautiful to look at”) and the god’s eye splat of white hair on the crown of Oscar Isaac’s shaved head is hypnotic. Vikander’s hollow chicken wire and glowing CPU body is still a stunning visual feat. I remember watching it for the first time in theaters and the cold dread in my belly as I realized we (via Gleeson) have entered Bluebeard’s castle and one of his wives has a knife. Tear up that fuckin dancefloor, dude.

If I don’t see Sinners soon I will simply lose my mind!

Sucker Punch: Essays - Scaachi Koul

She’s such a talented essayist and journalist. Her writing flows so beautifully. I got choked up. I love my mom and dad and this book reminded me of how much I love them! While her divorce and trauma from sexual violence haunts the narrative like a patriarch in a Tennessee Williams play, the true heart is her family and her experience as a brown woman in Canada, journalism, the world at large. God I love Scaachi Koul as much as any brain rotted idiot on the internet ever could, possibly even more.

Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, #1) - Callie Hart

As mentioned in a post some weeks past, I did not remember placing this on hold. I also thought it was YA. It is Romantasy with sex scenes and an attempt at a interrealm conspiracy plot. It was like the author just looked up the top ten most popular tropes and threw them in hoping it would come out as a believable enemies to lovers story. It… did not. Part of a series, I have no interest in reading further.

My Sister, the Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite

Witty, funny, creepy, evil, playful, nasty! I’m actually annoyed at how short it was. Ayoola (the titular sister/serial killer) is so darling, so devoid of empathy, an actual devil and total cutie pie. I’ve lovingly placed her on my shelf of favorite monsters.

A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, #1) - Ursula K. Le Guin

I told a coworker this book is cozy. I’m not going to walk that back. It’s looming, it’s ponderous, it’s long silences and pensive expressions. It’s a cozy declaration that no man is an island and all actions have consequences that ripple across time and across land. I’ve placed a hold on the second book. My mom has wanted me to read this series since I was twelve years old. Two decades later and paulruddhotones_lookatus.gif

Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield

So romantic. It was like reading Annihilation except no one pissed me off. It was like reading Annihilation except what if the biologist had the capacity for complex human emotion and–in a shocking twist– loved her spouse. A good companion read to Shark Heart, and I don’t say that just because a loved one being (re)claimed by the sea features heavily. It’s rather the depiction of love evolving around challenges. Challenges like fertility, disability, trauma, illness, or even simply long work assignments keeping a couple apart. It’s all about how the love doesn’t go away, it remoulds itself to try to accommodate the shape of its new environment, and all the pains and frustrations that go with it.

Not in Love (Not in Love, #1) - Ali Hazelwood

Unlike Quicksilver, I knew what I was doing checking this bad boy out. It was horny. Significantly less denim than in Bride, much to my relief. I was kicking my feet and giggling the whole time, but have no interest in the second book which focuses on a pair that were side characters in this installment.

The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones

I finished this at a quarter to midnight April 30. I even had a little cry during the final act of this novel. I almost had a little cry recounting the final act of this novel to my husband. If I had a nickel for every time this book caused me to involuntarily cry out “Oh! That is terrible!” I would have enough to buy two gumballs at the Martinsburg Mall. Terrible things occur. It was so good. The only other book of his that I’ve read is I Was A Teenage Slasher which is a genuinely entertaining novel for all the sports² fans out there. I’m now just camped out on libby, placing holds on all his other works willy nilly.

Anna May Wong: From Laundryman’s Daughter to Hollywood Legend - Graham Russell Gao Hodges

It’s the wildest thing to have the historical and legal contexts for Anna May Wong’s early life and career intersect with historical and legal contexts for modern drug law in the United States. Spoiler: US drug and immigration laws are all rooted in racism, and some of the earliest applications of these laws were focused on Chinese immigrants. And then they expanded from there.

The Berry Pickers - Amanda Peters

Hey! I am stressed out! This book is stressing me out!

The Ministry of Time - Kaliane Bradely

I checked this out because I am on the hype train. I don’t know what it is about, I’ve just seen enough people be enthusiastic about it. I’m about to e-crack it open. Wish me luck.

This piece from Dazed and Confused Magazine about the rise of Christianity in Gen Z. Interesting stuff, I recommend following it up with a harrowing rabbit hole into the rise of conservatism in the younger generations. To make sure you have a bad time! Also worth reflecting on the intergenerational desire for connection and community, something that is increasingly difficult to get a quality experience of in this day and age. For a lot of people, church and religion at large is less about prayer and more about seeing familiar faces and having an established common ground with other people. A third location, if you will!

In this article for The Cut (don’t worry the hyperlink is via the Wayback machine so no paywall), culture writer Cat Zhang interviews John Goglia, former NTSB member, who you might (only) know from this latest season of Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal. Unfortunately, he does manage to squeeze in a “dang kids and their phones” but it is interesting to get a look into how someone is not only selected (a mutual acquaintance with an associate in Las Vegas???) but agrees to take part in a show that runs on the paradox of forced organic reaction.

I have a private playlist called “sicko love story” featuring the likes of Mitski, Velvet Underground, Roy Orbison, Fugazi, Loossemble and others. I won’t be linking it here, I don’t want people finding my Spotify. But I wanted to let you all know I’ve turned romantic of late.

Charli xcx- how i’ve been feeling lately, crash, and brat. Spent a full day just listening to those albums back to back and over and over. “party 4 u” has had a resurgence online recently, as a meme for expressing the abstract sense of loss, longing, loneliness, fourth word starting with L, a person feels when doing something they know is futile in some way. I’ve also seen it being used by high school students to capture the vibe of The Great Gatsby, which, absolutely, teens! You’re right on the money with that one. If Baz Luhrmann’s hyper indulgent adaptation were made today, I would be absolutely bowled over, shocked and gutted if Charli xcx didn’t pump through the sweaty glittering bodies writhing as a contorted rat king of excess in those infamous West Egg bacchanals.

My Mad Max fic was among the number of Archive of Our Own pieces scraped by French-American rotted diaper parading around as if it’s a company that produces anything of worth rather than worm-infested stool running in squelching gobs down a pant leg, Hugging Face. If you’ve read my fic, you know it being scraped is probably to the machine’s detriment. For those not in the know, I write in a quasi-Appalachian syntax fused with a feral child in the near permanent throes of religious delirium trying to remember a Shakespeare play during a Monster Truck Rally. If there is anything I’ve contributed to the world, may it be the tracking of a war boy’s journey via blisters, piss, and delusional mysticism undoing whatever was “learned” by this GenAI garbage.

Yale is going to be providing a course on the cultural impact of Bad Bunny and I am seriously considering auditing it. I don’t know what the curriculum actually entails, my expectations include a history of the island of Puerto Rico, the Taino people, Spanish colonialism and American occupation, parallels to territory-turned-state Hawaii, the phenomenon of virality, the history of the protest song and how it has evolved into essentially a protest album relying on virality online rather than popularity in radio play to spread a message, as well as colorism and fetishization in Latinx and white communities. How would I go about auditing a course from Yale, a school that I get the feeling would love to spit on me? Team, let me know.

…and I’m literally always saying that!!

Okay, Team. That’s all for now. Talk soon (threat)!