Tinier snapshots of a culture!

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019

Things that make readers go oooohh: It isn't like Slate never posts any articles which are substantive. But every so often, we agree to let the analysts enjoy a brief laugh at a wave of submissions like this:

Do I Have to Tell My Lying Ex I Have an STD?
What about his girlfriend?
By RICH JUZWIAK
OCT 16, 2019 5:55 AM

My Thrill-Seeking Husband Is Terrorizing Our Sensitive Son With Roller Coasters
This usually ends in tears.
By JAMILAH LEMIEUX
OCT 16, 2019 5:59 AM

Help! My Girlfriend Wants Me to Keep a Violent Dog to Prove My Commitment.
By DANIEL MALLORY ORTBERG
OCT 16, 2019 6:00 AM

My Sister Gets Dramatic Every Time I Try to Buy Gifts for Her Kids
By JAMILAH LEMIEUX
OCT 16, 2019 6:01 AM

The 14 Holiday Toys to Buy Now Before They Sell Out, According to Trend Forecasters
Sparkly eggs, tiny collectible pets, and rainbow unicorn poop made of slime.
By STRATEGIST EDITORS
OCT 16, 2019 6:30 AM

People, we're just saying! We're sure there's value in these lifestyle-based eyeball-grabbers from Slate.

Meanwhile, consider the items the New York Times lists on today's page A3 as "six of the most read, shared and discussed posts from across [yesterday's] NYTimes.com."

In fairness, "Tuesday's most read article" involved John Bolton's statement comparing Rudy Giuliani to a hand grenade. That said, among the day's other most-discussed posts were these:

an article about the return of Fortnite, "featuring a new map with lots of goodies for gamers to explore;"

an article called "Five Reasons the Diet Soda Myth Won't Die;"

an article called "Fly Fishing Is the New Bird-Watching;"

and an article called "10 Tips About Leaving Tracks Around the Internet."

On the same page A3, today's "Here to Help" feature instructs readers in "How to make time for a hobby." In the article, hobby time expert Tara Parker-Pope lists three bullet points, including this irrefutable bit of advice:

"Schedule your free time (but don't over-schedule it)."

For the record, page A3 was "reimagined" maybe two years ago. According to legend, the Times adopted a revealing motto for the helpful new page:

You are the dumbest people on earth.
We at the Times want to serve you.

In our view, these are additional tiny snapshots of a fatuous, failing culture. Admittedly, your mileage may differ.

This also happened today: In a momentary state of confusion, we clicked on a Heather Schwedel post. This was the invitation which drew us in:

HEATHER SCHWEDEL / OCT. 16, 2019 / 4:25 pm
Ronan Farrow’s Deranged Impressions on the Catch and Kill Audiobook, Reviewed

This is where our error took us. In our experience, clicking on a Schwedel post is the Internet's greatest mistake.

In these parts, it's known as "getting Schwedeled." Your experience may differ from ours.