#there are a few actual ones it seems. i just hate amazon hate sponsored ads that look like google search results hate hate hate

[neige-leblanche]

I HATE CAPITALISM

[shadowfromthestarlight]

The moment a group of people stormed the Capitol building last Wednesday, news  companies began the process of sorting and commoditizing information that  long ago became standard in American media.

Media firms work backward. They first ask, “How does our target demographic want to  understand what’s just unfolded?” Then they pick both the words and the facts  they want to emphasize.

It’s why  Fox News uses the term, “Pro-Trump protesters,” while New York and The Atlantic use “Insurrectionists.” It’s why conservative media today is stressing how Apple, Google, and Amazon shut down the “Free Speech” platform Parler over  the weekend, while mainstream outlets are emphasizing a new round of  potentially armed protests reportedly planned for January 19th or 20th.

What happened last Wednesday was the apotheosis of the Hate Inc. era, when this  audience-first model became the primary means of communicating facts to the population. For a hundred reasons dating back to the mid-eighties, from the advent of the Internet to the development of the 24-hour news cycle to the end of the Fairness Doctrine and the Fox-led  discovery that news can be sold as character-driven, episodic TV in the  manner of soap operas, the concept of a “Just the facts” newscast designed to  be consumed by everyone died out.

News companies now clean world events like whalers, using every part of the  animal, funneling different facts to different consumers based upon  calculations about what will bring back the biggest engagement kick. The  Migrant Caravan? Fox slices  off comments from a Homeland Security official describing most of the  border-crossers as single adults coming for “economic reasons.” The New York Times counters  by running a story about how the caravan was deployed as a political issue by a Trump White  House staring at poor results in midterm elections.

Repeat this info-sifting process a few billion times and this is how we became, as none other than Mitch McConnell put it last week, a country:

Drifting apart into two separate tribes, with a separate set of facts and separate realities, with nothing in common except our hostility towards each other and mistrust for the few national institutions that we all still share.

The flaw in the system is that even the biggest news companies now operate under the assumption that at least half their potential audience isn’t listening. This leads to all sorts of problems, and the fact that the easiest way to keep your own demographic is to feed it negative stories about others is only the most  obvious. On all sides, we now lean into inflammatory caricatures, because the  financial incentives encourage it.

Everyone monetized Trump. The Fox  wing surrendered to the Trump phenomenon from the start, abandoning its  supposed fealty to “family values” from the Megyn Kelly incident on. Without  a thought, Rupert Murdoch sacrificed the paper-thin veneer of  pseudo-respectability Fox  had always maintained up to a point (that point being the moment advertisers  started to bail in horror, as they did with Glenn Beck). He reinvented Fox as a platform for  Trump’s conspiratorial brand of cartoon populism, rather than let some more-Fox-than-Fox imitator like OAN sell the  ads to Trump’s voters for four years.

In between its titillating quasi-porn headlines (“Lesbian Prison Gangs Waiting To Get Hands on Lindsay  Lohan, Inmate Says” is one from years ago that stuck in my mind), Fox’s business model has  long been based on scaring the crap out of aging Silent Majority viewers with  a parade of anything-but-the-truth explanations for America’s decline. It  villainized immigrants, Muslims, the new Black Panthers, environmentalists —  anyone but ADM, Wal-Mart, Countrywide, JP Morgan Chase, and other sponsors of  Fortress America. Donald Trump was one of the people who got hooked on Fox’s  narrative.

The rival media ecosystem chose cash over truth also. It could have responded to  the last election by looking harder at the tensions they didn’t see coming in  Trump’s America, which might have meant a more intense examination of the  problems that gave Trump his opening: the jobs that never came back after  bankers and retailers decided to move them to unfree labor zones in places  like China, the severe debt and addiction crises, the ridiculous  contradiction of an expanding international military garrison manned by a  population fast losing belief in the mission, etc., etc.

Instead, outlets like CNN and MSNBC took a Fox-like approach, downplaying issues in  favor of shoving Trump’s agitating personality in the faces of audiences over  and over, to the point where many people could no longer think about anything  else. To juice ratings, the Trump story — which didn’t need the slightest  exaggeration to be fantastic — was more or less constantly distorted.

Trump  began to be described as a cause of America’s problems, rather than a symptom,  and his followers, every last one, were demonized right along with him, in  caricatures that tickled the urbane audiences of channels like CNN but made  conservatives want to reach for something sharp. This technique was borrowed  from Fox,  which learned in the Bush years that you could boost ratings by selling  audiences on the idea that their liberal neighbors were terrorist traitors.  Such messaging worked better by far than bashing al-Qaeda, because this enemy  was closer, making the hate more real.

I came  into the news business convinced that the traditional “objective” style of  reporting was boring, deceptive, and deserving of mockery. I used to laugh at  the parade of “above the fray” columnists and stone-dull house editorials  that took no position on anything and always ended, “Only one thing’s for  sure: time will tell.” As a teenager I was struck by a passage in Tim  Crouse’s book about the 1972 presidential campaign, The Boys in the Bus, describing  the work of Hunter Thompson:

Thompson  had the freedom to describe the campaign as he actually experienced it: the  crummy hotels, the tedium of the press bus, the calculated lies of the press  secretaries, the agony of writing about the campaign when it seemed dull and  meaningless, the hopeless fatigue. When other reporters went home, their  wives asked them, “What was it really like?” Thompson’s wife knew from  reading his pieces.

What Rolling Stone did in  giving a political reporter the freedom to write about the banalities of the  system was revolutionary at the time. They also allowed their writer to be a  sides-taker and a rooter, which seemed natural and appropriate because biases  end up in media anyway. They were just hidden in the traditional dull  “objective” format.

The  problem is that the pendulum has swung so far in the opposite direction of  politicized hot-taking that reporters now lack freedom in the opposite  direction, i.e. the freedom to mitigate.

If you  work in conservative media, you probably felt tremendous pressure all  November to stay away from information suggesting Trump lost the election. If  you work in the other ecosystem, you probably feel right now that even  suggesting what happened last Wednesday was not a coup in the literal sense  of the word (e.g. an attempt at seizing power with an actual chance of  success) not only wouldn’t clear an editor, but might make you suspect in the  eyes of co-workers, a potentially job-imperiling problem in this environment.  

We need  a new media channel, the press version of a third party, where those  financial pressures to maintain audience are absent. Ideally, it would:

not be aligned with either Democrats or Republicans;

employ a Fairness Doctrine-inspired approach that discourages       groupthink and requires at  least occasional explorations of alternative points of view;

embrace a utilitarian mission stressing credibility over ratings, including by;

operating on a distribution model that as  much as possible doesn’t depend upon the indulgence of Apple, Google, and Amazon.

Innovations like Substack are great for opinionated individual voices like me, but what’s  desperately needed is an institutional reporting mechanism that has credibility with the whole population. That means a channel that sees its mission as something separate from politics, or at least as separate from politics as possible.

The media used to derive its institutional power from this perception of separateness. Politicians feared investigation by the news media precisely because they knew audiences perceived them as neutral arbiters.

Now there are no major commercial outlets not firmly associated with one or the other political party. Criticism of Republicans is as baked into New York Times coverage as the lambasting of Democrats is at Fox, and politicians don’t fear them as much because they know their  constituents do not consider rival media sources credible. Probably, they  don’t even read them. Echo chambers have limited utility in changing minds.

Media companies need to get out of the audience-stroking business, and by extension  the politics business. They’d then be more likely to be believed when making  pronouncements about elections or masks or anything else, for that matter.  Creating that kind of outlet also has a much better shot of restoring sanity  to the country than the current strategy, which seems based on stamping out  access to “wrong” information.

What we’ve been watching for four years, and what we saw explode last week, is a paradox: a political and informational system that profits from division and  conflict, and uses a factory-style process to stimulate it, but professes  shock and horror when real conflict happens. It’s time to admit this is a  failed system. You can’t sell hatred and seriously expect it to end.

Matt Taibbi is one of the only people I subscribe to. He’s one of the few journalists I like because I actually believe he’s genuine.

[tellywoodtrash]

shaadi mubarak 26.08.20 lb

not capping today coz i really can't be arsed to take pics of tarun/rati's fuckery.

THIS BITCH TAKING IN THE CHAPPAL FIRST BEFORE EVEN ADDRESSING PREETI, OMG I HATE HER WTFFFFFFFFF

pooor preeti; she's smiling but it isn't reaching her eyes.

fuck you and your white granite flooring, rati.

"yeh apne baal hi safed rangwane waali hai. kaale mein woh mazza kahaan???"

lmaooooooooooooo kusum

i love that kusum is watching alllllll of this "my fancy beautiful house will need a lot of maintenance" talk with an eagle eye. she a smart one.

rati you fakeassssss bitch.

KUSUM IS THE SMARTEST CHARACTER IN THIS SHOW AND I LOVE HER THE MOST.

oh, sumedh's sisters are named aastha and kajal. don't ask me which one is which tho.

the photo op loving buzurgs are backkkkkk doing video call on giantass tv.

sumedh and juhi are the cutest and i loveeeeeeee them.

ugh tarun/rati, you soul sucking leeches, isse zyaada abhi kya gift chahiye tumhe preeti se.

god tf is she gonna ask????

A LUXURY CAR?!?!?!? JESUS SIS, LIKE, IT’S JUST DAY 1, EASE UP ON THE GOLD-DIGGING.

lmao how smartly juhi turned it all around, by telling rati - whose company got all the credit for the wedding when preeti did all the prep - to ask her company to sponsor the car. she is the best character in this show and i will go to war for her.

sumedh is 100% support for wife and driving home the point, ki this way, the gift is indirectly from preeti. you love to see it. 

tarun and rati can fuck riiiiiiiiiight off with their sadde hue shakalllll. narak ki aaag mein jaloge dono.

awwwww, preeti goes back into her ishaara ways, forgetting she can talk now.

juhiiiiii is so fucking rightttttt - they both have incomes, let them buy one on their own later; anyway "sapna hai, zaroorat nahi."  tell ‘em sis.

OH MY GOD SOMEONE CHECK THE BASE OF TARUN’S SKULL FOR A 666 COZ HE IS ACTUALLY THE SPAWN OF THE DEVIL HIMSELF.

OH PREETI YOU PURE SOUL YOU'RE TOO TRUSTINGGGGGGGG

NO PREETI, DO NOT SELL THAT HOUSE FOR THESE FUCKHEADSSSSSSSSSSSSS. LISTEN TO JUHI.

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGG TARUN SOLD THE HOUSE OFFFFFFFFFF THE FUCKING LEECHHHHHHH I WANT TO STAB HIM IN THE EYEBALL WITH  A RUSTY FORKKKKKKKKKK

seems like juhi inherited 200% of the goodness in the family, while  papa left tarun not only all his paisa, but all his assholery as well.

poems toh rangeelo mharo beend le gaya!!!!!!!

who's now using it get insta clout (???)

oh boy. picture fell from cupboard. has to be of wife.

yup. shaadi ki photu. with conveniently covered up face of wife. kyunki uska casting toh time aane pe karenge.

oh, sumedh has one more sister called priyu, who didn't attend the wedding.

from her demeanor, i feel like she might have some history with tarun and that's why she didn't go?

lmao sumedh taking the mick outta his mom by praising preeti.

kusum is giving warning ki preeti ko zyaada badhaa chadhaa ke mat bolo. and tht she can't tolerate her for more than 10 min.

clear foreshadowing ki preeeti is gonna have to come live here and is eventually gonna be driven away by kusum's taanas.

i've been eyeing that saaaaaaaaaaaaaame mandir on amazon!!!!!!!  

bahu ke haath se meetha bhog. hone se raha. likh ke le lo.

blah blah KT’s family intro; they seem innocuous enough i guess.

how long does adding chashni to sooji and stirring it around a few times even take, you awful brats?!?!?!?!

tarun constantly bashing his mom's beliefs and values is really getting to me and i wanna fucking slap the teeth outta his mouth. 

rati is doing snobby dabbing of poooori ka tel. god.

no preeeeeeeti, don't let that smile faaaaade. not for this naalaayak.

i really want some aloo poori now.

ambiguous dinner invite which is gonna lead to heartache.

preeti looks sooooooooo good in this sari.

FAMILY MATLAB MAIN AUR RATI SINCE FUCKING WHENNNNNNNNNNN BITCHHHHHHHHH

thank god she's at least bringing it uppppp, and not just staying silent and nodding while smiling sadly. 

tarun you awful fucking cretinnnnnnnn. i hate him so much.

RATI SENDING HER ON SABZI BHAAJI ERRANDS THE BITCHHHHHHHHH OH MY GOD I FUCKING CANNOTTTTTTT

nooooooooo preetiiiiii, don't cryyyyyy. :(((((

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i really am not gonna watch the rest of the eps of this week if it's just 20 min of tarun being a fucking asshat.

[acommonrose]

inemmasmoonlight replied to your post “Deep down, I know buying random sort of overpriced things online from...”

How did you like the random podcast things?

Thank you, person related to me, for indulging me. Anyways, I’ve actually had a pretty good experience with all of them. The only one that wound up being underwhelming was HelloFresh, and that one wasn’t bad, just not quite what I was looking for.

I’ll put detailed thoughts about each of the things I tried under a cut, but the general impression I got of all of these things is that most of the things podcasts advertise (or at least all the ones I’ve tried) are things that are generally things people need to buy at a higher price point but with the advantage of some combination of quality and convenience. That means that if I had given up on this whole grad school thing and gone into industry, I would have been the target demographic of young, hip people with money and no time. As is, I’m slightly outside of that demographic and in the category of young, only slightly hip people with no money and no time but a little bit of disposable income because my stipend’s pretty generous, I live in a somewhat subsidized student apartment, and I don’t spend that much money on going out to eat/drinks/etc because my friends also tend to be people who don’t make much money and live in this hellishly expensive city. That also probably explains why things like Sitch Fix’s default being a monthly subscription or meal kits defaulting to sending you food every week seem like too much to me, since I see them as luxuries, and their target audience apparently doesn’t.

All that said, I’d definitely be interested in trying out more of these, since it’s an interesting phenomenon and kind of a fun way to treat myself. As I mentioned, I do kind of want to try out Stitch Fix (though, um, maybe after I get my fall stipend), since I’m fascinated to see if they can accommodate my requests of “please find a single pair of jeans that fit my very short legs because I sure haven’t any time recently” and “hi, I’m very gay but completely the wrong body type to wear anything that even remotely resembles menswear”. I’d also be willing to try more of these random things that podcasts advertise, so if there’s one that you’re terribly curious about, I might be willing to give it a try.

Anyways, that was already long so look under the cut for exciting discussions of bra sizing and my mediocre cooking skills.

So the first one of these I did was ThirdLove, and the fact that I used a podcast promo for it was almost incidental, since I had been looking through online bra sellers before I ever heard a podcast ad. Some time between the time my mom bought me a bunch of bras in high school and now when I’m a financially independent adult, I went up a cup size, making it even harder to find bras in my size in person outside of expensive department stores, so I wound up asking my mom for online recommendations. I actually started with a different website, which was a bit disappointing, since they were out of stock on things, and a lot of their recommendations given my bra sizing info used small/medium/large sizing instead of actual sizing, which seems bad for the large bust/average band size combo. I wound up getting a bra from that website, which I still have an wear, but it doesn’t fit amazingly. (I’m kind of awkwardly between band sizes, and what I really needed was one band size down and cup size up, but they didn’t really have any options for that.) I was pointed to ThirdLove shortly afterwards, and it was right around the winter holidays, so they actually had a sale on a few of their things (it seemed to be a strange combination holiday/clearance sale), and while I actually liked the bra I got (and it was available in both of my potential sizes, as were most of their bras), it turned out I needed the larger band size for their bra, and because I bought it on sale, they’d only let me return it, not exchange it.

Fast forward to spring, and Wonderful is sponsored by ThirdLove, so I try them again. I will admit I technically cheated the system a little by making a new account with a new email (though the same info otherwise), because apparently I wouldn’t get the “first purchase” podcast discount otherwise despite the fact that I hadn’t actually purchased anything from them before. This time, I got the larger band size, and it’s now probably the bra I like the most? It’s nowhere close to the perfect bra (as I have yet to find such a thing), and it slips a little, but it mostly fits and makes my boobs look good, so I call it a win. I’d probably get a second bra from them if they ever had a sale, but despite the fact that they emailed me all the time about new products or things they were promoting until I unsubscribed, I don’t think I got a single one about a sale. (I’ve noticed that a lot of these advertised services give discounts to first time users but don’t really do other sales/promos, which sort of makes sense for subscription models but seems weird for a site like this.) Bras are stupidly expensive, so given that, the price was mostly reasonable (and only maybe $10-15 more than the other site I tried), but it’s still a lot of money, you know?

Anyways, the next one was quip, which was also a thing I tried because my old electric toothbrush had died. I’d temporarily replaced it with a $5 battery-powered electric toothbrush from my local drugstore, but it’s nice to have something you don’t have to completely replace frequently, so I was looking for something with replaceable heads. One of my friends had recently mentioned using quip, and I’d also just listened to a string of Night Vale episodes that were advertising it, so I figured it was worth a shot, since the plastic brush is actually a bit cheaper than most of the standard models (and significantly cheaper than the higher end ones). That said, the brush heads are $5 each, which is more expensive than the dirt cheap ones for other models. (I just checked, and I can get an 8-pack of the ones for my old toothbrush for $12 on Amazon.) I’m not overly concerned about paying $5 every 3 months (especially since that also includes a replacement battery), but it is something to keep in mind. There’s two notable differences between it and my old model. First, it’s battery powered instead of having a charger (and the battery replacement is included with the new head). That’s probably a plus in that it’s more portable, so I can take it with me when I’m going out of town, but I may revisit that once I’ve actually had to replace the battery, depending on how annoying it is to replace. Second, it’s just a normal toothbrush head (albeit a vibrating one) instead of the normal rotating ones you get with electric toothbrushes. They claim it’s better for your teeth. I don’t buy it, but ultimately, it’s an electric toothbrush that works, so it’s good. It’s hard to have strong feelings about a toothbrush as long as it’s functional.

The other two I’ve tried are Blue Apron and HelloFresh, which I intentionally did as a head to head comparison, since they’re providing roughly the same service. Interestingly, the word roughly is important here, since I found that while the basic concept is the same, they’re slightly different products. Basically, the short version is that Blue Apron has more complex recipes and tries to include small amounts of unusual ingredients in many of their recipes, whereas HelloFresh is aiming for simpler, more widely appealing recipes. Neither of these things are bad on their own, and I could see how either service could be appealing depending on your tastes. I actually really liked most of the meals I got from both services, and I can imagine using HelloFresh’s recipes (including the pasta I got in the one box I did) and just getting the ingredients from the recipes (since both services make their recipes freely available), but what struck me was that I think I knew exactly where and how to find every single ingredient in my HelloFresh box in either my pantry or my local grocery store, whereas the same really wasn’t true of my Blue Apron box.

If anyone is still reading this (which I somehow doubt), I could discuss specific recipes and experiences in more detail. (I will say that in the two deliveries I’ve gotten, Blue Apron has sent me one flop but a few of the best dishes I’ve ever made in my life.) Ultimately, what I will say is that even though it’s definitely overpriced (even compared to NYC grocery store prices), I feel like it’s worth it to keep doing Blue Apron every few weeks. Oddly, I get a lot of the same utility from it that I get from owning a children’s cookbook in that they break down a lot of steps in terms of breaking down the little steps (chopping vegetables, setting water to boil ahead of time, etc.) that recipes aimed at more competent cooks sort of take for granted. (They also both assume incorrectly that I have a competent adult around to chop vegetables for me.) I don’t think it’s worth it if you don’t like cooking to begin with or are a picky eater (at least in the traditional sense of not liking certain flavor profiles or proteins -- I’m picky about which vegetables I eat and hate salads, because apparently I’m either a 10-year-old or Ron Swanson). Even I can’t imagine doing it every week, both because of price and the time it takes to cook the meals, especially since you still have to grocery shop for your lunches (unless you work one of those weird Silicon Valley jobs where they feed you most of your meals, I guess). But if you want to try cooking more of a variety of things and don’t know where to start (or, like me, can’t justify the stupidly expensive prices on seafood at the grocery store but can somehow justify the cost of a Blue Apron box), it’s worth a shot.

[hotfitnesstopics]

Hi friends! How’s the morning going? Today I’m popping in with a review for something I’ve used and LOVED for almost an entire year now: the Peloton app! Peloton App Review When I first saw the Peloton commercials, I knew I wanted to try their classes. They seemed interactive and fun, and I had a feeling they’d be something exciting to add to my home workout routine. At the same time, I couldn’t justify purchasing another spin bike because I already own a different brand. (When I was teaching at the resort in Tucson, they got all new bikes and had a lottery for employees to purchase their “old” Schwinn bikes. I scored mine for a sweet deal, but you can also check them out on Amazon.) I emailed customer service to see if there was any way to stream their classes, and to my luck, they told me all about the app. I can stream live and on-demand classes from my iPad or phone, which I’ll prop up on the bike. This would also work extremely well if your gym has spin bikes in the cardio room to use or if you’re able to work out in the gym spin room. Different gyms have different policies regarding working out in the group fitness rooms if classes aren’t going on for liability purposes. I would just ask the front desk, and if they say no, ask if they’d consider moving a spin bike or two to the cardio room if they don’t already have some in there. Currently the app is $12.99 for a monthly membership, or $5.99 for a week pass. I happily pay for the app (so nope, this post isn’t sponsored in any way) and feel like it’s way worth the subscription. For less than the price of one studio fitness class, I have access to literally hundreds on my own schedule, at home.  Here are my thoughts on the Peloton app, and review of the whole experience: What do you need? You obviously need a spin bike for this one. Whether you own one or use the gym’s, it’s a critical component of the workout. (I’ve also followed their spin class cues on the treadmill just to switch things up a bit!) A pair of light weights for any strength workouts Water Optional: spin shoes. I cycle in sneakers most of the time, but feel like I get a better/different workout when I’m clipped in with cycling shoes *Also worth adding: I think at this time the app is only available for iOS devices. Please let me know if this isn’t correct! (Source) What to expect: – To get a killer workout. You can either hop into a live class, or choose from any of the on-demand selections. The rides are segmented by length, style, and instructor, so you can pick whatever works for you. They have a mix of groove rides, themed rides (70s, 80s, 90s, pop, hip hop, R&B, new tracks, country), intervals, strength combo classes, Live DJ rides (my personal fave!), scenic rides and yoga.  – An “experience.” I feel like Peloton has done an incredible job of branding themselves, and also setting themselves apart from other boutique spin studios. They truly offer something for everyone, and whatever class you take, you’ll feel almost like you’re in the spin room with the instructor.  Pros: – Live classes. The live classes give you the opportunity to take a class with other people all over the world. You have a username for the classes, and it’s common for the instructor to cheer on participants during class. I feel like it adds a fun element, and makes it even more motivational. – Functional and safe workouts. I’m Schwinn-Certified, which staunchly abhors the use of jumping on the bike. Jumping can be fun (especially if you’re using control and have enough resistance on the spin bike), but I don’t think it’s extremely safe to do all time, especially song after song, day after day. I feel like SO many spin studios focus entirely on jumping and dancing on the spin bike (which makes my lower back and spine tremble in fear). To my surprise, the Peloton classes have very minimal jumping. They’re largely focused on climbs and intervals, and you still get an incredible workout sans bouncing all over the place.  – The music! When I first downloaded the app, I was halfway expecting the music to be lame because of copyright issues and all that fun stuff. It’s SO GOOD. They use a lot of new stuff and crazy remixes. – No need to spend time driving to a studio. I feel like travel time can be a huge barrier when it comes to sneaking in a workout on a busy schedule, and can often add at least 30 minutes to an hour to my actual workout time. The fact that I can just hop in the garage and take a class is priceless. – The opportunity to take classes you may not have available to you. We don’t have any boutique spin studios in Valdosta, and I love to take classes because it helps me stay on my teaching A-game. It’s so awesome to take classes virtually from such a talented and knowledgeable team. Cons: – The Peloton bike has some important metrics you may be missing out on if you’re using your own. One of the coolest things about using a Peloton bike is that it displays your personal metrics during class (cadence, resistance, output) and performance against those who are also taking class (through the Leaderboard). It can be an effective way to gauge your performance over time, and see how you’re improving. It’s a little different to use any ol’ spin bike, but I feel like the instructors do a great job of cueing appropriate resistance and speed. My bike used to have a screen on it for wattage, cadence, and resistance… but it was broken off during the moving process. :/ Even so, I know what my personal 40% resistance feels like that day, so I just go by Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE).  – You’re part of a community…but still kind of isolated. I always feel like I’m part of the class and part of the environment…until I remember that I’m really alone in my garage. I think they do a great job of connecting riders and fantastic instructors, but there really is something special about taking a real class.  Tip: – If you try a class and don’t love the instructor/music, try another one. It took me a little while to figure out my very favorite instructors and styles. The live DJ classes are almost always AMAZING (DJ John Michael is a PARTY), and there are quite a few different instructors and personalities to choose from. During one of my group fitness trainings, I learned that different participants will respond differently to instructor cues and styles (for example, some people like to be called out during class, while others hate it!). Peloton likely has an instructor that you will enjoy; you just have to find them! Robin and Emma are my very very faves. So, tell me, friends: have you tried the Peloton app? Has anyone taken a class in NYC? Also, they have a treadmill coming out…and I kind of want it. What’s your favorite studio spin class? Have a great day and I’ll see ya soon! xoxo Gina  PS. Thank you for all of your wonderful comments + congrats for the Pilot yesterday. I read him your notes and he was so appreciative for the kind words.

http://www.fitnessclub.cf/2018/04/focus-on-peloton-app.html

[thedesperatehousehusband]

Super Three Days Later and A Bowl Short

So the Super Bowl. It’s a classic American event. It’s not to be missed. This year’s game was initially very uninteresting to me because I assumed it would be a blowout in the Patriots favor. And who wants to see that again? And then deal with a smug Gisele? The worst. I always root for the team playing the Patriots to beat the Patriots. In the instance of the Super Bowl, I don’t care which NFC team has the honor. I want them to win. I have no vested interested in the Eagles. But I’m elated they won.

Performance wise….Leslie Odom Jr. did a great job. I love me some Pink. I appreciate that her rendition of the national anthem was not overwrought. Her high notes were scratchy but apparently she wasn’t well. Regardless, she did a good job. Justin Timberlake was fine. But I wanted more. The dancing was on point. The singing was just more yelling “MINNEAPOLIS!” than actually singing the lyrics of the mélange of songs. The Prince hologram was fine. I get it. Prince lived in Minnesota. It was a good show. Not a great show.

Now for the ads. I’m nonplussed across the board less a couple. I stopped taking notes and missed a few but got most of them. Don’t bite my head off if you liked something that I don’t. It’s a free country, bitches. And the State of the Union had higher ratings than the Super Bowl. I’m not sure if he said or Tweeted that but it sounds plausibly possible given the daily nonsense he spins as facts.

Toyota Para Olympics: This was a nice spot. Beyond being an Olympic sponsor, I don’t see what it has to do with Toyota. So from a brand standpoint it could have been anything.

Sprint Robots: Terrible. They spent a shit mess of money making that spot. And it was not money well spent.

Solo: Be there. Memorial Day. I plotzed myself watching this trailer. Donald Glover as Lando? Yes, please.

Turkish Airlines with Dr. Oz: It’s assuming a lot that people know that Dr. Oz is Turkish, isn’t it? But I would fly the shit out of Turkish Airlines. That looked legit.

Rise on NBC: We’ve seen the pilot and are over-the-top excited about this show. Rosie Perez? Yes, please.

Bud Light Dilly Dilly #1: I’m nearing the edge of being over this campaign. It’s humor is fleeting. But I’ve enjoyed it for the most part. I would have preferred to see something entirely different for the Super Bowl but I give them credit for telling a story over multiple spots.

M&Ms with Danny DeVito: I get it. Danny DeVito is as small as an M&M. But the thought of ingesting Danny DeVito is pretty gross. Just ask Rhea Perlman.

Dodge RAM with Vikings: I sort of get it. I sort of don’t. I think the message was if a Viking were to drive a truck as opposed to a boat it would be a Dodge RAM. But what I liked is the secondary call to action around “Watch the Full Story” on YouTube or RAM.com or whatever. Extending content to other platforms is huge. And it was a big trend on the Super Bowl.

Wendy’s Frozen Arches: It’s bold. Calling out your top competitor and iconic market leader. Trying to create a differentiator in the minds of consumers. You can’t just show a Frosty for a buck and expect social chatter.

Castle Rock streaming on Hulu: I’m intrigued. It’s also fascinating that EVERY streaming service ran a spot on the Super Bowl.

Skechers with Howie Long: God, this spot was awful.

Heroes Arena: I don’t get gaming.

Doritos with Peter Dinklage: It was clever but it could have been for anything. What does Peter Dinklage lip syncing to Busta Rhymes/Christ Brown have to do with chips?

Mountain Dew Ice with Morgan Freeman: Same comment as above. Except that my understanding is that this is some sort of campaign? Color me confused. But hearing Missy Elliott is never a bad thing. And the fact that Morgan Freeman agreed to do this seems like a big deal.

Tide No Stains with David Harbour: Now THIS is clever advertising. P&G blew it out with this one by turning their functional benefit on its head and making you think about the product differently because for most of the spot you weren’t thinking Tide. A++++++++++++++

Bud Light Knight: I��m officially over it.

ETrade 85 and I Wanna Go Home: Startling statistics about retirement preparedness presented in an interesting but not scary way. Totally awesome and insight based.

Skyscraper with Dwayne Johnson: This movie looks like summertime fun but what I loved was the tag in the ad about seeing Dwayne Johnson live on The Tonight Show after the game. Extend your content. Drive deeper engagement. Smart, smart, smart.

Mission Impossible Fallout: Fallout is right. I fell out when I saw a 79 year old Tom Cruise trying to do yet another Mission Impossible action movie. Not today, Satan.

Quicken Loans: I very much liked this spot. Good use of humor around a pretty non-humorous but stressful thing. Getting a mortgage.

Avocados from Mexico: I just loved this. Dystopian humor is hilarious. THE CHIPS ARE OUTSIDE THE DOME. But wait…there are a million other ways to use avocados. Nice, nice spot.

Cloverfield Paradox on Netflix: I don’t care.

Diet Coke with the Hipster: I know this one was polarizing. I liked it very much. It was funky without being inaccessible. It was cool and hip without alienating any one group. Coca-Cola is a marketing organization that I very much like.

Jeep The Road Ends: I 100% loved this. Perfect for what Jeep’s brand essence is. In reality, how many people do major off-roading with their Jeep but whatever? A+++++

Tide with Old Spice: SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FUCKING PERFECT.

WeatherTech: Cheap, cheap, cheap. Hated it.

Pringles: Sort of fun. Sort of been there done that.

Febreeze Bleep Don’t Stink: Another favorite. This is a great way to use humor that could be extended into other channels and not wear out. The joke will ultimately get old but there’s so much they can do with this. A++++++++++++

Michelob Ultra with Chris Pratt: Yep, that’s realistic. A PA casting extras wouldn’t know Chris Pratt. Blech.

Squarespace with Keanu Reeves: Nope. You wanna know who’s no longer relevant? Keanu Reeves.

Dodge RAM Built to Serve: Decent use of emotion without getting too far into melodrama.

Australia Travel: I thought this was great and renews my heavy desire to visit Australia.

TurboTax Monster Under the Bed: Meh.

Yellow Tail: Absolutely horrendous.

Amazon Prime: Good not great.

Toyota Priest Rabbi: Toyota needs to figure itself out. Their spots were so disparate during the Super Bowl. Stand for something, dammit. Don’t try to stand for everything. Do you want to tug on my heartstrings about the Para Olympics or do you want to tell jokes? It’s too much.

Pepsi: It felt like they sponsored the halftime show. Or am I mistaken?

Jack Ryan on Amazon Video: No thanks.

The Voice Promo: I want to watch this promo every day until the end of time. It was kind of perfect.

Lexus Black Panther: Here’s what I know. We are going to see the SHIT out of Black Panther. What that has to do with Lexus is unclear.

Tide Clydesdales: OMG LOL ROTFL.

Budweiser Water: I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth. Because Toyota and Budweiser have done something similar. But Budweiser made it work because it’s natural for them to have water because they need it to make beer. So their altruism feels sincere without stretching.

Intuit Turbo Tax: Terrible.

Jeep Jurassic Park: Decent.

Kia with Steven Tyler: Nope.

Blacture: Be Celebrated. Not Tolerated. Powerful words. It’s not clear what Blacture is but I will admit to being intrigued.

Wix: Terrifically terrible.

Michelob Ultra We Get Beer: Do you? Do you really?

Groupon: Not memorable.

Alexa New Voices: I liked it but the joke wasn’t funny by the time the spot was done. That’s not great.

Coke Different for Everyone: I approve.

Hyundai Hope Comes Standard: So heavy handed.

T-Mobile with Kerry Washington: Had this spot been for Pampers, I would have loved it. For a cell phone carrier it don’t make a drop of damn sense.

Stella Clean Water: Apparently ALLLLLLL of our beer manufacturers are bringing water to those in need. I didn’t see that theme coming.

Jeep Manifesto: They missed on this one. I liked the first two. But this just made me roll my eyes.

Tide Pharma: This brought me incredible joy as it pokes fun at my life’s work. Which is hilarious to me.

Tide for the win. David Harbour is a national treasure. Gisele is the WORST. And Nick Foles is going to Disney World.