, September 30, 2015
Daily Bafflements
The beginning of Internet fame. / rob_rob2001
• “The twenty-first-century university is a super freak, in fact—the kind you don’t take home to mother,” Siva Vaidhyanathan noted in our latest issue, no. 28. If that’s the case, then the for-profit university system is a super freak that would bamboozle your entire family—immediate and extended—out of their current and future wealth, leaving them with nothing but the clothes on their back. Thankfully, when it comes to the for-profit racket, there’s a coalition of for-profit alumni fighting back.
• If you’re seeking clearance from Steve Albini to use a vocal sample in a kitschy EDM song, expect disgruntled apathy. One electronic group has even gone so far as to use an email from Steve about his deep hatred of EDM for marketing purposes—specifically a billboard in London. We’re not surprised; Steve outlined his problems with the music industry for us years ago.
• Leave it to digital marketing firms to find a way to capitalize on a video of a rat carrying a piece of pizza, or any dopey viral video for that matter.
• Today in overrated foreign policy trends: Poor ol’ Henry Kissinger…