internet explorers club | yes, we know it's fake

So to begin with, Marc Jacobs sent out his invitation to an upcoming book launch and it is everything you could ever want. Someone pointed out that SEQUINS are mentioned three times, but my favorite is honestly RIDING IN ON A WHITE HORSE. Also loving: this overview of how Naoko Takeuchi was inspired by couture fashions for different outfits in Sailor Moon.

I found out that every year in Yokohama, Japan there’s a “Pikachu Outbreak” where 1000+ Pikachu gather for a week AND these amazing videos have come out to them dancing to Flo Rida and it brings me much joy (and please have your sound on, it makes it so much better):

Pitchfork wrote on the role of teen girls / fandom in the rise of pop music and it is great:

The crux of teen-girl illegitimacy is the assumption that they are incapable of the critical thinking their older, male counterparts display when it comes to their favourite bands. But this assumption is doing them a true disservice.

Follow that up with reading the BuzzFeed interview with Rebecca Black about her life since “Friday,” and it manages to be a touching, empathetic portrait of a girl whose fame came completely unexpectedly (as well as the fallout).

Also in separating reality-from-fantasy, I got lost in a Wikipedia wormhole about WWE narratives a while back, so I was pleased to see this piece in the AV Club about the constructed narratives of WWE (yes, they know it’s fake) and how in the age of “reality” television, real life and fake have blended together.

A call for medievalists to “not be snobs” is a thing I can get behind:

Instead of disdaining the broad public interest in medieval culture, we should acknowledge and respect that many whom we brand as "amateurs" or "dilettantes" (terms etymologically indicating "love" and "delight") invest as much or more time, energy, and money in engaging with the Middle Ages than some of us professors do. Collaborating with these natural allies will strengthen, not endanger, the discipline.

Finally, the same woman who wrote that great piece about womens’ language in Shakespeare’s day wrote an overview of the Wired style guide from the mid-90s and it’s wonderful. Not just for its kitsch (of which there is plenty) but also for the love she has of changes that language goes through. I also recommend A Linguist Explains the Syntax of “Fuck.”

Etcetera: Is Your Startup Idea Already Taken? JFK’s favorite waffle recipe. The X-Files theme in a major key (it’s so perky!). Automate your “Leaving [CITY]” essay.