Did You See That Ludicrous Display Last Night?

It is cold, dark, and raining. Sleep runs through my veins. I've been fighting it off with caffeine the best I am able. There is nowhere to go but the bars. Everywhere else closed early because of the Super Bowl. The game is a major event in these parts; I live in Philadelphia, and the Eagles are playing the Patriots. But I'm not watching. American Football bores me.^[1] Some people may wonder how I can find such an aggressive sport dull. Here's a clue: It takes nearly four hours to play a sixty-minute game.

I suppose I could have gone to a party. It would have been something to do. Be around people and such. I could still go to the bar, I guess. That might wake me up some. Unfortunately, I have found football fans don't make for good company when the game is on. Some of the kindest and most thoughtful folks I have ever known transform into nasty, mean-spirited jerks the moment discussion turns to football. The game seems to bring out the worst in people. I don't get it, and you can keep it.

According to the internet, the Eagles are doing pretty well—22-12 at the end of the first half. I do hope they win, even though I don't care. If they lose, I'll be surrounded by a million locals all down in the dumps because a handful of athletes, whom they don't know and will likely never meet, made millions of dollars concussing themselves only to lose a game almost nobody in the entire world plays. If they win, I'll get free coffee and strangers will hug me. Society is weird.

41-33? LET'S GO, IGGLES!^[2][3][4]

1. Don't worry; I'm not a snob. I think soccer is dull too.
2. A spring-mounted microphone stand? Weak, Mr. Timberlake, very weak.
3. Literally, a dozen police cars just blew past my place with lights and sirens on full.
4. My apartment smells like weed. I don't even smoke marijuana. I mean, I would, but I'm not supposed to, on account of my job. At my age, I don't even know where to buy it. Probably from teenagers, I guess. That's where I usually get my Adderall.

Stuff I'm Reading...

• The Follower Factory—Devumi sells Twitter followers and retweets to celebrities, businesses and anyone who wants to appear more popular or exert influence online. Drawing on an estimated stock of at least 3.5 million automated accounts, each sold many times over, the company has provided customers with more than 200 million Twitter followers, a New York Times investigation found. (New York Times)
• Drug Industry Spent Millions to Squelch Talk About High Drug Prices—Facing bipartisan hostility over high drug prices in an election year, the pharma industry’s biggest trade group boosted revenue by nearly a fourth last year and spread the millions collected among hundreds of lobbyists, politicians and patient groups...PhRMA’s state and federal lobbying spending rose by more than two-thirds from the previous year, to $57 million. (Scientific American)
• In a world without TV sets, what do we call TV?—As a media reporter, I find myself struggling with what to call TV and film today. In the 1990s, it was easy. Things on TV were TV shows. Things in the cinema were movies. Now, more people than ever are making what we continue to call “TV shows,” but no one is watching them on television screens. (Quartz)
• Alt-Righter 'seattle4truth' Charged with Killing Father over Conspiracy Theories—Lane Maurice Davis is a well-known and at times popular alt-right social-media figure who uses the nom de plume "Seattle4Truth,"...His YouTube videos frequently have garnered thousands of views, and he wrote for the popular alt-right site The Ralph Retort. At one time, he was reportedly employed as a researcher for Milo Yiannopoulos. Earlier this summer, under his own name, the 33-year-old stabbed his 73-year-old father...to death during a heated argument over the younger Davis’ obsessive beliefs in conspiracy theories. (Southern Poverty Law Center)