What's Up Fellow Kids?
January 5, 2017 6:51 AM Subscribe
Millennial Dan Nainan has been the go-to millennial in a whole lot of news stories in the past year. He was 35 in an AP story that appeared in the Chicago Tribune about undecided voters on Nov. 6, two days before the election. A few weeks later, he was 35 in a Vocativ story about Obama voters who wound up voting for Donald Trump. There he was again in Cosmopolitan in July. This time he was a millennial who swore off porn... Dan Nainan is known as a 35-year-old former Intel engineer who now makes millions as a comedian. The fact that he’s 20 years older is the least weird part of his story.
Reading the article is a strange experience. You get to the end and you find out no more than you knew at the beginning: there is a man named Joe Nainan who is 55 and calls himself 35. He gets into email spats with other comedians. He is apparently not hilarious. He does not appear to be canny enough to be doing "performance art." (By the way, I watched a short YouTube video of the guy. To call him "quasi-funny" overstates his comedic skills.)
posted by kozad at 7:15 AM on January 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by kozad at 7:15 AM on January 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
It isn't quite Catfishing, nor does it seem like Astroturfing....I guess we call it Trumpening? Pretending to be whatever you think the audience needs at the moment while berating and bullying anyone who calls you out on your bullshit?
posted by nubs at 7:18 AM on January 5, 2017 [21 favorites]
posted by nubs at 7:18 AM on January 5, 2017 [21 favorites]
I agree, kozad. It's very unsatisfying, but it is still interesting. I am very curious why (and how) various media outlets have ended up getting quotes from him, as the article doesn't really cover much about that.
posted by minsies at 7:21 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by minsies at 7:21 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
Brian McGuinness' piece 'Dan Nainan Is The Worst Human Being Ever: The Definitive Email Collection' doesn't conclusively establish that he really is 'the worst human being ever'—the competition for that title is pretty stiff these days—but it does put him neck and neck with Scott Adams in the race.
posted by octobersurprise at 7:21 AM on January 5, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by octobersurprise at 7:21 AM on January 5, 2017 [9 favorites]
Is 35 even in the range of "Millennial," though? I mean, not only is this guy lying (also - who thinks he looks 35?), but why is the media's go-to someone near the edges, or even outside, the desired age range?
posted by NoRelationToLea at 7:23 AM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by NoRelationToLea at 7:23 AM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
I'm reminded of no one so much as Derek Smart.
posted by Proofs and Refutations at 7:24 AM on January 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Proofs and Refutations at 7:24 AM on January 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
Nanian clearly has some kind of psychological disorder, a mix of narcissism and delusion manifesting in a strange way. He needs mental help.
posted by SansPoint at 7:24 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by SansPoint at 7:24 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
NoRelationToLea I'm 33 and technically (ugh) a millennial. It's basically anyone who came of age around the year 2000, and, welp, anyone who was 18 in 2000 is turning 35 this year.
posted by SansPoint at 7:25 AM on January 5, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by SansPoint at 7:25 AM on January 5, 2017 [9 favorites]
Is 35 even in the range of "Millennial," though?
Depends on who's writing the article, and even those are inconsistent inside the actual article sometimes. I was born in 1980, and one article from 2015 completely about "millenials" had me included by one definition (1980 birth) and not by the other (18-34 at the time of publishing, was actually 35).
posted by ndfine at 7:28 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Depends on who's writing the article, and even those are inconsistent inside the actual article sometimes. I was born in 1980, and one article from 2015 completely about "millenials" had me included by one definition (1980 birth) and not by the other (18-34 at the time of publishing, was actually 35).
posted by ndfine at 7:28 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
If he weren't a jerk, I'd think it's great. Just trolling the media, claiming to be 35, forever. The bit will only get better with age. 65 years old, still the expert millennial, 35 years old. 70? 75? How do you do, fellow kids?
The obsession with his "true age" is probably just playing into it. It's the attention he wants.
posted by explosion at 7:30 AM on January 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
The obsession with his "true age" is probably just playing into it. It's the attention he wants.
posted by explosion at 7:30 AM on January 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
Sweet! I'm a millennial now!
You know, all that stuff they say about us? That's bullshit! Almost none of that applies to me!
posted by Naberius at 7:30 AM on January 5, 2017 [6 favorites]
You know, all that stuff they say about us? That's bullshit! Almost none of that applies to me!
posted by Naberius at 7:30 AM on January 5, 2017 [6 favorites]
I am very curious why (and how) various media outlets have ended up getting quotes from him, as the article doesn't really cover much about that.
It sounds like he goes to the site Help a Reporter Out, finds a reporter who's writing a story about "Millennials Who X" and says "Hey that's me, here's a pithy quote that gives you exactly what you need for your story!"
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:31 AM on January 5, 2017 [21 favorites]
It sounds like he goes to the site Help a Reporter Out, finds a reporter who's writing a story about "Millennials Who X" and says "Hey that's me, here's a pithy quote that gives you exactly what you need for your story!"
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:31 AM on January 5, 2017 [21 favorites]
anyone who was 18 in 2000 is turning 35 this year.
Welp. In fairness, there were some moments in my early twenties where I was pretty sure the President was going to get us all killed, so everything old is new again!
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:32 AM on January 5, 2017 [9 favorites]
Welp. In fairness, there were some moments in my early twenties where I was pretty sure the President was going to get us all killed, so everything old is new again!
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:32 AM on January 5, 2017 [9 favorites]
I am very curious why (and how) various media outlets have ended up getting quotes from him, as the article doesn't really cover much about that.
It could have been explored a bit more, although HARO was mentioned. My guess: Because the reporters were lazy or on deadline or juggling too many articles to really give much thought and effort to this fluffy little lifestyle one assigned by the new editor, they go to Help A Reporter Out to get some quotes and up pops Millennial Dan Nainain's name and he responds to the email query fast and with great quotable stuff and boom done file it.
posted by notyou at 7:32 AM on January 5, 2017 [6 favorites]
It could have been explored a bit more, although HARO was mentioned. My guess: Because the reporters were lazy or on deadline or juggling too many articles to really give much thought and effort to this fluffy little lifestyle one assigned by the new editor, they go to Help A Reporter Out to get some quotes and up pops Millennial Dan Nainain's name and he responds to the email query fast and with great quotable stuff and boom done file it.
posted by notyou at 7:32 AM on January 5, 2017 [6 favorites]
Help a Reporter Out
I'm not really surprised this exists. But doesn't it just seem so wrong?
I know 'local' testimonials have a long and ambivalent history in journalism, but the 21st century web version is just so transparently venal.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 7:35 AM on January 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
I'm not really surprised this exists. But doesn't it just seem so wrong?
I know 'local' testimonials have a long and ambivalent history in journalism, but the 21st century web version is just so transparently venal.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 7:35 AM on January 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
Thanks - I missed the Help a Reporter Out reference.
posted by minsies at 7:35 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by minsies at 7:35 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
but it does put him neck and neck with Scott Adams in the race.
Millennial Dan Nainan is Scott Adams.
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:36 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
Millennial Dan Nainan is Scott Adams.
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:36 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
The bit will only get better with age. 65 years old, still the expert millennial, 35 years old. 70? 75? How do you do, fellow kids?
Thirty-nine year old Jack Benny rolls over in his grave and demands Millennial Dan Nainan pay a fee to license his bit.
posted by notyou at 7:36 AM on January 5, 2017 [14 favorites]
Thirty-nine year old Jack Benny rolls over in his grave and demands Millennial Dan Nainan pay a fee to license his bit.
posted by notyou at 7:36 AM on January 5, 2017 [14 favorites]
I mean, the whole "generations" thing - the "Strauss-Howe generational theory" - was coined by a couple of guys who are historians, not social scientists or sociologists. And even then the only generation that could in any way be defined by an external measurement would be the Boomers, because there's a definite rise and fall in the US birth rate after World War II. So it's not like this is a robust scientific theory - it's pop-culture-"science" and marketing, mostly.
Still a good question about why a reporter would give much weight to the opinions of someone at best on the edge of a generation, though.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:36 AM on January 5, 2017 [10 favorites]
Still a good question about why a reporter would give much weight to the opinions of someone at best on the edge of a generation, though.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:36 AM on January 5, 2017 [10 favorites]
The gist of the emails? Nainan would go down his rival comics’ tour dates and alert them to the much bigger room he would be performing at halfway across the world on the same day ... He can play 19 instruments. He speaks x number of languages fluently, flies first class, drives a Tesla. I’ve never met anybody that cared more about what other people thought,” said Robinson. “Did he tell you about how he’s able to slam dunk a basketball?”
He's evidently a real-life Penelope from SNL
posted by obscure simpsons reference at 7:37 AM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
He's evidently a real-life Penelope from SNL
posted by obscure simpsons reference at 7:37 AM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
Nanian clearly has some kind of psychological disorder, a mix of narcissism and delusion manifesting in a strange way. He needs mental help.
Or a job in the White House. Hiyoooo!
posted by octobersurprise at 7:40 AM on January 5, 2017 [8 favorites]
Or a job in the White House. Hiyoooo!
posted by octobersurprise at 7:40 AM on January 5, 2017 [8 favorites]
So wait, did I understand that correctly? Is he claiming that he's doing this because he suffers from some kind of traumatic brain injury? Was that a real thing or not?
Kozad is right - I'm not sure I know any more now than I did when I started.
posted by Naberius at 7:43 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Kozad is right - I'm not sure I know any more now than I did when I started.
posted by Naberius at 7:43 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
I am very curious why (and how) various media outlets have ended up getting quotes from him, as the article doesn't really cover much about that.It sounds like he goes to the site Help a Reporter Out, finds a reporter who's writing a story about "Millennials Who X" and says "Hey that's me, here's a pithy quote that gives you exactly what you need for your story!"
Yeah, my main takeaway from this story is that some reporters are really fucking lazy. I follow another web forum that has nothing to do with offering reporters quotes and every once in a while you still see reporters showing up, asking to talk with people about [common life issues the forums discusses] and get some pull quotes for a story. You might have thought that the big shakeout in the journalism job market would have cut out all the dead weight and left us with the people who know how to do their job, and you would be wrong.
Forbes had just pulled its story on Dan, along with the accompanying video calling him a “Millennial Funnyman,” when I emailed him last Thursday. People had been tweeting about his age.
Wow, I think that's even the same publication! And of course they just disappear the article instead of printing a correction.
posted by indubitable at 7:47 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
Or a job in the White House. Hiyoooo!
Seriously. This guy resembles You-Know-Who in so many aspects of behavior, it makes me wonder if he's maybe his illegitimate son or younger brother.
posted by briank at 7:48 AM on January 5, 2017
Seriously. This guy resembles You-Know-Who in so many aspects of behavior, it makes me wonder if he's maybe his illegitimate son or younger brother.
posted by briank at 7:48 AM on January 5, 2017
His YouTube channel has one actual comedy performance (which the title makes sure to tell us is "for 1800 people") from 10 years ago, and it's super-obvious he's in his 40s there. All the more recent videos are about 10 seconds or less, with famous people looking a bit stunned that they're on camera.
posted by xingcat at 7:51 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by xingcat at 7:51 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
You might have thought that the big shakeout in the journalism job market would have cut out all the dead weight and left us with the people who know how to do their job, and you would be wrong.
*unplugs headphones from dongle, unplugs dongle from iPhone, plugs dongle into iPad, plugs headphones into dongle so he can watch a YouTube video*
yeah it turns out capitalism isn't as efficient as the brochure said it would be
posted by turntraitor at 8:08 AM on January 5, 2017 [24 favorites]
*unplugs headphones from dongle, unplugs dongle from iPhone, plugs dongle into iPad, plugs headphones into dongle so he can watch a YouTube video*
yeah it turns out capitalism isn't as efficient as the brochure said it would be
posted by turntraitor at 8:08 AM on January 5, 2017 [24 favorites]
even if he was 35, that's too old to be blaming all your shit on being in this or that generation......do some adulting: life has always been hard
posted by thelonius at 8:08 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 8:08 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yeah, the whole Help A Reporter Out link and ecosystem was worth the rest of the nausea and price of admission. Thank you for today's Five Minute's Hate.
posted by mrdaneri at 8:12 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by mrdaneri at 8:12 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
The Chapo Trap House crew addressed the Dan Nainan phenomenon in a recent episode (#69) and dear god is this man's alleged 'comedy' horrifically bad. They found a clip of him attempting to entertain an audience of Belgian Tesla owners, who all sat in stony silence. It's as perfect an example of Fremdschämen as you'll find; I got flopsweat just listening to it.
posted by Existential Dread at 8:17 AM on January 5, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Existential Dread at 8:17 AM on January 5, 2017 [8 favorites]
Oh my god this is the most modern thing ever. Wealthy old people making money by overworking genXers who dupe the public into clutching their pearls by quoting a genXer posing as a millennial spewing whatever gets him publicity.
posted by TheNewWazoo at 8:18 AM on January 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by TheNewWazoo at 8:18 AM on January 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
Help a Reporter Out is just the newest iteration of things that have been around forever. News places have always had a pool of sources, many of them self-declared experts in one thing or another, that they drew from whenever they needed a pithy quote. There have always been some hucksters who manipulated this system.
Arguably, this system is better, because it provides a wider pool of candidates for responding to a story, although it still attracts people who think of themselves as a brand, and so use it for promoting that brand. But it's always been the job of the reporter to verify their sources, and there have always been lazy reporters who are just looking to get their quote.
I new one reporter in Minneapolis who would consistently use her friends as quote machines. Never mentioned that they were friends. But because I knew them all, I read her stories and it was, like, yep, she needed a quote and so went to the apartment next to hers and got one.
posted by maxsparber at 8:21 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
Arguably, this system is better, because it provides a wider pool of candidates for responding to a story, although it still attracts people who think of themselves as a brand, and so use it for promoting that brand. But it's always been the job of the reporter to verify their sources, and there have always been lazy reporters who are just looking to get their quote.
I new one reporter in Minneapolis who would consistently use her friends as quote machines. Never mentioned that they were friends. But because I knew them all, I read her stories and it was, like, yep, she needed a quote and so went to the apartment next to hers and got one.
posted by maxsparber at 8:21 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
Wait, Millennials are supposed to be people who came of age in 2000? Dude, I was ten years old in 2000 and yet I seem to fall squarely into the "millennial" definition according to every article I've read, which a) always seem to be thinking of twentysomethings (I'm 26) and b) usually also seem to be thinking about the slight demographic bulge I was born into, as a whole whack of baby boomers and also some gen xers had kids. (My parents are gen-Xers, in fact, according to most definitions I can find.)
These generational things are so tempting to look at because they do seem to be getting at real trends in how current events shape the lives and experiences of the people who live through them, but daaaamn are they sketchy when you start looking harder at the details.
posted by sciatrix at 8:21 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
These generational things are so tempting to look at because they do seem to be getting at real trends in how current events shape the lives and experiences of the people who live through them, but daaaamn are they sketchy when you start looking harder at the details.
posted by sciatrix at 8:21 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
quoting a genXer posing as a millennial
Hey, Gen Xers should not have this guy dumped on us along with everything else. He's tail end Baby Boomer.
posted by vespabelle at 8:28 AM on January 5, 2017 [34 favorites]
Hey, Gen Xers should not have this guy dumped on us along with everything else. He's tail end Baby Boomer.
posted by vespabelle at 8:28 AM on January 5, 2017 [34 favorites]
I new one reporter in Minneapolis who would consistently use her friends as quote machines.
Hey now, if it wasn't for myopic reporters only getting opinions from their circle of peers there wouldn't be a New York Times Style Section, and then where would we be as a society?
posted by griphus at 8:31 AM on January 5, 2017 [19 favorites]
Hey now, if it wasn't for myopic reporters only getting opinions from their circle of peers there wouldn't be a New York Times Style Section, and then where would we be as a society?
posted by griphus at 8:31 AM on January 5, 2017 [19 favorites]
Wait, Millennials are supposed to be people who came of age in 2000?
In or after is the formulation I feel like I've mostly seen. So 35 year olds on the high end, on down through twenty-somethings and scratching at the late adolescence of Young Folks Today.
But in any case, yes, it's mostly a bunch of wankery for narrative convenience, says another X/Millennial cusp.
posted by cortex at 8:32 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
In or after is the formulation I feel like I've mostly seen. So 35 year olds on the high end, on down through twenty-somethings and scratching at the late adolescence of Young Folks Today.
But in any case, yes, it's mostly a bunch of wankery for narrative convenience, says another X/Millennial cusp.
posted by cortex at 8:32 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
anyone who was 18 in 2000 is turning 35 this year.
Welp. In fairness, there were some moments in my early twenties where I was pretty sure the President was going to get us all killed, so everything old is new again!
Every generation thinks that, it's a part of adolescence like pimples and kinky dreams.
posted by jonmc at 8:32 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Welp. In fairness, there were some moments in my early twenties where I was pretty sure the President was going to get us all killed, so everything old is new again!
Every generation thinks that, it's a part of adolescence like pimples and kinky dreams.
posted by jonmc at 8:32 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Not to mention that there's a sharp and meaningful divide in the sort of technology that "millennials" grew up with
You've got '90s kids who are now as old as 35, that went from cassette tapes to MP3s, from dialup to smartphones, before they were 25; and you've got kids as young as 16 right now who have only ever known cellphones as a necessity and not a luxury, who were on the internet as soon as they could read. Who don't know what card catalogs are. If anything made a psychological generational difference, it would be that.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 8:38 AM on January 5, 2017 [14 favorites]
You've got '90s kids who are now as old as 35, that went from cassette tapes to MP3s, from dialup to smartphones, before they were 25; and you've got kids as young as 16 right now who have only ever known cellphones as a necessity and not a luxury, who were on the internet as soon as they could read. Who don't know what card catalogs are. If anything made a psychological generational difference, it would be that.
posted by Rainbo Vagrant at 8:38 AM on January 5, 2017 [14 favorites]
I'm 34 and I am not a millennial, no matter what the thinkpieces say.
posted by Kwine at 8:42 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Kwine at 8:42 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'm seven years younger than this guy and I'm so far removed from the world of Millennials that they might as well be shouting "YOU WAS NEVER OUR AGE KRUPKE" to me.
posted by maxsparber at 8:44 AM on January 5, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 8:44 AM on January 5, 2017 [10 favorites]
But in any case, yes, it's mostly a bunch of wankery for narrative convenience
I was born in 1976. In the early 90s, when it was cool to be a Gen X-er, most seemed to agree I was too young, that I was "Gen-Y" or whatever. Fortunately, my chronic underachievement, affection for irony, cardigan sweaters and niche indie rock 7"s finally payed off around the end of the 1990s, when magazine stories finally started including my birth year in the X generational cohort. This happened to be around the exact same time that "millenials" were becoming a thing. For a while "millennials" included people born, like, the year after me. Then it was just people born in the 80s. I recently read a magazine article that suggested millennials were people born after 1985 . I immediately called my little sister (b. 81) and best friend (b.82) to welcome them into Generation X. They seemed pleased-ish, which is a pretty Gen X emotion, at the notion that they could now join in on all the early 1990s nostalgia without the traumatic memories of crushed velvet body suits, trying to sell back Jesus Jones CDs and briefly thinking guys that wore thermal underwear under shorts were kinda hot.
posted by thivaia at 8:51 AM on January 5, 2017 [29 favorites]
Well, you'd expect them to be kinda hot in that stuff, wouldn't you?
(that's just a little millennial humor. that's how we roll.)
posted by Naberius at 8:54 AM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
(that's just a little millennial humor. that's how we roll.)
posted by Naberius at 8:54 AM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
Dan Nainan is severely confused about how time travel works
posted by beerperson at 9:01 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by beerperson at 9:01 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm the age he pretends to be, but my MeFi account is a Millennial.
posted by hoborg at 9:11 AM on January 5, 2017
posted by hoborg at 9:11 AM on January 5, 2017
I thought I'd include his twitter ...
If this is an example of his comedy—"Why do people buy homes near airports and then complain about aircraft noise?"—then it's a good thing he still has his youth because he sure ain't funny.
posted by octobersurprise at 9:16 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
If this is an example of his comedy—"Why do people buy homes near airports and then complain about aircraft noise?"—then it's a good thing he still has his youth because he sure ain't funny.
posted by octobersurprise at 9:16 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
The mention of a brain injury reminded me of Tommy Wiseau, another man who has become famous in his chosen field simply by acting as if he lives in an alternate universe in which everything he says and does is perfectly reasonable. But then, after reading The Disaster Artist, I actually felt empathy for Tommy Wiseau, whereas this guy...
posted by Countess Elena at 9:44 AM on January 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 9:44 AM on January 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
Dude, I was ten years old in 2000 and yet I seem to fall squarely into the "millennial" definition according to every article I've read
Articles about millennials are like articles about hipsters in that they make WAY more sense when you realise that the only consistent definition of the term at hand is "young people I don't like".
posted by tobascodagama at 9:45 AM on January 5, 2017 [21 favorites]
Articles about millennials are like articles about hipsters in that they make WAY more sense when you realise that the only consistent definition of the term at hand is "young people I don't like".
posted by tobascodagama at 9:45 AM on January 5, 2017 [21 favorites]
(also, are people seriously still saying "funnyman"? That's what you get called on an old talk show, unless you're a woman, in which case it's "the lovely and talented")
posted by Countess Elena at 9:46 AM on January 5, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 9:46 AM on January 5, 2017 [6 favorites]
The most useful definition of millennial to me is people who are old enough to have a memory of what they were doing when 9/11 happened but were not adults with jobs and families at the time. That's roughly 1980-1995 births, depending on how you adult you feel 21 year olds are. I like it because it's reasonably objective and I feel like it captures the generation of people who came of age/political awareness during the Bush years, and that has put a pretty strong imprint on all of us.
posted by Copronymus at 9:46 AM on January 5, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by Copronymus at 9:46 AM on January 5, 2017 [18 favorites]
I'm reminded of no one so much as D****k S****t.
Whoa! You can't just say it out loud like that. I mean, I'm not superstitious of course hahaha but still looks around nervously you don't just say it.
posted by rodlymight at 9:50 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
Whoa! You can't just say it out loud like that. I mean, I'm not superstitious of course hahaha but still looks around nervously you don't just say it.
posted by rodlymight at 9:50 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
Millenials are people who it's kind of OK for me to know socially but not really. I realize this is not a definition that helps anyone else. Sorry.
posted by 1adam12 at 9:52 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by 1adam12 at 9:52 AM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
This is a sad story and resonated for me because my brother, who also had a traumatic brain injury, has many of these same traits: narcissism, exaggeration or sort of an atypical lying style where he lies to get a particular kind of validation or acknowledgment, grandeur, attempting to surround himself with famous people, feelings of persecution, hiring lawyers or attempting to hire lawyers for weirdly imagined or exaggerated wrongs, all within a person who is clearly intellectually gifted.
posted by latkes at 9:59 AM on January 5, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by latkes at 9:59 AM on January 5, 2017 [11 favorites]
also, are people seriously still saying "funnyman"?
They changed it when we got to Ellis Island. It was originally Freylakhman.
posted by griphus at 10:01 AM on January 5, 2017 [15 favorites]
They changed it when we got to Ellis Island. It was originally Freylakhman.
posted by griphus at 10:01 AM on January 5, 2017 [15 favorites]
I'm reminded of no one so much as D****k S****t.
Yeah this also makes me think of Doodlesack Skinsuit
posted by beerperson at 10:02 AM on January 5, 2017 [11 favorites]
Yeah this also makes me think of Doodlesack Skinsuit
posted by beerperson at 10:02 AM on January 5, 2017 [11 favorites]
This reminded me of this 2015 LA Times piece by Chris Erskine in which he started off by saying he was a millennial, and I thought he looked a little old? I'm guessing he thought of it as a joke but the piece got passed around a lot as though it was the truth, a millennial talking truth about millennials! Erskine meanwhile just turned 60. Apparently, making funny about kids these days by pretending you're a kid these days is a thing, and fact checking is pointless.
I suspect Erskine's regular readers at least were aware, but the rest of the internet didn't seem to be, at the time.
I think the trouble with defining who a millennial is is that it's only fairly recently that anybody's started thinking that maybe we need a new "kids these days" term, so it's still being used for "kids these days" even though the first people it applied to are not in fact kids anymore. 18-35 is a wide range to start with, but I think increasingly, the Baby Boomers aren't really talking about a generation. They're talking about literally everybody younger than them. They're still kinda talking about Gen X even when they're talking about millennials. They're definitely also talking about Gen Z when they're talking about millennials. It's "kids these days". It's purely "kids these days". If today's 13-year-olds aren't yet old enough to be considered irresponsible adults, they're sure they'll get there. And they're sure today's 35-year-olds find all the stuff on Youtube and Twitch and whatnot that today's 13-year-olds are into to be totally comprehensible, because we're all the same, in that we aren't them. And if there's anything that everybody under the age of 40 has in common that's different from how Boomers do things, it's definitely bad.
So for other Baby Boomers, a 50+ guy pretending to be in his 30s is going to be exactly as accurate as they want their depictions of millennials to be. I.e., not at all. If what you're selling is an article targeted at those people, is there a reason you should care about the accuracy of your portrayal?
posted by Sequence at 10:11 AM on January 5, 2017 [9 favorites]
I suspect Erskine's regular readers at least were aware, but the rest of the internet didn't seem to be, at the time.
I think the trouble with defining who a millennial is is that it's only fairly recently that anybody's started thinking that maybe we need a new "kids these days" term, so it's still being used for "kids these days" even though the first people it applied to are not in fact kids anymore. 18-35 is a wide range to start with, but I think increasingly, the Baby Boomers aren't really talking about a generation. They're talking about literally everybody younger than them. They're still kinda talking about Gen X even when they're talking about millennials. They're definitely also talking about Gen Z when they're talking about millennials. It's "kids these days". It's purely "kids these days". If today's 13-year-olds aren't yet old enough to be considered irresponsible adults, they're sure they'll get there. And they're sure today's 35-year-olds find all the stuff on Youtube and Twitch and whatnot that today's 13-year-olds are into to be totally comprehensible, because we're all the same, in that we aren't them. And if there's anything that everybody under the age of 40 has in common that's different from how Boomers do things, it's definitely bad.
So for other Baby Boomers, a 50+ guy pretending to be in his 30s is going to be exactly as accurate as they want their depictions of millennials to be. I.e., not at all. If what you're selling is an article targeted at those people, is there a reason you should care about the accuracy of your portrayal?
posted by Sequence at 10:11 AM on January 5, 2017 [9 favorites]
Useful reminder: Here's When Each Generation Begins and Ends According to Facts
According to facts, millennials were born between 1982 and 2004.
posted by chrchr at 10:11 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
According to facts, millennials were born between 1982 and 2004.
posted by chrchr at 10:11 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
According to facts, millenials were born between 1982 and 2004.
My favorite part about snake-people hate is that the boundaries keep expanding. In the last month, I've heard a 41-year-old man decried as an underachieving millenial slacker, and an exasperated elementary school parent complain about her millenial six-year-old's surgical attachment to an iPad. This cohort has stretched to nearly 40 years! Most are strictly capped at 20 years, so this one must be overachieving because ofhelicopter parents social media infantilization.
posted by Mayor West at 10:21 AM on January 5, 2017 [12 favorites]
My favorite part about snake-people hate is that the boundaries keep expanding. In the last month, I've heard a 41-year-old man decried as an underachieving millenial slacker, and an exasperated elementary school parent complain about her millenial six-year-old's surgical attachment to an iPad. This cohort has stretched to nearly 40 years! Most are strictly capped at 20 years, so this one must be overachieving because of
posted by Mayor West at 10:21 AM on January 5, 2017 [12 favorites]
Also my millenial->snake-person add-on made that last comment into something VERY DIFFERENT than what I previewed
posted by Mayor West at 10:22 AM on January 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Mayor West at 10:22 AM on January 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
What's up fellow kids?
Wait, are you deliberately getting the reference wrong to seem out of touch? That's, like, totally bogus, dude.
posted by ambrosen at 10:28 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Wait, are you deliberately getting the reference wrong to seem out of touch? That's, like, totally bogus, dude.
posted by ambrosen at 10:28 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
I was in that movie. I saw that scene being shot!
posted by maxsparber at 10:30 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 10:30 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
Wait, are you deliberately getting the reference wrong to seem out of touch?
They say your memory is the first thing to go. At least that's what I think they say.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 10:31 AM on January 5, 2017
They say your memory is the first thing to go. At least that's what I think they say.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 10:31 AM on January 5, 2017
The actual line is "What the haps my kiddie-kids".
posted by cortex at 10:38 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by cortex at 10:38 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
My favorite part about snake-people hate is that the boundaries keep expanding. In the last month, I've heard a 41-year-old man decried as an underachieving millenial slacker, and an exasperated elementary school parent complain about her millenial six-year-old's surgical attachment to an iPad. This cohort has stretched to nearly 40 years! Most are strictly capped at 20 years, so this one must be overachieving because of helicopter parents social media infantilization.
I see so many references to teenagers as millennials and it is really confusing to me. It feels like it's just become shorthand for "young person doing something that either annoys me or that I don't fully understand." I'm 26 and always thought people my age (born in late 80s, early 90s) were the prototypical millennials and people somewhat older and younger were the fringes of the generation. It feels as though the generational category isn't aging with us. Lots and lots of the older end of the generation especially are married and have kids and are squarely boring, settled olds but you rarely hear about that.
posted by armadillo1224 at 10:41 AM on January 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
I see so many references to teenagers as millennials and it is really confusing to me. It feels like it's just become shorthand for "young person doing something that either annoys me or that I don't fully understand." I'm 26 and always thought people my age (born in late 80s, early 90s) were the prototypical millennials and people somewhat older and younger were the fringes of the generation. It feels as though the generational category isn't aging with us. Lots and lots of the older end of the generation especially are married and have kids and are squarely boring, settled olds but you rarely hear about that.
posted by armadillo1224 at 10:41 AM on January 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
Wait, are you deliberately getting the reference wrong to seem out of touch? That's, like, totally bogus, dude.
Have I lost touch? Never, it is the children whom is wrong.
posted by griphus at 10:41 AM on January 5, 2017 [17 favorites]
Have I lost touch? Never, it is the children whom is wrong.
posted by griphus at 10:41 AM on January 5, 2017 [17 favorites]
I was just talking to my gf yesterday about pitching a story on Nainan, after following the saga on Twitter for the past couple weeks. Oh well, here it was:
The more interesting story to me (which the Daily Beast article touches on) is less about the personal saga of the Terrible Comedian, the "I'm Indian and Japanese so I get my sushi at 7-11!!!" Dan Nainan, than the beneficiary of profit-obsessed journalism Dan Nainan.
Why has Dan been used as a source by the NYT (multiple times), the WSJ, the Tribune, Cosmo, The Post, and profiled in Forbes, all which didn't check a single thing he said about himself? Especially his age, when his age is the hook? It's partly because yeah, the internet killed print journalism and its fastidious fact-checking departments. But it's also that I know, from personal experience, that editors often go into stories wanting certain things to be true - "Millenials believe what we believe," usually - and they want sources that confirm their narrative, so they can get the story out as soon as possible. It saves them time to believe. And if they're wrong, they can just append an "editor's note" or just delete the article.
So if a source tells them what they want to hear, which Dan Nainan will certainly do if you identify him as a Millenial ("I'm undecided! I voted for Trump! Whatever you want I'l say it!"), they'll take the quote and not think twice, so they can get the story out. It's all about volume. Papers are making money again - WaPo is about to hire 60 new journalists. But they will be put on churning out content for Bezos. I wouldn't be surprised if they use another Nainan quote about Millenials by the end of the year.
posted by joechip at 10:46 AM on January 5, 2017 [9 favorites]
The more interesting story to me (which the Daily Beast article touches on) is less about the personal saga of the Terrible Comedian, the "I'm Indian and Japanese so I get my sushi at 7-11!!!" Dan Nainan, than the beneficiary of profit-obsessed journalism Dan Nainan.
Why has Dan been used as a source by the NYT (multiple times), the WSJ, the Tribune, Cosmo, The Post, and profiled in Forbes, all which didn't check a single thing he said about himself? Especially his age, when his age is the hook? It's partly because yeah, the internet killed print journalism and its fastidious fact-checking departments. But it's also that I know, from personal experience, that editors often go into stories wanting certain things to be true - "Millenials believe what we believe," usually - and they want sources that confirm their narrative, so they can get the story out as soon as possible. It saves them time to believe. And if they're wrong, they can just append an "editor's note" or just delete the article.
So if a source tells them what they want to hear, which Dan Nainan will certainly do if you identify him as a Millenial ("I'm undecided! I voted for Trump! Whatever you want I'l say it!"), they'll take the quote and not think twice, so they can get the story out. It's all about volume. Papers are making money again - WaPo is about to hire 60 new journalists. But they will be put on churning out content for Bezos. I wouldn't be surprised if they use another Nainan quote about Millenials by the end of the year.
posted by joechip at 10:46 AM on January 5, 2017 [9 favorites]
I think I actually saw this guy at some dumb software thing I went to years ago when I went to dumb software things.
I feel his pain at not wanting to be tagged as a tail-end baby boomer, as that's basically being tagged as being nothing. He and I are about the same age. It seemed like a day couldn't go by in the 80s when some gasbag 10 years older than me wouldn't start in about how "your generation simply doesn't share the same values as mine."
posted by lagomorphius at 11:04 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
I feel his pain at not wanting to be tagged as a tail-end baby boomer, as that's basically being tagged as being nothing. He and I are about the same age. It seemed like a day couldn't go by in the 80s when some gasbag 10 years older than me wouldn't start in about how "your generation simply doesn't share the same values as mine."
posted by lagomorphius at 11:04 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
oh i thought this was going to be about the creepy dude who tried to date an underage starbucks barista.
posted by poffin boffin at 11:07 AM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 11:07 AM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
For the record, I still call people "yuppies," as if to mock them. I'm not sure the full weight of the term reaches their consciences, but like "millenial" denoting a specific set of marketing and advertising strategies, it's never irrelevant.
posted by rhizome at 11:19 AM on January 5, 2017
posted by rhizome at 11:19 AM on January 5, 2017
oh i thought this was going to be about the creepy dude who tried to date an underage starbucks barista.
If we had a thread about every weirdo skeevy dude in the world we'd need to have... like at least five threads
posted by beerperson at 11:23 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
If we had a thread about every weirdo skeevy dude in the world we'd need to have... like at least five threads
posted by beerperson at 11:23 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Millennials hit puberty after internet porn was ubiquitous. That's the only metric I've ever believed.
posted by lazaruslong at 11:24 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 11:24 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
oh i thought this was going to be about the creepy dude who tried to date an underage starbucks barista.
I didn't think it was going to be all that crazy when I searched for this, but it was much crazier than I could have expected.
posted by maxsparber at 11:49 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
I didn't think it was going to be all that crazy when I searched for this, but it was much crazier than I could have expected.
posted by maxsparber at 11:49 AM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
trying to sell back Jesus Jones CDs
New Jesus Jones album due out Spring 2017. Party like it’s 1993 again...
posted by pharm at 11:51 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
New Jesus Jones album due out Spring 2017. Party like it’s 1993 again...
posted by pharm at 11:51 AM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
I think millennials are people who straddle the analog/digital cultural divide, in that their formative years coincided with the replacement of analog technologies with digital ones. They are roughly as familiar and comfortable with smartphones as a Gen Y digital native, but also remember having to find a pay phone or having a rotary phone in their homes
Well, you've describe me - a Gen X - pretty well. So still not sure what a millennial is :)
posted by nubs at 11:54 AM on January 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
Well, you've describe me - a Gen X - pretty well. So still not sure what a millennial is :)
posted by nubs at 11:54 AM on January 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
There's a clear lack of empathy here for journalists who, as the entire profession is downsized, are required to file a fixed number of stories per day/week, participate in "x" Twitter engagements, etc. It's another example of the shittiness of late stage capitalism. Journalism sucks because of capitalism. Dan seems to lack certain compunction and gets to succeed under this shitty system as a result.
posted by aydeejones at 12:07 PM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by aydeejones at 12:07 PM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
You know, all that stuff they say about us? That's bullshit! Almost none of that applies to me!
I'm only a few years younger than Nainan (Probably) and it all applies to me. I'm lazy, entitled, in love with my phone, and I have a hard time keeping a job I don't like.
Otoh, I don't have a gravitas beard, so there's that.
posted by lumpenprole at 12:20 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm only a few years younger than Nainan (Probably) and it all applies to me. I'm lazy, entitled, in love with my phone, and I have a hard time keeping a job I don't like.
Otoh, I don't have a gravitas beard, so there's that.
posted by lumpenprole at 12:20 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
There's a clear lack of empathy here for journalists who, as the entire profession is downsized, are required to file a fixed number of stories per day/week, participate in "x" Twitter engagements, etc.
Totally. WaPo, NYT, etc. are all publicly traded and under immense pressure to increase profits. They transfer that pressure to their staff and freelancers, and is not the journalist's fault they have to churn so much more to make a living. Writers often serve as their own copy editors and fact-checkers, for no extra money. There has been zero trickle down from the resurgent profitability of mainstream media.
As a freelancer, you get paid the same in 2017 to write an 800 word feature for an international publication as you did in 2005 to write an 800 word book review for a small regional magazine, all while being expected to maintain a social media online presence gratis. Ask me how I know!
posted by joechip at 12:23 PM on January 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
Totally. WaPo, NYT, etc. are all publicly traded and under immense pressure to increase profits. They transfer that pressure to their staff and freelancers, and is not the journalist's fault they have to churn so much more to make a living. Writers often serve as their own copy editors and fact-checkers, for no extra money. There has been zero trickle down from the resurgent profitability of mainstream media.
As a freelancer, you get paid the same in 2017 to write an 800 word feature for an international publication as you did in 2005 to write an 800 word book review for a small regional magazine, all while being expected to maintain a social media online presence gratis. Ask me how I know!
posted by joechip at 12:23 PM on January 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
There's a clear lack of empathy here for journalists who, as the entire profession is downsized, are required to file a fixed number of stories per day/week, participate in "x" Twitter engagements, etc. It's another example of the shittiness of late stage capitalism. Journalism sucks because of capitalism.
journalism sucks because of shitty journalists. Funding is not a panacea. some of the best funded journalistic outlets churn out crap.
posted by to sir with millipedes at 12:28 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
journalism sucks because of shitty journalists. Funding is not a panacea. some of the best funded journalistic outlets churn out crap.
posted by to sir with millipedes at 12:28 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
There's simply not enough hard news for the number of outlets in existence. I've been predicting that this will make it impossible for outlets to differentiate from each other and that many will fail as a result, and soon.
posted by rhizome at 12:38 PM on January 5, 2017
posted by rhizome at 12:38 PM on January 5, 2017
Wait, Millennials are supposed to be people who came of age in 2000? Dude, I was ten years old in 2000 and yet I seem to fall squarely into the "millennial" definition according to every article I've read, which a) always seem to be thinking of twentysomethings (I'm 26) and b) usually also seem to be thinking about the slight demographic bulge I was born into, as a whole whack of baby boomers and also some gen xers had kids. (My parents are gen-Xers, in fact, according to most definitions I can find.)
I'm starting to think this "generations" thing is kinda silly...
(as I've heard it the term was coined for people graduating high school in the 00s, and probably ends with kids born around 2000 - so you or I fall squarely into it by dint of being squarely in the middle. But honestly I feel like being born in 1996 is pretty different from being born in 1989, let alone 1982)
posted by atoxyl at 12:43 PM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'm starting to think this "generations" thing is kinda silly...
(as I've heard it the term was coined for people graduating high school in the 00s, and probably ends with kids born around 2000 - so you or I fall squarely into it by dint of being squarely in the middle. But honestly I feel like being born in 1996 is pretty different from being born in 1989, let alone 1982)
posted by atoxyl at 12:43 PM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
I've been following the saga of Dan Nainan and the people goofing on him on Twitter since the Forbes piece but this piece is the first that seems to succinctly explain the whole thing, by which I mean of course the bit where he provides documentation of a brain injury. That would probably do it :(
posted by atoxyl at 12:49 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by atoxyl at 12:49 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Though I guess we shouldn't feel too bad for him if he really is bringing in Tesla money.
posted by atoxyl at 12:57 PM on January 5, 2017
posted by atoxyl at 12:57 PM on January 5, 2017
There's a whole rabbit hole of stuff where this guy is concerned. Here's a reddit thread on the guy from last year which links to the video of the podcast cited in the DB piece. A comment links to the page for the assumed sockpuppet account for Nainan, aka "Nerdypunkkid", on Wikipedia; it's flabbergasting in its length and detail regarding his obsessive edit wars and apparent attempts to create spurious Wikipedia articles to "prove" that he's not just sockpuppeting his own Wikipedia article (which has been deleted). It's basically the Wikipedia equivalent of his over-the-top email spam.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:31 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:31 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
The idea that there's not enough hard news to support multiple news outlets seems really far out there! I mean, we desperately need journalism in most of the country. Even here in the sf bay area, no one is covering the decisions of suburban city councils, no one is tracking the misdeeds of outlying police departments. No one is reporting on the issues that impact farmers or prisoners or retail workers even two hours away from here!
posted by latkes at 2:23 PM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by latkes at 2:23 PM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
But honestly I feel like being born in 1996 is pretty different from being born in 1989, let alone 1982)
They are roughly as familiar and comfortable with smartphones as a Gen Y digital native, but also remember having to find a pay phone or having a rotary phone in their homes.
I think of my sub-generation as the first to have access to the Internet or the early Web as kids, and the next distinct group as the first to have smartphones as kids.
(obviously not everybody from either cohort had those things, even in the U.S., but I think it did have a significant impact on those of us who did)
(also nobody knows what Gen Y is? I think it might be the same as the Millennials but then I don't know what's next.)
posted by atoxyl at 2:37 PM on January 5, 2017
They are roughly as familiar and comfortable with smartphones as a Gen Y digital native, but also remember having to find a pay phone or having a rotary phone in their homes.
I think of my sub-generation as the first to have access to the Internet or the early Web as kids, and the next distinct group as the first to have smartphones as kids.
(obviously not everybody from either cohort had those things, even in the U.S., but I think it did have a significant impact on those of us who did)
(also nobody knows what Gen Y is? I think it might be the same as the Millennials but then I don't know what's next.)
posted by atoxyl at 2:37 PM on January 5, 2017
also nobody knows what Gen Y is?
We had our 9 minutes, after Gen X-ers got their 15, and we're now the forgotten generation.
posted by porpoise at 2:47 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
We had our 9 minutes, after Gen X-ers got their 15, and we're now the forgotten generation.
posted by porpoise at 2:47 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
also nobody knows what Gen Y is?
Gen Y is the previous, failed product launch. Everybody know it was a shitty rushed punt, the lamest kind of cash-in sequel, but the possibility that it would actually take off meant folks nervously teetered between mockery and straight-faced acceptance for a little while before everybody sort of got embarrassed and walked whistling away. They say that, late at night, you can still hear the "Generation Why" hot takes on the wind.
Millennial has been a way more successful rebranding.
posted by cortex at 2:47 PM on January 5, 2017 [12 favorites]
Gen Y is the previous, failed product launch. Everybody know it was a shitty rushed punt, the lamest kind of cash-in sequel, but the possibility that it would actually take off meant folks nervously teetered between mockery and straight-faced acceptance for a little while before everybody sort of got embarrassed and walked whistling away. They say that, late at night, you can still hear the "Generation Why" hot takes on the wind.
Millennial has been a way more successful rebranding.
posted by cortex at 2:47 PM on January 5, 2017 [12 favorites]
When I saw the words "brain injury", I felt really sad. A brain injury can really change a person. It's tragic. Although his behaviour may be toxic, it is also possibly a product of his accident.
posted by constantinescharity at 4:06 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by constantinescharity at 4:06 PM on January 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
According to the article I posted above, "Generation Y is a made-up generation when it became obvious that young kids didn't really fit with the cool Generation X aesthetic but not enough of them had been born to make a new generation designation." Generation Y has been replaced by the Millennial generation.
We are very much in the same situation now with the post-Millennials. Kids born since 2004 are not Millennials, but there isn't yet consensus on what to call them.
In the '90s, I thought I was Generation Y, but it turns out I was Generation X all along!
posted by chrchr at 6:01 PM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
We are very much in the same situation now with the post-Millennials. Kids born since 2004 are not Millennials, but there isn't yet consensus on what to call them.
In the '90s, I thought I was Generation Y, but it turns out I was Generation X all along!
posted by chrchr at 6:01 PM on January 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
Brian McGuinness' piece 'Dan Nainan Is The Worst Human Being Ever: The Definitive Email Collection' doesn't conclusively establish that he really is 'the worst human being ever'—the competition for that title is pretty stiff these days—but it does put him neck and neck with Scott Adams in the race.
So, what are the chances that all these fabulous gigs he is constantly ranting about are made up as well? Because they seem pretty high.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:41 PM on January 5, 2017
So, what are the chances that all these fabulous gigs he is constantly ranting about are made up as well? Because they seem pretty high.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:41 PM on January 5, 2017
"NoRelationToLea I'm 33 and technically (ugh) a millennial. It's basically anyone who came of age around the year 2000, and, welp, anyone who was 18 in 2000 is turning 35 this year."
uh technically those are willennials
millennials are people who believe that the world is ending for a thousand-year reign of christ prior to the final judgment
it's a common mistake
posted by klangklangston at 9:12 PM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
uh technically those are willennials
millennials are people who believe that the world is ending for a thousand-year reign of christ prior to the final judgment
it's a common mistake
posted by klangklangston at 9:12 PM on January 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
I'm reminded of no one so much as Derek Smart.
Not sure what I find weirder: that I immediately thought this comment was spot on or that I knew without a single act of google who Derek Smart was (and, thusly, why this comment was spot on).
posted by kjs3 at 10:10 PM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
Not sure what I find weirder: that I immediately thought this comment was spot on or that I knew without a single act of google who Derek Smart was (and, thusly, why this comment was spot on).
posted by kjs3 at 10:10 PM on January 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
hey guys who remembers when they used to say "echo boomers?"
posted by Fleebnork at 6:00 AM on January 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Fleebnork at 6:00 AM on January 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Re: Journalism - the thing is, a crummy piece on millennials will get all kinds of engagement as people go through the "so true/#notallsnakeppl/not millennial/what age are millennials/remember plaid" discussion and no advertiser will be incensed and no one will unsubscribe.
Whereas covering city politics will get like 200 clicks, 3 old coots commenting, and maybe an upset developer pulling his condo ads from your publication. This is the math of the web right now.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:25 AM on January 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Whereas covering city politics will get like 200 clicks, 3 old coots commenting, and maybe an upset developer pulling his condo ads from your publication. This is the math of the web right now.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:25 AM on January 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
also, are people seriously still saying "funnyman"?
The only funnyman I recognize is Neil Hamburger.
Everyone please post your favourite Dan Naiman joke here.
posted by Theta States at 10:10 AM on January 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
The only funnyman I recognize is Neil Hamburger.
Everyone please post your favourite Dan Naiman joke here.
posted by Theta States at 10:10 AM on January 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
« Older Ice Minarets! | "Personally, it's not been worth it." Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
"...He’s built an empire out of lies and manipulation,” said Cauvin.
This seems vaguely familiar somehow, almost as if we've recently witnessed another story of success based on online harassment and a trumped-up foundation of untruths.
posted by dersins at 7:10 AM on January 5, 2017 [22 favorites]