Pigmail #4
[ed. note: I rambled a lot in this one, so if it cuts off in your email client, click above to view in browser đ]
Dear hoglets,
Very exciting life news this week: I have transitioned to My Winter Coat! Yes, after a solid week of shivering in my summer coat every evening, the time has come to instead sweat in the big puffy Primark coat that makes me look like a goth Baymax. The dog has also been forced to start wearing his raincoat for bedtime walks, after which my mother wrestles him into his little fleecy pyjamas while he offers no help or co-operation whatsoever. I enjoy these pyjamas very much because they make him look like a sheep.
Other than that... gang, you know I hate to bring bummers into the Pigmail, but I have to say that the news for trans people in the UK lately has been solidly un-good. I'm working on a longer post about what the experience has been like for the past couple of years as someone transitioning but not-yet-passing in this country, but overall I would just say: please keep on being kind to your trans & non-binary loved ones. The world at large does not seem very friendly, but at the same time, I truly believe that most people do not want to cause harm, and every single little act of allyship reinforces that belief.
ONTO THE RECS
The Recs Sec(tion)
- The other day, during a shift in the soups and canned veg aisle, my colleague and I were asked whether our store still sells "all day breakfast in a tin". Un(?)fortunately, we do not, and the customer had to make do with a can of sausage and beans, but I could not get this haunting phrase out of my mind. All day breakfast... in a tin. We really do sell some depressing products in what I like to call 'the cursed mod'[1] but for some reason the concept of 'all day breakfast in a tin' captured my imagination in a way that Spam, jarred hot dogs, and even the supremely dubious 'chicken in white sauce' have never managed. In researching this item, I came across an almost certainly AI-generated page where the agent ranks reviews of three different canned breakfast products: Hunger Breaks All Day Breakfast 395g; Hunger Breaks All Day Breakfast 395g Pack of 2; and Hunger Breaks All Day Breakfast 395g Pack of 4. My personal highlight: "Choose the single 395g format if storage space is tight or you are still deciding whether tinned breakfast suits your household." Certainly this sort of superior service journalism is worth the destruction of our economy and environment!
- My queen Ashnikko covered Gwen Stefani for Triple J! Her squeaks delight me. I really loved her album 'Smoochies' last year!
- I love love loved this essay on authenticity and imperfection on the 'raw & feral' substack. Danielle continues to serve as a massive inspiration and encouragement and her thoughts echo many of my own. I think for those of us with - believe it or not based on the quality of this very publication - perfectionist streaks, it takes a lot of convincing that it's okay for something to be, like, B grade. That we're not going to fail or be found guilty by some kind of universal court[2] for daring to put something only mostly great in front of others' eyes. It is difficult to internalise, but I think the difficulty is worth it!
The Kpop Korner
Lee Soo-man, literally the SM in SM Entertainment (one of theeee big big kpop companies), launched his A2O project this week under his new company, with groups A2O May (promoting in China), A2O Lite, and whatever the boy one's called.[3]
Now, part of being a kpop fan is accepting the unfortunate reality that most new groups debut with a child or two as the youngest member(s), usually 16 but sometimes as young as 14. Anecdotally, I'd say that it's become less common & more frowned upon in recent years, as the industry has targeted the global market more, BUT sadly because kpop depends on young people both as talent and as consumers... it happens. I feel like there needs to be more legal protection in place for these young artists, SEPARATE from their parents if possible (lest we end up with more New Jeans-esque court cases), but that's just my opinion as an outsider.
I was bopping through A2O Lite's MV when I suddenly had the creeping realisation that there were actually a lot more kids in this music video than is typical even for a debuting group. Guys: of the nine members, SEVEN of them were born in or after 2010. Usually, you at least have the slight cultural reassurance that the older members are gonna take care of the babies, but there's only one member who's turned 18 (just!), and that isn't even the age of majority in Korea. I believe this is a profound and worrying failure to take care of these girls, many of whom I think have moved to Seoul from their home countries? And that's not even speaking of Lee Soo-man's fixation with rotating members out of his groups, or the usage of AI that's baked into this project as a whole. As usual, the best and most thoughtful take I've seen on this topic is by (sigh) @bigthighthescienceguy on Tiktok, and if you can access his video then I do recommend it. I just don't know how you fix this aside from through the law at this point.
A wordy one this week, but I hope you enjoyed! Take care out there and I'll see you next time xoxo
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