tiredcatbites

[tiredcatbites]

Hitchhiker's Field Guide to Rumors Research

Research is rewarding, worthwhile, and engaging on when you LIKE what you're looking up. Articles concerning the election or the weather are super big right now, but I don't want to talk about either. I want to talk about the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now, I'm not the biggest football fan by far, but I've recently started to enjoy following the games-- and I'm from South Jersey, so I like the Eagles. It comes with the driver's license. Searching "Eagles" in Buzzsumo, the biggest post yields results concerning the Nov 5 trade deadline. We know the Eagles need fresh blood, and amount of clicks proves other fans know it too. I googled "eagles trade", and I even saw 15 minute long speculation videos about possible trades. The big rumor, or suggestion, is that the Eagles should acquire Von Miller, an OLB from the Bills.

For the not-footballers, The Eagles need a wide reciever; that is, a guy that can run and catch the quarterback's throws, and a linebacker, a guy that defends against the other team. Because the best players were out on injury, the team has been kind of sucking with no one to carry them, so people are proposing they get a veteran defensive player to help out for a couple million dollars. I read multiple articles and even watched those drawn out Youtube videos; The Philly Voice merely speculates and doesn't think there will be any blockbuster picks, Sporting News believes the pick will be Amari Cooper, and Eagles Now by Chat Sports wants to believe that Maxx "The Condor" Crosby would be traded in (that will never happen).

Even though there are many more takes on both Twitter and Reddit, I found no definite evidence that the Eagles are looking to trade anyone else or add anyone to the team. So I did my research, but the NFL is made of money, they won't reveal their cards so easily. Even though I have nothing material to show for my hour of research, I actually learned a lot about the logistics of player management-- maybe I'm finally qualified to play Madden.

[tiredcatbites]

Reading Laterally; converging Medially

Recently, I've been super into watching the menswear guy dunk on people on twitter;

No one is safe from criticism on his page. Celebrities, politicians, and regular people all should live in fear of too-tight blazers. But while I enjoy his threads, is he even really qualified to talk to people like that?

His bio already includes a few links, so let's investigate, together.

Put This On is a men's style blog, and sure enough, Derek Guy is listed. The link circles back to his twitter, but that isn't enough. Googling him (he's listed in the search bar as an "internet personality", by the way) you can find his personal blog, Die Workwear, as well as his business Instagram, die_workwear (branding is consistent, at least). After looking around, I found an article he wrote in 2023 for The Nation, supporting his claims. His twitter fame has been featured on GQ, Politico, and NBC news, so... this guy is literally all and everything he says he is. He just talks about men's fashion, but he takes pride in his work, and you can tell. As an aside, he runs a Ralph Lauren (yes, like polo) fanpage. I guess even niche creator need hobbies too.

[tiredcatbites]

Go Upstream, Even Though You're Not a Salmon

In keeping things lighthearted, I was watching a "Viral Vines and Where They are Now Video", and thought about a lot of other memes. After going viral, are you supposed to live your life like you did before? Do people recognize you? There are people who somehow manage to become famous (see the D'Amelios or that Yodeling Walmart Kid or the "Hawk Tuah" girl) but what about the regulars? I bring you this guy:

I always laugh even though the joke is dead because making fun of guys is funny and this random fratboy has been circulating the web since at least 2019. And it's got some funny variations.

So, who is he? By searching "Don't kill yourself you're too pretty guy" I found this video, and it does look like him, but I needed more.

I put the picture into google image search and also searched the meme's origin, and it led me to this magazine article, but I had to see for myself. I dug hard through this guy's Media tab on twitter, and I found it! The original post was a snapchat post from a guy named Tim.

Someone else ripped it and added various captions; and it's still being done.

Regardless, Tim seems to be enjoying a normal life, and I believe he also works part time as a model. Good for him!

[tiredcatbites]

Journey to the West (Journey into fact-Checking

Before diving into the meat of this class, I'd like to proclaim I am a professional self taught fact-checker. I was definitely the annoying "that's not true!" kid, and I've done enough research of the last two elections to have an idea of what I'm doing. But instead of politics, I wanted to address something lighthearted-- WHO is "My New Character"?

While scrolling on Tiktok, I came across what looked like an animation or edit of what looks like a reject from the PBS Kids show, Arthur. The caption of the Tiktok describes "His new character, a chill guy that lowkey doesn't give a fuck". I assumed the editor just made a gag character for laughs, but plenty of people were repeating the caption as if it were a copypasta, detailing the lore of "My New Character".

I laughed and showed this Tiktok to a friend, and she shouted "That's Dexter"! The audio overlay is apparently from the popular crime TV show Dexter, where the main character (Dexter) describes being unable to be social as other people can, and perhaps wonders if that is why he enjoys killing. Now, I was interested, seriously. The Edit I linked is a remake of another (There are A LOT of posts in this genre, but this seems to be one of the first that blew up this month). I lost track of what I was looking for, but thankfully the algorithm brought me to another remake, a parody edit showcasing My OLD Character. the creator tags the artist as @/phillipbanks. Turns out, this guy is on twitter, and those are his OCs that I've been joking about. He first posted this character in October of 2023:

And this is His New Character!

The creator seems to recognize his character is a sleeper hit, and now he sells merch of this character. I'm kind of glad to have found a cool creator in a silly meme, and the journey there wasn't so bad, either.