- 11 Things You Missed On The Internet
- Posts
- 11 Things You Missed On The Internet | 02.02.24
11 Things You Missed On The Internet | 02.02.24
We are the world.
Brandon Wenerd
February 02, 2024
Happy Friday, happy Groundhog Day. Don’t drive angry.
I just watched Netflix’s new documentary about the making of 1985’s “We Are The World”, called The Greatest Night in Pop.
I remember my middle school music teachers showing us the music video in class. This was around 1998 or so. It felt a little cheesy and dated at the time (lots of big gain and grainy analog TV footage that felt old fashioned as a teenager) but it’s a cool moment to relive almost 40 years later. I highly recommend watching it.
A thought struck me while watching it. Could a moment like this even be possible in 2024? It was a historic event. Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones and a who's who of the music elite at the top of their game banded together for a cause, their voices harmonizing in a shared mission for African hunger relief. From Willie Nelson and Stevie Wonder to Dylan and Springsteen and Huey Lewis and Diana Ross, the cavalcade of talent was nothing short of staggering. They all freed their scheduled and crammed into a studio late at night after the American Music Awards, a testament to the power of collective action. It was a beautiful split second of unity for a shared cause.
My favorite part of the documentary is Bob Dylan. Dylan steals the show in all his Dylanness by mumbling through the song, trying to hit all the high notes. Yet unlike Waylon Jennings who walked out the door, Dylan is a genuine team player, true to form. His stoic facial expressions in a sea of bubbly performers are priceless.
“We Are The World” underscored a bygone era of unity now fragmented by our splintered media diets. We get award shows, sure, but besides NFL games and maybe the Olympics, is there really a common event that truly unites some of the biggest cultural figures of our time in a way that people really care about?
I don’t think there is. Everything is defined to having a lane and sticking to it in America these days. Everything we consume in America is compartmentalized these days. It’s bespoke to you, the individual. The algorithm is the only god.
There aren’t common experiences anymore that people from all walks of life can truly engage with or have an opinion on. There’s a lot of everything. It’s kind of sad to have a lot of everything because scarcity is what creates specialness.
Which brings me to…
The Enhanced Games.
Exactly what you think they are. The idea is literally the Olympics on steroids.
Peter Thiel, the controversial Silicon Valley billionaire behind Paypal who doubled down as an early-days investor in Facebook, says he’s willing to provide financial backing to the Enhanced Games.
Think of it as the Olympics, but with a twist - a cocktail of supplements and "anti-drugs" designed to shatter human limits. Juicing is more than allowed - it’s a encouraged, if not prerequisite. The goal is understanding what humans are capable of when everyone is on something. Here's Thiel, flipping the script on traditional sports dogma, all the while doling out paychecks to his superhuman gladiators in a spectacle of swimming, gymnastics, track and field, weightlighting and combat sports. All for a circus.
It's Always Sunny star and creator Rob McElhenney is already throwing his hat in the ring to make a docuseries about it.
Please please please let me make a docuseries about this I beg you
— Rob McElhenney (@RMcElhenney)
Feb 1, 2024
I think the idea is genius and, dare I say it?, potentially unifying. I’m not a traditionalist at all anymore when it comes to sports. The 1998 home run record race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa was electrifying, as was the year Barry Bonds broke the record in 2001. Who cares if they were roided up like Ivan Drago? It made the whole spectacle more dramatic?
In this era of NIL upheavals, multi-billion dollar sports TV contracts, baseball players scoring eye-staggering contracts, and the reality that there are no sacred cows in the world of high stakes athletics except clean green M-O-N-E-Y, the Enhanced Games don't just push the envelope; it shreds it.
Perhaps the future of entertainment is where sports and science dance in a ballet of potential? It's a provocative thought: Could Thiel's vision for the Enhanced Games stitch together a new fabric of unity that mixes medical and technological advancement with sports, much like "We Are the World" once did for music?
It’s a crazy thought. But I like crazy thoughts. In a world where boundaries blur between the natural and the enhanced, the Enhanced Games might just become the new cultural symphony, a harmonious blend of innovation, entertainment, and, controversy. A lot of controversy.
At the end of the day, controversy is the unifying factor. That’s what makes your cultural sausage taste delicious.
—
Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend everyone. Also, note a scheduling change: I’m taking Monday off because I’m going skiing in Aspen with my brother and best friend from high school. I’ll try to get a hefty newsletter prepared for Wednesday. Follow my alpine adventures over on Instagram if you’re into that sort of thing! And, of course, email me if you have any feedback or comments on the newsletter: [email protected]
Richard Nixon Designed A Play The Dolphins Ran In The Super Bowl
Richard Nixon was a big NFL guy back in the day. In 1972, during his campaign, Nixon shared a memorable moment in his presidential limousine discussing football with journalist Hunter S. Thompson, despite Thompson's well-known disdain for him. Tricky Dick’s passion for football extended beyond casual conversation; he even once offered a game strategy suggestion to Don Shula, the coach of the Miami Dolphins, before Super Bowl VI.
Here’s that story.
Ravens TE Mark Andrews Helped Save A Woman’s Life On A Southwest Flight
Bro move of the week.
The Best Valentine’s Day Gifts For Her (2024)
Don’t settle for chocolates and flowers this year, gentlemen.
Fishermen Spot Rare Clouds Off Key West That Look Like UFOs
Holes in the sky! Holes in the sky! “Hole punch” clouds are easily the clouds with the coolest name.
Bradley Cooper Pays Vince Vaughn Perceived Backhanded Compliment About His ‘Wedding Crashers’ Performance
Wedding Crashers is the perfect comedy. I miss quoatable movies. I seriously can’t remember the last truly quotable comedy. There are plenty of funny movies, but I’m talking about the movies you can sit around for an hour with your buddies and just recite every notable line. It’s quite a cultural achievement to make a movie like that.
Multiple Pilots Describe Seeing UFOs ‘Forming Triangles’ To Air Traffic Control In Canada
Ever notice how they’re always in the shape of triangles?
‘Nahuelito,’ Argentina’s Version Of The Loch Ness Monster, Caught On Video
Today I learned that ole Nessy has cousin in South America.
Brad Pitt Bailed On ‘Snatch’ Role Day Before Filming Started, Needed A Night Of Guinness To Be Convinced To Return (Exclusive)
Sometimes you just need a beer.
Enjoy The EDM Remix Of ‘One Last Breath’ By Creed That The Internet Is Going Nuts Over
This is a certified banger.
SpongeBob Will Perform The Legendary ‘Sweet Victory’ Before Nickelodeon’s Super Bowl Broadcast
“Sweet Victory” is an absolute banger of a tune SpongeBob and Co. performed during the Bubble Bowl in “Band Geeks,” the classic episode from the show’s second season.
Online Poker Player Wildly Claims Covert Op Helped Him Secretly Swipe Thousands From Unsuspecting Foe
This story feels like classic Internet copypasta but man, it’s a good one. Talk about having a leg up at the table.
Bonus Content!
Music Friday!
Big thanks to the reader who wrote in last week to tell me how much they enjoyed the 11 Things You Missed On The Internet Spotify playlist. It made my Friday. Thank you! My fiancée was pretty sick of me talking about it on the drive up the Eastern Sierra Highway last Friday.
Some great music came out this past week, plus I found some old jams in my daily listening. Here are this week’s new additions to the 11 Things You Missed On The Internet Spotify playlist:
“Tell Me” by Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
“Read The Room” by The Smile, the group with Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood with Tom Skinner.
“Little By Little”, a new song by Widepread Panic that’s a banger, IMO.
“Moon Base Drive” by California surf rock icons The Ventures. I used a Ventures song in an edit I made on Instagram of my recently ski trip to Mammoth (tap here to watch it!) and can’t tell you how much I love this kind of music.
“Poxa” by Brazilian bossa nova vibemasters Cortex
“This Summer Love” by singer songwriter Chris Stills
“She’s a Bad Mama Jama” by Carl Carlton. Just because…
“$10 Cowboy”, a new one by Charley Crockett
“Three Little Birds”, Kacey Musgrave’s cover of the Bob Marley classic from the soundtrack of the new biopic about the reggae legend.
“Turn The Lights Back On”, a new song by the great Billy Joel.
Thanks again for reading, watching, and supporting BroBible. I’ll see you next week. If you have any comments or feedback on the newsletter, email me at [email protected].
Join the conversation