2023 and me

Variety pack / available for pastries

Jan 15, 2023

∙ Paid

Starting now, every third column of the month will be subscriber-only, ending the Occasional–Chaotic paywall era of Available for Parties.

I’ve also permanently de-paywalled two posts I had a lot of fun writing: “Our Robots, Ourselves,” about the possibility of self-conscious AI—all the more relevant with the rise of ChatGPT—and “Love is the ultimate fiat currency, babe,” about the outrageously plausible theory that Woody Harrelson’s father killed Kennedy.

Paywalled columns will now emphasize the “finsta” aspect of “alexhowefinsta.”

—What do I mean by “finsta?” Caroline Forsey explains:

I first heard the term "Finsta" from my 16-year-old cousin. She had just taken a ridiculous selfie of herself, and had declared it "Finsta-worthy".
When I asked what she meant, she explained a "Finsta" is a fake Instagram, or a "Finstagram" (shortened for cool factor, probably).
"But … Why do you need a fake Instagram account? Isn't one enough?" I asked her.
She showed me her real Instagram account—a perfect, edited collage of great moments with high school friends, her prom date, and vacation shots with family.
"My real Instagram account is kind of fake—like, only pictures of my 'best' life," my cousin explained. "I use my Finsta to share funny, inside jokes with my closest friends. My real Instagram has like, 400 followers. My fake one only has like, eight."