‘Second Life' Review: Birth in the Age of Algorithms
'It took forty-eight hours for the brands to find me,' Amanda Hess writes of the cascade of algorithmic changes that hit her phone when she learned that she was expecting her first child. As a 30-something in 2020, she was accustomed to seeing what she calls 'millennial slop' in her social-media feeds. Now everything was about pregnancy. Soon Ms. Hess found herself drawn into a seething performative internet culture of mom-fluencers, birthing podcasts and freaky Reddit threads.
In 'Second Life,' the author explores the ways that technology, by coded design and with our own connivance, has worked itself into life's most intimate spaces. Part memoir, part social critique, the book relates the author's turbulent experience of becoming a mother. With wit, discernment and candor (sometimes too much candor), she captures the anxiety and weirdness of reproduction in our modern screen-based, app-oriented culture.
It is important to note that Ms. Hess is no Everywoman. She's an urban liberal, a critic at large for the New York Times, who sees the world from a specific political standpoint. She is pro-choice and aware of her whiteness, and she and her husband move in social circles in which, she writes, 'gendering unborn children [has] become an uncomfortable idea.' She's also exceptionally skilled at noticing things worth seeing.
Ms. Hess begins, for instance, by talking of the curiously symbiotic relationship she developed with an app that tracked her menstrual cycle. Rather than having to 'cultivate bodily awareness,' she writes, with typical self-awareness, 'I could just outsource it to my phone.' The app warned her when her hormones might produce volatile emotions, and it informed her when she was at her most fertile. When a test confirmed her pregnancy, she told the app before she told her husband or her parents. Then came the shift in her social-media feeds.
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Yahoo
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UFC 316 preview roundtable: If Sean O'Malley loses again to Merab Dvalishvili, is this the end?
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Certainly, two of these three things were foundational elements of the 'Suga' brand and then to add to that there's the abstaining from social media … I'm kidding. Well, kind of, is O'Malley getting into golf now or what's he doing to fill the void? Is he crocheting? Did he get a New York Times subscription and start playing Sudoku? Feels like he's treating this like a do-or-die fight. That said if he loses, I expect him to move up to featherweight and return to his old puffing, typing and … well you get the point, he'd start doing all of those things again, right? Chuck Mindenhall: Doesn't it feel 'Suga' Sean is forever, like, 26 years old? It's odd that he's now 30, which is right around that age when we like to say a fighter is 'peaking.' If he can clear the Merab hurdle, I think he'd skyrocket back into that star area he was in before being humbled at the Sphere, with all those vices he's sacrificing for this fight once again at the core of his being. Advertisement I also think he moves up to featherweight if he loses, as being behind the Merab eight-ball is a nihilistic situation. With guys like O'Malley, there are still plenty of options ahead, all of which I am sure he'd just assume avoid. What becomes of "Suga" Sean O'Malley should he lose again to Merab Dvalishvili? (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) (Chris Unger via Getty Images) 2. Are you disturbed by the lack of heat for this rematch? Merab and O'Malley have been so respectful in the lead-up, haven't they? Chuck: The last time through was different, as O'Malley was holding the title and treating Merab like a nuisance to be dealt with … and we all knew he was much more than a nuisance. All the shots they were taking at each other felt more playful than anything else, strictly for entertainment purposes. I didn't sense a lot of genuine heat, outside of Tim Welch's contributions to the mix. Advertisement This time through it has been very quiet. Not just with the principals in play, but in general. I haven't heard anybody outside of the MMA spectrum mention that O'Malley is fighting this weekend, which is startling, no? Petesy: Let's be honest, 'Lack of Heat' could be title of a Netflix documentary about UFC's start to 2025. I don't know if it's anything to do with the switch up in dynamic between the lads as much as it's just fan fatigue at this point. Being a UFC fan in 2025 is like being in a semi-serious relationship. You're expected to give up a day of your life every week regardless of the stakes, intrigue or ability on display on these cards. When a genuinely good one comes along like this, I think it's just difficult for everyone to switch into the 'excitement' gear. I do think it's a really good card, but I can't remember the last time we were all frothing at the mouth for a UFC pay-per-view. It certainly hasn't been over the five months, and that's pretty sad. 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We've witnessed her shock the world before against Amanda Nunes and if she can keep this fight standing and keep her lead hand in Harrison's face, the Olympic gold medalist might be left with a lot to do by the time the championship rounds kick in. Let the record show that I don't think that will happen, though. Chuck: Julianna really said all that? About the pegging? Damn, I must've missed that segment. One of the reasons she has been a two-time champion in this sport is because she takes little sleights like that and packs it into her resolve. Nobody carries a chip like the "Venezuelan Vixen," Petesy, and I admire that you stuck to your guns on this. My thing with Harrison is the same as always. How much will that weight cut take out of her in the end? She has now been living on a restrictive diet for well over a year and getting down to 135 pounds is a recurring hell. One of these times it will come back to bite her, and we'll hear about it afterward. Will that be this time? Advertisement I think Harrison will win this fight, because I think she'll get it to the ground and do work there. Yet, I will say Peña is a live dog. We saw Ketlen Vieira survive to see the scorecards with Harrison, which made her seem … less inevitable. If she can't get the fight where she wants it? Things might get interesting in a hurry. Patchy Mix (20-1, 2 KOs), former Bellator bantamweight championship, makes his UFC debut at UFC 316. (Photo by Matt Davies/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) 4. Of all the Bellator fighters who've come over to UFC, where do you rank Patchy Mix ahead of his fight with Mario Bautista? Chuck: We've seen some good ones come through from Bellator over the years, including Eddie Alvarez, Michael Chandler and Alexander Volkov back in the day, along with Patricio Pitbull, Aaron Pico and Michael 'Venom' Page more recently. I would place Patchy Mix right up there among the best of the bunch for one reason: He's very much still in his prime. Advertisement He is 31 years old and just hitting on all cylinders, having won seven fights in a row. He hasn't taken nearly as much damage as Alvarez and Chandler (who inflicted plenty of it on each other), and he's far more proven as a former champion than, say, Pico. There's a good possibility that if Mix beats Bautista that he's catapulted into the top space to be challenging for a title, and I think he'll get his shot at some point in the near future. Petesy: I think he might be the best. There have been greats in the past, as Alvarez famously went on to claim the lightweight title after making the transition. Eddie was a year younger than Patchy when he made the move but I also think that he joined a lightweight division that wasn't as healthy as the current situation we see in the UFC's bantamweight class. 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3 hours ago
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On a Search for an Old E.V., Jay Leno's Car Obsession Came Up Clutch
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. As an energy reporter on the Business desk of The New York Times, I often cover the transition to electrify the world around us, including automobiles and heating and cooling systems. But until I spoke with the historian at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, I did not know that electric cars rattled down city streets as far back as the mid-1890s. A century ago, roughly a third of taxi drivers in New York City shuttled passengers around in electric cars. I set out to write an article about these cars, and a time before lawmakers gave deference to the oil industry by offering numerous tax breaks, paving the way for gasoline-powered vehicles. But finding an original E.V. that I could ride in proved difficult. Most of them sit in museums and personal collections. Enter the comedian — and car collector — Jay Leno. My editor suggested I reach out to Mr. Leno after learning about his 1909 Baker Electric, housed in his famous garage. Mr. Leno's team gave an enthusiastic 'Yes' in reply. When I arrived at his warehouse garage in Burbank, Calif., in April, Mr. Leno had his Baker Electric charged and ready to hit the streets. The 116-year-old car, which had been refurbished, looked like it had just rolled off the showroom floor. Still, the wooden high-top body, 36-inch rubber wheels and Victorian-style upholstery whispered the car's age. It was basically a carriage with batteries, enabling drivers to free horses from their bits and harnesses. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
