You’re reading default.blog. An emotional scrapbook of the Internet, technology, and the future.
Good morning, Deeists! Or good afternoon, I guess, now.
Lately, I feel like the scope of my blog is a little… I don’t know, out of control? But it’s also grown —so maybe it’s just going through puberty. I like that it’s eclectic, quasi-inspired by early WIRED and Mondo 2000. I like that the vibe that reading this thing is like stepping into early ‘00s or late ‘90s computer room. But also, it’s a little too unpredictable right now. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please let me know!
OCTOBER’S COUPON
It’s that time of month again—coupon time! I’m at nearly 38,000 subscribers, which is incredible. I never thought I’d make it this far. I think we could realistically hit 50,000 someday.
Let’s manifest it … And to celebrate that goal, this month’s special offer is 50% off:
THE CALL-IN SHOW
This week on the call-in show, we’re doing Spooky Commerce and we will have a special guest…
We’ll be talking mostly about haunted objects, so get your cursed doll stories together. I spent my weekend reading about this. At the behest of a random patron at my local magick shop, I purchased Ensouling the Effigy, which is all about creating objects that house spirits. I’ve also been thinking a lot about how enspirited objects relate to computers, a slightly different tack than my earlier explorations of anthropomorphizing our tech. Is AI a form of spirit work? And, tangentially, if the Internet is a spiritual “Otherworld,” are our digital avatars meaningfully different from a witch’s fetch1? Is going online a form of witchcraft, in and of itself?
Tune into the call-in show Thursday, 7:30 Central here, on YouTube, X, Twitch, and maybe TikTok, if it’s not being too moody.
THE KIRA COUSINS STORY
If you’re on TikTok, then you’ve probably already heard about Kira Cousins, the 23-year-old Scottish woman who faked an entire pregnancy — for nine whole months! — replete with bump photos, ultrasound pictures, a gender reveal party, and hospital updates. She even posted about complications with the baby’s heart (!!!). Her family and friends bought gifts, including a $1,000+ stroller.
Cousins claimed she’d given birth alone and posted photos leaving the hospital with the baby in a car seat. The whole thing imploded when her mom went into her room and discovered “baby Bonnie-Leigh” was actually a reborn doll, a type of realistic baby doll (with a whole community around it, that I’m long overdue for an ethnographic deep dive on). According to Cousins’ friends and family, baby never moved, cried, or could be held by anyone else, though she did post AI-generated videos.
Cousins eventually told the “father” of the baby that she had “died.” Cousins’ cousin posted the story on TikTok where it went viral.
Cousins deleted her social media initially, then came back to confirm her family and boyfriend had no idea she’d faked it in a now deleted Instagram story:
According to TikTok comment threads — and I mean, who knows — she’s done this before. At any rate, I can’t wait for the Hulu documentary or the
episode, whichever comes first.WHAT IS TABOO NOW THAT NOTHING IS TABOO?
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