RAIN OF TERROR
A massive portion of the Texas Gulf Coast is underwater, thanks/no thanks to #Harvey. And as the waters rise, the Internet’s attention swirls around the disaster. (Fact that would typically be fun: Thing Tank is broadcast live from Houston every week, and is currently dry and safe, thank you.) Along with images of nature’s wrath (yes, those are possibly toxic gators paddling through the treetops, and yes, that approaching clump is a floating colony of fire ants), we’ve also seen humanity in action: Houstonians hand-towing their neighbors to safety in boats and rafts, the Cajun Navy reemerging to help, a hero saving lives on a jet ski, and other signs from the fourth-largest city in the country that as grim as it is, we haven’t lost everything.
GAME OVER
Meanwhile, the rest of America (and those parts of Texas that managed to hang on to premium cable) suffered another disaster altogether: the season finale of “Game of Thrones.’’ What I first thought may have been Harvey-inspired crabbiness was confirmed to be widely-shared disappointment in a season of the beloved/beloathed series that may be worse than this Winter we keep hearing about. The most affirming zing came in the form of a tombstone Adult Swim bumper (following an episode of “Rick and Morty’’) that marked the passing of decent writing in Westeros. (Cue: “The Rains of Castamere.’’)
UPRIGHT CITIZENS
Good news for your dad who just refuses — refuses— to learn. The long-maligned practice of shooting and uploading vertical videos has scored a major coup, as YouTube finally bends the knee to portrait-mode hardliners with no sense of decency or composition. A comprehensive redesign of the second most popular website on Earth finds it rolling out a new logo for the first time ever, and standing up bigly for vertical videos — which, fine, OK, whatever, but can you please turn that flash off? Dad. I said off. It’s still on. Off.
NO BROW
So, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen me, but I’m not a beauty expert. Makes no difference, because I am absolutely qualified just by treading this earth to say that squiggle brows — a new beauty craze, with emphasis squarely on “craze’’ — are no no nono no nono no no. Although I will concede that, like some new punctuation mark for your face, they do capture a state of seemingly perpetual confusion that feels fitting in a reality where, say, the first lady wears stilettos en route to a disaster area.
MICHAEL ANDOR BRODEUR
Michael Andor Brodeur can be reached at mbrodeur@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MBrodeur.
