David Graeber: Last News

Catherine Bray A Jewish thirtysomething, Ann (Joanna Arnow) has never been in a conventional relationship. She engages in submissive sexual relationships with “sexfriends” and seems dimly uneasy that the most longstanding of these, with Allen (Scott Cohen), is now clocking in at around a decade, with neither one of them knowing very much about the other. She asks him about himself; it turns out he’s a Zionist. She rolls away from him. The anthropologist David Graeber has analyzed the harm caused to society and individuals by the existence of meaningless so-called “bullshit jobs.” Ann is employed in a classic example of one of these: the objectives are hazy, the prospects limited; she is given an award for having worked in her office for one year and has to tell them it’s actually been over three years — and perhaps even worse, she has to go to meetings and listen to Boomers say things like, “the iPhone was invented.”

Hollywood writers – it’s interesting to note that Emma Watson has also been downing tools. The Harry Potter actor, aged just 33, explained to the FT, over a glass of Chablis at her father’s French vineyard, why she hasn’t really gone to work since 2018. Because she is Emma Watson – young, beautiful, and extremely well remunerated – she is bound to take flak for talking honestly about the need for a career break.

Polinski – aka 65daysofstatic’s Paul Wolinski – is set to release his new solo album ‘Telex From MIDI City’ next month. Employing a variety of ageing electronic music sounds and styles – such as analogue synths, MIDI, 90s IDM beats and more – he has attempted to create something that sounds up to date and free of the nostalgia with which they are usually imbued.“I have an increasingly conflicted relationship with technology”, he says. “I love working with computers.

Jarvis Cocker has taken on the role of guest editor of The Big Issue for a special edition of the magazine.