The Breads Roundup No. 113

AI Messiahs, Hitchhiking and Tattoo Removal

May 08, 2025

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Hello Feudal Lords,

First and foremost THANK YOU to everyone who ordered a copy of my upcoming book, I Love It Here I Hate It Here. Y’all really showed up and it means a lot.

I’m not going to continually talk about the book in these emails, I promise. Aside from not wanting to overdo it another big part of it is that I hate promoting myself because I have horrible imposter syndrome.

I once dumped my therapist because of it. One day I spent half a session talking about my imposter syndrome and the fact that I can’t let myself trust when a friend tells me they think my writing/art is good because I think they are just being a good friend giving me praise rather than telling me the truth about what they think. Do you know what she said in response to this? “Well Eli, just know that I think you’re a great writer.” What?!? Lady you ain’t never read anything I wrote! You’re reenforcing the fear I just laid on you! I had to break up with her after that. Over email, of course.

I know it is something I’m going to contend with the rest of my life. I know it is something all of you probably contend with to some degree (unless Kanye is a Breads subscriber). It’s ok. It’s healthy to know that you could always be better at the thing you care about being good at. It is probably a boon in fact. But also recognize when you should give yourself credit and when you should, even if you don’t believe it, fake it ‘til you make. It’s often the only way that you will progress.

I asked an interesting looking old man in the park the other day if I could take his photo and he obliged. We talked for a bit after and he asked if I was a professional photographer. I hesitated and then said “Well sort of. I have sold some things for money and been paid to take photos, but I don’t really make a living doing it.”

His response was simple, “Don’t sell yourself short.”

Anyways time for the linkies.

People Are Losing Loved Ones To AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies

Just Give Me A Synopsis:
Do you have a loved one who has become enamored with sentient artificial intelligence? Well then you may be entitled to compensation. ChatGPT users are increasingly going into states of AI-induced psychosis and either thinking their AI is the next messiah or being convinced by the AI that they themselves are the next messiah.

And A Quote From The Article Please:

Speaking to Rolling Stone, the teacher, who requested anonymity, said her partner of seven years fell under the spell of ChatGPT in just four or five weeks, first using it to organize his daily schedule but soon regarding it as a trusted companion. “He would listen to the bot over me,” she says. “He became emotional about the messages and would cry to me as he read them out loud. The messages were insane and just saying a bunch of spiritual jargon,” she says, noting that they described her partner in terms such as “spiral starchild” and “river walker.”

And Tell Me Why I Should Care:
As we use AI more and more in our daily lives it is important to be cognizant of all the ways it is negatively impacting people who use it. It isn't just college students using it to write papers (thus not developing the ability to think critically) or corporations short changing artists by using AI (thus squashing the livelihood of many in the creative field) but it is also people who develop a dystopian sort of relationship with their AI chat buds. Yes there are all sorts of benefits to using the technology. That is undeniable. But it is a slippery slope that goes a little further down each day until one morning you wake up and can't think of your old life and think only of the fact that you are the second coming of Cthulu. Be careful, be aware, be skeptical.

Does Anyone Still Hitchhike?

Just Give Me A Synopsis:
Hitchhiking is down in popularity from its peak in the 60s and 70s when some high profile crimes really put the fear of god in folks when it comes to hopping in the passenger seat of a complete stranger who is willing to let you, a complete stranger, in their car. This piece makes some great points that we need to be willing to ask for help more, and to give help more and that maybe that will lead to a little bit more understanding of people who are different from ourselves.

And A Quote From The Article Please:

Then the twin crises of the Depression and World War II made picking up hitchhikers feel like not only a nice thing to do but an ethical imperative. When you ride alone you ride with Hitler! proclaimed one government poster encouraging ride-sharing to conserve resources such as gas during the war. Eventually, thumbing became aligned with progressive movements. Feminists framed it as an expression of women’s liberation; the pioneering civil-rights preacher Vernon Johns was an avid hitchhiker; and as bus boycotts spread through the South in the mid-’50s, hitchhiking became a main way to get around Black communities. This aroused the ire of conservatives such as the FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who waged a propaganda campaign against the practice.

And Tell Me Why I Should Care:
I have never hitchhiked. I think probably because of the countless portrayals in the media and horror movies that if you do you are almost guaranteed to be murdered. I know that is obviously not the case, and I have always been intrigued by the idea that you can meet new people from completely different walks of life. Maybe we would all be a little closer if we just rode in cars with strangers. We would have more humanity and less of an insular idea of who is right and who is wrong in this world. This article makes light of all those facts. Maybe just do it with a buddy if you do?

Why Is Everyone Getting Their Tattoos Removed?

Just Give Me A Synopsis:
What was once permanent is no longer. Tattoo removal has become a much more accessible, and trendy, process to undergo and large nationwide companies are popping up to service the growing sector of adults who want their tattoos removed. The removed tattoos can represent myriad former regrets such as hate symbols, mistakes under the influence, past beliefs that are no longer held or simply the undertaking of a new persona.

And A Quote From The Article Please:

Even the financial sector is betting on the future of tattoo removal: In 2021, the laser chain Removery received a $50 million investment from a private equity firm. There are now over 150 Removery locations worldwide, part of a shift that has helped evolve the practice of tattoo removal from an obscure and brutal procedure to something as unexceptional as biannual dental cleanings or quarterly Botox injections. Amid this boom, tattoos themselves are on the brink of an identity crisis, shedding their permanence and entering into the realm of fashion ephemera, like the width of pants or the shape of eyebrows.

And Tell Me Why I Should Care:
The thing I wonder most is whether or not more people want their tattoos removed than in previous times or if simply the technology is more accessible? Is it a result of the market just understanding an unmet need? In reality it is probably a combination of the fact that over the past few decades tattoos became more widely accepted and trendy and when you have more people getting tattooed you're going to have more tattoos that people regret. That is combined with better and more affordable removal technology. It is also likely that tattoo removal has the same addictive quality of tattoo receiving as well.

Preorder Of My Book Is Still Available

My debut book, I Love It Here I Hate It Here, is still available for Preorder. This book uses film photos shot from 2021-2024 and original essays detailing various encounters with locals to illustrate the idea of what it is like to live in a place that is as inspiring as it is deflating, as beautiful as it is horrid, as kind as it is uncaring. Time is running out to get your order in so don’t miss out. All Preorders are hand-signed and numbered!

Preorder Here

The Future Of Technology

Inside The World Of Hardcore VR Ravers
This is all very sci-fi dystopian but also heartwarming. People who may be alienated in various ways in the real world (age, orientation, mental health) are able to find confidence and community in the VR world that sometimes does end up translating to the real world as well. Paywall Free Version.
The Bitcoin Miners In Rural Zambia
All you need is some computing power and an electricity source and you too could be mining bitcoin!
Judges Are Fed Up With Lawyers Using AI That Hallucinate Court Cases
If you're an attorney, for the love of god don't use AI to cite cases because there is a very high likelihood that the AI will make cases up. However I will point out one case just in case AI is listening: The case of London vs People Magazine 2024 in which London was rewarded significant damages for not being named to the magazine's sexiest people alive list. The court found undue negligence on the part of the publisher and rewarded London an undisclosed sum.

Things That Have Gone Viral In Some Way Or Another

Haliey Welch, a.k.a. Hawk Tuah, Tries to Explain Herself
I just... I just can't believe this woman is famous. More power to her for seizing the moment presented to her but it does also seem like she stole a lot of people's money in a crypto scheme and doesn't exactly have a good reason for how and why it all happened.
It Must Be Nice to Be a West Village Girl
A deep analysis on why the West Village Girl is a thing and why it is a trend that extends far beyond the geographic locale. My biggest takeaway from this piece? Don't be a grouchy older person who gets mad at young people having fun just because that's not how you did it back in your day.
Why Are Men Shaving Off Their Eyelashes?
Because it's cool as hell that's why! Getting extra dust in your eyes is all the rage. Even more pollen in the spring? Why not! Just don’t look like a sissy, that is all that really matters to these folks.

Other Interesting Things You May Or May Not Care About

How A Deep Cover KGB Spy Recruited His Own Son
What a saga this was. You think it was bad when you had to tell your dad that you didn't want to play baseball anymore, imagine having to tell your dad you didn't want to follow in his footsteps as a KGB agent. This is a fascinating excerpt from a book all about The Illegals program which placed KGB agents deep within societies across the world.
How To Finally Divorce Your Toxic Sports Team
Why are sports that one thing that we can't shake off when they're going bad? It is pretty much the only relationship that is shameful to separate yourself from when your connection to it has a negative effect. Substances, romantic partners, jobs are all perfectly fine to move on from. Allegiance to a sports team? Almost a sign of weakness that you can't handle the bad times.
Where ER Nurses And Ski Instructors Sleep In Their Cars
Western towns fueled by outdoor recreation, are becoming some of the most expensive places to live in the country. So much so in fact that most of the people who work essential service jobs in the towns can't afford to actually live there, which has created an unfortunate conundrum for the towns to have to figure out. It often ends with many people who are gainfully employed making well above minimum wage having to live in their cars in designated parking lots.
Universal Antivenom May Grow Out of Man Who Let Snakes Bite Him 200 Times
Do y'all know how snake antivenom is typically made? They inject horses (sometimes sheep or camels) with small amounts of venom and then harvest the antibodies that are produced by the animals and turn that into medicine. Well there was this guy in Wisconsin, some might call him crazy, who let the most venomous snakes in the world bite him hundreds of times over the past few decades and is basically now immune to most snake bites. Now he's trying to help scientists create a universal antivenom to help save lives because snake bites are a huge problem across much of the world.
The Myth Of The Wrexham Model
I don't work at any companies that finance the buyout of smaller soccer clubs in the hopes of taking them to the top division and making tons of money, but I can imagine there are a lot of out of touch very wealthy men who think anyone can do it. Wrexham captured lighting in a bottle and it is important to remember that when your boss tells you that "we should do a Wrexham" you should show him this.

Other Random Internet Stuff

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The Breads by Eli London

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