Week of Feb. 23: Costco makes a unanimous DEI decision as Musk gets his toes licked
Good News is a weekly collection of stories from this week about things that were actually pretty nice. From pop culture to maybe even some politics, we all deserve a dose of good news.
This week: Elon Musk and Donald Trump get a taste of their own AI-induced medicine, Costco distinguishes itself by actively standing up for DEI, Pokémon fans get exciting news, and more.
Costco, Apple, John Deere stand firm on DEI
Ever since Trump’s executive order aimed at abolishing DEI initiatives, an alarming number of companies have bowed their heads and done away with key internal policies aimed at supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion. One company which has stood firm, however, is Costco. And this week, Costco doubled down on its commitment to DEI initiatives.
Costco had its annual meeting this week, where it addressed a proposal from conservative shareholders which claimed the store’s DEI initiatives are “discriminatory” and should be done away with. Costco’s board of directors struck down the proposal. Unanimously.
Two other major companies took similar stances on Wednesday. Apple shareholders rejected a proposal to scrap the company’s diversity programs by an impressive margin of 98 to 2. John Deere investors shut down a similar proposal by an overwhelming margin as well, with just 1.3% of shareholders voting to shut down DEI.
Embarrassing AI video hacks federal TVs
As many writers have opined on this website, over and over again, AI art is awful. In the immortal words of Hayao Miyazaki, it’s “an insult to life itself.” But few people love AI more than Elon Musk, the same man who is also slashing government departments and jobs with the reckless abandon of a four-year-old with a chainsaw.
That’s just one reason why it was so glorious that, on Monday, TV screens at the Department of Housing and Urban Development were hacked to play an AI-generated video on loop. The video in question displayed Donald Trump in the foreground, kissing Elon Musk’s feet and grotesquely sucking his toes. Overlaid across the scene was the text, “LONG LIVE THE REAL KING.”
The text is in reference to Trump’s post on Truth Social last week, where he congratulated himself for undoing New York’s congestion pricing by exclaiming, “Long live the king!”
While this references the dark turn the US is taking, this nugget of resistance is aimed straight for both Trump’s and Musk’s weakest points: their egos. To quote a recent point made by Adam Conover, they are both deeply insecure men. The days of “when they go low, you go high” are unfortunately over. This video is a sweeping low kick, and you can easily imagine how embarrassed and infuriated it made both men.
To make things even more cartoonish, officials could not figure out how to take control of the TVs back, and so had to go around individually unplugging each one. The video ended up looping for about five minutes.
If you’re going to use AI, this is definitely how to use it.
Pokémon Day dished out plenty to be excited for
Pokémon Day, February 27, is a sacred day to Pokémon fans. It marks the anniversary of the release of the first Pokémon games, but nowadays, fans have learned to expect a Nintendo Direct-style presentation which usually drops the biggest Pokémon announcements of the year. And this year’s presentation didn’t disappoint.
For me and many others, the biggest announcement is that more episodes of Pokémon Concierge, the best and most perfect thing The Pokémon Company has ever done, will premiere on Netflix in September. We already knew more Pokémon Concierge was coming, but having a date is enough to help me survive the next several months.
We also found out more about Pokémon Legends Z-A which solidified the new Legends series as the true innovator in the Pokémon oeuvre. While the graphics could look … better, Legends will be the first-ever Pokémon game to feature battles with dynamic movement. In other words, you can dodge. Like in the show. The game’s first partner Pokémon were also announced: Totodile, Chikorita, and Tepig. (Totodile for life, baby.)
Pokémon Champions was also revealed. While the game remains mysterious and is still in development, it appears to be a Pokémon Stadium-style game where players can challenge real people in real time. In addition for the “Switch family of consoles,” it will also be available for iPhone and Android.
Nathan Fielder’s splendidly awkward Rehearsal will return
Nathan Fielder has dug the most remarkable niche for himself. Nathan For You saw Fielder “helping” people grow their businesses in the most absurd ways possible. 2023’s The Rehearsal felt like a grandiose expansion of that conceit, wherein Fielder used his HBO-sized budget to create simulations that would enable people to rehearse for moments in their real lives.
The concept slowly gets out of hand in the most glorious, surreal, gut-punch kind of way. The season also came to an actual conclusion, which cast doubt on whether or not there would be a second. But on Thursday, Fielder and HBO made an unexpected announcement: The Rehearsal is coming back. And soon.
Season 2 premieres on April 20. We won’t have to wait too long before Fielder and his portable laptop rig are back in our lives.
An excellent month for games
Meanwhile, February has been an eventful, excellent month in the world of video games. The big headline is Monster Hunter Wilds, the long-awaited follow-up to Monster Hunter: World which releases today, February 28. What’s more, Wilds is earning generally positive reviews. The gist is that it’s a good entry point for newbies, while longtime fans will be pleased overall but might find it too streamlined.
But there’s so much happening even beyond Wilds. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii came out last week, and its merits are borne in the game’s title alone. It’s not trying to be some artsy take on what a pirate in the modern day might be like. We’re talking tricorn hats and cell phones. In other words, it’s silly in the best way possible. It’s the ultimate balm for our dark times.
The calendar won’t be letting up, either. There’s something for everyone. Early reviews of Two Point Museum are out, with Kotaku calling it a “nearly perfect tycoon game,” making it a very welcome hit of nostalgia. Later, the highly-anticipated Assassin’s Creed Shadows is out on March 20. Long story short, there’s plenty for gamers to be excited about.
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