It’s been a hell of a week, what with Apple making pencils, newly crowned right-wing icons being released from jail, left-wing icons giving surprisingly moving television interviews and technology nearly keeping Stephen Colbert off the air. (And that’s without mentioning the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which brought with it the traditional raft of think pieces and queasy nostalgia.) You’d be forgiven if some things managed to slip through the cracks, but that’s quite literally why we’re here. Here are some of the things that happened on this wild west frontier of an Internet over the last seven days.

Dear Unfunny People

What Happened: A YouTube comedian decided to tell fat people they were fat. Things spiraled out of control shortly thereafter.
Where It Blew Up: YouTube, blogs, media think pieces
What Really Happened: Maybe you’ve never heard of Nicole Arbour; before Labor Day weekend, that was likely the case for most people, but then the Canadian YouTuber, who describes herself as a “comedian, recording artist, motivator and emoji lover” posted this video:

As you might expect, people were upset. So upset, in fact, that YouTube actually pulled the video temporarily. (It soon returned, and there are accusations that Arbour pulled it herself) A minorindustryofthinkpiecesandresponseswasswiftlyunleashed, while Twitter—of course—had opinions on the subject:

As usual, Lindy West had the most appropriate response to the whole thing, noting that it felt dated and unfunny, but defending Arbour’s right to speak out on the subject in the first place. Which, you know, is a more nuanced response to the upset than this:

Or, for that matter, than reports that Arbour had lost her job after her employer saw the video and decided that he didn’t want to work with her after all. Expect an “I Didn’t Want To Work For You Anyway” video momentarily.

The Takeaway: Who could have foreseen that someone who says “Everybody’s worried about terrorism, but keyboard warriors are the new terrorists” could have fallen foul of the Internet? It’s unbelievable! Or a desperate plea for attention. We always get those two mixed up.

That’s Not How History Works

What Happened: Someone responded to the idea “If you love the Victorian era so much, why don’t you just move there?” by taking it a little too seriously.
Where It Blew Up: Twitter, blogs, media think pieces
What Really Happened: Historians Sarah and Gabriel Chrisman bought a house in Washington State and used it to live a simpler life, away from modern trappings… only to then share their story on the modern trapping known as the Internet. And that, of course, is where things went wrong. Twitter thought that it should perhaps point out that the couple weren’t really living in Victorian times…

It wasn’t just Twitter that got so excited it fired up the steampunk world wide web. Slate and the Washington Post were just two of the articles that made light of the pair. All they wanted to do was escape the world as it exists and then boast about it on the Internet, you monsters!
The Takeaway: As John Scalzi pointed out, the online vitriol is not necessarily a problem:

Losing Their Religion

What Happened: R.E.M., it turns out, are not big fans of Donald Trump. Go figure.
Where It Blew Up: Twitter, blogs, media think pieces
What Really Happened: Exactly what made the Trump campaign think that using a song by famously left-leaning band R.E.M. during a public appearance was a good idea may never be known. (The fact that it was “It’s The End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” might be a clue, of course; that title—and refrain—alone make it almost impossible to resist for demagogues wanting to proclaim the end times.) And, to the surprise of absolutely no-one, the band got back together to condemn it.

“While we do not authorize or condone the use of our music at this political event, and do ask that these candidates cease and desist from doing so, let us remember that there are things of greater importance at stake here,” the statement read. “The media and the American voter should focus on the bigger picture, and not allow grandstanding politicians to distract us from the pressing issues of the day and of the current Presidential campaign.”

Mike Mills, bassist from the band, took to Twitter to share some more thoughts:

A band as once-famous as R.E.M. telling Donald Trump to go screw? Cuethecoverage, ofwhichtherewasplenty. Like, alot. Does this mean we can get an R.E.M. reunion just to get a re-recorded version of “Ignoreland,” updated with Trump-centric lyrics?
The Takeaway: What no-one realized is that this is just the start of a grassroots campaign to have Michael Stipe stand as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Natalie Merchant will run as his VP.

She’s Not Perfect (She Says)

What Happened: Grace Jones throws shade on today’s pop divas, claiming that they’re middle of the road. The media is gleeful; the public, less so.
Where It Blew Up: Twitter, blogs, media think pieces
What Really Happened: 1980s supermodel, actress and singer Grace Jones is about to release her autobiography—amusingly titled I’ll Never Write My Memoirs—and, in a teaser that dropped online midweek, she surveyed the current music scene and found it wanting.

“Trends come along and people say, ‘Follow that trend’,” she writes. “There’s a lot of that around at the moment: ‘Be like Sasha Fierce (Beyonce). Be like Miley Cyrus. Be like Rihanna. Be like Lady Gaga. Be like Rita Ora and Sia. Be like Madonna.’ I cannot be like them—except to the extent that they are already being like me.”

She also wrote, “I have been so copied by those people who have made fortunes that people assume I am that rich. But I did things for the excitement, the dare, the fact that it was new, not for the money, and too many times I was the first, not the beneficiary.” And she counseled newcomers like Kanye West and FKA Twigs, “You have become only your fame, and left behind most of who you were. How are you going to deal with that? Will you lose that person forever? Have you become someone else, without really knowing it? Do you always have to stay in character for people to like you? Do you know that you are in character?”

Suffice to say, themediawentnutsaboutoneofoftheoriginaldivashandingoutwisdom. Social media, meanwhile, united behind its queen:

The Takeaway: If this leads to a full-on Grace Jones revival, that can only be seen as a victory for everything good. Never forget:

Born, Yadda Yadda Yadda

What Happened: Twitter decided to tackle the big topics this week, trying to encapsulate the entire human experience not only in 140 characters, but just four words.
Where It Blew Up: Twitter
What Really Happened: The hashtag #HumanExperienceIn4Words engulfed Twitter on Thursday (this tweet is apparently patient zero), as seemingly everyone and their 140-character friends tried to tell the world what it was all about. Suffice to say, the answers were… instructive.

The Takeaway: Just think: Somewhere amongst all of these suggestions, the right answer might actually be there. Is that comforting or scary?