Kneeling Bus

Jan 11, 2025 | kneelingbus.substack.com | Drew Austin

The prospect of TikTok suddenly vanishing is a fascinating thought experiment that the United States might actually conduct soon: What if one of the pillars of contemporary reality suddenly vanished? How would we reallocate all those newly available hours of screen time? Would everyone start volunteering and baking bread and hanging out at the Elks Lodge? Would kids go outside and play flag football again? Would all the silly restaurant gimmicks end?

Dec 20, 2024 | kneelingbus.substack.com | Drew Austin

Happy holidays from Kneeling Bus! Annual subscriptions are discounted 20% through the end of the year. That’s a modest $3.33/month which is less than most cups of coffee cost. Close 2024 out with a BOLD MOVE and give yourself—or someone else—the gift of Bus.

Dec 6, 2024 | kneelingbus.substack.com | Drew Austin

Last weekend, someone we were hanging out with mentioned Hawk Tuah, the meme that refuses to die, and my wife asked, “what’s that?”—revealing that she, enviably, had somehow missed the whole thing. She had no idea what it was.

Nov 21, 2024 | kneelingbus.substack.com | Drew Austin

If the internet ever provided an escape from reality, the opposite is true today: Now you’re more likely to escape from reality by putting your phone down and going for a walk outside. Even then, what you’re trying to escape from is still latent in the environment—the grass you’re touching contains the same toxins that the internet has filled you with.

Oct 11, 2024 | kneelingbus.substack.com | Drew Austin

Refusing to wait in long lines is a good rule of thumb, especially if it’s a rule you’re willing to selectively break. In the post-pandemic era, the lines seem to have gotten longer and more prevalent, in tandem with other inflationary, tech-enabled phenomena like instantly sold-out merchandise drops and restaurant reservation scarcity.