Hi,

This week, I have three interesting topics worth procrastilearning over.

Gen Z Jesus is a thing

If Jesus was born in the 21st century, how would he speak?

If you want to know, there’s a popular TikTok account with the answer.

The account went viral earlier this year, even the Daily Mail covered it, but I only just learned about it now, old man that I am.

For example, here is the Annunciation (when Mary found out she was going to give birth to God's baby):

@gen.z.bible.stories

Replying to @artandsoul.designs mary really said 🤨 … TWO TIMES!!! #gospelbygenz #fyp #funny #fypシ #zycxba #rizz #storytime

And here is the story of Adam and Eve:

@gen.z.bible.stories

Replying to @brand_drew 📜✍️🧐 #gospelbygenz #fyp #funny #storytime #fypシ #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #rizz

How serious is the channel? Hard to say. But there are a lot of Christian Gen Zers and I’m sure many would enjoy it. There is even a big travelling Christian event called "Gen Z for Jesus" so they’re clearly a demographic worth targeting.

The young man behind the channel recently announced he is writing an entire book, and has since had a lot of pre-orders. Perhaps many buyers are Christians, not just irony lovers. Either way, I wish him the very best with it, and hope it arrives in time for Christmas stockings.

What I like best about the project is that it’s helping me become more familiar with Gen Z slang. This interpretation of a sermon by Jesus, for example, is littered with slightly confusing phrases. But give it a moment to sink in, and allow yourself a Google or two, and it does make sense.

Obviously, as an old Millennial, I can't use any of these terms when talking to Gen Z, because that would make me basic and cringe, and shower me with Ls.

Side note: If you'd like to know the difference between Gen Z and Millennials, or even want to understand why people read in public, then this Irish YouTuber can explain everything for you.

Google joins the note-taking AI race

If you like keeping notes, but also don't use pen and paper because of your terrible handwriting, you probably make the odd note or two in your phone, like in Apple Notes or Google Keep. Some people make a lot of digital notes, and use more powerful apps like Notion and Evernote. And some, like me, make a total mess of all this and can never find anything they need.

The AI wave is coming to sort this out.

There are already quite a few notes apps that incorporate AI, like Notta, Mem and Fireflies. But it's going to be hard for any of these to become mainstream, no matter how handy they are, because the competition for attention is so stiff and they have little market share.

That's why I assume Google's new project NotebookLM is going to become market leader when it comes out. I was quite excited to read about its development.

If you use Google Docs or any Google product, then it's a no-brainer - an AI assistant that will happily reference everything you've ever put into the Google ecosystem is going to be difficult to beat. Of course, lots of Google's projects end up abandoned (Google Plus, anybody?) but I'm hoping this one comes out and is nurtured for the long term.

If you want an AI note-taker now, here's a list from ClickUp, who unsurprisingly also recommend themselves:

Halloween is not from the United States

It turns out it's Scottish.

It also turns out the proper Scottish version involves carving turnips, not pumpkins, which is both more annoying and less flashy.

Friends in Scotland tell me that trick-or-treaters tell jokes in exchange for sweets. This is a stark contrast to the traditional threat of violence that the Americans have popularised in their culture.

You can even sing a song or dance if you don't know any jokes. This form of exchanging acts for rewards is called "guising".

For more about the Scottish roots and traditions of Halloween, see this fascinating Atlas Obscura article:

That's it for this week. Many thanks for reading.

If you need me, I’ll be continuing to post on Twitter/X for the Ship30for30 challenge, where I’m recycling content you’ve read before in this newsletter. Or just email me obvs.

Adam

Adam Zulawski
Procrastilearning.com / More stuff

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