October 17, 2023

what we've been watching...

empowering you with insights and information from the edge of today’s headlines

life is a little heavy, so we’ll be even lighter than usual in our stories

Business

Toxic Sushi: Russia is joining China in banning the imports of Japanese seafood after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant announced two months ago that it would begin to release diluted radioactive wastewater into the ocean. “The International Atomic Energy Agency has reviewed the safety of the wastewater release and concluded that if carried out as planned, it would have a negligible impact on the environment, marine life and human health.” We too would prefer that the wastewater be held in tanks on land and not released into the wild, but we are still eating sushi, so let us know when we start glowing.

Common Ground: We learned about Regenerative Agriculture this week when we went to see the wonderful documentary, Common Ground. Regenerative Agriculture refers to farming without pesticides, with cover crops and without tillage.It is a method that resembles indigenous ways, relating to nature itself. The film at first reveals the seedy underground of the US lobbying industry as it relates to industrial farming, climate change and the US farm bill, but it ends with hope and the ability to save the Earth with soil. We recommend that you have a look, and maybe even watch the prequel: Kiss the Ground.

Female Icons: Let’s celebrate some female collaboration and support: Beyoncé showed up at the premiere of Taylor Swift’s Eras Movie! Both artists had huge tours throughout the summer, and while the media was pitting them against each other, they dropped any façade of drama and dropped the mic with support. Taylor’s movie had an opening weekend box office of just under $100M, the Eras tour (which is still going) has estimated to gross more than $800M, the Renaissance World Tour (which just completed) is estimated at $580M (the highest grossing tour by a female artist in history, so far). Beyonce’s movie will arrive in theaters in December - and we can’t wait for the reciprocal power meeting.

Technology

AI and Copyrights: Big Tech has decided (somewhat collectively) that they will take the heat for unintentional copyright infringement related to their customers’ use of generative AI. We’ve seen Adobe announce that it will protect Firefly users; Microsoft protecting Copilot users; and Google protecting Duet AI. The companies are covering both the training data and the results created from their models, so if we as individuals use their software, and get sued, we don’t have to fret about the bill. Will this move more user adoption/innovation toward big tech? Will this deter or prolong the inevitably slow US regulatory framework? What happens to the artists and writers who are already crying foul?

Glassholes are back: Meta unveiled its Quest 3 headset this past week and users decided it was time to take the mixed reality headsets into the wild. Yes, people thought it was a good idea to film themselves in public wearing a huge computer on their faces while doing everyday tasks. We’re not sure what the benefit of wearing the device was (except that we got a huge laugh out of it). If you want to muli-task and play a game in public, just pull out your phone or your tablet? But I guess our new reality will be seeing humans wearing computers especially when the Apple Vision Pro hits stores next year.

Finding the Missing Scientists: “While searching in an archive jammed with the papers of male scientists, Katie Hafner came across a slim folder, called “Folder 29,” in the back of a box at the University of California, San Diego, Library’s Special Collections & Archives. There were just eight pages inside to use as a jumping-off point to flesh out a life, which raises the question: How many other unknown women in science are out there, hidden away in boxes?”  This began the podcast Lost Women of Science.

Minecraft takes the silver: Minecraft announced this week that it has sold over 300M copies since its release 15 years ago, coming in second to Tetris’s 520M copies and above Grand Theft Auto V’s 185M. Both Minecraft and Tetris started with essentially moving boxes around, but Minecraft has evolved to incorporating other adventures and educational tools. Minecraft also shared this week that players craft “700,000 cakes and crafting 8.8 million pickaxes on average per day.” With 300M copies, or one per every 26 people on the planet, we better get building.

Culture

Museum of Stolen Objects: UNESCO and Interpol are teaming up to create a virtual museum of stolen cultural artifacts, with the goal of the museum to empty itself over time as the missing objects are recovered and sent to their rightful owners. “The virtual museum will be a game-changing tool to raise awareness on the illicit trafficking and the importance of protecting cultural heritage among the relevant authorities, culture professionals and the general public, notably young generations.” The 3D museum design uses the form of a baobab tree from Africa which symbolizes resilience and echoes the spirals of the Guggenheim in NY. (Francis Kéré, winner of the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize, will design the museum.) The objects that will make up the museum’s collection will not be announced until the museum opens in 2025.

Gentrification in a Typeface: We’ve noticed (and joked) that millennials have a tendency to streamline logos and update them with sans serif type (see Burberry, Uber, Google, Balmain, YSL). The excuse is often readability, but to us, it feels very generic with a lack of character and flair. Now, the typefaces have gone analog, and developers and architects have settled on Neutraface. One author had dubbed this font as the “unofficial font of gentrification.” Once you see the simple, clean lines in your neighborhood, especially in the house numbers, know that you’ll be seeing an influx of fixer uppers and rent hikes. Just like Balenciaga punking us with $2k muddy shoes, maybe we should watch out for the logos next time.

Mainstream Sports: The IOC announced five new sports which will be added to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic games: baseball-softball, lacrosse, squash, flag football and cricket. Sadly, breakdancing will not return to the games after its debut in Paris last year.

Susan for Speaker: As the US House of Representatives heads into another vote-a-rama, take a moment to reflect on the calm and commanding presence of Susan Cole, the Reading Clerk. Cole has been counting the votes with her steady voice and pencil, and her able team.

Guerilla Art: Do you remember the late nights of waiting in line for the loo and reading the messages on the walls and doors? Now you can do that without having to hit the bars or the alcohol. Guerilla Artist, Karma Khazi, has created a multi-media exhibition that “celebrates the ‘purest form of free speech’ - the toilet cubicle door.” The exhibition is titled Sh*t Show, and was created after the artist visited 250 pubs in 5 days.

Going Cowboy: When we think of Cowboy boots we think of Justins, Kevin Costner in Yellowstone and even Ron DeSantis. However, you’ll never believe who is making the boots of the season - Crocs, and they even come with spurs. Supposedly, they have been “widely requested.” So next time you think Cowboy, think plastic, not leather.

— Lauren Eve Cantor

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