[SIC] 195: Caviar Sandwiches

Volume 4, Number 39

Jun 02, 2022

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Hi all,

Trying something a little different this week. As I’ve noted before, a big proportion of the time I spend on this weekly edition is editing down from everything I’ve collected to just what will “fit” the Substack/google limit on file size so that it’s not “too long for email,” meaning it doesn’t get cut off if you read it in your email client, instead of clicking through to the site.

Because I want this to be as useful as it can be, I’ve always tried to meet that size limit. But since there’s no added value from “5 Questions For” and no [SIC] Talks this week, I decided to see what happens when I just ignore the limit, inspired in part by some comments from Morning Brew’s founder Austin Rief on this Creator Focus episode of Brian Morrissey’s The Rebooting podcast. Rief talks about the value of experimenting and being willing to fail. So here we go: I’m way over the limit this week. You can reply to this note to let me know what you think, or if your experience changes.

Since one of the reasons I have so many links this week is a wealth of reader contributions. Huge thanks as always to Josh, Jeremy, Kevin, Celeste, Iolanda and David for ideas this week.

Linkage follows.

Martha & Francois Girbaud ad spread from 1984 issue of Interview. JCrew is stocking Japanese mags now, and showcasing old pubs. Small, smart changes led (I presume) by new creative director Brendon Babenzien.

======[SIC] 195: Caviar Sandwiches======

The World

Two years on, a new take on “Defund the Police” / Marginal Revolution
The European Union will ban most Russian oil imports by EOY / NYT
How did the IR community get Russia/Ukraine so wrong? /Marginal Revolution
Also wrong? The French interior ministry said 70% of Champions League final tickets presented by Liverpool fans were fake, accusing the club’s supporters of ticket fraud on an “industrial scale.” / Inews
Elsewhere in industry: Harley-Davidson is temporarily halting all production except for electric motorcycles due to supply chain issues. / via Micromobility Report
Also transport related: The Subversive Economy of the Lagos Danfos, or minibus taxis / The Republic via Chartbook
Corollary: Africa has the world’s saddest population / Quartz
Has the world passed “peak agricultural land?” / Marginal Revolution
Opposite to Brexit: The UK just dropped a new immigration program for what it’s calling “High Potential Individuals” aka grads from one of the world’s 50 best universities within the last five years, who are now eligible for a two- or three-year visa—no job offer required / Insider via Morning Brew
Meanwhile in China: ‘Revenge bubble tea drinking’: Shanghai awakes from Covid lockdown / FT

Trends

Is “Morbius” Gen Z’s “Zoolander”? Ryan Broderick does not suggest this, but after this post I think it might could be / Garbage Day.
Oh, you haven’t seen “Morbius”? Here’s the entire movie in a GIF / Twitter via Meme Report
Which has a curious connection to the surrealismcore of the moment / Zine
Related: [SIC] term of the week is “Metagentrification” / Dirt
As widely reported, Gen Z has finally discovered Kate Bush / via After School
Because, from “Stranger Things” to TikTok: Kate Bush speaks to lonely kids. / Salon via Music Redef
Because, as The Trend Report reports: Everything is Sponcon now / Trend Report
And so we have young, rich, anti-capitalist capitalists / Recode via After School
And “what to know about monopolies in 54 tweets” / Quartz
Corollary: Fear and Loathing on Planet Urbit. Probing the downtown scene w/ Wet Brain and "Mars Review of Books”/ Approaches via Public Announcement
Corollary: Soccer96’s “I was gonna fight fascism” / YouTube
Related? Many tech employees say they'd quit rather than be monitored during work / Morning Consult
Conversely, from Jeremy Toeman: “Thought this [Why we can’t stop quantifying our lives] could be good for your newsletter :)” / Guardian
Email fatigue could lead 38 percent of workers to quit their job / Forbes via In Bed With Social
What Will It Take to Make Gen-Z Happy at Work? Companies are struggling to balance their youngest employees’ expectations against the needs of their businesses / Vogue Business
N.Y.C. Companies Opening Offices Where Their Workers Live: Brooklyn / NYT
Except: The hottest asset for crypto start-ups: Manhattan office space. / NYT
Wen Lambo?! More businesses are considering ending 40hr week/ Fast Company
Meantime, these are the world's best cities for work-life balance / via 1440
But is this the last summer of flexible work? / Bloomberg Wealth
Not not true: >1/3 of $250k earners live paycheck-to-paycheck / Daily Upside
Therefore, why Gen Z cares less about getting a 4-year college degree / Fast Company via After School
But what do zoomers like? Pot or shrooms, not booze / Bloomberg via After School
Ergo: Cannabis Travel is heating up / Future Party
Taking things a step further, Canada decriminalized possession of opioids, meth, MDMA, and cocaine in British Columbia / BBC via Morning Brew
Separately, are wild animals evolving faster than we had thought? / ANU via Marginal Revolution
Revenue is a lagging indicator of brand / The Sociology of Business
Forget FAANG, it's all about LVMH / CNN
There are still payphones in NYC / New Yorker via Marginal Revolution
Shoppers Are Fretting. Stores Are Listening / WSJ
InterIntellect is a “Netflix for curious thinkers” / Interintellect via Patent Drop

Style

Streetwear is waking up to beauty’s appeal / Highsnobiety
Meantime, Gucci x Oura Opens a New Chapter in Luxury / Jing Daily
Also all Gucci: Nike has “Nikeland”, Vans has “Vans World”. Now comes “Gucci Town”, the megabrand’s permanent Roblox destination / Vogue Business
While across the strada, rival Prada expands Web3 offer with product-linked NFT drop and Discord launch / Vogue
GQ is also jumping on Discord for Web3 earlies and the “crypto curious” / Vogue Business
“The Food Defender” is a Jordan high-top that redistributes weight away from the ball of the foot (the area where diabetes-related ulcers are typically made), speeding recovery diabetes-related illness / Fast Company via The Future Party
[SIC] Talks alum Joy Howard aims for gender-equality outdoors with Early Majority. The brand's multi-functional, modular pieces are designed for all types of wear and all genders / Early Majority via PSFK
On the other hand? Butthole shorts are real. (AYBL calls it “a subtle scrunch bum detail” that helps “accentuate your figure.”)/ BEAYBL via The Trend Report

The Arts

“It’s always varying degrees of terror”: Fave artist Miranda July on an unflinchingly honest career / It’s Nice That
How Ben Davis Sees Today’s And Tomorrow’s Cultural Experiences / Jing Culture & Commerce
The world of music video Is finally Adopting Restoration Efforts, uncovering more and more fascinating artifacts in the original materials / Hyperallergic
Corollary: says fave artist Kenny Scharf: “I’ve been making art out of trash forever, engaging the way that trash meets with technology. ” / The Brooklyn Rail
More trash: Unsurprisingly, the co-organiser of Anna “Delvey” Sorokin art show claims she’s owed thousands for putting it on / The Art Newspaper
From Celeste Blewitt: rare Aboriginal art to return to Australia after government chips in $500,000 at last minute' / The Guardian
The Charming Doodles of Industrial Designer Jasper Morrison / Sitting Pretty
They Tried to Make a Sexy Movie About the Eiffel Tower Engineer / Hyperallergic
Douglas Gordon’s Return to Scotland is a film about trains / Frieze

Entertainment + IP

[SIC] Talks Alum Sam Valenti goes INNNNN on DJ Mixes. If you’re looking for a POV or a way into dance music, good place to start / Herb Sundays
Or, if you’ve been struggling, try the “Japanese jazz when driving on a warm night” playlist, Spotify via SFJ
Corollary: Arthur Russell, the disco cellist in a world of echo / The Guardian via Motive Unknown
Also echoes: Spotify podcasters are making $18,000 a month with nothing but white noise / Bloomberg
This too (s/o [SIC] homie Kevin Kusatsu) Inside the ambient music streaming boom / Pitchfork via Motive Unknown
Not ambient, from other Kevin, Kevin, Johanessen: [Freakscene: the story of Dinosaur Jr.] / Dinosaurjr
Related: The alleged 10 Greatest Music Documentaries of All Time / L’Officiel
Big Hits are getting smaller / Lefsetz Letter
So music managers feel labels are placing crippling demands on artists, and that increasingly social marketing is in need of repair/ MMF via Motive Unknown
Also music: [SIC] “5 Questions For” alum Dan Runcie has a new podcast episode about the Golden State Warriors’ record label with the team’s chief business officer David Kelly / Trapital
From Josh Gardiner: “Back on the URLs this morning and I wanted to share this piece on a hometown genius, Taika Waititi. Years ago I interviewed him for Dazed & Confused and he didn't really envisage a career in Hollywood at the time. "bundle of contradictions" indeed!” / Wired
While another auteur, Dickhouse’s Jeff Tremaine talks Jackass 4.5, Big Brother Magazine and (I’m guessing) lots more with The Nine Club / Youtube
Meantime, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos thinks comedians like Dave Chappelle should cross the line to know where to draw the line/ Protocol
Here, maybe? In the new Netflix series Love, Death + Robots there are hidden NFTs inside the show: if you spot one you collect it. / Design Bloq
Talk to him about NFTs: Ye’s company files multiple Yeezus trademarks, for ‘Metaverse Experiences’ and NFT Marketplace / Complex via The Cadence
While Ye’s Donda Sports signs the Rams’ Aaron Donald and Celtic’s Jaylen Brown / TMZ via Trapital
Ruh roh. Activision Blizzard Owed Up To $420 Million by Esports Teams / Front Office Sports
Related, from Iolanda Carvalho: “Good luck with that” [France officially bans English gaming terms like 'eSports' and 'streaming’] / Engadget

Platforms & Influencers

S/o [SIC] subscriber Benjamin Mullin, who asks: Can Paramount Go It Alone? / NYT
Corollary: Apple (might be) building a search engine / Forbes
While Microsoft is building its own Roku for gaming / Protocol
And TikTok is testing a distraction-less “clear mode” / via After School
Also, Google has a terrifying AI image generator / Creative Bloq
While Volvo will use Epic’s Unreal Engine to bring “photorealistic visualization” to its upcoming fleet of EVs / The Verge via Future Party
Podcasts on Facebook are officially over on Friday / Protocol

Marketing & Advertising

Rishad Tobaccowala on why the next 10 years will be the best / The Drum
6 Things to Keep In Mind About the Coming AR/VR Wave / TwoFiveSix
Sony doesn’t ever want to let players run out of the game, so the company is focusing on rolling out a slate of “continually-updated online games” (aka live-service games)/ The Future Party
Recapping the Gaming Advertising Deep Dive / The Drum
But, but: crypto ad spend sees massive decline since the Super Bowl / Mediapost
And Coinbase violates the most ad guidelines among rivals / Seeking Alpha
Netflix promotes fictional Stranger Things brands with extravagant experiential stunt / The Drum
Also offline: how brands find customers outside of socials / Thingtesting
Hence Miller High Life is turning beer lovers into wedding officiants / Ad Age
Why doesn’t he marry them? Jon Hamm Loves to Do Commercials / Bloomberg
But there is only one luxury cannabis brand: Devambez / The Broccoli Report

Media Business

Why cookie demise could be a blessing in disguise for big brands. Contextual ROI beats hyper-targeting for brands, according to study / Ad Age
Hence: the media network craze is just getting started / Marketing Dive
Media companies are pivoting back to free content / Simon Owens
While Front Office Sports is leveling up its branded content business through educational courses / Digiday
And from David Bloom: “Interesting to see [Conde Nast] is getting into some sort of new journalism for the Metaverse, and of course, new kinds of commerce there too” / Mediapost
S/o [SIC] homies John Martin and Fred Pessaro: Creem, the 1970s rock magazine makes a comeback / Guardian via Public Announcement
Related: Creem’s digital archives are available now. The quarterly print magazine will launch in September. / Creem

Metaverse & Web3

Decentralized identities could give people a verifiable online life / Future Party
From Iolanda Carvalho: Who are we in the metaverse, and how do we prove it? / Coindesk
From Celeste Blewitt: “A short piece, but still, interesting nonetheless, into the age-old question aroundVR/AR glasses, functionality and the latest iteration from Snap” [Can Augmented Reality Take Off Where VR Has Failed?] /FT
Oh BTW: NFTs can now be cloned. The copies, called “Mimics,” are made by exploiting a line of code found in art NFTs / Quartz
So Kyle Chayka chronicles the NFT drops actually worth paying attention to (for a variety of reasons) / Dirt
Why Shopify is doubling down on crypto—even after the crash / Fast Company
Meanwhile, Nike is taking over the metaverse with direct-to-avatar sales / PSFK
And Mason Rothschild and Ericka del Rosario, creators of Metabirkins, a virtual fashion brand being sued by Hermès for trademark issues, are now bringing NFT culture to real life with their brick-and-mortar boutique, Terminal 27 / PSFK
While A16z launched a podcast called “web3 with a16z.” / via Protocol

Food & Drink

[SIC] Talks alum Sam Bompas and his Bompas & Parr crew launched a new ‘luxury jelly’ brand Benham & Froud with Selfridges / Benhamandfroud
The Best Diners in Every State / Food and Wine via Elevator
Truff's sizzling rise—from food porn to a hot sauce brand on fire / Ad Age
Taco Bell faces a Mexican pizza shortage / CNBC via 1440
So engineering students have invented gluten-free edible tape to prevent your burrito from falling apart / CNN via Robinhood Snacks

Miscellany

Also food: The British sport Cheese rolling will make a return / Quartz
@hoodmidcenturymodern is giving Black and Brown people a fresh way to connect with modernist design / IG via BluDot
Traffic jams are just a math problem. Average drivers spend three days a year stuck in traffic. An Israeli AI firm says it doesn’t have to be that way. / Quartz
Umberto Eco’s theory of “cult film” / via Garbage Day

Things to Do

Manhattan: “Uncah Jams” stylist and [SIC] fave Miyako Bellizi talks to teens at the MoMA teens film club June 10th / IG
Brooklyn: Refraction’s NFT NYC event on June 22 looks epic. This event, taking place at ZeroSpace , will open at 6pm and go till 12:30am. Fill out the Typeform at this link to register / Typeform
SF Bay Area: Micromobility America is returning to the on September 15-16 for an immersive two-day celebration of small vehicles and their power to radically reshape our cities / Micromobility
NYC: The Drift’s issue 7 launch event on June 16th at the Public Hotel / MailChimp
Milan: “Tales from a Neo Collective Future,” a six-day program of presentation, performances and other happenings / Future Tales via 032C
Anywhere: Bid in the Printed Matter Spring Benefit Auction / Artsy
And lastly, check out the must-see art shows for June in New York and Los Angeles / Hyperallergic