[SIC] 199: Systems Failure

Volume 4, Number 43

Jul 01, 2022

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Hi all,

Strictly speaking I’m on vacation this week so I feel a *little* less bad than I otherwise might for the delay in sending this week’s edition; the truth is that the internet at our otherwise no-cell-signal spot here in Spain died on Wednesday and took a chunk out of my motivation. Not to mention the general tenor of the news this week…

Sorry about that. Still, didn’t want to leave you with nothing, so here’s another conciser-than-normal-edition. Thanks to Piers, Pruess, Shlaq and Celeste for keeping the contributions coming. And if you’re looking for something more this weekend, here’s frequently cited source Why Is This Interesting’s Weekend Longreads Edition.

Back to regular programming next Thursday. Meantime, enjoy.

Ben

Kind of a mess. Street scene from Cannes -slash -picture of the world RN.

======[SIC] 199: Systems Failure======

The world

Few industries are going to see as much upheaval in coming years as global agriculture, according to Peter Zeihan / YouTube
So … Make America Hungary Again?! / The New Yorker
The Future is Moderan (by which I mean feudal, covered in plastic, and made of new-metal) / Dirt
“Science fiction is not about prediction. Science fiction is about promoting action.” An interview with Liam Young, speculative architect and director / Wunderman Thompson
Meanwhile a rocket crashed into the Moon. And NASA can’t figure out where it came from / Quartz
Elsewhere in crashes: reasons why the crypto market crash this year is worse than past crashes / via Inside Cryptocurrency
Wetlands absorb carbon dioxide and buffer the excesses of drought and flood, yet we’ve drained much of this land. Can we learn to love our swamps? / The New Yorker
The Unavoidable Role for Brands in the Battle Over Abortion Rights. How companies act now will define them and their relationships with consumers. / Adweek via Morning Consult
Why women in the US must hide their digital footprint now / The Next Web via Motive Unknown
So….Are you sure you're "burned out" or is it this other thing?? / Twitter via Girls Night In

Trends

From Celeste Blewitt: “This is a great piece in the discussion of anonymity and the Gen-Z take on this, while creating and redeveloping personal style” ['If The Personal Brand Is Dead, What Happens To Personal Style?] / Vogue Australia
The CogX Festival 2022 theme "How do we get the next ten years right?" explored the changing nature of identity in an increasingly virtual-first world / Wunderman Thompson
Almost everyone works from home — if they can. American workers really, really want pandemic-era work flexibility to stick around, a new McKinsey survey reveals / Axios via Morning Consult
Have we had enough of the nanny employer? / FT
I’ve seen a lot of money grabs in my career as an art market reporter. NFT.NYC t opped t hem a ll / Artnet via Public Announcement
“Wardrobing,” also known as fraudulent returns or deshopping, is gaining momentum in China / Jing Daily
Related, from Piers Fawkes: Retailers are struggling as freight fuel prices hit an all-time high and supply chain turmoil continues are considering issuing refunds without customers sending back merchandise / Retail Boss
Plastic packaging be gone: Over in the UK, Magical Mushroom Company is conjuring up a replacement for plastic packages using mycelium, also known as the root structure of a mushroom, mixed with agricultural waste/ Mike via TechCrunch

Style

The Rise of Fashion’s Tumblr Generation / The Cut via Public Announcement
From Ben Pruess: “In case you did not see this - the best thing on the inter-web today” [Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson talk skateboards] / IG
While Burberry takes inspiration from Japanese skateboard culture to promote its highly-anticipated collaboration with Amsterdam’s Pop Trading Company / The Drum
Fashion Has Abandoned Human Taste. Stores are stocked with copycat designs. It’s a nightmare / Atlantic via Public Announcement
Logical, tho, given how AI image generator Dall-E Mini shows how close technology is to being able to produce new clothing designs / BoF

The Arts

A wide range of musical genres fueled New York’s nightclubs in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Klaus Nomi defied being categorized under any of them / NYT
Picasso was a joke. Then he was a god. How did his art finally take off in America?/ The New Yorker
Corollary, from Celeste Blewitt: “A lovely read, with a tinge of social discussion around life, death and support.” [The Artist's Life's Work Found In A Skip] / The Guardian UK
New Blessed Images, a great sporadic Tumblr-style Substack / New Blessed Images via S/FJ
A Brief History of Women's Eyebrows in Art / Hyperallergic

Entertainment + IP

A Canadian radio station Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” on repeat for 10 hours in protest to the firing of two DJs / Quartz
Baratunde Thurston has a new show on PBS. America Outdoors investigates the country’s diverse landscapes and lhow they impact our interactions with one another /PBS via Unfinished
Related (though not entertainment): the secret architecture of buildings / FT

Platforms & Influencers

Apparently Nothing Phone is the first serious threat to the iPhone / Creative Bloq
Google is developing new generations of its core search app that will enable people to annotate the real world "any way and anywhere" they want / Mediapost via Morning Consult
MrBeast explains YouTube’s algorithm / TechCrunch via Motive Unknown
eBay acquired NFT marketplace KnownOrigin / PR Newswire via Forefront
From Adam Shlacter: Niantic launched an AR NBA game IRL / The Verge
As part of the Pokemon Go creators’ “Metaverse Dreams” / Protocol
Also virtual, but IRL: Earth.FM is Spotify, but for nature sounds / Earth.fm via Girls Night In

Marketing & Advertising

How brands are finding a starring role in a world that skips ads / The Future Party
Can the website survive? / People vs. Algorithms
Non-Drinkers Are Struggling in an Agency World That Relies on Alcohol / Adweek via Morning Consult
Can media companies weather a recession? Executives say they’re in stronger shape this time / CNBC via Nieman Lab

Metaverse & Web3

Nike / RTFKT’s ‘Space Drip’ Is Turning NFT Designs Into Real-World Sneakers / Hypebeast
Forefront's Web3 Creator Residency has launched a weekly Open Studio. Here is the first episode / Apple Podcasts
Bored Ape Yacht Club partnered with Eminem and Snoop Dogg to release a new music video, causing the price of ApeCoin to surge 22% in 24 hours / Decrypt via Inside Cryptocurrency
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations: Beyond the Hype. The World Economic Forum is writing about DAOs. / WEF via Forefront
Solana Labs is launching a new arm aimed at building mobile application technology. To begin, Solana devs are building a crypto-native phone / The Block via Forefront
Photo gods Magnum launched its first collection of NFTs this week on Foundation marketplace / Fndtn
While photo museum Fotografiska launched its first NFT exhibition / Jing Culture & Commerce
Partnering With Alexandra Grant, Keanu Reeves Brings His Good Vibes to the Metaverse / Hyperallergic

Food & Drink

We overregulate seaweed / Reason via Marginal Revolution
Beyond Meat is launching steak / Fooddive
Pabst Blue Ribbon goes big with 1,844-pack for summer / AdAge
A fascinating history of fried potatoes / Mental Floss via 1440
Inside New York’s dining revolution . Because the Big Apple deserves even bigger flavours / FT

Miscellany

From Piers Fawkes: Reina Suyeon Mun reimagines korean low table into microarchitecture to confront silences / Design Boom
While A family living in Western Australia discovered a new species of fluffy crab that wears a sponge as a hat / The Guardian via Today in Tabs

Things to Do

[SIC] homie Kon Trubkovich’s “Land” show opening July 6 at Morán Morán in Mexico City / Moran Moran

Book of the Week

I’d been planning to read Chris Blackwell’s autobiography after a WSJ review I caught, but seeing it on Tyler Cowen’s reading list on Marginal Revolution recently prompted me to bring it on vacation; Tyler noted it was a fascinating look at Blackwell’s approach to curating talent and building teams (or something like that). Which it is, if you’re willing to think of bands as ‘teams’ in a sort of a workplace sense. I’m not sure I’m on that page exactly, but the book is a great holiday read - fast, descriptive, unindulgent and comes with a readymade soundtrack of songs to search on your favorite streaming service. Recommended.

PS: I liked last week’s book, Sloane Crosley’s “Cult Classic” too. It’s a light one that poses metaphysics as a kind of dating app. Dream it, be it.