September 4, 2020

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

Technology & Culture

Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter announced small improvements this week in an attempt to stop the spread of misinformation online. Twitter decided to pin tweets to its Trending page to better explain why items were trending in the first place. Microsoft released a tool that helps to spot deepfakes and other altered media. Facebook took the miniscule step of disallowing new political ads just one week before the election (old ads will remain up). Facebook also acknowledged that due to mail-in voting, official results may not be known on election night, so anyone who claims an early victory will get a disclaimer and a link to official results (why not just remove the victory lap?). Baby steps.

On Sunday, several pilots landing at LAX reported “a guy in a jetpack” flying alongside them. The jetpack was seen flying around 3,000 feet in the air, and in the skies above Los Angeles, one of the busiest airports in the country. The FBI has been called in to investigate the stunt, and no one has yet to claim responsibility.

Speaking of strange stunts in the air, David Blaine also took to the skies above Arizona, but he was tethered to a bunch of weather balloons. The magician took a page right out of the movie Up, and ended up floating about 5 miles before he popped on a parachute (hidden inside one of the balloons) and dove to the ground. While to us, this stunt feels like one of Blaine’s most tame, apparently the magician (who had to be certified in skydiving and hot air balloon piloting) was nervous for departure. His flight lasted about an hour and was dedicated to his daughter.

Feeling the need for some speed? Ford just unveiled a new version of its electric Mustang and the prototype covers a quarter mile in 8.27 seconds (or 168 mph). The car will have its official debut at the US Nationals Drag Racing event this weekend, so put on your earplugs and get ready for the muscle cars.

Akon, the R&B singer, announced the launch of Akon City, a futuristic city meant to create jobs and attract tourists to his home country of Senegal. The $6B city is being funded by private investments ($4B already raised), and will run on cryptocurrency (Akoin, of course). The city is supposed to be self-powered and environmentally friendly, and is being marketed as a second home for Black Americans who want to connect with their ancestral roots. Akon continues to invest in modernizing Africa; he already has a solar energy company which provides electricity to rural villages in 25 countries.

Google announced this week that employees could take off this Friday adding an extra day to the Labor Day vacation. The paid holiday is for “collective wellbeing,” and is meant to help its employees cope with the strain of working remotely, the pandemic, the California wildfires, or just generally, the stress of 2020. Google has already announced that its offices will be closed through mid-2021.

One more reason to cancel your gym membership. Peloton will be announcing a cheaper treadmill and a new high end bike. Peloton plans to reduce the price of its existing bike to help spur more demand in the Fall. Guess the 2 month waiting lists for delivery got them thinking.

The creators of Animal Crossing continue to be creative during the pandemic: hosting concerts, fashion shows, and allowing players to unlock high fashion for their avatars. Well, now you can add Joe Biden lawn signs to your island in the game. (We truly hope this doesn’t mean that caravans of flag-bearing trucks will be up next.) The Biden campaign is hoping to use Animal Crossing as a means to reach younger voters, especially since the pandemic has limited the candidate’s campaign travel and appearances.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced a deal with Netflix to make documentaries, films and children’s programming from their yet-to-be-named production company. Post royal split, both Meghan and Harry have appeared in films: Meghan as the narrator of a Disney documentary on elephants, and Harry with one about the Paralympic Games. The Sussexes appear to be following in the footsteps of the Obamas who also have a production company and Netflix deal. (Or maybe Oprah since they did move to Santa Barbara.) Maybe we’ll see Meghan join the Spotify podcast universe soon as well. Apparently, the Palace still has the right to review the deal, since the Sussexes have not paid back the UK taxpayers for the renovations of Frogmore Cottage, and allegedly they are still on Prince Charles’s payroll.

Last year, several female athletes spoke out about how poorly Nike treated them when they were pregnant. Nike even faced a congressional inquiry about workplace discrimination, and followed up by announcing a policy that guaranteed an athlete’s pay during pregnancy. Now Nike seems to be taking their commitment to pregnant athletes one step further. Nike announced its Nike M collection, a dedicated maternity line meant to support “women during all stages of pregnancy and beyond.” Maternity sportswear is not new, but Nike appears to be jumping on the athleisure trend, especially as more women are encouraged to keep up their fitness routines during pregnancy. The collection is particularly stretchy and made to evolve with a woman’s body — we might take them up on the offer just to hold in our quarantine 15 bulge.

Do you remember Rachel Dolezal? The white NAACP activist who claimed to be black, and was outed in 2015, only to have a Netflix documentary and a podcast? Well, 2020 has found its reboot: Jessica Krug, a George Washington University professor, a white woman who claimed to be Afrolatina, outed herself on Medium. In her blog post, she calls herself a “culture leech,” a coward, and asks to be cancelled. We have no words, except we really do need to focus on mental health in this country.

Oh, and Carole Baskin, of Tiger King fame, will be joining Dancing with the Stars. The show has featured such personalities as Sean Spicer and Rick Perry, so why not a large cat activist accused of murdering her husband?

2020 has felt like an eternity, so thinking about the 2028 Olympics seems like science fiction. The organizers of the Los Angeles games, however, decided to reveal the identity for the games (which should take place in 2028 assuming the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to 2021 doesn’t cause a full rebalance of the schedule). The animated emblem changes to reflect the diversity of the Los Angeles community and the 20 creators who were enlisted to design it. “The LA28 Games will showcase our community’s collective creativity and celebrate the diversity that makes us strong.”  

Blogs were started in the late 1990s as a means of reaching a wide audience. Then came social media where you could post pictures of your family, your lunch and your dog. Now welcome to the new world of “digital gardens.” Digital gardens are mixture of Tumblr pages and lists, but the intent is to create a personally curated page just for yourself. Think of a modern diary, but open to the world to see. The gardens tend to focus on one topic or one event, and are constantly updated by their creators — they are an “open collection of notes, resources, sketches and explorations.” Maybe they are the natural combination of scrapbooking and Wikipedia, but we appreciate the creative journalling and the need for lists (especially during 2020).

Prior to the pandemic, the French Laundry (Thomas Keller’s critically acclaimed restaurant in the Napa Valley), boasted of 3-month waiting lists despite the hefty prix fixe price tag of $350 per person (wine not included). The French Laundry is re-opening its doors, almost. For the price of $850 per person, you can reserve a table in one of its signature dining rooms; only 3 tables will be available each night, one in each of the historic rooms. The tasting menu seems divine although a little light, especially since the French Laundry is known for small portion sizes. Unfortunately, part of the dining experience was also looking around the room to see who else “got in.”

— Lauren Eve Cantor

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