Nostr notes by M

+1

2025-12-29T17:38:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…5s22
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+1

Nasry Asfura (PN) leads Salvador Nasralla (PL) by a narrow margin ...

2025-12-01T18:44:42Z

In reply to naddr1qq…nsm2
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Nasry Asfura (PN) leads Salvador Nasralla (PL) by a narrow margin in the Honduran presidential election.

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2025-12-01T18:40:57Z

In reply to naddr1qq…msvk
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At least 128 people killed in the fire Concerns about corruption ...

2025-11-30T12:28:14Z

In reply to naddr1qq…r6uh
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At least 128 people killed in the fire
Concerns about corruption and negligence in the renovation of the apartment complex
Investigation into the cause of the fire ongoing
Outrage and calls for accountability and transparency in the construction industry

At least 128 people killed in the fire Concerns about corruption ...

2025-11-30T12:27:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…thzj
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At least 128 people killed in the fire
Concerns about corruption and negligence in the renovation of the apartment complex
Investigation into the cause of the fire ongoing
Outrage and calls for accountability and transparency in the construction industry

At least 128 people killed in the fire Concerns about corruption ...

2025-11-30T12:27:25Z

Councilwoman Sandra Forero warns that this could affect new and ...

2025-11-28T21:47:23Z

In reply to naddr1qq…z2xw
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Councilwoman Sandra Forero warns that this could affect new and formal housing allocations.
The administration proposes fewer subsidies than needed to meet the commitment of 60,000 new housing subsidies during the four-year term.

Medellín has banned e-cigarette use in schools, kindergartens, ...

2025-11-26T15:49:53Z

In reply to naddr1qq…m625
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Medellín has banned e-cigarette use in schools, kindergartens, and universities.

Nice

2025-11-26T15:49:33Z

In reply to naddr1qq…4fj9
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Nice

Máxima tensión: aviones militares de EE. UU. sobrevolaron cerca ...

2025-11-25T16:10:22Z

In reply to naddr1qq…q9za
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Máxima tensión: aviones militares de EE. UU. sobrevolaron cerca de Venezuela

El general Julio César Avilés Castillo, jefe del Ejército de ...

2025-11-12T22:05:43Z

In reply to naddr1qq…2xs7
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El general Julio César Avilés Castillo, jefe del Ejército de Nicaragua juró lealtad a los dictadores Daniel Ortega y Rosario Murillo, dejando claro que su lealtad no es con el país, ni con la democracia, sino con el régimen que lo mantiene en el poder.

+1

2025-11-12T21:57:07Z

In reply to naddr1qq…hnf8
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+1

Camping Out Summer time is funner time with AI. #naddr1qv…k55t

2025-11-02T14:55:02Z

Camping Out
Summer time is funner time with AI.

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naddr1qv…k55t

Camping Out

I apologize for not posting here for the last month. Many things happened at the same time, and some are still happening. The cartoons continue. They are one of the good things that happened.

Every time I think I’m running out of story ideas something arises in my research or in my subscription to WIRED magazine that gets me going again.

Thanks for reading FurBabies (formerly Animation Anarchy)! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

WIRED is the source for all of the ridiculous robots and pointless AI apps in FurBabies. The robots (jogging, pet minding/movie making, and pet feeding/water spewing) were based on actual ones. I added the glitter dispenser and pet carrier to the Catbot to make it even more annoying; otherwise, it really exists. I made changes to its design and that of the Pet Feeder Robot to protect the guilty.

The Robot of the Month club (with robots delivered at irregular intervals) ensures that I will keep FurBabies up to date with the latest dumb technology. As always, the AI will be completely incompetent. Keep your fork, there’s pi.

AI has become more pervasive and aggressive, much as it has in reality. An astute reader of the strip noted that Kate Buffet’s teacher is not a human being. There is a huge screen in the classroom where lessons and comments appear and smaller screens everywhere else. The classroom is ‘blended’ —the children are real, but the instruction is digital. Kate often has classes at home. Pratt-L started on a laptop and now is on every electronic device that she uses. Kate only sees other kids in person when at school, at camp, or outdoors. No one visits another kid’s house; they communicate via text or do FacePalm (tm). Kate’s parents are programmers. We never see them.

This sounds grim.

AI is the villain of the strip.

Pratt-L was voted least improved AI program for the third consecutive year.

The summer camp strips just began and I have some fun story lines based on an actual magician’s camp that was held in an Ontario camp for many years and another program that I will not give away at this time. I relocated the revived magic camp to the Toronto Islands because the setting is recognizable.

I had a lot of fun and hope that you enjoy them. The storyline began on July 1 and continues through mid August.

Happy summer and stay cool.

!

Thanks for reading FurBabies (formerly Animation Anarchy)! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Read the full article https://nancybeiman.substack.com/p/camping-out

Built for the next billion ideas

2025-09-22T17:03:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…fz93
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Built for the next billion ideas

🙏🙏🙏 When you unbox the latest generation of Samsung ...

2025-09-22T16:53:39Z

In reply to naddr1qq…r34l
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🙏🙏🙏
When you unbox the latest generation of Samsung Galaxy Tablets, Notion will already be there, magically!

Polish Animation, After the War Polish animation scene after ...

2025-09-21T22:58:10Z

Polish Animation, After the War
Polish animation scene after World War II, showcasing the unique style and themes of Polish animation. It highlights the works of artists such as Jan Lenica, Witold Giersz, and Kazimierz Urbański, who pushed boundaries and explored themes of destruction, loss, and the human condition. The article also discusses the success of Japanese animation, particularly Infinity Castle, which has broken records in the US. Additionally, it provides newsbits from the animation industry, including updates on studios, awards, and new releases.
Plus: 'Infinity Castle' and newsbits.

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Polish Animation, After the War *Welcome!* We’re here with a new Sunday edition of the Animation Obsessive newsletter. This is our slate today:

*1)* A brief tour of Polish animation.

*2)* A little on Infinity Castle’s success.

*3)* Animation newsbits.

With that, let’s go!

*1* – Diamonds from Poland

There’s no way to understand the scale. So much of the world was razed by World War II, but few countries suffered like Poland — where so many crimes took place.

Yet the war ended, and some kind of normality appeared in the rubble. Polish art started to bloom again. “After the war, Poland was in a shambles, literally, spiritually and economically,” explained the animation writer Chris Robinson. “The new generation of artists that emerged was characterized by black irony and sarcasm.”1

It wasn’t true in every case, but it was a theme. Artists were in pain. The Nazis had claimed family and friends — and people’s creative heroes. As one artist wrote in 1948:

When the war swept over Poland, it did not spare the ranks of her artists. Post-war Poland mourns the loss of her most representative painters and graphic artists, whose names had already established themselves throughout Europe. Wajwod, Manteuffel, Hladki, Piotrowski and many others … Although such losses cannot be replaced, and although the technical difficulties confronting Poland’s post-war artists are considerable, they can exhibit their achievements with justifiable pride, especially in the realm of poster design.2

The author there was Jan Lenica. He became a star of Polish posters, at a time when Polish graphic design stood among the “most creative and advanced in the world,” per one historian.3 And he brought that same talent to his dark, strange animated films.

Poland’s animation scene bloomed after the war, too — Lenica was a leader in it. The movie business was nationalized, and animators benefited.4 In the ‘50s and ‘60s (and beyond), some of the most unique animation anywhere was Polish.

Hundreds of these films are *available online* for free, generally without registration. A Polish streamer hosts them — officially restored, and with English subtitles. Today, we’re discussing and linking a handful of the postwar classics. It’s a brief tour of what some called the “Polish School” of animation.5

By the ‘60s, Polish animation was known for pushing boundaries. It had strong ties to collage and modern painting, and it could get esoteric. Plus, a number of its scores came from a young Krzysztof Penderecki, the avant-garde composer.

But that edge didn’t always lead to inaccessible work. For example, see the creations of Witold Giersz, a living artist who turned 98 this year. His *Red and Black* and *Little Western* from the early ‘60s are joys to watch. They combine paint animation with Looney Tunes gag material, and they’re hilarious.

Giersz made them in Warsaw, working at Studio Miniatur Filmowych. He’d joined the animation industry more than a decade earlier, but it took him years to find his voice. Younger artists at Miniatur inspired him — the ones who’d learned animation from him. “In turn, they taught me... nonconformism,” he said. Little Western was his first stab at “an individual contribution to the world of animation.”6

He did remarkable work at Miniatur. *Expectancy* (1962) tells a stop-motion tale of love and betrayal with figures made of tissue paper, plastic wrap and foil. “What drama, what tragedy can be designed for a tissue ballerina?” Giersz asked himself, and he played it out from there. Meanwhile, *Horse* (1967) is a haunting piece animated with oil paint on glass, shaped with a palette knife. He explained:

… I was inspired not by one single painter but by a whole group: the French Impressionists. I was always attracted to their work, especially because it seemed to be three-dimensional, incorporating both convex portions and deep relief. Van Gogh’s work also offers a particularly good example of this. By drawing in paint with a blade I was able to achieve even deeper relief.7

The critic Sergei Asenin once compared Giersz’s films to “living canvas paintings, improvised in front of our eyes.” That sensibility turned up in much of Poland’s postwar animation.

Another director at Miniatur was Kazimierz Urbański, an art-school graduate who’d also studied ballet. He approached films like personal artworks. “I suppose I could define my interests as a pursuit of painting with a camera,” Urbański said in 1965. “The point of departure is always form, texture, color, movement.”8

Consider *The Matter* (1962). Here, Urbański used strands of thread to tell a primordial creation story. It begins with abstract shapes and gradually turns figurative — building up to an all-consuming fire. More hopeful is his *Moto-Gas* (1963), in which torn-paper characters get poisoned by gasoline fumes in the city, only to purify themselves with a trip to the countryside.

Both films are mysterious and often unsettling. And their themes weren’t atypical for Polish animation: destruction, the loss of humanity. They’re small protests.

You find the same in Jan Lenica’s *New Janko the Musician* (1960), whose setting is “the modern village of the future, [where] everything is mechanized.” A peasant takes his mechanical cow out to pasture and dreams of becoming an artist. The eerie music and Lenica’s collage put across a cold, alienated world. At one point, coins fall from the sky, only to become bones when people touch them.

But New Janko, too, offers a message alongside the pessimism. The lead character (a “completely average, ordinary person,” in Lenica’s words) transforms the world with his art. Dehumanization doesn’t win — even the fake cow becomes a winged horse by the end.9 Lenica once said:

My approach towards poster and animation is similar: I have always considered both genres as means of artistic contraband. To me, poster was like a Trojan horse romping across the streets and smuggling something [that] you would not find there normally. Animated film ... revealed itself as a new Trojan horse capable [of concealing] different contents.

The rise of Polish animation didn’t go unnoticed — Lenica’s shorts were getting prizes abroad by the ‘50s. The trend continued, and the influence spread. An animated film from Warsaw took the top award at the Annecy Festival in ‘67. Its title: *Cages*.10

Even today, Cages has a reputation. Its appeal surprised its own director, Mirosław Kijowicz, when he showed it at Annecy. The positivity was huge for what was (as he saw it) a “rather austere and difficult film.”11 It’s another study of dehumanization, of what people do to people, of the structure of the modern world — all set to rich jazz.

Kijowicz was a resistance fighter during the war, and he later became an art student. For him, animation had a social purpose:

I try to make a commedia dell’arte, to tell the limited audiences of Polish animation the story of their lives, just as troubadours used to tell villagers the stories of the hamlet. Then, if these small things become symbols of a universal way of being, so much the better.

In those years, Warsaw produced a lot of strong animation with something to say. But animation wasn’t centralized in one city — other studios dotted Poland.

Kijowicz made *Portraits* (1964), for example, with Studio Filmów Rysunkowych in Bielsko-Biała. Another of its standouts is *New Year’s Night* (1964), whose lighthearted comedy is a relief. The film is three angles on an absurd story — involving a chimney sweep hanging by the leg and a post officer who gets every husband in an apartment building arrested. It’s full of personality and, with subtitles, very funny.12

Which is just a tiny slice of Polish animation. That *streaming collection* runs up through the ‘90s: it’s packed with mind-bending stuff. There’s a lot to praise about the recent Essential Polish Animation Blu-ray as well. And that doesn’t get into the famous Bolek and Lolek series — and so on.

Poland lost unrecoverable things to the Nazis, as Lenica wrote. What happened is beyond description, and the pain didn’t end when the fighting stopped. People rebuilt, though — stronger than ever, sometimes. There wasn’t much animation in Poland before the war. Yet artists who refused to accept the destruction would, in the postwar years, make films powerful enough to change the world.

Many of those films aren’t about the war, at least explicitly. They stand on their own. Even so, the context is important. Every Polish animated film back then was an overcoming — and, by nature of its existence, an argument against death.

*2* – Animation news worldwide

*2.1* – A victory for Infinity Castle

Last month, we talked about the rise of hand-drawn features. This week added more to that story. In America, the Japanese film Infinity Castle had an estimated $70 million opening weekend.

Stateside, that’s the most for a 2D feature since The Simpsons Movie (2007). It’s also a new high for Japanese animation in American theaters, breaking an opening record set by the original Pokémon movie in the late ‘90s. Now, Infinity Castle aims for Pokémon’s other record: the top-earning anime film in the States. Expect a new champion soon.

There are other stats worth noting. Infinity Castle is the weekend’s top film — and, in America, the year’s biggest animated debut. (In addition, no Sony release has done numbers like these since the last Spider-Verse in 2023.)

Anime franchise films have dominated Japan for several years. This weekend might mark the start of their dominance in the States. As Jamie Lang of Cartoon Brew wrote a few days ago:

For the anime industry, this launch underscores just how mainstream titles like Demon Slayer have become, both as box office forces and cultural events. Given current trends, we wouldn’t expect any of Infinity Castle’s records to last for very long.

Read the full article https://animationobsessive.substack.com/p/polish-animation-after-the-war

Notes on Taste with Colin King Redefining influence through ...

2025-09-18T11:51:34Z

Notes on Taste with Colin King
Redefining influence through restraint, rhythm, and the power of less

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Notes on Taste with Colin King With this special piece, I’m launching the Notes on Taste series - a monthly exploration of taste as a form of cultural and social currency. Over the coming months, I'll be interviewing different tastemakers to uncover how they developed their vision, their perspective on influence, and what taste means in today's world.

In a culture obsessed with more - more content, more followers, more noise - operates in the opposite direction. The New York-based stylist and designer has built his reputation through an almost radical commitment to restraint, treating interior styling like a masterclass in editing: knowing exactly what to include, and more importantly, what to leave out.

From his bestselling book Arranging Things to collaborations with some of the world’s leading brands, King has established himself as a tastemaker whose influence extends far beyond the rooms he styles. His aesthetic philosophy centers on what he calls "choreographing stillness," treating spaces with the same attention to rhythm and tension he once applied to dance. More recently, he's launched , a newsletter that explores the final ten percent of design: “the instinct. The pause. The slightly off-center object that changes the mood of the room”. It's styling as meditation, where moving a bowl an inch becomes an act of presence.

In our conversation, King reveals how his background in movement shaped his approach to objects, why restraint feels radical in a world of noise, and why true tastemaking requires living with your choices long enough to understand them.

Thank you and welcome, Colin.

Read the full article https://whyyoushouldcare.substack.com/p/notes-on-taste-colin-king

Beyond the Lyst: Why 2025’s Hottest Things Aren’t Things The ...

2025-09-16T13:35:02Z

Beyond the Lyst: Why 2025’s Hottest Things Aren’t Things
The cultural trends of 2025, highlighting the disconnect between product searches and cultural desire. It notes that the hottest products of 2025 were not products at all, but rather cultural movements and shifts in consciousness.

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Beyond the Lyst: Why 2025’s Hottest Things Aren’t Things Every August, the Lyst Index arrives like fashion's report card - this time crowning Miu Miu as the hottest brand, with by Loewe and Saint Laurent trailing just behind. As always, the brand rankings feel right: Miu Miu’s ability to push past gender stereotypes and remain ever-present in culture perfectly captures the current moment, while Loewe continues its mastery at creating viral internet moments, and Saint Laurent reinterprets traditional pieces with contemporary cool. These brands understand that relevance today isn’t about heritage: in one way or another, it’s about cultural fluency.

But those scrolling the *“10 Hottest Products” list*, curious to see which items have defined this summer, might find themselves puzzled by the results.

The Row flip-flops? Skims tank tops? Those Isabel Marant high-tops that look like they escaped from a 2009 sneaker graveyard, ready to give us a jump scare? This isn't a heat map of cultural desire - it’s a greatest hits compilation of trends we've already lived through.

Read the full article https://whyyoushouldcare.substack.com/p/beyond-lyst-2025-hottest-things

How Many Bottega Bags Are Too Many? Сhanging landscape of ...

2025-09-15T12:29:17Z

How Many Bottega Bags Are Too Many?
Сhanging landscape of celebrity partnerships with brands, where celebrities are no longer just human billboards but rather cultural translators who can make brands' aesthetics feel relevant and aspirational. It highlights the importance of creative freedom, cultural relevance, and restraint in successful collaborations, using examples from celebrities such as Jacob Elordi, Anya Taylor-Joy, Timothée Chalamet, and Ariana Grande.

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How Many Bottega Bags Are Too Many? After Jacob Elordi walked the fine line between genuine brand collaboration and performative excess at Sydney Airport, it’s time to decode the rules of successful brand ambassadorship. Here’s what worked, what didn’t, and what was too much.

Subscribe now

*The New Ambassadorship Economy*

Right after appearing at the Venice Film Festival, *Jacob Elordi was spotted at the airport with not one, not two, but three Bottega Veneta bags* - and the internet couldn't decide if it was peak brand dedication or absurdity. The moment crystallised something happening in celebrity partnerships right now: the evolution from simple endorsement deals into full lifestyle integrations that sometimes tip into performance art.

Since becoming Bottega Veneta's official ambassador in May 2024, Elordi has become known as "the Bottega bag king." His "Going Places" campaign, shot by Alec Soth in Utah and Nevada, positioned him as the embodiment of the brand's movement philosophy. But when movement requires head-to-toe looks on every red carpet and three designer bags for a single airport journey, you have to wonder: *where exactly is the line between successful partnership and walking advertisement?*

Elordi is just one face in the endless parade of celebrities that brands leverage for visibility and cultural relevance. A successful Netflix show (The White Lotus, Euphoria, Saltburn) can catapult an actor straight into luxury's inner circle, with brands fighting to secure the freshest and most culturally relevant faces.

But not all partnerships hit the same note. *Anya Taylor-Joy became Dior's global ambassador in October 2021 and has perfected what can only be called aesthetic symbiosis.* Her ethereal, slightly surreal presence doesn't just wear Dior: she reinterprets both Maria Grazia Chiuri and the more recent Jonathan Anderson’s designs through a dreamy, almost otherworldly lens that makes both parties look more interesting than they would alone.

*Timothée Chalamet's Cartier partnership demonstrates restraint done right*. He wears the brand's jewelry to every red carpet. Visible but never overwhelming, luxury pieces that enhance rather than dominate his overall look. It's easier for jewelry brands, but the principle holds: successful partnerships know when to whisper instead of shout.

Meanwhile, *Ariana Grande's Swarovski partnership demonstrates perfect cultural timing*. Her "Party of Dreams" holiday campaign and co-created capsule collection coincided perfectly with her role as Glinda in Wicked; the crystal jewelry felt like a natural extension of her emerald-and-pink Oz era, turning every red carpet appearance into an opportunity.

*Smart brands don't just align with celebrities: they align with cultural moments.* But here's where things get complicated: not every partnership achieves this harmony. Some feel forced, restrictive, or worse: invisible. The difference between a collaboration that elevates both parties and one that diminishes them often comes down to creative freedom, authentic alignment, and knowing when enough is enough.

*WHY YOU SHOULD CARE. The Strategic Anatomy of Authentic Partnerships*

*When Aesthetic Symbiosis Actually Works*

The partnerships that genuinely move culture understand that *celebrity collaboration isn't about human billboards: it's about creative interpretation.* Anya Taylor-Joy doesn't just model Dior; she channels a kind of contemporary gothic romanticism that makes the brand’s vision feel both timeless and urgently modern. When Chalamet pairs vintage Cartier pieces with a custom yellow Givenchy suit at the 2025 Oscars, he's demonstrating how to balance boldness with sophistication

This is what happens when aesthetic symbiosis works: both the celebrity and brand become more compelling through their association. The celebrity gets to express themselves through the brand’s craftsmanship and heritage; the brand gains cultural relevance and fresh interpretation. *Both parties win, but only when the collaboration feels inevitable rather than transactional.*

Read the full article https://whyyoushouldcare.substack.com/p/jacob-elordi-bottega-brand-ambassadors

When Brands Go On Holiday From Jacquemus beaches to Thom Browne ...

2025-09-11T14:18:24Z

When Brands Go On Holiday
From Jacquemus beaches to Thom Browne field trips: travel is becoming the new storytelling strategy

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When Brands Go On Holiday It’s officially holiday season. And brands have packed their bags too. Branded beach clubs and luxury pop-ups are cropping up across summer destinations, turning travel into a new kind of storytelling opportunity.

Subscribe now

*WHAT’S HAPPENING. Brands That Travel With Us*

You’re not the only one heading to an island in the Mediterranean, or plotting a remote escape with better views than Wi-Fi. Luxury brands are coming with us, capitalising on our collective craving for sun, sea, and soft-focused summer memories.

*No one’s doing it quite like Jacquemus.* The brand has always been fluent in the language of Mediterranean fantasy - white linen, terracotta tones, salted skin, and surrealist minimalism - but this summer, it’s gone above and beyond.

It started in May, with the redesign of Ibiza’s buzzy Jondal beach club in this year’s viral shade: butter yellow; soft and warm like late afternoon sun. Then came a Wes Anderson-inspired campaign to announce the opening of two summer stores and another branded beach club in Monte-Carlo, for those who prefer spending their summer in the French Riviera. And finally, a full takeover of Nammos in Mykonos, this time in crisp white and Aegean blue; a colour story that mirrors both the island and the Jacquemus palette.

Wherever you go this summer, Jacquemus is already there. Ready to welcome you, and waiting to be tagged.

And yes, everyone’s doing it. From Missoni to Prada to Dolce & Gabbana, luxury houses have embraced branded summer takeover: beach clubs, pop-ups, influencer dinners. *But Jacquemus stands apart - not because it was first, but because it does it best.* Every activation fits seamlessly into its brand mythology. This isn’t just marketing; *it’s world building.* The beach clubs aren’t just a tool to drive word of mouth: they’re *portals into the Jacquemus lifestyle.* The story is clear - this is a brand born in the South of France, rooted in the Mediterranean beauty and way of life.

*Quick Commercial Break.* Want to travel further into the Jacquemus world? Check out my guide to Jacquemus’ South of France. Not just an exclusive guide, but a way to experience the brand through the places that shaped it.

Meanwhile, Thom Browne is off on his own kind of summer getaway: less sunbathing, more school trip.

In a brilliant twist on the traditional influencer trip, *Thom Browne has been inviting friends of the brand on curated “field trips” that blur the line between marketing, memory, and editorial.* Fully dressed in signature grey wool, they visit places like Le Grand Véfour in Paris or spend a riverside day in Richmond, England. Looking less like influencers, and more like impeccably tailored prep school kids on a very chic excursion.

This isn’t new for the brand. Back in 2019, it staged a Thanksgiving football game in Central Park, where participants (divided into Team Navy and Team Grey) looked as if private-school ritual had been restyled for the runway.

And just like with Jacquemus, *it’s the consistency that makes it stick*. These aren’t just influencer getaways with nice meals and photo ops. *They’re fully committed scenes from a brand universe: ritualised, repeatable, and unmistakably Thom Browne.*

Everyone’s doing travel activations now, but not everyone’s doing them well. What separates a forgettable marketing stunt from a meaningful brand story is coherence. A clear point of view. And a narrative that holds.

So what can we learn from the brands doing it right? Read on.

*WHY YOU SHOULD CARE. Travel, But Make It Strategy*

We’re living in the era of experiences. According to Kantar, *56% of Millennials and Gen Z globally say they’re prioritising experiences over material possessions*. For brands, that means experiences aren’t just a nice addition to the strategy: they are the strategy.

But putting a logo on a sun lounger or a beach umbrella isn’t enough. The experience has to feel aligned; conceptually, emotionally, and aesthetically. It has to mean something. Otherwise, it’s just another forgettable backdrop with poor ROI.

And sometimes, a beach should just be a beach. But when it works, it really does – and physical presence turns into brand equity.

*Jacquemus – Effective Storytelling Rooted In A Strong Sense of Place*

Jacquemus has always sold more than clothes. He sells a world, a feeling, a vision – where summer is eternal, butter and lavender are colours, and the Mediterranean is always within reach.

This kind of storytelling works because *every detail pulls you into a cohesive universe*. One that feels poetic, playful, and maybe even a little surreal.

For Jacquemus, summer is not a season – it’s a feeling. And now, this feeling is turned into brand strategy.

Pop-ups in Ibiza, Mykonos, and Monte-Carlo don’t just drive foot traffic: *they make the Jacquemus fantasy tangible.* Suddenly, the brand’s lifestyle is something you can touch. *It’s experiential marketing, crossed with aspirational escapism*.

What makes it work isn’t the location alone, it’s the *narrative consistency*: from the butter yellow beach umbrellas to the Aegean blue stripes in Mykonos, everything points back to the same world. A world that is romantic, cinematic, and unmistakably Jacquemus. A world that you want to escape to, and more importantly, belong to.

Read the full article https://whyyoushouldcare.substack.com/p/when-brands-go-on-holiday

Thank you! nice job!

2025-09-04T14:17:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…plvy
_________________________

Thank you! nice job!

Custom Costumes, Borrowed Charisma Burberry, despite its clever ...

2025-09-04T12:54:19Z

Custom Costumes, Borrowed Charisma
Burberry, despite its clever campaigns, has seen a 6% drop in sales and has fallen from the FTSE 100 index. Other brands, like Roberto Cavalli and Christian Louboutin, are also struggling to stay relevant. The article argues that borrowed fame from celebrities is not enough to guarantee cultural relevance and that brands need to build their own narratives and identities.
Why Dressing Pop Stars Isn’t Enough To Build Cultural Relevance

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Custom Costumes, Borrowed Charisma

*WHAT’S HAPPENING. Beyoncé, Charli, and Brands Riding Shotgun*

Beyoncé’s tour fashion always makes headlines. And her London stop at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was no exception - stepping out in custom Burberry, she brought the iconic British check back into the spotlight. *It’s been a minute since we’ve seen the pattern at this scale. It was a moment. A revival, maybe*.

And yet, offstage, Burberry is struggling. Despite clever campaigns like It’s Always Burberry Weather, the brand hasn’t fully regained cultural momentum. On the runway, it’s failed to spark real enthusiasm. In the market, the numbers speak for themselves: a 6% drop in sales in early 2025, and a fall from the FTSE 100 last September (its first time off the index in 15 years). Can savvy marketing and Beyoncé’s co-sign turn the tide? Possibly. But the gap between the spectacle and the substance is growing harder to ignore.

Read the full article https://whyyoushouldcare.substack.com/p/custom-costumes-borrowed-charisma

The Devil Wears a Lot More Than Prada What the looks we’ve seen ...

2025-08-30T14:34:24Z

The Devil Wears a Lot More Than Prada
What the looks we’ve seen so far tell us about office fashion and influence

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The Devil Wears a Lot More Than Prada

*WHAT’S HAPPENING. The Devil Wears Prada Is Coming Back*

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is out on set. And the world is watching.

*Andy and Miranda are back to work, just as the rest of us prepare to return to the office after summer.* The timing feels almost calculated, and the fashion is already keeping fans completely obsessed.

The looks are being dissected, screenshotted, and analysed before the cameras have even stopped rolling. Meryl Streep pacing Manhattan in monochrome grey skirt suits and bright red Jacquemus pumps. Emily Blunt in pinstripe suiting layered over a dark corset, Dior bag in hand. And most tellingly, Andy in Phoebe Philo and Nili Lotan with (naturally) Prada heels - but still carrying that signature beat-up vintage Coach satchel from 2006.

That last detail matters. Because while we still don’t know much about the plot yet, *we can already tell that everything has shifted since the original dropped 18 years ago.* Fashion still matters, obviously, but its role has evolved. *Office wear looks nothing like it used to. Influence works differently.* And most importantly, *we’re not the same people* who first watched Andy fumble down the Runway closet.

There’s discourse online about whether we’re ruining the magic by analysing every behind-the-scenes glimpse before we’ve even seen a trailer. But here's what's actually interesting: these set photos aren't just fashion eye candy. They're already telling us something crucial about how power, taste, and workplace fashion have transformed.

The signs are everywhere. We just need to decode them.

Read the full article https://whyyoushouldcare.substack.com/p/the-devil-wears-a-lot-more-than-prada

Let’s trace those lines, from opulent gardens to hidden ...

2025-08-24T16:11:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…ctd0
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Let’s trace those lines, from opulent gardens to hidden doorways, and see Marrakech through his eyes. This isn’t just a travel guide: it’s a map to a creative world, a way of reading a city through the lens of the designer it transformed.

Authenticity Is The New Luxury From exclusive resorts to casual ...

2025-08-22T14:05:03Z

Authenticity Is The New Luxury
From exclusive resorts to casual fine dining, luxury now is all about experience

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Authenticity Is The New Luxury Summer’s here, and the desire for moments of relaxation or adventure is in the air; whether it's lounging on a sun-soaked beach or exploring a remote corner of the world. In this week’s newsletter, we dive into the evolving sector of luxury travel and experiences, and how they’re shifting to meet the desires of today’s travellers. With a few suggestions for where to stay and dine.

*WHAT’S HAPPENING. From Material Wealth To Meaningful Experiences*

When you think of luxury, what comes to mind? Polished marble hallways, gleaming crystal chandeliers, and grandiose dining experiences that make you feel like royalty? That concept is evolving - and fast. Today, a new kind of luxury is making its way into the world: *that of being present, of engaging with places or experiences that feel authentic, personal, and deeply meaningful.*

Aman exemplifies this trend. Founded by Adrian Zecha as a response to the corporatization of the hotel industry, this group - whose name means “peace” in Sanskrit - was designed to offer travelers ultra-localised experiences rooted in cultural heritage and traditions. The success of this approach is evident in Aman's 43% revenue growth in 2024, with no signs of slowing down. The company is expanding into the Middle East with a $2 billion investment and has recently introduced Janu, a more affordable sister brand aimed at younger travellers who refuse to compromise on authenticity. And it’s not just about hotels; Aman’s Residences prove that this deep connection to places extends beyond vacation, appealing to those who seek authenticity year-round.

This shift isn’t limited to hotels. Across the globe, luxury dining is also undergoing a transformation. Gone are the days of stiff collars and white gloved service. Restaurants like Giglio in Lucca, Italy, and Le Suquet in Laguiole, France which recently gave up their Michelin stars, are embracing *a new, more relaxed approach to fine dining.* A recent study revealed that the Michelin star - once the ultimate marker of distinction - can sometimes become a double-edged sword, making it harder for restaurants to retain the intimacy and authenticity that guests crave.

Though this article isn’t about fashion, even within that industry, authenticity is driving success. Brands like Bode and Kartik Research have won over consumers by embracing limited-edition (and sometimes one-of-a-kind) products that emphasize local craftsmanship and heritage. *The magic lies in the story: one that reflects tradition and cultural roots, offering a meaningful experience far beyond any flashy logo or luxury price tag.*

*WHY YOU SHOULD CARE. Authenticity, Connection, and Wellness Are Shaping The Future of Luxury*

*They say the best things in life aren’t things at all.* Today, more and more people are proving that to be true, increasingly choosing authentic, immersive luxury experiences rather than just products. Bain & Company's latest market study shows that in 2024, the only luxury segments seeing growth are those tied to experiences. In a time of rising socio-economic uncertainty, consumers aren’t just looking for escapism: they’re seeking emotional fulfillment, connection and meaning.

*The Evolving Luxury Traveler*

McKinsey & Company predicts a 14% increase in high-net-worth individuals' spending on travel by 2028. Alongside this, a *rising segment of aspiring travelers* is also key to this growth, valuing novelty, culture, and history in everything from accommodations to food.

The launch of Janu reflects this shift. As Aman’s COO Roland Fasel said to Condé Nast “We saw that there was no one filling that space where experience, mindfulness, and an edgy approach to the local tastes and cultures existed. Janu fills that space”. *While Aman is positioned as a private luxury retreat, Janu appeals to a younger, more social traveller* through more affordable rates and vibrant public spaces. But both brands share one thing: deeply localized experiences rooted in tradition.

*The Search for Authentic, Localised Experiences*

*Luxury alone no longer suffices.* The Harris Poll found over 90% of travelers prefer experiences that reflect local charm, with 89% wanting hotels that immerse them in the history of a place.

In an industry where 70% of travelers feel that modern luxury hotels have “lost their soul” due to standardization, *Aman has made authenticity the cornerstone of its value proposition.* From dining in the traditional earth-walled Gwaadi courtyard at Amanbagh, to exploring the art of Bonkei at Aman Kyoto or visiting Greek ruins at Amanzoe, the hotel group goes beyond luxury by providing a home-away-from-home atmosphere, where culture and comfort meet.

The search for authenticity extends to restaurants as well. *Canteen in London reimagines fine dining by offering a more relaxed, informal experience without compromising on quality.* Led by Jessica Filbey and Harry Hills, both former chefs at the iconic River Café, Canteen's walk-in-only policy and unpretentious atmosphere create a space where food lovers, creatives, and even celebrities like Dua Lipa can mingle. Here, the essence of fine dining is stripped of exclusivity and formality, replaced by an approach that’s equally elevated but far more accessible.

*Branding Still Matters, When Done Right*

While modern luxury demands more than just a brand name, branding still plays a key role when experiences are done right. McKinsey found that 68% of luxury travellers care about loyalty programs - not for points, but for exclusive service and personalised attention. *Aman has earned a cult following among its clients (known as “Aman Junkies”)* and its lifestyle line, Aman Essentials, extends that dedication into everyday life. This trend is growing, as more hotels introduce capsule collections, like Frame for the Ritz Paris, Sporty & Rich for The Carlyle, and Emilia Wickstead for Passalacqua.

*Janu’s first campaign*, launched just a few months ago, also *shows how branding matters*. Shot by Christopher Anderson and William Jess Laird, it perfectly embodies the brand’s connection to exploration and inspiration, tapping into the essence of the new luxury.

Read the full article https://whyyoushouldcare.substack.com/p/authenticity-is-the-new-luxury

BRANDSCAPES #2. Saint Laurent’s Marrakech This article is part ...

2025-08-18T20:06:48Z

BRANDSCAPES #2. Saint Laurent’s Marrakech
This article is part of a series exploring iconic brands through the places that shaped them - tracing how landscape, memory, and culture become the fabric of a brand's world. This time, we step into one of Morocco’s most magnetic cities, a place that captured Yves Saint Laurent’s heart and became his lifelong sanctuary.

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BRANDSCAPES #2. Saint Laurent’s Marrakech

When Yves Saint Laurent first arrived in Marrakech in February 1966, the city was still a secret passed quietly among a coterie of artists and wanderers. He and his partner Pierre Bergé checked into La Mamounia - then a faded remnant of its glamorous past - and within days, they had bought their first home: Dar el-Hanch, the House of the Snake, named for a large serpent Saint Laurent painted across its living room wall.

Born in Algeria, YSL was no stranger to North Africa. But Morocco was different. The country’s sensuality, refinement, and quiet generosity drew him in: its cuisine, its artisans, its architecture. And above all, its colours. “Marrakech opened my eyes to color,” he would later say. From that moment, ochres and cobalt blues, deep purples and lush greens began to saturate his collections, alongside caftans, djellabas, gold embroidery, and flowing silhouettes; not as borrowed exoticism, but as a deeply personal reinterpretation.

From then on, Saint Laurent returned every June 1st and December 1st to design far from the stressful rhythms of Paris. In the 1970s, Marrakech was a bohemian mecca: Paul and Talitha Getty, Mick and Bianca Jagger, Andy Warhol, and a constellation of artists drifted through its gardens and palaces. For Saint Laurent, it became a “laboratory of the soul,” an oasis of creative experimentation where boundaries dissolved and his style took bold, unexpected turns, transforming the fashion house into the empire we know it as today.

The city has changed since those days: the crowds have grown, the pace quickened. And yet, Marrakech still holds pockets of the same magic; alleys humming with life, souks spilling over with colour and spice, courtyards where time seems to slow.

This is a Marrakech seen through a designer’s eyes; a city mapped not by every landmark, but by the places where Saint Laurent sketched, wandered, and gathered inspiration. Each stop is chosen for the way it ties back to his world, or to the spirit of creativity and craftsmanship that still runs through the city like an underground river.

Let’s trace those lines, from opulent gardens to hidden doorways, and see Marrakech through his eyes. This isn’t just a travel guide: it’s a map to a creative world, a way of reading a city through the lens of the designer it transformed.

Subscribe now

*The Aesthetic Map of Saint Laurent’s Marrakech*

Each corner of Marrakech carries traces of the designer who loved it so deeply: ochre walls that echo in couture collections, Majorelle blue skies reflected in evening gowns, the shadows of palm leaves on carved cedar that become patterns, embroideries, entire silhouettes.

We'll follow Saint Laurent's footsteps through this city that shaped him: from quiet corners where he sketched in solitude, to the cobalt blue gardens he rescued from demolition, to the secret villa that hosted the likes of Winston Churchill and Mick Jagger. Along the way, we'll discover the intimate restaurants where Saint Laurent held court over long dinners, the hidden ateliers of contemporary designers carrying on his legacy, and the souks where he first glimpsed the colors that would transform fashion forever.

But to truly understand how this city transformed Saint Laurent from a monochrome designer into a master of colour and cultural fusion, you need to walk where he walked, see what he saw, and feel the creative pulse of the places that expanded his entire artistic vocabulary.

*Jemaa el-Fnaa Square & The Souks*

Step into the *Medina* - Marrakech’s walled city centre - and you step into another rhythm entirely. Here, life doesn’t unfold so much as spill, swirl, and sing. The heat rises off ochre walls in visible waves; spices scent the air in invisible clouds; metalworkers hammer somewhere down a side alley, their rhythm becoming the city’s heartbeat. Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985, it’s a maze of winding alleys, sunlit courtyards, and the constant hum of life being lived.

Read more

Read the full article https://whyyoushouldcare.substack.com/p/brandscapes-saint-laurents-marrakech

BRANDSCAPES #1. Jacquemus’ South of France A guide to the ...

2025-08-07T13:56:15Z

BRANDSCAPES #1. Jacquemus’ South of France
A guide to the places and feelings that shaped the brand

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BRANDSCAPES #1. Jacquemus’ South of France This article is part of a series exploring iconic brands through the places that shaped them; tracing how landscape, memory, and culture become the fabric of a brand’s world.

*Jacquemus doesn’t just sell clothes. It sells a story* - one rooted in place, memory, and a very specific kind of beauty.

Not Parisian-chic, but provincial in a poetic way. Built on lavender fields and salt flats, plastic beach chairs and sun-warmed fruit, linen fluttering from washing lines. A world shaped by the South of France, and by a boy’s relationship to it.

Long before the runway shows and campaign films, Simon Porte Jacquemus was a child in Mallemort, a small town near Arles and Avignon, obsessed with the sun, the sea, and the quiet joy of dressing his mother. At seven, he made her a linen skirt from the living room curtains, tying it at the waist with Converse laces. She wore it proudly to walk him to school the next morning. Years later, after her passing, he named the brand after her maiden name, and made it a tribute: *to her, to the landscapes that raised him, to his family rural heritage, and to the poetry of everyday life - as shown by his most recent show,* *Le Paysan**.*

This is what makes Jacquemus unlike any other label in fashion: *its emotional geography is also literal.* Almost every collection is mapped to a real location: a childhood beach, a brutalist seaside resort most Parisians would find gauche, a salt flat outside Arles where the light makes everything look like sculpture. Each place is a chapter in the brand’s mythology, carefully styled but never sterile. This is fashion as memory, narrative, and world-building.

Strategically, Jacquemus is a masterclass in what brand strategists call *emplaced storytelling:* *using real, emotionally resonant geographies to construct a larger symbolic world.* While most luxury brands aim for universality, Jacquemus insists on specificity. Provence isn’t just a setting: it’s a code: for slowness, sunlight, and sensuality.

So when the brand stages shows on lavender fields or salt dunes, it’s not a spectacle for the sake of image. It’s a map: back to a place, a person, and a feeling.

To understand Jacquemus is to understand these places by walking the same roads, tasting the same fruit, seeing what he saw - and, perhaps, feeling what he felt.

This is a travel guide. But not just for your next trip. *It’s a way of reading a brand* *through landscape**.* A way to immerse yourself in a story that’s been told not through screens, but through streets, salt air, and sunlight.

*The Aesthetic Map of Jacquemus*

Each Jacquemus collection traces a landscape: salt-stung coastlines, lavender fields in bloom, villages where nothing and everything happens. This is a map to the places that shaped the brands, and the feelings stitched into them.

Let’s follow the road south, into the world that made Jacquemus.

*Marseille & Les Calanques*

If Jacquemus is a brand made of places, then Marseille is one of its cornerstones: a sun-bleached port city where the poetry of the South meets a certain Mediterranean edge. It’s here, in 2017, that the brand truly broke through.

The Spring/Summer 2017 show, Les Santons de Provence, unfolded on the aerial footbridge between the Mucem museum and Fort Saint-Jean; a sweeping stage suspended above the sea. Named after the Provençal clay figurines, the collection paid homage to village archetypes: the shepherd, the lavender vendor, the cook. Their silhouettes were exaggerated, reimagined with polka dots, ruching, and wide-brimmed straw hats - signature Jacquemus elements in the making.

A year later, he returned home, not just figuratively, but literally. The menswear debut, Le Gadjo, was staged in the Sormiou cove just outside Marseille. A show by the sea, framed by limestone cliffs and olive trees, it was as much a personal love letter as a fashion statement. “I grew up here, between the olive trees and the red tomato fields. I grew up here, barefoot, bare-chested, strong perfume. I grew up here, in the Mediterranean.”

*What to See & Do*

Begin in *Le Panier*, Marseille’s oldest quarter founded by the ancient Greeks, with its colourful facades and steep staircases. Its name means “the basket,” just like one of Jacquemus’ most iconic bags.

I usually suggest leaving the city for a proper beach day - the calanques are worth the trip. But if the heat catches up with you, take a dip at *Piscine Maritime des Catalans*, a natural sea pool just minutes from the Old Port. On Bastille Day (July 14th), stay and watch the fireworks shimmer over the *Vieux Port*, just as a young Jacquemus might have, eyes wide with wonder.

Pick up a book at *Librairie l’Odeur du Temps* for a quiet beach read, or stop by *Pharmacie du Père Blaize*, an apothecary founded in 1815, where dried herbs, teas, and essential oils still line the wooden drawers.

Wander through the *Quartier des Antiquaires*, home to art galleries and brocantes, and lose yourself in *Maison Empereur*, France’s oldest hardware store turned cabinet of curiosities.

Up for a local ritual? Join a game of pétanque at the *Boulodrome de Niolon*, where the clink of boules echoes over the sea.

Finally, drive toward *Calanque de Sormiou* - the road alone is a dream - and swim in the clear turquoise water framed by limestone cliffs and whispering pine trees.

*Where to Stay*

*Bords de Mer* - A minimalist dream with 19 sea-facing rooms, a rooftop pool, and breezy modern design. A contemporary window to the Mediterranean.

*Hotel Le Corbusier* - A unique chance to stay inside the iconic Unité d’Habitation, a concrete ode to modernism. Brutalist, with a quiet retro soul.

*Hotel Maison Empereur* - Tucked above the famed hardware store, this singular apartment-turned-guesthouse is filled with old family photographs, oddities, and history. More like stepping into a story than a hotel stay.

*Where to Eat*

*Tuba Club* - Perched above the sea, this converted diving club is the place where Marseille’s creative crowd gathers for a bite by the rocks

*Cécile Food Club* - A chic little deli with standout sandwiches, small plates, and natural wine. Perfect to eat in or pack for the beach.

*Sepia* - On a hill overlooking the city, with seasonal Mediterranean cooking and stunning views.

*La Relève* - a lively bistro with a short, excellent menu, natural wines, and vintage charm.

*Le Cabanon de Jean* - hidden in the Sormiou valley, this no-frills, sea-to-table gem feels like a secret. You’ll need a reservation - and maybe a local tip to find it - but it’s worth the journey.

*Valensole & Provence*

If there’s one landscape that defines the Jacquemus universe, it’s Provence. For the brand’s 10th anniversary in 2019, he staged Le Coup de Soleil in the lavender fields of Valensole — postcard-perfect, yet reimagined with a pop installation inspired by Christo. “I wanted the opposite of what you’d expect from this Provençal postcard,” he said. It wasn’t just a visual spectacle, but a return to the region at the heart of his story.

Even when not geographically in Provence, Jacquemus brings it with him. The wheat fields of the L’Amour show (SS21) weren’t in the South, but they evoked the same rural intimacy, the same poetry of simplicity.

Read the full article https://whyyoushouldcare.substack.com/p/brandscapes-jacquemus-france

Last call Why are so many people in so many countries around the ...

2025-07-29T15:07:51Z

Last call
Why are so many people in so many countries around the world drinking less? Tim Naimi on the spread of sobering research about alcohol’s adverse health effects, the tightening of economic pressures, and the myth of the moderate European drinker.

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Last call

When England’s national football team lost the UEFA Euro final to Spain last July—after having lost the previous Euro final to Italy in 2020—a brawl erupted outside a pub in Solihull, a town on the outskirts of Birmingham. Dozens of men and women traded blows. It was a big, drunken mess. But spectacularly bad scenes like this, along with everyday bar fights, are becoming rarer. Across England and Wales, 65 percent of a notable decline in violence from 2014 to 2024 is on account of men from 18 to 30 not getting into as many fights as they used to. The biggest factor? Less drinking.

Alcohol is losing its grip on British youth. This year, 28 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds reported teetotaling—a 10 percent jump from 2014. The nonalcoholic beer Guinness 0.0 has become a major earner for Guinness’s parent company, Diageo. Sales of low- and no-alcohol products in the U.K. rose 47 percent last year.

The shift is global, especially among younger generations, whose alcohol consumption has dropped across most high-income countries over the last couple of decades. The number of U.S. 16- and 17-year-olds who said they’d had a drink in the past month has fallen by 58 percent since 2002. A 2023 Gallup poll found the share of adults under age 35 who say they drink dropped 10 percentage points—from 72 percent to 62 percent—since 2003.

Finland, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Lithuania, and more report declines in drinking rates, too, and nearly half of adults worldwide say they’re cutting back or giving up alcohol altogether. U.S. alcohol sales dropped 3 percent in the first half of 2024. Spirits, wine, and beer sales are all down. A fixture of human culture for millennia, alcohol’s role in society is shrinking.

Why?

Tim Naimi is the director of the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, a professor in the university’s Division of Medical Sciences, and a physician and alcohol epidemiologist with the Boston Medical Center. Naimi says the dynamics behind this shift aren’t simple—and neither are their implications. We can point to a whole set of factors, from better health awareness to economic pressures to post-pandemic adjustments. Yet none of it obviously establishes a lasting, long-term trend.

Young people may be drinking less now, but it’s a question as to whether they stay that way as they hit their thirties and forties. And while alcohol companies continue positioning themselves to capture the no- and low-alcohol market, they’re not exactly conceding defeat on alcohol. What might look like surrender is just as plausibly a way to keep potential drinkers bonded to their brands until habits break …

Allison Braden: How would you describe the most significant global trends you’re seeing in alcohol consumption?

Tadas Petrokas

Read the full article https://www.thesgnl.com/2025/07/declining-alcohol-consumption-globally/

Promises, promises Getting the questions straight on Trump’s ...

2025-07-29T15:07:51Z

Promises, promises
Getting the questions straight on Trump’s Epstein gamble. … A reckoning in Gaza for the post–World War II humanitarian-relief system. … & How much of a threat is violence toward Syria’s Druze minority—for the country and the Middle East as a whole? … The member’s despatch, Week XXX.

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Promises, promises

Plus: More developments. … Books from Kathryn C. Lavelle, on why the U.S. is so interested in the Arctic; Helle Bank Jorgensen, on whether sustainability really still matters for corporations; and Patrick McGee, on why Apple is stuck in China. … Music from Max Richter, Facta, and Bob James. … & Does anyone still listen to smooth jazz?

And: Martin Wolf on why the U.S. economy is showing such strange resiliency. … Seth Harp on why the spread of major crime within the U.S. Special Forces. … & Tim Naimi on why so many people in so many countries around the world are drinking less. … + The weather report: 58.4880° N, 19.8633° E …

When the Gray brothers—Joseph William and, remarkably, Admiral Nelson—bought The Cleveland Advertiser and decided to rebrand it in 1842, they said, “our democracy and modesty suggest the only name that befits the occasion” would be one that emphasized their fundamental commitment to engaging honestly and directly with their readers. The choice apparently inspired Winston Churchill to say a century later that “by all odds, The Plain Dealer has the best newspaper name of any in the world.”

In our time, new challengers to the American media establishment have often returned to The Plain Dealer’s theme, if then to come up with starker variations: Fox News alternated in its early years between the signature slogans “Fair and balanced” and “We report, you decide.” One America News launched more than a decade ago with an assurance of “just the facts, empowering you to form your own beliefs.” You’ll recognize the idea as it’s hardened: They twist things; we give ‘em to you straight.

There’s a new wave for it now, from newer challengers.

And with good reason. Mainstream news organizations across America, like so many of their counterparts around the world, have become more and more enthralled with essentially the opposite idea—that the purpose of journalism is narrative. Facts just serve it. “The power of storytelling”—how often have you heard that? Some people out here evidently embrace it; many of us, increasingly, find it patronizing. Or worse, disinformation. Or possibly worse still, useless.

The problem for those of us looking for what the new challengers are talking about is that, invariably, they end up doing the same thing—creating narratives, writing stories, telling us what to think—just with the added flattery that consuming their authority over mainstream news organizations’ makes us free thinkers.

We’re all looking for plain dealing. At The Signal, we reckon it means something specific: avoiding hype, identifying real questions, and following them where they go, even when—especially when—that leads somewhere unexpected.

Welcome back,

—John Jamesen Gould

The Signal—your loyal guide to a changing world.

The member’s despatch—your weekly briefing on global events, new books, new music, &c.

More than the news, every week, for less than a premium coffee every month.

Simon Launay

Developments

The world in brief, July 19-25

The Epstein gamble

On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed President Donald Trump in May that his name appears in files the Department of Justice possesses related to the disgraced financier, convicted sex offender, and now late Jeffrey Epstein. This was weeks before the DoJ decided against releasing the files, despite Trump’s campaign promises of transparency, specifically about the Epstein case.

Read the full article https://www.thesgnl.com/2025/07/members-despatch-week-xxx-mmxxv/

Nostr event nevent1qqsduc2l3sd488evc4f5d2zl38vy82taz6xqat35mdqt4pmpdx7warqzyptuvvdrdp5necp6pty3mpz89h59dr8agxuktqfd2uqwt9c822dgukvg8c9

2025-07-10T06:39:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…yv6m
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https://bedunkevich.layer3.press/articles/ad82d0e6-287d-467e-9926-6b56c38515b0

June is the month of Summer Solstice, it is also the month where ...

2025-07-10T06:19:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…uwj5
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June is the month of Summer Solstice, it is also the month where all the beautiful colorful produce starts to become abundant — so we are highlighting some of my favorites to make four delicious dishes.

All of these are refreshing, light and nourishing. Using June produce like cherries, rhubarb, heirloom tomatoes, cucumber, apricots, plums & peaches!

So head over to your local farmers market, and let’s get cookinggggg.

Connections What does financial repression in autocracies have to ...

2025-07-03T21:35:41Z

Connections
What does financial repression in autocracies have to do with financial freedom in democracies? Justin Callais on human flourishing in the modern world.

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Connections For anyone who’s never experienced financial repression, it might sound like something from another dimension. In the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the broader democratic world, people may think a lot about finance, and they may think at least occasionally about repression, but the idea of “financial repression” is, still, generally alien. The Nicaraguan dissident Félix Maradiaga says this of it: “When we talk about financial repression, we’re talking about the systematic destruction of the things that give people dignity and independence in their lives.” It’s an evocative description of an otherwise almost unimaginable condition.

“Financial freedom,” on the other hand, has some currency. Which is usually about having opportunities, making decisions, or taking actions that can enable us and our families to flourish—to do more of what we want in life, with fewer obligations to unwelcome labor and a lower risk of financial setbacks becoming sustained adversity. It seems intuitive that there’d be a connection between the phenomenon of financial repression in dictatorships and financial freedom in democracies. But what is it?

Justin Callais is the chief economist at the Archbridge Institute and the editor at large for The Signal. Callais says the clue is right there in Maradiaga’s description of financial repression as he experienced it: The purpose of the “systematic destruction of the things that give people dignity and independence in their lives” isn’t just to crush dissidents specifically; it’s to incapacitate people generally. It’s to prevent them from cultivating a systemic threat to dictatorship—what their everyday counterparts in democratic life mean by financial freedom: the capacity to flourish …

John Jamesen Gould: Is there anything comparable in the democratic world to the kind of financial repression people experience in dictatorships?

E. Diop

Read the full article https://www.thesgnl.com/2025/06/financial-repression-financial-freedom/

THE SIGNAL

nice!

2025-06-19T11:13:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…6t2n
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nice!

Patrick Adler is a co-founder of Westwood Economics & ...

2025-06-19T06:53:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…255x
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Patrick Adler is a co-founder of Westwood Economics & Planning Consultants in Los Angeles, which researches California’s creative economy, including film and television production. The entertainment industry in Hollywood is at a turning point, Adler says—but not because it's losing out to other industry hubs: In part, the decline in L.A. is a correction to the overproduction of movies and TV before and during the pandemic, when investors had access to historically low interest rates. And since, new factors are combining to drive a major shift in the industry: tighter money, changing consumer tastes, and new technologies.

Coming like a ghost town Why is production declining in ...

2025-06-19T06:52:21Z

Coming like a ghost town
Why is production declining in Hollywood? Patrick Adler on the short-term disruptions and long-term trends transforming an industry.
https://connect-test.layer3.press/articles/0a38cb3a-d231-4090-80e3-7d8afa8224cb

Introducing: Reader Stories — A New Page for Your Journey If ...

2025-06-18T06:30:47Z

Introducing: Reader Stories — A New Page for Your Journey
If you’ve ever walked away from the 9–5, downsized your life, chased a dream, or are even just thinking about it—I’d love to hear your story.
https://connect-test.layer3.press/articles/1acb1809-49c3-4559-902b-01909d49c50f

Nice!

2025-06-17T21:02:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…k38j
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Nice!

n 2024, Brazil blocked Twitter until it complied with censorship ...

2025-05-23T20:39:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…knsa
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n 2024, Brazil blocked Twitter until it complied with censorship demands, France arrested Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov, the EU censored additional Russian outlets and wrote letters to Twitter mandating more content moderation, and Australia announced it will fine platforms for misinformation.

It’s not you, modern software does feel slow Why modern ...

2025-05-17T15:41:43Z

It’s not you, modern software does feel slow
Why modern software is bloated
https://connect-test.layer3.press/articles/02beaea4-7680-42b5-b198-cd8c4b5621c1

ok!

2025-04-22T11:37:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…uxgm
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ok!

nice!

2025-04-22T11:37:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…r502
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nice!

ok

2025-04-22T11:31:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…6uvf
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ok

1212

2025-04-22T11:27:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…6uvf
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1212

ok

2025-04-22T10:17:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…6uvf
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ok

re

2025-04-22T10:12:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…6uvf
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re

ok

2025-04-22T10:11:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…6uvf
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ok

ok!

2025-04-22T10:08:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…6uvf
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ok!

Re!

2025-04-22T10:07:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…6uvf
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Re!

Yo!

2025-04-22T10:06:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…6uvf
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Yo!

Dems filling rallies as Trump melts down over Elon The David ...

2025-03-28T15:13:09Z

Dems filling rallies as Trump melts down over Elon
The David Pakman Show - March 24, 2025
https://stas.layer3.press/articles/c4b44ae5-e136-4257-960e-4b9f5719702f

“Raw and Unfiltered” with Michael Cohen A recording from ...

2025-03-28T15:13:09Z

“Raw and Unfiltered” with Michael Cohen
A recording from David Pakman and Michael Cohen's live video
https://stas.layer3.press/articles/dd291235-1b69-40a3-a4ec-1c2099163ac8

We have no idea who is running the White House The David Pakman ...

2025-03-28T15:13:09Z

We have no idea who is running the White House
The David Pakman Show - March 27, 2025
https://stas.layer3.press/articles/a13f336f-6120-4c3e-97bc-2ab034258d3f

Trump allies deploy “book-banning pastor” to school districts ...

2025-03-25T12:49:40Z

Trump allies deploy “book-banning pastor” to school districts across the country
In a January 24 press release from the Department of Education, the Trump administration declared that book-banning was a “hoax.”
https://stas.layer3.press/articles/67b11cb9-51fa-4c9f-a678-3fe462c21a28

Introducing: The Musk Watch DOGE Tracker New tool reveals Musk ...

2025-03-25T12:49:40Z

Introducing: The Musk Watch DOGE Tracker
New tool reveals Musk has overstated verified DOGE savings by at least 92%
https://stas.layer3.press/articles/f3138416-f6f0-4b5a-a8e5-c7130de145b1

Veterans Administration therapists forced to provide mental ...

2025-03-25T12:49:40Z

Veterans Administration therapists forced to provide mental health counseling in open cubicles
As part of the Trump administration's frenzied push to end remote work arrangements for federal government workers, the Veterans Administration (VA) is forcing therapists to provide mental health counseling in open cubicles.
https://stas.layer3.press/articles/cf3db581-7aa4-4299-8296-476f5942f99b

Trump allies deploy “book-banning pastor” to school districts ...

2025-03-25T12:49:40Z

Are the people who Trump sent to a Salvadoran prison actually ...

2025-03-25T12:49:40Z

Are the people who Trump sent to a Salvadoran prison actually gang members?
On March 15, President Trump signed a proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
https://stas.layer3.press/articles/7315ad0f-093e-4084-a6df-d076a4c1419b

Texas lawmakers advance bill that makes it a crime for teachers ...

2025-03-25T12:49:40Z

Texas lawmakers advance bill that makes it a crime for teachers to assign "Catcher in the Rye"
Lawmakers in Texas are seeking to impose harsh criminal penalties on school librarians and teachers who provide award-winning works of literature to students.
https://stas.layer3.press/articles/a8bc33d5-dc2b-43f4-af4f-c2f36e393945

Trump pumps eponymous meme coin On Sunday, President Trump used ...

2025-03-25T12:49:40Z

Trump pumps eponymous meme coin
On Sunday, President Trump used his social media platform, Truth Social, to promote his eponymous meme coin, $TRUMP.
https://stas.layer3.press/articles/1536d1b1-0714-453f-b047-a1a2756c1bc4

Are the people who Trump sent to a Salvadoran prison actually ...

2025-03-25T12:49:40Z

With Nostr, Jack is well ahead of what Elon and Zuck have learned ...

2025-03-20T14:01:39Z

With Nostr, Jack is well ahead of what Elon and Zuck have learned about censorship

https://connect-test.layer3.press/articles/a001f7dc-82d1-4a84-8853-a0ff699db672

draft @ 1741255962181 ...

2025-03-06T10:12:51Z

draft @ 1741255962181

https://stas.layer3.press/articles/cb042a38-1d2f-4808-95b0-d3e0c15c2a9d

3452345

2025-02-23T20:23:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…hva2
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3452345

00

2025-02-23T16:37:28Z

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00

offers powerful capabilities at a more affordable price. iPhone ...

2025-02-23T16:24:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…ahx3
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offers powerful capabilities at a more affordable price. iPhone 16e delivers fast, smooth performance and breakthrough battery life, thanks to the industry-leading efficiency of the A18 chip and the new Apple C1, the first cellular modem designed by Apple. iPhone 16e is also built for Apple Intelligence, the intuitive personal intelligence system that delivers helpful and relevant intelligence while taking an extraordinary step forward for privacy in AI. The 48MP Fusion camera takes gorgeous photos and videos, and with an integrated 2x Telephoto, it is like having two cameras in one, so users can zoom in with optical quality. When outside of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage, Apple’s groundbreaking satellite features — including Emergency SOS, Roadside Assistance, Messages, and Find My via satellite — help iPhone 16e users stay connected and get assistance when it matters most.1

1.1.1.1

2025-02-23T16:18:56Z

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1.1.1.1

1.1.1

2025-02-23T16:18:48Z

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1.1.1

1.2.1

2025-02-23T16:18:39Z

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1.2.1

1.3

2025-02-23T15:44:24Z

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1.3

1.2

2025-02-23T15:44:20Z

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1.2

1.1

2025-02-23T15:44:15Z

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1.1

Re: re: form

2025-02-23T15:43:30Z

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Re: re: form

Re: form

2025-02-23T15:43:23Z

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Re: form

24

2025-02-23T15:43:08Z

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24

34

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34

1.

2025-02-23T15:20:05Z

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1.

324234

2025-02-23T15:05:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…6nz2
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324234

r234

2025-02-23T14:57:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…ne9g
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r234

fgrg2wreg

2025-02-23T14:30:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…6nz2
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fgrg2wreg

eee

2025-02-23T14:27:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…6nz2
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eee

4 ->

2025-02-23T11:47:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…6nz2
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4 ->

3. ->

2025-02-23T11:47:06Z

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3. ->

2. ->

2025-02-23T11:47:00Z

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2. ->

1. ->

2025-02-23T11:46:55Z

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1. ->

1.4.3

2025-02-23T11:35:34Z

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1.4.3

1.4.2

2025-02-23T11:35:23Z

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1.4.2

1.4.1

2025-02-23T11:35:05Z

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1.4.1

1.4

2025-02-23T11:34:57Z

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1.4

1.3

2025-02-23T11:33:25Z

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1.3

1.2

2025-02-23T11:23:30Z

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1.2

3.

2025-02-23T11:22:33Z

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3.

2. ->

2025-02-23T11:17:48Z

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2. ->

1. ->

2025-02-23T11:17:43Z

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1. ->

2. Second comment

2025-02-23T11:15:37Z

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2. Second comment

Reply to First comment!

2025-02-23T11:14:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…g4jr
_________________________

Reply to First comment!

First comment!

2025-02-23T11:14:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…6nz2
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First comment!

23 Feb - 12:11

2025-02-23T11:11:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…hwzf
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23 Feb - 12:11

! PostgreSQL – Recursive Query

2025-02-22T11:15:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…4wgx
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! PostgreSQL – Recursive Query

234234

2025-02-22T11:13:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…ahx3
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234234

34423

2025-02-22T11:13:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…f58h
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34423

Nostr notes by M

+1

Nasry Asfura (PN) leads Salvador Nasralla (PL) by a narrow margin ...

++++

At least 128 people killed in the fire Concerns about corruption ...

At least 128 people killed in the fire Concerns about corruption ...

At least 128 people killed in the fire Concerns about corruption ...

Councilwoman Sandra Forero warns that this could affect new and ...

Medellín has banned e-cigarette use in schools, kindergartens, ...

Nice

Máxima tensión: aviones militares de EE. UU. sobrevolaron cerca ...

El general Julio César Avilés Castillo, jefe del Ejército de ...

+1

Camping Out Summer time is funner time with AI. #naddr1qv…k55t

Thanks for reading FurBabies (formerly Animation Anarchy)! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Built for the next billion ideas

🙏🙏🙏 When you unbox the latest generation of Samsung ...

Polish Animation, After the War Polish animation scene after ...

*1* – Diamonds from Poland

*2* – Animation news worldwide

*2.1* – A victory for Infinity Castle

For the anime industry, this launch underscores just how mainstream titles like Demon Slayer have become, both as box office forces and cultural events. Given current trends, we wouldn’t expect any of Infinity Castle’s records to last for very long.

Notes on Taste with Colin King Redefining influence through ...

Thank you and welcome, Colin.

Beyond the Lyst: Why 2025’s Hottest Things Aren’t Things The ...

The Row flip-flops? Skims tank tops? Those Isabel Marant high-tops that look like they escaped from a 2009 sneaker graveyard, ready to give us a jump scare? This isn't a heat map of cultural desire - it’s a greatest hits compilation of trends we've already lived through.

How Many Bottega Bags Are Too Many? Сhanging landscape of ...

*The New Ambassadorship Economy*

*WHY YOU SHOULD CARE. The Strategic Anatomy of Authentic Partnerships*

*When Aesthetic Symbiosis Actually Works*

When Brands Go On Holiday From Jacquemus beaches to Thom Browne ...

*WHAT’S HAPPENING. Brands That Travel With Us*

*WHY YOU SHOULD CARE. Travel, But Make It Strategy*

*Jacquemus – Effective Storytelling Rooted In A Strong Sense of Place*

Thank you! nice job!

Custom Costumes, Borrowed Charisma Burberry, despite its clever ...

*WHAT’S HAPPENING. Beyoncé, Charli, and Brands Riding Shotgun*

The Devil Wears a Lot More Than Prada What the looks we’ve seen ...

*WHAT’S HAPPENING. The Devil Wears Prada Is Coming Back*

The signs are everywhere. We just need to decode them.

Let’s trace those lines, from opulent gardens to hidden ...

Authenticity Is The New Luxury From exclusive resorts to casual ...

*WHAT’S HAPPENING. From Material Wealth To Meaningful Experiences*

*WHY YOU SHOULD CARE. Authenticity, Connection, and Wellness Are Shaping The Future of Luxury*

*The Evolving Luxury Traveler*

*The Search for Authentic, Localised Experiences*

*Branding Still Matters, When Done Right*

BRANDSCAPES #2. Saint Laurent’s Marrakech This article is part ...

*The Aesthetic Map of Saint Laurent’s Marrakech*

*Jemaa el-Fnaa Square & The Souks*

Read more

BRANDSCAPES #1. Jacquemus’ South of France A guide to the ...

*The Aesthetic Map of Jacquemus*

*Marseille & Les Calanques*

*What to See & Do*

*Where to Eat*

*Valensole & Provence*

Even when not geographically in Provence, Jacquemus brings it with him. The wheat fields of the L’Amour show (SS21) weren’t in the South, but they evoked the same rural intimacy, the same poetry of simplicity.

Last call Why are so many people in so many countries around the ...

Tadas Petrokas

Promises, promises Getting the questions straight on Trump’s ...

Developments

The Epstein gamble

Nostr event nevent1qqsduc2l3sd488evc4f5d2zl38vy82taz6xqat35mdqt4pmpdx7warqzyptuvvdrdp5necp6pty3mpz89h59dr8agxuktqfd2uqwt9c822dgukvg8c9

June is the month of Summer Solstice, it is also the month where ...

Connections What does financial repression in autocracies have to ...

E. Diop

nice!

Patrick Adler is a co-founder of Westwood Economics & ...

Coming like a ghost town Why is production declining in ...

Introducing: Reader Stories — A New Page for Your Journey If ...

Nice!

n 2024, Brazil blocked Twitter until it complied with censorship ...

It’s not you, modern software does feel slow Why modern ...

ok!

nice!

ok

1212

ok

re

1 – Diamonds from Poland

2 – Animation news worldwide

2.1 – A victory for Infinity Castle

The New Ambassadorship Economy

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE. The Strategic Anatomy of Authentic Partnerships

When Aesthetic Symbiosis Actually Works

WHAT’S HAPPENING. Brands That Travel With Us

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE. Travel, But Make It Strategy

Jacquemus – Effective Storytelling Rooted In A Strong Sense of Place

WHAT’S HAPPENING. Beyoncé, Charli, and Brands Riding Shotgun

WHAT’S HAPPENING. The Devil Wears Prada Is Coming Back

WHAT’S HAPPENING. From Material Wealth To Meaningful Experiences

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE. Authenticity, Connection, and Wellness Are Shaping The Future of Luxury

The Evolving Luxury Traveler

The Search for Authentic, Localised Experiences

Branding Still Matters, When Done Right

The Aesthetic Map of Saint Laurent’s Marrakech

Jemaa el-Fnaa Square & The Souks

The Aesthetic Map of Jacquemus

Marseille & Les Calanques

What to See & Do

Where to Eat

Valensole & Provence