“materials have expanded from the once radical vegan leather to include a whole bowl’s worth of fruit and vegetable-based alternatives, from apple to grape, pineapple, banana, even cactus. You only need to look at the continuing rise of brands like Veja – whose vegan leather sneakers have become ubiquitous among climate-conscious suburbanites – to see…
Month: March 2024
“Uncertain Future for Successful Austrian Employment Program” – Jan Petter (Das Speigel)
“MAGMA aims to change that, at least in Gramatneusiedl. The long-term unemployed in the town are guaranteed a job: That’s the program’s promise. Nobody is forced to work, but those willing to do so are paid the minimum wage and work either at a workshop belonging to the project or in a company that receives…
“Bad Vegan, Part Two?” – Allen Salkin (Grub Street)
“So she gave the filmmakers access to her journals, videos, and records of her time with Strangis, plus she encouraged her family and former employees to speak with him. At the start of filming, she agreed to record a phone call with Strangis, whom she hadn’t had much contact with for a year. Smith ended…
“Unearthing a Nuclear Scandal” – Sylvain Lumbroso & Tyler Wentzell (The Walrus)
“The three men played a critical role in the industry that enabled the production of atomic weapons, but instead of optimizing production to benefit the Americans, British, or Canadians, they knowingly slowed down activities for personal gain. If the Nazis had been quicker in their nuclear research, this embezzling might have had far-reaching consequences” https://thewalrus.ca/unearthing-a-nuclear-scandal/
“Jennifer Lopez – Get Right” – Popular, Freaky Trigger
“There is a 2005 single, a huge hit, and many will tell you it’s producer Rich Harrison’s masterpiece. On that record, cut-ups of funk breaks are rearranged at oblique angles in a 21st century update of James Brown’s rhythmic modernism, building an abstract sculpture of bone-rattling beats and slivers of jagged keys and horns. And…
“End of an Era – Sports Illustrated, VICE, Product Reviews, and Instagram” – A Scammer Darkly
“Not only were Vice’s executives being paid handsomely to drive the company into the ground, they issued themselves massive ‘retention’ bonuses right before the bankruptcy filing – a filing which, conveniently, allowed them to avoid paying severance to regular employees spelled out in their union contracts” https://newsletter.scammerdarkly.com/archive/end-of-an-era-sports-illustrated-vice-product/
“Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’ Director on Supersizing a Mythical Universe” – Jason Schreier (Game On, Bloomberg)
“To hit the graphical fidelity of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth required an exponentially larger team, where engineers and artists have specialized roles and couldn’t just get their hands on everything the way Kitase could in the 1990s. “Now, if I want something to be created, I need to document my thoughts and ideas, communicate what…
“March 1, 2024” – Letters from an American
“In 2017 the Trump tax cuts slashed the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and reined in taxation for foreign profits. The ITEP report looked at the first five years the law was in effect. It concluded that in that time, most profitable corporations paid “considerably less” than 21% because of loopholes and…
“Financial systems take a holiday” – Bits About Money
“Readers of a certain age might sensibly ask what “cyber” means. Consider it a way to gesture broadly at technology used almost exclusively by people who both do not understand technology and feel some amount of pride in that. Teams at large retailers, believing online commerce was doomed to be a tiny sideline like catalogs…