Stockpile and rejuvenate
Every European millennial's mantra right now
Welcome to mostly cool stuff, a space dedicated to the the random things I come across online and offline that get my attention as per the dozens of screenshots, pictures and links in my phone to remind me about them.
Happy reading!
Coolness is like energy: it never dies, it just transforms
People in America thought they had it rough, but this side of the pond disaster is imminent as the EU has advised the public to hold 72 hours of emergency supplies. From flooding to cyberattacks or the recent Heathrow power outage, we should be prepared for the worst any minute. I guess the European Commission has a point with the recent climate emergencies and a war at our doorstep, but I have questions. For instance, say that you’re on holiday in another EU country when disaster hits and you’re stranded abroad. Is there a contingency plan to provide an emergency kit to foreigners by the country they are in? If so, which basic supplies are they getting? Is there an agreement at European level on this or every country offers their best as an undercover marketing tactic? I bet the UK would just hand a “Sorry to see you stuck” card. Portugal, on the other hand, could give people tins of sardines, cod fritters and a cork bag. The French probably would go for a bit of bread, cheese and wine - although knowing them they’ll probably offer just a packet of cigarettes because zat’s ze only zing you need to exist, quoi. Italy wouldn’t want anyone to complain about being hungry on their soil after such an ordeal so they’d probably chuck in a couple of packets of pasta, a generous wedge of parmigiano, a jar of passata and another of pesto. Joking aside, the bottom line is that it’s time to start travelling around the EU with a few extra toilet rolls in the suitcase just in case you need to barter.
Portugal’s survival kit must-haves
Sometimes you have to give it to the FT for delivering the goods and this headline is a perfect example: HSBC fired investment bankers on bonus day and gave them no bonuses. It’s the business equivalent to breaking up with someone on their birthday. Outrageous. If you ask me, I believe HSBC should have followed the EU’s example and tell employees to prepare for the worst first. I hope at least HSBC doesn’t cancel the affected employee’s FT corporate subscription before they can read about the power of sleep in a crisis.
Apparently millennials are aging slower than Gen Z, at least that’s what my Instagram feed has pushed my way this week rather insistently. It seems this case has been made previously here, here and here. As a millennial I confirm I’ve been in many situations where I realised people thought I was way younger than I actually was based on things they said to me and how they said them. It was a bit confusing at first but it comes with its advantages too. Sorry Gen Z, I didn’t choose youth, it chose me.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has bought a quarter of London’s Covent Garden. I guess this is how they stockpile in the Nordics.
This week I’ve spent two days on a Mental Health First Aider course to renew my qualification. Right on time as the news have offeredd great example of how to act in a crisis when a man in Dublin Airport had a meltdown after having missed his flight. In case you haven’t seen this, the man gets very violent and the situation is de-escalated by a woman who approaches him. I’m not sure if she is also a qualified MHFA but she surely showed some good skills there gaining trust, getting consent to approach and clearly lots of empathy. I find it very telling how the media has referred to this woman as a ‘toddler mum’ -which she happens to be- as her main identifying trait instead of simply as a woman. Not sure if this was done on purpose to highlight how this qualified her to deal with a grown-ass man behaving like a 3 year old and massively overreacting to the point of causing material damages. That’s why Netflix’s Adolescence is such an important show exploring unprocessed male rage and the need for positive male role models early on in life.
And on that note about male role models, cue to Jamie Laing who has recently completed five ultra marathons in five consecutive days (his feet were slightly swollen after that) for Comic Relief and to raise awareness about mental health and the importance of talking openly about it, especially for men as Laing has admitted his struggles with anxiety and depression in the past.
Laing was joined in the last strand of his epic achievement by Radio 1 Breakfast host Greg James, clad in a wedding dress. This happened one day before I bumped into Greg and his wife Bella Mackie in Kentish Town. He is taller than I expected and I’m afraid I did a double take to confirm it was actually him. Unfortunately there was no trace of the wedding dress.
One of the coolest things on my radar this week is of course Adolescence, which I’ve recently watched. Leaving aside its important themes and brilliant acting -I sincerely hope everyone in this show gets showered in awards, especially Owen Cooper-, I was enthralled by the technical side of the perfectly choreographed and smooth one-shot take episodes and of course that drone scene at the end of Episode 2.
Simone Ashley -leading woman of the best Bridgerton season and half of the most iconic scene in the series so far- has a new movie out but I don’t have Amazon (and don’t plan to) so I can’t tell you anything about it. However, she’s been doing the PR rounds and she’s talked about an upcoming music project she looks genuinely excited about so I’m intrigued by what her singing voice is like because her speaking voice is so soothing and beautiful. By the way, I also bumped into her one day as I was walking past the Duke of York theatre last summer and she’s truly stunning. I’ve probably been girl crushing on her very strongly ever since.
There’s nothing technology won’t unveil, especially your darkest secrets. Take for instance a cobalt blue painting by Spanish artist Joan Miró from the late 20s which X-ray technology has now revealed was painted over a portrait of the artist’s mother. Freud would have had a field day with this.
This could be followed up by there’s nothing technology won’t achieve, which is why H&M has announced they’ll create 30 digital twins of real models for use in advertising campaigns and social media. The days of dreaming about being discovered by a talent scout while casually waiting for the bus are definitely over. You’re better off pitching your AI avatar to brands. Some make really good money. Besides this comes at the perfect time as Amazon is testing AI shopping and health assistants so I’m sure they’ll get on like a house on fire with AI models.
I’ve come across this Barclays ad on Youtube which is a bit disturbing. I’m sure the pitch of the creative agency behind it focused on “let’s show the importance of future-proofing children’s financial security,” but given that to afford a mortgage in the UK today you probably should have started working at age 5 and made six figures by age 10 at the latest, its original message may have backfired. I can understand why the Youtube comments have been turned off.
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Yes, yes I am loving 'mostly cool stuff'. I received that stockpiling news story and my first thought was why the serious lack of context?? How many lines do we need to read between to understand? (And I happened to be away from home in London...will I get a bag of crisps you think? I might need the cigarettes!)
This is great, Cristina. Really fun and really engaging. Ted Gioia does a similar thing but less regularly, when his scrapbook of unpublished thoughts calls to him, and that's always a gem. A miscellany newsletter most definitely sounds good. Anything you're interested in is surely going to be very interesting.