Favorite Things From (Last) Week 2/11
"Friendship ended with Isaiah. Now Rodney is my best friend." - Lebron James, probably, after he proved the haters wrong once again, by adding 'Hall of Fame GM' to his extensive resume.
Fake quote/meme aside (meme syntax is a topic I want to look into this week), the Cleveland Cavaliers did something truly remarkable this week. They abandoned a sinking ship in ways previously unheard of in the league. The Cavs have coasted into the three straight NBA Finals appearances on the broad shoulders of the greatest active player, and possibly one of the greatest of all time. But it wasn't working this year. Kyrie left. The defense sucks. Teamwork is dead. The locker room was a mess. It seemed like their invincible dominance was at an end.
And it still might be, but it won't be for lack of inventiveness or effort. At the trade deadline, the Cavs parted ways with 6 players, netting 4 new faces and completely reshaping the roster midseason. This qualifies as going for it, and even though the sample size is one, this bold move may yet pay off.
Even if you don't give a shit about the NBA, Lebron James, trade deadlines, and social media pettiness, the lessons of recognizing when things aren't working and adjusting course are universal. People may argue about whether this is a case of too little too late or if the Cavs should have realized surrounding Lebron with old guys who don't play defense would blow up in their face, but it takes a certain amount of courage and ingenuity to put on the brakes and restart.
This week's stories largely focus on change. How shifting landscapes help some companies and kill others. They also focuses on the undercurrent. The trends that may not be as readily apparent, yet for those who see the shifts, they have the opportunity to prosper. So reshape your roster and think about what changes you, your industry, and your life are undergoing, and consider how to best counter and ride the coming wave:
Face Recognition Glasses Augment China's Railway Cops [Sixth One] - the comparisons to Minority Report are endless, but it's hard not to think of the parallels as China begins implementing facial recognition software into public services. The impacts on privacy as well as the merging of tech and government are limitless and potentially frightening.
A Driverless Future Threatens the Laws of Real Estate [Bloomberg] - Driverless vehicles may once again conjure up Minority Report parallels (maybe my mind is craving more Tom Cruise movies, or Minority Report is just very prescient), but some of the most intriguing consequences of a driverless future lie less in the cars and more in the surrounding landscapes automated driving will bring. Transportation and real estate (physical space) have always been inextricably linked. Yet again, with this current transportation revolution, the onset of driverless vehicles will bring about change in terms of land use and the freeing up of innumerable tracts of previously wasted land.
Vice's Action Bronson Problem [SPIN] - I unapologetically love Action Bronson. From his music to his over-the-top antics to his jolly demeanor, I find him to be highly entertaining and a breath of 'no fucks given' air in an overly commoditized and manicured cultural space. That being said, I don't have to work with the guy or interact with him on a daily basis, which it sounds like has the ability to change your impression of him. I'm not here to litigate the merits of liking or hating Bronson, but rather that Vice yolked their television aspirations-ox to him as a leading personality of their fledgling channel, and are reaping the rewards and suffering the consequences of being linked to a brash personality in this day and age. Bronson doesn't sound like he's committed any high crimes besides being obnoxious, but what do we want and expect from our on-screen personalities nowadays?
Fighting the tide: Underground Dance Music in the Bay Area [Resident Advisor] - The tech boom in the Bay Area and the ripple effects continue to fascinate, because even after the dust has seemingly settled, more and more stories come forward as to how the face of one of the most progressive cities in the world has altered so drastically. This article is loaded with anecdotes from those experiencing the change in the dance music scene firsthand, but the most poignant quote is pulled from Vinyl Dreams owner Mike Battaglia:
"I feel like people moved here from the '40s through the '90s to be changed. They came here because they heard this place was where you could shed your skin, be yourself and explore who you really are. Now they move here to change it"
How Facebook Is Killing Comedy [Splitsider] - Facebook is responsible for enough awful things, but the dissolution of revenue streams for publishers and content creators has been one of the more dramatic and noticeable side effects, especially for anyone in creative and marketing industries. Comedian and Funny or Die collaborator Matt Klinman talks about how trusted voices have been silenced or obscured by algorithms and content overloads, to the point where, by the time money has been spent trying to beat the system into getting views, there's nothing left with which to hire talented creators. Similar stories keep rolling out about other algorithmically driven platforms, like Netflix and Spotify, to the detriment of creators and trusted voices.
Movie of the Week - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - We are blissfully almost out of the trash movie period that is January/early February with respite coming in the form of Marvel's Black Panther. Considering I didn't see any new movies worth writing about, I went back and watched one of my all time favorite and criminally under-seen movies, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Directed by kinetic-energy extraordinaire Edgar Wright, Scott Pilgrim defies the traditional boys meets girl narrative by infusing video game graphics, surreal editing, and dry humor in order to create an infectiously spellbinding experience that gets richer upon every viewing. Plus, Brie Larson covering Metric is beyond words.
Spot of the Week - "Nothing Beats a Londoner" - W+K and Nike knock it out of the park again. I don't have enough words or London street smarts to know why this commercial works so well but it does, and on so many levels. Being accessible to a mass market while also speaking in inside jokes to residents of London is truly a magnificent feat. There are layers upon layers of social, cultural, racial, socioeconomic, and gender references, none of which drown out an over-the-top, fun as fuck spot. Early contender for spot of the year.