The Breads Roundup No. 84
Online Farmers Markets, The New Pixar and Big Box Stores Are Bad MMMKay
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Hello Humanoid Aliens,
I’m going to keep this intro short and sweet. I started off trying to write some poignant intro about how I tried to steal some plastic frogs from a herpetology show when I was like seven but then my parents caught me and made me take them back, but then I gave up cause I couldn’t think of anything good. Maybe for another time.
What you should read though is this genius Twitter thread for a random dude on Twitter. His analysis of current dating norms in response to finding out Dell Curry is divorcing his wife, Sonya Curry (Steph Curry’s parents) is one of the funniest things you’ll read in a while. Well worth the scroll. Also, side, Twitter related note, I think I’m going to bring back the Twitter dump emails! So stay tuned.
Ok time for the usual linkies. Enjoy.
The Farmers Market Is Moving Online
Just Give Me A Synopsis:
What isn't moving online? Amiright?! These new platforms are connecting local farmers with local buyers at unprecedented rates and are actually making small scale family farming operations close to lucrative, a rarity in the backbreaking business. More carrots! More Radishes! More Quinces! Less poor farmers!
And A Quote From The Article Please:
They’re not alone. One of three digital platforms they now work with, Barn2Door, reported a 457 percent increase in revenue from orders and an 807 percent increase in the number of orders among their sellers in March 2020 alone. (In August, they ran a $6 million funding round to try and keep up.) Another — an online shopping platform called Fresh Harvest, which processes orders and facilitates door-to-door delivery across Georgia, and which Donck estimates constitutes some three-quarters of Crystal Organic’s business — tripled its year-over-year revenue in 2020, bringing in $4 million.
And Tell Me Why I should Care:
I've actually never read Grapes of Wrath because I have a deep seeded fear of grapes, and well, wrath doesn't sound too fun either, but I imagine it is all about how hard farming is. We ain't in the dustbowl no more, but it is definitely still a relentless business that is financially difficult-to-impossible for the farmers doing the work. I'm not really into the idea of big tech coming in and breaking up small things like farmers markets that are often net positives for the community, but if it can help solve a major issue for farmers (making a living) while preventing food waste, I'm all for it. Curious if anyone has used any of these apps? Lemme know if you have, I'd love to hear about your experience. Consumer or seller side.
This Startup Is Building The Pixar Of The Internet One TikTok At A Time
Just Give Me A Synopsis:
It's all about IP baby! This company looks to take ideas from existing social media stars (or real world stars) with huge followings and create animated worlds around characters they create together. Example: the doll of Serena Williams' daughter, Olympia, is now an animated character with her own online profiles making far more money with far more followers than me.
And A Quote From The Article Please:
“Our phones are now the most popular screens in our lives. And for better or worse, social media is the most popular app on those phones. It didn’t make sense to me that 99% of household, animated IP had still only come from movies, TV, and publishing. Why can’t the next Toy Story come from Instagram or TikTok?” (Although those are Invisible’s primary platforms right now, the plan is to be platform agnostic.) It also didn’t make sense how much money is generally poured into producing animated films and TV shows that may or may not resonate with audiences. The low cost of making animated characters for the internet, and being able to experiment with them—and tweak them based on feedback and commentary that appears in real time—seemed like an obvious innovation.
And Tell Me Why I should Care:
This will essentially create a metaverse. Inanimate characters will become animated via their own social media profiles and then will become traditional media (TV, movies, etc.) and so on and so forth until Baron Trump's tricycle's best friend, who is a $25k Adirondack chair, has a show on Netflix for his son, Stooly, a stool (obviously). But seriously there are going to be a lot of new characters, that aren’t actual humans, coming up and dominating social media, and thus traditional media, in the next 5-10 years.
It Turns Out That Big-Box Stores Are A Terrible Deal For Cities And Towns
Just Give Me A Synopsis:
Yes that's right I'm sharing a Twitter thread as one of the main stories here today. I found it a really illuminating look at how big box stores (Wal Mart, Home Depot, Amazon) screw over local governments via a variety of promises (usually to do with taxes) that aren't kept.
And A Quote From The Article Please:
But the bottom-line was another story. There are 2 big costs: Big-box stores are expensive in terms of the public services they require, mainly police and road costs. And second, big-box stores cause the value of downtown and other commercial buildings to drop.
And Tell Me Why I should Care:
Soon coming to a town near you! Maybe. Depends where you live. Good insight into how huge corporations woo local and state governments through promises but then, much like Jim Carrey in Liar Liar pre-being cursed, go back on their word and do whatever is best for them. That usually ends up being avoiding the shit out of taxes while simultaneously running the small mom-and-pop business who can't compete on price right out of town leaving pure devastation and desolation in their wakes.
Weird Internet Resource Of The Week
This is an article with info rather than an app or website. It comes from The Verge and it is a guide to platform fees. Meaning, when you spend money in the App Store or on Patreon or on Onlyfans this will tell you exactly what sort of cut everyone takes. Helpful in supporting creators and/or running your business should you need to be on any of these platforms. Not a fun one today, but an informational one. And info is fun! Check it out.
Other Interesting Things You May Or May Not Care About
Can Traditional Workwear Brands Appeal To Everyone Without Alienating The People Who Made Them?
As this piece points out, most people who actually use workwear as workwear don't give a shit about hypebeasts and socialites trying to look all blue collar. In fact they laugh at people who spend 4x the price for clothes they themselves wear specifically to ruin through labor. A good look at the odd ways fashion plays into class and socio economic standing with its trends.FOMO Is Over. FOGO And FONO Are Our New Social Fears.
Our social brains have been forever changed by the quick adaption we had to make in the past year. So now we have some new acronyms, yipee!How To Build An Island
A look at how some of the world's newly developed islands are constructed and the politics and environmental implications behind them.These Four Tech Breakthroughs Could Help People Live To 200 Years Old
I don't want to spoil the article for you so here were my guesses: 1) vampire takeover - those fuckers live forever 2) it turns out that Juul pods, in addition to being highly addictive to teens, contain a compound in their plastic enclosure that when repeatedly inhaled over many years actually mutates our DNA to be unkillable 3) In an effort to prevent the rising tide of “wokeness” old racist grandparents simply refuse to die 4) Tummy Tea has been the answer all along.The Science Of Ants' Underground Cities
Ummm I've seen the movie Antz I know how this all works thank you very much. But seriously these little freaks are so amazing. The teamwork is unmatched!She Flew To Tonga For A Weekend. 18 Months Later She's Still Stuck There
Sounds nice to be stuck on a beach paradise, but also it doesn't sound all that nice. A lot to take in here.You’ll Never Believe Who Invented Curbside Recycling
It was Colonel Mustard in the Study with the can of Coca-Cola Vanilla! No in reality it was the big beverage and plastic manufacturers because it was so much cheaper for them to put the onus of recycling on the consumer and the city. Back in the day everything used to be glass bottles which were all returned to manufacturers and then reused. No longer is that the case. Let's get back to that. We need more big glass lobbyists.
Brands I Quite Like
There are so many brands out there that are not cool or unique that I thought I would highlight new brands that I think are in fact doing dope things and are worth knowing about. This is not sponsored or full of affiliate links.
Paynter Jacket Co. - Rare Ass Jackets
I am very sad to say that I don’t have a Paynter jacket. But cot damn do I want one. They release super limited edition jackets only three times a year. Each jacket is different and a revival of a historic jacket. Unlike a lot of other limited edition releases from other companies, these are not limited because of the desire to create scarcity, they are limited because of the care that goes into making each item and the fact that quality raw materials are limited. Plus they are focused on eliminating waste. They’re super transparent about their whole process and fully focus on using sustainable and responsible manufacturers. A refreshing company all around. They also have a new drop coming out next week! Check em out.
Let’s Just Looks At Art Because Reading Sucks
Fragmented Blocks Of Color And Texture Overlap In Lui Ferreyra’s Layered Portraits
Hyperrealistic Paintings By Kate Waters Look Like Photographs Of Modern City Life
The Winners of the Global Billboard Project Will Stop You In Your Tracks
Lists Are What The Internet Was Made For!
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“You had me at Hello Humanoid Aliens” - Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire
Please excuse any typos or mistakes. If you want to send me corrections to feel good about yourself feel free to do so but I can assure you they will only make me cry.
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"I've actually. never read Grapes of Wrath because I have a deep seeded fear of grapes, and well, wrath doesn't sound too fun either, but I imagine it is all about how hard farming is." Probably a good idea not to comment on what books you've not read are "all about." That statement comes across much like "I've never actually read War and Peace, but I imagine it's about Russia and war and all." or "I never read The Brothers Karamazov, but I imagine it's about sibling conflict and rivalry."