For real?
The news cycle these days makes me feel like we’re living in a South Park episode, or it’s a simulation with the overlords testing every day the upper limits of foolishness the system can handle. Whatever it is, it ain’t reality. I mean, it baffles my mind to think that there are people who believe the Texas House Democrats are legit fugitives, making huge sacrifices and fighting the good fight, or that the 2020 election was completely fair and transparent, or that the vaccines (or masks) work flawlessly and must be mandated, or that Biden is not at all in mental decline and his son Hunter is an upstanding man and a gifted artist. Yep, there are these people, including a lot of blue-checks, a lot of elites, the entirety of Hollywood, the mainstream media, and the blue-pilled sheep.
The big stories
The Big Brother is watching what you post on social media. The White House is working in cahoots with Big Tech to censor any dissenting opinion or fact on vaccines. The biggest and the most important fish they could go after was Alex Berenson and they did.
For the last 18 months, Alex’s Twitter has been one of the most accurate, the most articulate, and the most data-oriented source of information on the Wuhan virus. Lately, he has been posting some very alarming (and factual and true and grounded in real data) things about vaccines and hooboy, Uncle Joe doesn’t want anyone to read that. Just a sample -
I’d encourage everyone to follow him, if you don’t already, and subscribe to his Substack.
Texas Democrats’ drama continues. They flew from Austin to D.C. in a private jet (maskless, coz masks on planes are only meant for you, peasant), had good food and drinks, and were greeted by a fawning media on arrival - all of this under the pretence of “protecting voting rights.” You have to watch this Tucker segment - the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while -
South Africa descends into chaos with over 100 deaths, widespread looting, and food shortages. Watch the insanity.
Cubans protest the communist regime. Live updates
Business news
Klarna spends $160M on e-commerce startup Hero. Details
Microsoft to buy cybersecurity firm RiskIQ for $500M. Details
Apple is working with Goldman Sachs to offer BNPL service. Details
Discord to scoop up AI company, Sentropy. Details
Delta reports first profit since 2019 thanks to federal aid, improving revenue as domestic leisure travel returns. Details
Digital bank Revolut valued at $33B in an $800M funding round led by SoftBank and Tiger Global. Details
Self-driving startup Aurora to go public in $13B SPAC deal. Details
Big Banks’ revenues and profits are thru the roof. In the last quarter, Goldman Sachs made a profit of $5.5B, compared to $373M in the same quarter last year; JPMorgan Chase saw its profits more than double from last year to $12B; Citi’s quarterly profit increased more than 5x to $6.2B.
This week in woke and cancel-culture lunacy
Wikipedia co-founder says Wikipedia has been taken over by leftists and can't be trusted. Details
NFL 2021 season will include black national anthem, social justice messages again. Details
Clown-world! Are you ready for pregnant man emojis? Details on this monstrosity
Science & Technology
Every Stuff Made Here video is gold! Check out his latest one making use of all of his major tools and showing how they work. Watch
Lex Fridman’s podcast with astro-biologist and theoretical physicist Sara Walker. Watch
Fashion, food, and entertainment
Nordstrom buys stake in Topshop with Asos Joint Venture. Details
Take this, all you coffee neutrals and detractors - Coffee consumption linked to lower risk of Covid infection. Details
Panda Express adds Beyond Meat orange chicken to its menu in select restaurants. Details
Beyond Meat opens JD dot com store amid China consumer caution on meat substitutes. Details
Subway launches ‘Eat Fresh Refresh’ campaign with star-studded TV spot. Details
Mac n Cheese ice cream sells out in 60 minutes! Details
What’s gaining popularity
Google Search topics with big percentage jumps in search interest last week. Courtesy: Exploding Topics
“Magnesium gummies” - high-dose magnesium supplements in gummy form
“VideoProc” - an editing suite specifically for 4K video
“Plasma pen” - a device used to deliver plasma fibroblast therapy - procedure designed to tighten skin, reduce acne scarring, and lessen fine lines
Chart of the week
Jeans are back!
Next week calendar
Monday, July 19 - Game Developers Conference 2021
Tuesday, July 20 - 52 years since the Moon landing, World Chess Day, Bezos goes to space (kinda, since it’s not to orbit)
Wednesday, July 21 - National Hot Dog Day
Thursday, July 22 - Pi approximation day, San Diego Comic Con
Friday, July 23 - Olympics begin, finally
Saturday, July 24 - Amelia Earhart Day
Let’s foment a controversy
Keeping the topic the same for one more week - UFOs. Much ado about nothing; waste of time and energy? OR are they very real, possibly extra-terrestrial? Let me know what you think! See ya next week!