Hope everyone’s weekend going? Thanks for spending a portion of it with the Six.
Anyone know what’s the deal with Tuesday? I hear it’s kind of an important day?
I’m being somewhat sarcastic with that statement, obviously. It’s Election Day and all elections are vital to a functioning republic.
But that’s all Tuesday is. Another election day.
Statements about the validity of democracy or how “the soul of our country” is at stake are ludicrous. The results Tuesday will either affirm the party in power or voters will reject the policies of the incumbents. When we wake up on November 9, we will all get on with our lives, regardless of the outcomes.
Save the apocalypse for fantasy fiction novels.
Own a stake in the communities in which we all live.
Get out and vote.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
1. Polling More and More Points to Election Day Red Wave.
So many polls, how to sort through them all? Regardless of perceived bias, taking the House of Representatives has looked like a sure bet for the GOP for a while. But until recently it seemed as though Dems could hold the Senate, especially with Roe’s repeal and most Americans rejecting some Republicans’ hardline response. But as the election nears, this appears to be shifting, and the Senate looks like a real toss-up. The polling website 538 says it’s a dead heat, with odds slightly toward the Senate going red.
2. Amazon Gets a Pass While Kyrie Irving Gets Cancelled.
The conflicts in the culture wars – stoked by race identity politics – took another turn this week with the Kyrie Irving saga. I won’t repeat the entire dramatic episode here only to say that the NBA player, Irving, got suspended this week for tweeting out a link to a film, “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.” Irving is a moron and arguably the worst teammate in professional sports. I’m certainly not defending him. But what happened this week exposes the hypocrisy amongst corporate America, in this case NBA owners, executives, sponsors and the compliant media that covers the league. Outkick explains further in this spot-on essay.
3. I Wanted a Tattoo. Now I Want it Gone. Sorry, it’s Kind of Permanent.
The U.S. tattoo market is estimated to be worth $1.5 billion this year. Today, 46 percent of Americans have tattoos. It’s been the subject of some disruptors, like the Instagram ad-fueled Ephemeral, which rolled out a tattoo ink that is designed to fade out over time (btw 9-15 months, it advertises). This appeals to the folks who want the aesthetics of an ink job without the lifetime commitment. Well, there’s a bit of a snag because a whole bunch of people have come forward with tattoos from Ephemeral that are indeed a bit faded after 15 months but are very clearly still there. Fast Company has the story.
4. The New Longevity Isn’t Coming. It’s Here.
The United States is on the edge of a culture-defining demographic shift: Americans will be living and working much longer, carrying profound ramifications for the workplace, the government, entertainment and society that will be seen and felt over the next two decades. This writer for Esquire does an terrific job digging into what the transformation will mean for industries from healthcare to tech – and for all of us.
5. The Thaw and Eat Movement Rapidly Takes Bite Out of Food Market.
Frozen food in the United States is a big moneymaker for large consumer packaged goods giants like Nestle’s Stouffers, Lean Cuisine, Hot Pockets and DiGiorno frozen, with their cooked foods being a staple of American diets. The next frontier in the space appears to be what’s called thaw-and-eat, a quickly-growing market segment for meals that don’t have to be heated up after they’re thawed. Rather they are taken on the go, frozen and edible within two to four hours. I can’t say I’ve tried one (and I’m the opposite of a food snob…I’ll try pretty much anything once) and examples include something called Nestle’s Deliwich and J.M. Smucker’s Uncrustables (who wouldn’t want to sample a food dish called “uncrustable?”) Regardless of personal skittishness, the category is experiencing double-digit growth and the website FoodDive dives into the data.
6. Jerry Lee Lewis Was an SOB Right Until the End.
Jerry Lee Lewis, the old school rockabilly singer/piano player who died last month, was known as the ‘Killer’, and it wasn’t a casual reference – a schoolmate called him that after he tried to strangle a teacher. He once shot his bass player in the chest; just about all of his seven wives, including one who was a child, said he beat them; and there’s a lingering suspicion that he murdered wife No. 5. He was the very model of a high-functioning sociopath and somehow defied hard living, drug and alcohol abuse, and serious health problems to make it well into his ninth decade. An entertaining obit on the life of Lewis from Vulture.
Thanks for reading everybody and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Have a suggestion for The Sunday Six? Send email to jonjkerr@gmail.com.