W48: Weekend
Drowning in discounts and commercialized holiday advertisement? Yeah, we thought so. Here's something a little different to think about and bring some focus to the week.
Interpol and South Korea teamed up to arrest more than 5,000 cybercriminals in a five-month operation. Covering a variety of crimes, the arrests led to the seizure of more than $400 million and the breakup of a phishing group responsible for more than $1.1 billion in losses. Definitely a win, but also a stark reminder now that we're in full-on holiday shopping season: watch your back.
At a fresh 55 years of age, Colman Domingo is set for his directorial debut with Scandalous!, a film retelling the "fractured love story between Sammy Davis Jr. and Kim Novak." The film will star Sydney Sweeney as Novak; Sweeney is also producing through her Fifty-Fifty Films. A picture about real love challenged by the racism, misogyny, and corporatism of its time? This could leave a real mark; we're here for it.
Jennifer Moss's Why Are We Here? is a clarion call for better work culture at a time when the reality of COVID-related remote work and corporate-induced return-to-office mandates are colliding. She focuses on both deep-rooted underlying causes (e.g., a lack of identity with work) and more tactical issues, like over-meeting. More of the world needs to start living in the actual present, not the pre-COVID or mid-COVID past; Moss' perspective reflects that shift.
Some VCs see a silver lining in the future US climate agenda, noting that some of the proposed policies can offer opportunities for green energy production, alongside the more obvious (and intended) benefits for traditional petrochemical extraction. With many major industries facing some degree of chaos, here's a solid reminder to look for the signal in the noise.
Graywolf and the Loft both celebrate 50 years in publishing by recognizing and honoring their past and aggressively looking into the future. In both cases, there's a desire to broaden horizons and create a more diverse representation in their catalogues. Proof that starting small and staying small is a possibility with great reward; freedom to pursue new directions.
Fidelity inflated the valuation of its stake in X (Twitter) by more than 30%, still putting it at 72% down compared to its original purchase price. While this may be due to the potential for xAI to become a competitor to Anthropic's and OpenAI's offerings, it highlights the degree to which X has fallen off. With more open, transparent, and decentralized offerings like Bluesky, X has stiff competition - we think that's a good thing in a market that had become stagnant.