RATLINKS: Augustus Gloop
SPACEMEN - MAKE IT FASHION - WITH REALITY SOUNDBITES - WHILE DONATING BLOOD
August is a month named after the first Roman emperor Caesar Augustus aka Octavian, who was one of the most effective leaders in human history and known to have ushered in the Pax Romana.
As the dog days, wane don’t be afraid to indulge those august desires giving into your grand fever dreams.
This month refocuses on topics of Augusts past including:
SPACEMEN
MAKE IT FASHION
REALITY SOUND-BITES
CAN I ASK YOU SOMETHING?
WILL YOU DONATE BLOOD
ground control to major tom
Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson both went to space this month, but you already knew that.
Even more impressive was your ability to explain the difference between apogee and pedigree. Maybe it was thanks to the feature on both men in the August 2019 edition of Ratlinks: To Infinity and Beyond?
space oddity
Did seeing those rich guys blast off, give you a severe case of space-FOMO?
Do you want to go to explore or is your need to get to space just to get that selfie?
Either way just think of the #CaptionGoalz and potential post-trip convos:
You went to Bali on holiday? Tell me everything! Is Bali still a thing? Did you get the pineapple suite with the plunge pool?
Oh me, I just got back from a little place called outer-space.
Have you been? The atmosphere is great this time of year.
P.S. That space selfie will totally help you get blue checkmarked. But, but, but you need to get there before Space is thought of the same way as Tulum.
Me, I am still just trying to score that invite to Necker Island.
bolo with butterfly wings
Even longer-time readers know about my passion for the business of bolo ties, as profiled in Ratlinks: How The West Was Fun.
Going full-meta-jacket, back in August 2018, when Bloomberg BusinessWeek a publication known as the zeitgeist for fashion trends hailed that “bolo ties are back” and profiling calinY (pronounced: kal-lehn-why) a business I had a hand in.
Excerpt from BusinessWeek:
“I am in my early 30s, and don’t feel I can pull off the Southwest look on a daily basis, so we created a bolo with an urban edge,” says co-founder Vinnie Buehler. He recounts how the idea came together last summer over drinks at Manhattan’s Union Square, when he was listening to his friend, (now business partner) vent his frustration on the lack of neckwear options for men.
“We’ve noticed that people enjoy wearing them around their neck for more formal occasions,” adds Evan Ratner, “but friends also have enjoyed loosening them up and wearing them with a tee.” Breaking the chains of the necktie monopoly, one bolo at a time.
Today, calinY has moved well past western wear into full-fledged streetwear but the ethos remains the same.
Fresh out-of-the-box kicks.
Fire memes.
Songs you forgot slapped.
Swipes you didn't expect to match.
Day one group texts.
Acts of kindness you didn't see coming.
On-time subways.
Late night California burritos.
Drinks in cans.
Landings that are stuck.
Its that are nailed.
We like these things, too.
We are calinY.
AYYYEE!!
mellon collie and the infinite talking points
Many moons ago I thought higher-ed was the way. After far too big of an investment in both my time and treasure I began to second-guess everything. Confused, I stumbled along until I saw a sign, a needlepoint sign.
If variety is the spice of life, then the spiciest classes could potentially make school more fun. Leading to enrollment in a study abroad trip to Cuba and classes with “celebrity” professors, Nouriel Roubini and Ian Bremmer.
Nouriel Roubini aka Dr. Doom is one of the leading global macro thinkers who predicted the Great Recession of 2008. I took Dr. Roubini’s class hoping to get invited to one of his legendary parties. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but due to Dr. Doom being forced to remove a ten-person hot tub and 'party room' from the roof of his $5.5m Manhattan penthouse.
Dr. Bremmer is the founder of the Eurasia Group, a preeminent political scientist and frequent news program interviewee. I incorrectly thought taking his class might somehow lead to me becoming a TV talking head, forgetting the fact that I lack any sort of expertise. I have since learned the key to being a good guest on any show is not expertise, but quotable soundbites.
If you are a booker for a talk show, call me. My dream hasn’t died.
reality-sound-bites
able to remain stable?
A government can control its people for years under dictatorship, but that rule can weaken in just a few months when the citizens get a taste of Starbucks.
There are two types of political stability.
You have countries that are stable because they're open like Canada or Germany or Japan, or even the United States and then you have countries that are stable because they're closed like Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Or like Gaddafi's Libya, or like Kim Jong-un's North Korea. And of course, Raúl Castro's Cuba.
And if you are a country that is stable because you're closed, you generally want to stay closed. And the reason for that is because if suddenly you get lots of capital and movement of people and ideas and trade between your closed country and open countries around the world, the people inside your country want more liberty. It is harder to maintain political control in that environment.
topical tropical take
Lifting sanctions on Cuba is not an easy pill to swallow politically but reducing sanctions and opening borders would create lasting change and open Cuba from within.
In Cuba, COVID-exacerbated shortages of affordable food, medicine, liberty, and good government have triggered a startling surge of protests, the largest in decades, in cities across the island. The Cuban government has responded with pepper spray, handcuffs, internet cutoffs, accusations against Washington, and pleas for patience from Cuba's beleaguered people.
The reason why the communist regime has persisted for 62 years is precisely because they've been allowed to maintain isolation supported by the United States, because of that sanctions regime. There are lots of reasons for it, lots of Cuban emigres that were so angry at the Castro regime that would not tolerate any level of opening up of those sanctions, but those people are largely gone now.
If sanctions were removed a massive amount of trade could negatively impact the power of the current Cuban government and could change the island’s dynamic with a massive amount of tourism. Western engagement with the average Cuban citizen would be much greater.
This could lead to a regime change led from the grassroots of the Cuban people, as opposed to the failed efforts by the CIA and others that historically never seemed to go all that well for the United States.
There are many private sector folks in the United States who would love to see open access. Not because they're interested in liberty, but just because they want to make money in Cuba.
— Ian Bremmer1
money talks, bullsh*t walks
Stocks only go up but gravity says otherwise. Is that why economics is called the dismal science?
Years of ultra-loose fiscal and monetary policies have put the global economy on track for a slow-motion train wreck in the coming years. When the crash comes, the stagflation of the 1970s will be combined with the spiraling debt crises of the post-2008 era, leave major central banks in an impossible position.
At some point, this boom will culminate in a Minsky moment (a sudden loss of confidence), and tighter monetary policies will trigger a bust and crash. But in the meantime, the same loose policies that are feeding asset bubbles will continue to drive consumer price inflation, creating the conditions for stagflation whenever the next negative supply shocks arrive .
— Nouriel Roubini2
SHOT:
Everyone looks good in sunglasses
CHASER:
Try as you might but you don’t partly like dem Bolo Boys
Top (left to right): Mohamed El-Erian (chief economic adviser at Allianz), Ian Bremmer, and Nouriel Roubini.
Bottom: Astronaut Jeff Bezos
CAN I ASK YOU SOMETHING?
The toddler question of the month was raised while walking in New York City
What is below the ground? Turns out quite a lot of things.
THE WORLD IS A VAMPIRE
Last August, America faced a crippling blood shortage as highlighted in Ratlinks: Blood is Thicker Than Water.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t gotten any better.
If you are healthy enough, please consider donating blood.
Currently, the American Red Cross is experiencing a severe blood shortage as the number of trauma cases, organ transplants, and elective surgeries rise – and deplete the nation’s blood inventory. The majority of the nation’s blood banks have a one-day supply or less of Type O blood. Did you know you can donate blood once every 8 weeks?
Throughout the country, blood centers are reporting inventories falling to their lowest levels since the early stages of the pandemic as the nation’s hospitals resume elective surgeries.
The availability of an adequate blood supply is a key aspect of ensuring optimal treatment for all patients and must be replenished to help prevent shortages during the coming weeks and months. (source: aabb.org)
The term hero is thrown around a lot these days.
When was the last time you were referred to as one?
How about today?
Why not be someone’s hero
Find a nearby location where you can donate blood
LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE
The Milwaukee Bucks ownership group know a bit about stagflation