Ratlinks: November 2019 - Issue #11
Aging Rockers | Face Tats | Doppelgangers | Optical Illusions | Mouse House
Welcome to the November edition of RatLinks. I hope it finds you well.
This month focuses on the theme of appearance.
While the issue appears to be about music, appearances can be deceiving.
I saw three very different concerts this month:
Aging-Rocker: Phil Collins
Mid-Tempo-Dad-Rock-Band: Wilco
Rock-Rapper: Post Malone
Those concerts and the following quote were the genesis 👀 of this month’s edition:
What is character but the determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character? - Henry James
Topics This Month: (Total Read Time ~12 Minutes)
The Times They Are A Aging - 3 minutes (audio version available)
You Can Run But Can You Hide - 2 minutes
Let’s Doppel Gäng - 2 minutes
You Can’t Hide Your Lyin’ Eyes - 1 minute
Optical Illusions - ∞
Mazel! of the Month - <1 minute
Lessons from Disney CEO Bob Iger - 2 minutes
Read This Then That - 1 minute
Heck, I even made you a playlist.
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As always, you can return to this issue and find all previous issues at ratlinks.com.
We also have a podcast now if you would rather listen to this edition.
Now without further ado:
TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW
TOO LAZY TO READ? CLICK HERE FOR AN AUDIO VERSION OF THIS STORY
CLICK HERE FOR THE RATLINKS PODCAST: AN AUDIO NEWSLETTER
For those unaware of Philip David Charles Collins, Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order and Lord of the Gated Reverb, he is an English drummer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis.
Phil Collins is also a solo artist, who is very much alive, as illustrated by the slight title change of his most recent tour. “Still Not Dead Yet” is a follow up to last year’s “Not Dead Yet” tour.
While his voice is vintage Phil Collins, health issues have limited his mobility, forcing Mr. Collins to walk with a cane and spend most of the show seated. His 18-year-old son, Bill is now on the lead drums. Wait a second, Phil Collins has a son named Bill Collins? Sadly no, his son is actually named Nick, but that is good reading comprehension, my friend.
Leading me to ponder - What are other rockers doing in their golden years?
What about the guys with the biggest stage presences? The ones that lived aggressively.
Oh think twice, cause it's another day for you and me in paradise
FEED MY FRANKENSTEIN
Alice Cooper is the godfather of shock and exactly who you think is a textbook example of a hard-partying rock star. Turns out Mr. Cooper has been sober for 37 years and doesn’t eat sugar. Alice Cooper still has one vice: “I drink a lot of Diet Cokes.”
Alice Cooper has been happily married for 43 years and loves his wife so much that they can never live without each other or, said differently, they have a death pact.
We’ve made a pact – there is no way of surviving without each other. I couldn’t live without her. We always said there will never be a time when one of us will be mourning the other. Whenever it does happen, we are going to go together.
Mr. Cooper later clarified that it isn’t a death pact but a life pact.
“She dances better now than she did in 1975. You would think people would want to get away from the wives but she is my best friend. And there is no way of surviving without each other.”
Worry no more, Alice Cooper actually is Mr. Nice Guy. As seen above at his Hollywood Walk of Fame induction with his 96-year-old mother, Ella Mae Furnier.
I’M GOING OFF THE RAILS ON A CRAZY TRAIN
I’ll give it to him. Alice Cooper appears to be quite lovely.
There have to still be some hard-charging aging rockers. Right?
What about “The Prince of Darkness” himself?
How is Ozzy Osbourne still at it?
Yes, pesky old science has proven what we are all thinking.
Ozzy Osbourne is a genetic mutant.
Wait a second. What exactly are we talking about here? I know you said this issue would get weird, but come on.
Let’s go to the source himself:
"I was curious ... given the swimming pools of booze I've guzzled over the years -- not to mention all of the cocaine, morphine, sleeping pills, cough syrup, LSD, Rohypnol ... you name it -- there's really no plausible medical reason why I should still be alive. Maybe my DNA could say why.
Ozzy then had his genome sequenced. Leading to a surprising finding.
The musician has several gene variants that "we've never seen before," said geneticist Nathaniel Pearson, who sequenced the rocker's genome, including variants that could impact how Osbourne's body absorbs methamphetamines and other recreational drugs.
Thus confirming Sharon Osbourne’s theorem:
I've always said that at the end of the world there will be roaches, Ozzy and Keith Richards
MAN, I FEEL JUST LIKE A ROCK STAR
As an older millennial, I somehow missed the memo on face tattoos. Back in my day, tattoos were quasi-taboo, spoken about yet rarely seen. Today, things have changed and face tats are not only a sign of pride but also acceptable in some lines of work.
At a recent concert headlined by Austin Richard Post, the rap/rock superstar colloquially known as Post Malone.
Halfway through his performance of Take What You Want, Malone’s recent collaboration with none other than genetic freak, Ozzy Osbourne, the obvious question was posed:
“How many face tattoos does Posty have?”
A quick image search showed no less than five tattoos, such as “Stay Away” above the right eye, a traditional barbwire headband and “Always - Tired” written across his cheeks.
Now I am not one to judge anyone’s personal fashion or life choices. I’m also sure his grandmother thinks he is still very handsome.
Yet it led me to ponder -
Face tattoos are both distinctive and very painful to apply. What if you needed to remove them?
Face tats are obviously a focal point of the Post Malone brand. Leading Posty to likely end up with more, not less, face tats. How about all the other face tatted rappers?
Say one entering witness protection?
Behold the tale of Tekashi 6ix9ine.
If you are over the age of 30 you likely have no idea about any of this and that is OK.
A saga that has been adequately described as a “Greek telenovela tragicomedy.”
Danny Hernandez aka Tekashi 6ix9nie is one of the most notorious SoundCloud rappers known for the viral hits: "GUMMO" (358 million views) and "FEFE" (780 million views). He has roughly 14.3 million Instagram followers and is quite identifiable thanks to his multicolor braids and the numbers 6 & 9 tattooed almost 200 times on his body, most prominently on his forehead.
In a nutshell, Tekashi was not just a rapper, but also a member of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods. Who, according to prosecutors, are gang members responsible for violent crimes throughout New York City. At a recent trial, Tekashi acted as a cooperating witness in a sweeping racketeering and firearms case, in order to receive a reduced jail sentence.
In the rap game “street cred” matters and Mr. Hernandez has “all but eviscerated” his credibility. Leading to a sub-genre of insulting memes and worse, the gang members Mr. Hernandez testified against deeming him a “snitch” and threatening to kill him.
As part of his plea deal, prosecutors indicated Tekashi could enter the witness protection program.
Now we are all familiar with witness protection thanks to movies like Goodfellas. By enrolling in witness protection, Mr. Hernandez would be given a new name, relocated to a new town and in theory disappear into obscurity.
Takashi may have a problem.
If interested in learning more about this story, start with the Rolling Stone feature on Tekashi by Stephen Witt.
HEY GANG, DO YOU DOPPEL?
Earlier this month, Wilco released its 11th studio album Ode To Joy. Eagle-eyed readers may remember the piece on Wilco’s lead singer Jeff Tweedy in RatLink’s issue #5 “Oh May Oh My”.
While I could rehash the joys of seeing a mid-tempo-dad-rock-band play the hits, a far more interesting discussion is one about the crowd at this show.
Looking around Radio City prior to curtain, I noticed that everyone kinda looked like me. Behind me was a guy who could double as my uncle or at least a distant cousin. The guy to my left, just me with a beard. To my right, a version of me with more boxy glasses. Super weird right? Or maybe there is a stereotypical Wilco fan and maybe that fan looks identical to me.
Leading me to ponder -
At a specific event like a concert, are you self-selecting into a group with similar tastes and does that lead you to encounter more doppelgängers?
For reference, a doppelgänger is a non-biologically related look-alike or double.
After consulting with a subject matter expert, the answer appears to likely be yes.
Can you spot me? It’s a tough one. Here’s a hint - look stage right.
The above hypothesis led to a further question:
Do some people’s appearance make them more likely to have an unrelated twin?
Said differently, are some individuals more likely to have a doppelgänger?
Standardizing facial features allows for a simple calculation (male x brown eyes x blonde x round face x fleshy nose x short hair x full beard) that reveals the probability of a person possessing the exact same features is about 1 in 100,000 (0.00001020%).
The issue here is that people can perceive faces differently, meaning that just because a person's face isn’t exactly – mathematically speaking – the same, people can perceive them as the same because they gauge the sum of the face instead of each individual part. This explains why many of us think identical twins look exactly alike when – in reality – there are usually many differences.
To ensure that a face can be recognized in any context, the brain employs an area known as the “fusiform gyrus” to tie all the pieces together. If you compare it to finding a country on a map, this is like checking it has a border with France and a coast. This holistic ‘sum of the parts’ perception makes recognizing friends a lot more accurate than it would be if their features were assessed in isolation.
I GOT MY MIND SET ON YOU
Be aware your mind can play tricks on you.
When you see someone’s lookalike they may appear a perfect clone, but if you were to get them together side by side, you might not feel that they are doppelgängers.
Yet, sometimes your mind isn’t playing tricks on you.
You are not incorrect to think Pete Davidson’s last girlfriend was just him in a wig.
LET’S RECAP:
According to Nick Fieller, a statistician involved in The Computer-Aided Facial Recognition Project.
If you are an individual with an “average” face it’s comparatively easy to find people that look similar to you i.e. doppelgängers.
Think you have a celebrity doppelgänger? There is a new app called Gradient that can help you.
Please be aware this not an endorsement of said app, as I am not sure what they do with your image making it potentially unsafe to download.
If interested in reading more about doppelgängers this BBC feature by Zaria Gorvett is a good start.
YOU CANT HIDE YOUR LYIN’ EYES
Restaurant menus are created to trick you!
You probably know the goal of a restaurant menu is to get diners to scan unique item names and well-written descriptions and make choices based on what sounds/looks good.
Price consideration is secondary, not primary. This is why menus are drafted with “nested pricing.” That is where the menu price comes after the description and is “nested” into the description using the same size font. After a period to end the description, there should be two spaces and then a price, without dollar signs.
Why without dollar signs?
Contrary to expectations, guests given the numeral-only menu spent significantly more than those who received a menu with prices showing a dollar sign or those whose menus had prices written out in words.
Psychological theory, by contrast, predicted that the scripted format would draw higher sales. These findings indicate that menu-price formats do influence customers’ spending, both in terms of total check and spending per cover. According to a research study by Cornell University entitled “$ or Dollars: Effects of Menu-Price Formats.”
$ or Dollars: Effects of Menu-price Formats on Restaurant Checks Sybil S. YangSheryl E. Kimes Ph.D.**, Cornell UniversityMauro M. Sessarego**
LESS WORDS MORE PICTURES
Did you know there is a RatLinks podcast? You can listen to the audio version of this months edition.
Enough of these wordy words.
What do you sea 👀 in the below photo?
What kind of boat is that?
Is that boat sinking?
Are you sure?
Guess What?
It’s not a boat. It’s a broken car antenna.
GIVE ME SOME MORE
Can you find the hidden kitten in under 14 seconds?
I NEED IT ONE MORE TIME
Mazel! of the Month
Justin R and Yonina S-R on the birth of their baby daughter Zina.
Sammi F for her acceptance into the NYU School of Nursing.
J Law on her nuptials to Cooke M.
Nick B, older brother of my grade school pal Alex, dropping a remix to his Succession theme with Pusha T
Mazel!
Please email: evan@ratlinks.com with subject MOTM for your mazel to be featured.
THE HOUSE OF THE MOUSE
This month I was fortunate to see Disney CEO, Bob Iger speak. Mr. Iger has a new book out this month, The Ride of a Lifetime.
Unfortunately, I have not yet had the time to read the entire book. Instead, preferring to share an anecdote from the lunch, about Bob Iger’s relationship with Steve Jobs.
When Mr. Iger was appointed Disney CEO he looked to make an acquisition. Disney historically was known for animation, however the segment was currently one of the company’s weakest. While nervous about being too aggressive with M&A, his wife told him the average CEO tenure is only four years, so he should not be timid. Leading to Disney pursuing Pixar.
Pixar had the best talent, but its partnership with Disney was fraying. Iger knew Pixar wasn't for sale and if it was it wouldn’t come cheap. Iger also knew if he was going to buy Pixar he would have to win over its CEO. This led to phoning Pixar CEO Steve Jobs to schedule a meeting about a crazy idea. Instead, Jobs wanted to know the idea right then and there. Iger who was calling from a hot car parked in his driveway tried to delay to no avail. Knowing the relationship was strained, Iger offered to put ABC shows on Apple’s new video iPod, as an act of good faith.
Leading to an eventual meeting at the Apple headquarters. Both men were standing in front of a whiteboard in a board room. Iger is quick to point out that Jobs held the marker. Jobs listed out the pros & cons of the acquisition, ending up with 3 pros and 15 cons. Iger turned to Jobs saying I guess we are done here. Jobs replied yes and since the pros outweigh the cons, we should do the deal. A deal that made Jobs a Disney board member and its largest shareholder.
The book further details this event as well as a much more important story. One about Mr. Jobs confiding a secret to Mr. Iger only 30 minutes before the Disney/Pixar deal was to be announced. I can’t do justice in retelling this story and recommend picking up the book.
Mr. Iger closed lunch discussing his future. While he is unsure about the next phase of his career once he steps down as CEO of Disney. He made it clear that he has no interest in running for president. No matter how much Oprah wants him to.
READ THIS THEN THAT
This month I read The Charisma Myth. A book that focuses on three key tenets.
Presence: Live in the moment. When you find your attention slipping while speaking to someone, refocus by centering yourself.
Power: Remove self-doubt, assuring yourself that you belong and that your skills and passions are valuable and interesting to others. It’s easier said than done.
Warmth: Radiate a certain kind of vibe that signals kindness and acceptance. Imagine a person you feel great warmth and affection for, and then focusing on what you enjoy most about your shared interactions.
Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, exhibited mastery in power and achieved high marks for presence. However, according to his daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs, in her 2018 memoir “Small Fry,” he lacked warmth.
I recommend reading the book in its entirety but if you can’t, read this article:
What Makes People Charismatic, and How You Can Be, Too
As always, you can see all the books I am reading here.
Until Next Month
Nighthawks Not By Edward Hopper
October 2019
