Tangential Tuesday #30
Male birth control, Disney+, Bonobos Curve, Gazillion-Dollar CEO Salaries...
Helloooo. Hope your week is off to a good start. Thanks for tuning into this week’s newsletter 🚀
Petit Biscuit - I’m Spending a Month in California.
I wish more artists would make vlogs like this. It made me wonder why there doesn’t seem to be that many artists paying for professionals to create daily or weekly vlogs for them (maybe there are, and I’m just out of touch).
I’m also kind of surprised we haven’t seen more famous business people start making vlogs (a la Gary Vee). I feel like a ton of people, including myself, would be super curious to see what the daily life of a CEO actually looks like.
💸 Why CEOs Actually Deserve Their Gazillion-Dollar Salaries
Tyler Cowen is back at it again.
I find people’s general opinions of wealth and business very interesting. Like many beliefs - I think they are shaped HIGHLY by our experiences. For me, I’ve experienced very little corruption or discrimination, especially in the business world.
I recognize that the world is far from a meritocracy, but I believe the majority of people are deserving of their financial successes.
If you’ve grown up believing the opposite, this is a great read to challenge your beliefs. If you read it and think the article is complete horseshit, I’d love to hear why 😅.
🍿Disney and the Future of TV
“While obviously Disney+ will compete with Netflix for consumer attention, the goals of the two services are very different: for Netflix, streaming is its entire business, the sole driver of revenue and profit. Disney, meanwhile, obviously plans for Disney+ to be profitable — the company projects that the service will achieve profitability in 2024, and that includes transfer payments to Disney’s studios — but the larger project is Disney itself.”
Disney+ is happening! I can’t say I’m a huge disney fan myself, but I’m super interested to see where the service goes.
💊 Male birth control !
YCombinator backed, this is pretty cool.
The invention of birth control changed the world, but women still carry the majority of the responsibility when it comes to preventing unwanted pregnancy.
They’re also working on a non-hormonal based birth control for women.
The Bonobos Curve
I just bought a pair of Bonobos, so this felt appropriately timed. This is a great article that gives you a framework for thinking about DTC (Direct To Consumer) companies.
Yes - retail has been radically changed by the internet, but many of the same things are still important. The path of this new wave of DTC companies is radically different from Traditional Retail, but their destinations are quite similar.
The Playboy Interview
This, combined with this is the best introduction to Marshall Mcluhan and Understanding Media that I’ve found thus far.
The overarching idea is simple:
“All media, from the phonetic alphabet to the computer, are extensions of man that cause deep and lasting changes in him and transform his environment.”
Grasping the implications and corollaries that extend from this idea can be challenging. Even Mcluhan admits he doesn’t fully understand some of his favorite aphorisms like:
“People don't actually read newspapers – they get into them every morning like a hot bath.”
“The electric light is pure information”
I also love this quote:
“It's always been the artist who perceives the alterations in man caused by a new medium, who recognizes that the future is the present, and uses his work to prepare the ground for it.”
Personal
- I’m mentoring a Junior high school through Minds Matter. What advice would you give someone that age who is trying to write their college essay, decide where to go to school, what to do with their life, etc ? Would LOVE to hear from you.
- My habits are really starting to get dialed in. I’m using some techniques from Atomic Habits to build them up slowly.
- Reading How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia and Understanding Media
- I started using this safety razor ~1 month ago. They seriously are as good as everyone says. It’s turned shaving into a pleasurable ritual for me.
- Working through this Advanced React & GraphQL course. It’s been fun to take some time outside of work and get back to coding just for fun a few days a week.
- I redesigned my website landing page. The spacing is still a bit messed up and I could probably use a picture, but I like the minimalist design which is more focuses on the newsletter.
As always, thanks for reading.
- Taylor ✌