Strands of Genius: Magic Mike (not that one), The Real Mystery of Bud Light, Sensory Friendly Retail
Plus: a poem + Pillowman!!!
WRITING FROM | Worcester Park, UK
WORKING ON | creative assessment tool, Yahoo Academy workshop, planning a sabbatical
LOOKING AHEAD
July 10-27 | Worcester Park, UK
July 28-Aug ? | Sydney, AUS
Aug-Oct | APAC Adventures
Nov | Mexico
Dec | Mexico / Tennessee
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Since we were there for his 80th birthday and only had a couple weeks in UK when mostly planned to stay down south (of the river) where Faris’ dad lives - but then we didn’t. Our dear friend Matt invited us to host a little happy hour on the rooftop bar of Mindshare and few of you lovely readers came and hung out for a bit. The next day we went to Swingers with my brother (it’s a fun, instagram friendly, crazy golf venue in a few London locations). We stayed with three different people over 4 nights, getting to see friends in North, South and East London, and even caught a remarkable play, more on which later. Also now Faris is tired again and is insists he is still jetlagged rather than (more likely) London lagged. We fly to Australia on Thursday, let us know if you live in Sydney and let’s meet up!
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
So many things and people. Matt, Mindshare, John Dodds, Joe, Jasper, Sophie, Emma, Phillip, Laith, Swingers, Antonia&Ronan&Leo, secreto, a cancelled meeting, greasy pub food, Cordelia&Louie, Andy, S_Tate, The Pillowman, watching the Unrated cut of Forgetting Sarah Marshall with Faris’ dad, sleep & YOU.
:: THE LINKS ::
MAGIC MIKE ON AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
Our friend Magic Mike was called that before the movie came out but he has always lived a double life. We met him originally through advertising when Rosie hired him to replace her as a strategist at 360i, and then he went on to set up the first in-house strategy department at Comedy Central. But, as his name suggests, he also does magic and last week he was on America’s Got Talent and absolutely smashed it. Watch agog. (Youtube/AGT)
THE MYSTERY, RISE, AND DECLINE OF BUD LIGHT
Don’t worry this isn’t a culture war reportage piece but rather a nuanced historical analysis of how Bud Light came about and becomes the biggest selling beer in USA for a couple of decades, which is a remarkable achievement but ties change and, culture war aside, dominance like that is less and less likely in an age of fragmentation where there today about 10,000 craft breweries in USA. Also “Spuds MacKenzie—“Bud Light’s original party animal!” Spuds became a pop-culture sensation, skateboarding in sunglasses and drawing the thirsty gaze of scantily clad women. “He’s Spuds MacKenzie,” the narrator of a later ad exclaimed: “One party-loving, happening dude!” (The Atlantic)
SENSORY FRIENDLY STORE HOURS
Walmart recently announced they were “that offer "sensory-friendly" hours for people with autism spectrum disorder or other neurodivergent conditions”, as have a number of other retailers, venues in the past few years. Sometimes retail store can be overwhelming, especially in USA, for anyone and no doubt a great deal moreso if you are experiencing misophonia or light sensitivity due to any persistent or temporary condition. “Disabilities are often invisible, and by setting aside time during the business day when the lights are lower, sounds are softer and the pace is more relaxed, companies allow patrons with sensory issues to participate more fully in normal life routines.” (Axios)
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:: Poem ::
It is wise
to change your mind
in light of evidence new
It is craven
to change your position
Because the winds blew
(thanks to Trevor Beattie for his suggestion via TwitX (sigh) to change the word order on line and make it rhyme)
:: The Pillowman ::
Now that we are tourists in our two primary adult home cities, we try to see a musical in NYC and a play in London.
Thanks to a recommendation from Cordelia, Rosie kindly scored us tickets to a matinee of The Pillowman, a play I knew nothing about upon going, but I was excited to hear the cast included Lily Allen. I was not prepared for what we saw, I’m not sure I could have been.
Forgive me but I had to do some digging because this play absolutely destroyed me, I couldn’t stop crying for quite a long time and it is haunting my head. It is funny, yes, but so very, very, very dark and upsetting that it’s hard to speak about. Don’t worry there shall be no spoilers because my hope for this piece is that if you are in London YOU GO TO SEE THE PILLOWMAN, Duke of York’s Theatre.
Fair warning, it’s A LOT but it is one of the greatest things I have ever seen at the theatre and, should you need my bona fides, I did an English Lit degree and directed plays and love the theatre and that.
Alongside Allen (who is brilliant) the other two principles you might recognize are Steve Pemberton and Paul Kaye (who are terrifying, funny and nuanced evil police offers of a totalitarian state.)
The play was written by Martin McDonagh, who went on to write In Bruges and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which appropriately garnered awards and critical acclaim. This is far, far more intense than those movies, it is perfectly written for theatre, and it is a masterpiece.
Ultimately, all stories end up being about stories, I think the same holds true of most media forms, there is an inherent self reflexivity in media production, especially as you do it more.
Songs are about songs, poems about about poetry, advertising is increasingly about advertising, and so on. This is a story about a writer and her stories, wrapped in other stories, the production is simple and harrowing, and, as I said at the beginning, you should go and see it.
If you’re in the APAC market and fancy collaborating with us, let us know! We’ll be in Australia at the end of July and are planning to hang out in the APAC region through October.
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based in Tennessee where our company is registered, our admin extraordinaire is based in Playa del Carmen, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)