Well how are you? Went to Dingle for a lovely winter festival. It was enriching. Saw Wonka too. It's a banger. And we shared part 1 and part 2 of our '23 trends. Now we’ve landed. That's it for this year. So thanks. Srsly. Thanks. Right let’s go.
"There is a connection between freedom and self-confidence: When you are kept from expressing your deepest needs and wishes, you lose trust in their validity and in your own judgment. You survive by finding out the rules and following them, thus hiding what you really want. You make it your purpose in life to please others rather than to affirm yourself."
David Richo, How to Be an Adult in Relationships
culture // zero waste
Well, as the curtain closes on another year in mad town, we might ask, what do we call this chaotic era? The Assolocence sums it up well. Particularly considering the backdrop of a COP stuffed with fossil fuel lobbyists. Though, there’s always hope (despite it all). Some young people are readying for de-growth and a world of less. Which is great. And needed. Others, like the French, are leading the way in waste reduction policies, even introducing zero waste communities. HUGE goals like these need to become a part of our lives, don’t they? Incremental change is too slow. Like Singapore aiming to be the world greenest city. Simple goal. Big focus. Let’s hope for more of this in 2024.
brands // imperfect
We’re in a constant state of becoming, aren't we? Growing. Forming. Re-forming. We're not perfect. In fact, the Pratfall Effect in social psychology, states that people considered highly competent, are more likeable when they imperfectly blunder, than those who don’t (see Boris the Buffoon). The Japanese get it. Wabi Sabi is the acceptance of imperfection and transience, and Kintsugi, the process of repairing broken ceramics by leaving a gold seam where the cracks were. Loving the imperfections. Similarly, there's an irresistible power in imperfect brands. Because being imperfect sometimes, is being human. Which is being authentic. Which is being honest. Which builds trust. Which is deeply lacking.
creativity // other voices
Hobbies are cool. Outside interests. Other voices. Steven Johnson wrote about his hobby of making music and using AI. In it he wrote "to me, there is something wonderful and freeing about having a pursuit in your life about which you have both great passion and zero ambition”. For one thing, you’re more likely to be in Safari Mode (open to serendipity) vs Highway Mode (set destination, speed matters). Hobbies enrich our creative energy. Henry Miller once wrote on friendship and the relationship between creativity and community and how friends enrich our creative energy. A friend “who understands and appreciates your work” and how it only “takes only one friend… to work miracles”. And Nick Cave wrote about friendship and disagreements. How “A relationship dependent on a state of agreement, two people just smiling and nodding at each another....is probably dysfunctional, impermanent, and almost certainly boring”. Find other voices in 2024. Even disagreeable ones. They'll be enriching.
technology // the quickening
Remember Highlander? 80s movie. Immortal swordsmen (pre swordswomen) battled and beheaded each other till only one was left to gain all power and knowledge (there can be only one). It was called the “quickening”. Well, we might be in it? Last week fintech company Klarna froze hiring, citing productivity gains in AI. While someone claimed they made an Adidas ad on their lunch break with AI tools. And it was pretty good. Now Google have launched their multi modal AI model, Gemini, which is next level and capable of reasoning across text, images, audio, video and code. It’s impressive. Feels like a game of musical chairs that’s rapidly speeding up.
five random (ish) things:
Let kids be pricks. Brilliant 😂.
Mongolian Jingle Bells 🎻.
Ben Evans annual presentation 📊.
Beautiful story telling 📖.
Decolinisation - words matter ✊.
watching // perspective.
This short acceptance speech from Jony Ive is great. He reads a letter Steve Jobs wrote to himself. This line from Steve “I love and admire my species, living and dead. And I am totally dependent on them for my life and wellbeing” is great. And this from Jony “it’s truth and humility somehow slows time”. Perspective is so important. Have a nice Christmas everyone and enjoy the break.