Happy Sunday.
To be ITK, know this:
Read this: The supply of metals is critical for the energy transition: Le Monde
+ As early as 2030, the European Union may struggle to import all the lithium, rare earths, and copper it needs.
Read this: Envisaging an African green economy: By emphasizing green manufacturing as a means of reducing poverty and decarbonizing its economy, Kenya hopes to create a strategic template for other developing countries. But its success will depend at least partly on whether the international community can forge a new compact on the emerging green economy. Raila Odinga
+ Kenya is also a leader in the renewable energy sector, with 75% of its electricity sourced from solar, geothermal, wind, and hydropower
+ In the environmental field, Kenya’s favored daughter, the late Wangari Maathai, won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for building the Green Belt Movement, a pioneering global campaign to protect ecosystems and address the links between poverty, clean water, food security, and climate change
+ Imagine EV batteries manufactured in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and green steel from Kenya
Read this: Into Africa: Softly softly as US seeks to counter global rivals’ influence: Antony Blinken is walking a tightrope between support for democracy and avoiding appearing to force the continent’s countries to pick sides. The Times
+ “African nations have been treated as instruments of other nations’ progress, rather than the authors of their own. Time and again, they have been told to pick a side in great power contests that feel far removed from daily struggles of their people.”
Read this: Your first lab-grown burger is coming soon—and it’ll be “blended”: Growing meat in a lab is still way too expensive. But mixing it with plants could help finally get it onto our plates. Niall Firth
+ At the end of 2016, there were just four firms working on it, according to a report by nonprofit The Good Food Institute. By early 2020, that number had jumped to at least 55 startups around the world trying to re-create at least 15 different types of animal flesh, including pork, shrimp, chicken, duck, lamb, and even foie gras
Read this: The fishy history of the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich: How a struggling entrepreneur in Ohio saved his burger business during Lent and changed the McDonald’s menu for good. Smithsonian
+ “You’re always coming up here with a bunch of crap! I don’t want my stores stunk up with the smell of fish.”
+ Kroc’s initial rejection of the idea may have come from a more selfish place. He had a meat alternative idea of his own, called the “Hula Burger,” a piece of grilled pineapple and cheese on a bun
Look at this: Natural World Photography Awards 2022: Here are some of the winning images, which will go on show at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. The Times
Alanis Morissette releases ambient meditation album The Storm Before the Calm: Wordless vocalizations and shimmering soundscapes devised with Darkside’s Dave Harrington make for chilled-out listening. FT
This album is on heavy rotation in my house
Teens, social media, and technology 2022: TikTok has established itself as one of the top online platforms for US teens, while the share of teens who use Facebook has fallen sharply. Pew
+ American teenagers ages 13 to 17 finds TikTok has rocketed in popularity since its North American debut several years ago and now is a top social media platform for teens among the platforms covered in this survey
Read this: Chess and geopolitics in the supercomputer era: The outcome of next year's world championship chess match will likely hinge as much on technological superiority as on individual human ingenuity. Kenneth Rogoff
+ “Should China’s Ding Liren lose, it will tell us not only something about his opponent’s character but also that Chinese supercomputing is perhaps not as advanced as we think.”
50 years ago, more than 80% of the value reflected on the balance sheets of Fortune 500 companies was physical stuff—plant, equipment, oil in the ground, inventory on the shelves. CEO Daily reports today, that more than 85% of the value on the balance sheets of Fortune 500 companies is “intangibles”—intellectual property, brand value, and a host of things more closely tied to human capital than to physical and financial capital.
RIP big bull market (1982-2022): From start to finish, the Dow rose from 776.91 to 36800, a 9.6% annual rate. Andy Kessler
Read this: The tie is dead: Here’s how men can still dress well with a free neck: Ermenegildo Zegna said it best. “Let me be clear – the suit is not dead. But the tie is.” But there are ways to dress in a tie-less suit to still look sharp. SMH
At the start of 2020, I pledged to wear more ties, and weeks later, a pandemic.
Are ties to blame?
Am I to blame?
Ties are now a political act of civil disobedience.
"Politicians should understand that ties are no longer mandatory but a fashion choice"
By the way, I am nearly certain I have worn a tie six times since I made this pledge.
Read this: How the black turtleneck came to represent creative genius CNN
I haven’t worn a turtleneck since the late 80s. Is it time to get back to them?
Read this: What Mickey Drexler did next: At Gap and J Crew, he helped build some of the US’s biggest brands. Now Drexler and his son are reshaping modern style with Alex Mill. FT
+ Mickey, 77, credits his successes to an intangible instinct for product: understanding what people want to wear and what they want to pay for it
+ He’s a merchant who remains as obsessed and passionate about product, design, and retail
+ Mickey describes Alex Mill as being in its “infant” stage but with the kind of growth potential that has him dreaming of one day opening as many as 40 stores in the “best places in America”
+ “America for us – it’s a $300mn, $400mn or $500mn market easily”
Read this: A view from the driving seat in the Rallye des Princesses: The all-female 1,500km race will push you to your limits – and make you friends for life. FT
+ Google Maps and Waze are banned, replaced by the 191‑page road book
Read this: Wimbledon at war! Why locals are battling plans for 39 new tennis courts: The All England Club wants to expand its current site, with 38 new courts and an 8,000-seater stadium. Their neighbors aren’t so sure. The Times
NIMBY meets grass tennis
Read this: How to make the perfect cup of Italian coffee: Unpacking the history, allure, and ways to use the humble Moka pot. Departures
I have two Moka pots - one small and one big. Both are wonderful and well used
Read this: The new absinthe drinkers: FT reports they are a lot jollier than the glum-faced spirits in Degas’ famous painting. That’s what happens when you’re mixing with Gen Z. FT
+ “I love absinthe because you can have a lot of fun with a very small amount”
Read this: Were the Beatles just lucky? Cass Sunstein, a behavioral psychologist who has advised presidents, has turned his brainpower to a burning question: was the Beatles’ success a fluke? The Times
+ So, if the Beatles hadn’t existed, would a different band have filled their slot in cultural history, with screaming fans drowning out the music at their gigs?
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