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Scott discusses his two hallmarks of people within his inner circle and the value of picking your friends intentionally.
 

I grabbed lunch with one of my middle school friends earlier today, a joy given how far from home I live these days. My friend was telling me about a podcast she had recently heard that always ended with two questions: i) what are two core attributes of your inner circle and ii) what is your definition of high performance. The first question is, in my opinion, much more revealing about a person than the second.
 

After a five-second pause, I blurted out one of the two attributes: integrity. It’s a good cheat word because it encompasses so many other things such as honesty, moral fortitude, decency etc. The second one took a bit more time to tease out, but I eventually settled on generosity. In today’s world, we tend to pigeonhole "generosity"—whose definition we commoditize/quantify at every turn—when in fact, generosity is boundless in what it can represent.

I can’t help but think about how these things are also a reflection of the creative work we do here at MAEKAN day in, day out, and through the many projects our team handles in their own lives. While you may be supporting us via Patreon to receive this Briefing (thank you so much for supporting us), I find that our team’s output is a byproduct of the highest levels of personal integrity and generosity, so much so that it nearly cost us the business altogether.

From Eugene’s constant attention to detail, Nate’s boundless well of imagination to work with equipment on a budget, Charis’ wide-ranging perspectives or Alex’s effortless creative output, I truly feel like what you get in your inbox, on our site, on our e-store (what a plug, btw) are a direct reflection of our integrity in our work and the generous nature that comes with wanting to work on something we are collectively passionate about.
 

Ask yourself the same question and see what seems to fit best for you. When you hone in on core, immovable human features, you realize what you really need for a meaningful life. Our creative outputs are often enhanced by the energy we get from those around us. How you perceive your peer’s inner self will inform how you can best project your outer talents.
 

Oh, and Kanye has a new album (spoiler alert: it’s excellent). I just didn’t have a segway for it but ‘Ye needs no such thing.


- Scott
 
Rational thinking and the tech/fashion relationship

Charis and Eugene talk about the attraction to and difficulty in thinking rationally. They also discuss the awkward relationship between tech and fashion.
 
 
The best links from across the Internet.
 
1. 🖥️ Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Talks The Omniverse

After winning the Robert N. Noyce Award, the semiconductor industry's highest honor, Huang sits down for an interview with tech journalist Dean Takahashi to talk the metaverse and Nvidia's own engineer and 3D modeler-heavy version of it, the Omniverse, among other topics.


2. 🧸 A Brief History Of the Adult Gummy

Eater takes a close look at the evolution of the gummy beyond the association with candy to its role in delivering vitamins, micronutrients and CBD. In the process, they're creating a commercially successful way to make health and medicine more accessible and trendier.


3. 🤣 Belgians Can Now Legally Retrieve Lost Balls From Their Neighbors

As of September 1st, anyone who accidentally throws or kicks a ball into their neighbor's yard will be legally allowed to go retrieve it and pick up any of their pets while they're at it. Previously, the neighbor had the obligation to return the ball but had the right to deny the ball's owner access to the yard in question. Naturally, the person who helped write the law, Professor Vincent Sagaert, hopes those entering the premises will do so in good faith and be quick about it:

“You have to ring the bell of the neighbour and ask first, but if they refuse or are not at home, you can still enter the garden to quickly get it back,” he added. “But only to look for your ball or animal, not to take other things, because that is still just called theft.”


4. 💞 The Hybrid Future of Dating

Video dates have been normalized due to social distancing from the pandemic, but they're likely to remain well into the future due to the high cost of too many physical dates, anxiety over quarantine-atrophied dating skills and the possibility of saving on time.


5. 📱 How Influencers Make Dog Food For Content Platforms And Outperform VICE

Ryan Broderick breaks down how influencers like Logan Paul and his production are able to succeed as VICE lays off longtime employees to focus on video for TikTok and YouTube.

"Logan Paul also appears to be actually doing several things that digital media companies like VICE have never figured out how to do: he has a clear editorial point of view (which sucks), a very good understanding of his audience (who all suck), and a podcast that actually seems to make money directly without it being subsidized by iHeart Radio or something. You can clutch your pearls about the host or the content (it all sucks), but, hell, even Paul’s TikTok, which seems like an afterthought for him, has 12 million followers. Meanwhile, VICE’s, which is literally central to their new editorial direction, has under 100,000 followers. I actually had to check that a few times to make sure I wasn’t completely insane in thinking that VICE just fired a bunch of long-term editors to focus on a TikTok that doesn’t even have a six-digit follower count."


6. 🕹️ China Restricts Weekday Gaming Hours For Minors

Children under 18 will not be able to play online games from Monday through Thursday and only from 8-9pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for a grand total of three hours a week. This is the most stringent restriction imposed following previous time and spending limits for minors, but also a development that parallels its reining in of tech companies that include game developers.


7. 📷 How Video Game Photo Modes Make You A Better Photographer

Who knows, maybe the kids will just play more offline or better yet, spend that time honing their photography skills at the same time. Hideo Kojima, the iconic video game creator best known for the popular Metal Gear Solid series, recently tweeted that the photo modes found in some AAA titles make for a great training ground that can eventually transfer to the real world:

"There are still some people who make fun of the fact that you are taking virtual pictures in the game. If you keep taking pictures, even in-game, your sensitivity and skills will naturally improve. Composition, layout, focus, etc,. Most importantly, you will know what you want to photograph. After that, the in-game experience will surely come in handy when you shoot with a real camera or smartphone."


8. 🎧 Listen: Kanye West Releases Donda

West's massive 27-track tenth studio album, titled "Donda" (after his mother), includes contributions from an all-star cast that includes JAY-Z, the Weeknd, the late Pop Smoke, Travis Scott, Kid Cudi, Lil Yachty, Ty Dolla $ign, and Chris Brown, among many others. The entire album is available for listening through Spotify.


9. 🎬 Nia DaCosta's "Candyman" Becomes First #1 Film Directed By A Black Woman

The film is a sequel to the 1992 urban legend slasher film and its success represents a case study in aligning several factors that lead to box office success. In addition to DaCosta, the film's production includes a Black creative team that also benefited from the writing and producing talents of Jordan Peele. While the association with Peele's work on Get Out and Us did represent a draw, but reviews also lauded the film's original elements and willingness to experiment.

"Reviews were among the best for wide studio releases this year, which doesn’t necessarily mean much in reaching a wide audience for a horror film, but they did emphasize the film’s original elements as well as Peele’s influence while emphasizing DaCosta’s individual contribution. An element of danger, a sense of the unknown, strong IP and execution: That’s a good lesson for producers who fear taking risks."


10. 🏀 TIL: Adam Sandler Is Really Good At Basketball

The 54-year-old actor and comedian has proven himself to be something of an ethereal pickup basketball legend, appearing suddenly at casual community games throughout the country and astounding everyone with his skill and surprising athleticism. Those who have witnessed him in action tell the tale, including Chris Collins, who played with him in 2019:

"Collins: He wants to get in two games, maybe three, and then get out. Like the last game, I’m not kidding, he hit a game-winner from deep and then just dipped hard.  I remember because it was his ball. And he hit that shot and was like [Sandler voice again], 'Alright dudes, I gotta bounce.' He took his ball, dapped a couple dudes up, got in a really regular looking car — that he street-parked — and just bounced. It was nuts. "


Illustrator Jean Jullien's animal-inspired collaboration with Geoffray Sipoir of French company Fernand Surfboards.