Do Androids Dream of Three-Day Weekends?
Do Androids Dream of Three-Day Weekends?
🦞🥞 Vol. 2, No. 3
Sunday Bunch is a weekly digest of current happenings and fascinations, compiled and published free.
This publication grows exclusively through word-of-mouth from discerning readers like you.
A quick note about this Monday edition of the newsletter that’s supposed to arrive on the Lord’s day1
It’s a big week here at Sunday Bunch HQ. To start things off, I spent my Saturday night sleeping here2:
Yesterday was my wonderful wife Jamie’s birthday 🎉 and accompanying celebration at Austin’s vibe-heavy De Nada Cantina, followed by watching my alma mater USC’s big win over LSU ✌️ to close out Week 1 of college football.
Today takes me and the kids to our first 4DX screening–the re-release of Twisters 🌪️, so our neighbor Glen Powell can get a bit more of that immersive theater box office–along with another family birthday (shout-out to my sister-in-law Sarah, who is hopefully living más out in California as we speak).
Finally, Wednesday is Beyonce’s birthday, as well as my own (the Virgo energy around here is off the charts).
Like I said, big week. And thus, you get a Labor Day “special edition” of Sunday Bunch.
1X Unveils NEO Beta, A Humanoid Robot for the Home
There is quite a bit of debate about this “prototype” with plenty convinced it’s just a dude in a suit, but its maker 1X is just one of the companies–including Tesla and Figure–racing to build an army of machines who will almost surely rise up and enslave humanity hand us our backpack on the way out the door.
When EV startups shut down, will their cars still work?
As Chinese EV companies fail, drivers of “smartphones on wheels” fear software updates and maintenance are in jeopardy. This is what happens when you put a computer in everything and necessitate subscription services to keep everything operational. Welcome to the new rentier economy.
Only 3% of companies are currently categorized as customer-obsessed, defined as putting customers’ needs, desires, and satisfaction at the forefront of all business decisions and actions.
Forrester Customer Experience Survey, 2024
Tech, talent and TikTok: Inside ESPN's survival plan
The TL;DR version:
A standalone ESPN streaming service. Add one more to the bundle. Hopefully this one comes included with my Mobile ESPN phone.
An AI-personalized version of SportsCenter. I’m not totally convinced anyone really wants this–at least in the way ESPN would wind up implementing it–but more than happy to try it and be proven wrong.
Deeper integration of sports betting. If you would have included “Disney will increasingly rely on gambling revenue to drive business growth” in a parlay a few years back, it would have paid out at incredible odds today.
Expanding their TikTok-heavy creator network. The search for 10 more Pat McAfees intensifies.
Who Gets to Own a Meme?
On August 5, Chicago-based content creator Jools Lebron posted a TikTok video using the phrase “very demure, very mindful” to describe how she presents herself at work.
The original video has gained 49 million views, while over 170,000 TikTok videos and countless Instagram posts have repeated the quippy phrase. Brands sent out email blasts declaring their products “demure,” and even President Joe Biden touted the cancelling of student debt as “very mindful.”
Flash forward and multiple people–including Jools Lebron herself–have filed to trademark the phrase, opening up a bigger conversation about who in our very online, hyper-connected world, if anyone, gets to own a trend.
I Went to the Biggest Quinceañera Expo in the Country. Here’s How 15-Year-Olds Will Be Celebrating This Year.
Gen Z Wants Less Sex in Movies
A slight majority (51 percent of the 1,500 surveyed) said they wanted to see more content about platonic relationships and friendships. While 47.5 percent said sex “isn’t needed” for most TV shows and movies, with 44 percent feeling romance is “overused.” Also, 44 percent say agree with a statement saying they “would rather clean the toilet” than go on an online date.
What does your pee say about you?
One more smart product with its own subscription service, this one to analyze your wizz to tell you about your hydration and gut health.
Michael Myers has nothing on this guy and his built-in battery-operated fan.
Who are the coolest people you know? Why not make their day with a free subscription?
The more, the merrier. Don’t worry, we’ll order up more lobster and pancakes.
“It’s right f*%king there in the name!” someone yelled, as they hurled their half-full Mountain Dew Baja Blast gelato at Todd in customer service.
When Tom Cruise calls about your son playing the new hotshot pilot in Top Gun 3, it’s pretty hard to say no.