OMM (On My Mind) – December 2023 – #2
~ findings & research ~
::: The Open :::
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoy this weekly newsletter (published on Sundays).
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Thank you for reading and for your time.
With Gratitude,
Mark
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::: Music :::
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Love the SZA album SOS but what is with “Special” sounding weirdly like Coldplay’s “The Scientist” (!?)
Agree? Disagree?
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"Taylor Swift holds five of the top 10 albums on the Billboard chart, the first living artist to do so in the chart’s 60-year history. Swift’s latest album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), a re-recording of her 2014 album, joined Midnights, Folklore, Lover, and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in the top 10. Swift seems to break records with almost mundane regularity, but even by her standards, the latest achievement is remarkable. The only other artist to achieve a similar dominance of the album charts was Prince, and he had to die to do it: In 2016, the week after his death, five of his records made the top 10." (Semafor)
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As you almost certainly already have heard, Taylor Swift was named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2023. Appropriate choice imho.
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::: The Arts & The Literary World:::
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‘Oxford University Press has named 'rizz' as its word of the year’ (AP News)
As The Washington Post puts it, “It’s Gen Z slang that’s probably short for “charisma,” Oxford says. It sums up 2023’s confident mood as we moved on from 2022’s “goblin mode.””
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Seeking an agent?
#MSWL (twitter/x) | MsWishList
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Will Writers Market and the affiliated series’ (such as Poets Market) return?
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‘Creativity Is Good for Your Mental Health, Study Finds — Try These 6 Activities to Boost Your Mood’ (Nice News)
“The difference between a victim and a survivor is the meaning made of the trauma,” says author Louise DeSalvo, per HBR. DeSalvo also noted that, “Creativity is a basic human response to trauma and a natural emergency defense system.”
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Comic relief…
‘The National Lyrics or Things My Dad Says While Refusing to Check Google Maps?’ (McSweeney’s Internet Tendency)
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‘Wikipedia, wrapped. Here are 2023’s most-viewed articles on the internet’s encyclopedia’ (AP News)
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We often come up with similar ideas to others because they’re in the zeitgeist.
See this post by Seth Godin.
Many famous ideas known to be created/invented by one person is simply because that person got to the patent office first. That’s not even a metaphor.
When you want to pitch a book idea to an agent, you have to come up with “comps”. This is actually something I just learned recently. “Comps” are other books already on the market that are doing something similar but not exactly the same as what you’re doing in your book. If there isn’t some kind of precedent, it’s a risky bet for a publisher (and the Big 5 care about risk). The Big 5 are willing to take a loss on literary works that they believe are quality work—but they know (from the outset) that these books are unlikely to make them any money. They may not even make back the advance.
If you want to learn more about this, I highly recommend Jane Friedman’s book ‘The Business of Being a Writer’. You can also sign up for Friedman’s newsletter and learn about her other offerings (including online classes) on her website.
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Erika Dreifus has some tips for navigating antisemitism in the literary community.
Occasional Notes from a Practicing Writer (post 11.15.23)
Writers, Beware (in-progress)
Recommended Reading: ‘Is it Antisemitism? If It Is, Now What? Guidance for a Post-October 7th World’
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::: Health & Wellness :::
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‘What to Know About Getting Flu, COVID-19, and RSV Vaccines at the Same Time’ (CDC)
CDC says it’s safe to get all three vaccines at the same time, if you wish. I believe them.
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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‘Ancient redwoods recover from fire by sprouting 1000-year-old buds’ (Science.org)
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[from] a Washington Post article about why TikTok is very good at getting people to spend $$$:
“Repetition as a promotional strategy is nothing new, but on TikTok Shop it feels like a form of psychological warfare.”
“Whenever I scroll through TikTok these days, I stumble upon at least one livestream pitching me a product I didn’t know I needed.”
“TikTok has 150 million users in the U.S., 35% of whom are ages 18 to 24. Teens in particular spend an average of nearly two hours a day on the app.”
“Although the phenomenon hasn’t quite reached that scale yet in the U.S., platforms like Amazon, EBay and Poshmark have all launched their own live shopping features. The U.S. live selling market was expected to reach $32 billion in sales this year.”
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‘The FT’s 25 most influential women of 2023’ (Financial Times)
Don’t worry, Beyoncé made the list.
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‘The 24 Best Places to Go in 2024’ (Conde Nast Traveler)
tl;dr—
Accra, Ghana
Budapest, Hungary
The Cyclades, Greece
French Polynesia
Grenada
Guatemala
The Kimberley, Australia
Kobe, Japan
Kosovo
Madagascar
Magdelena River, Colombia
Mauritius
Mongolia
Northern Rivers, Australia
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Quebec, Canada
Quito, Ecuador
The Red Sea, Saudi Arabia
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Santa Fe, New Mexico (U.S.)
South & Central Sri Lanka
South Island, New Zealand
Upstate New York (U.S.)
Yorkshire, United Kingdom
…Why these places, I have no idea. Where do you want to go in 2024? Why is that? What do you hope to see/do/witness/observe/enjoy/appreciate/eat?
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‘23andMe confirms hackers stole ancestry data on 6.9 million users’ (TechCrunch)
You can imagine nefarious sources who would be interested in this data. It’s very troubling. It’s a reason to think twice before willingly giving over your data, situationally.
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The Economics of Gen Z (Brookings)
Gen Z is struggling.
“It should come as no surprise that only 21% of these young economy voters think that the country is on the right track. Nor should it be surprising that 62% of them trust Trump to do a better job managing the economy, compared to just 34% of them who think that Biden would.”
“In line with conventional wisdom, young adults do trust Biden over Trump to address social issues such as immigration and abortion, and they think Biden will do a better job with our democratic institutions. But these young voters simply don’t care about these issues nearly as much as they do about the economy.”
“[…] if the election were held tomorrow, Biden’s share of young adult votes may well be low enough to cost him the presidency.”
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McDonald’s is opening a spinoff restaurant called CosMc (read: Cosmic).
I think the tagline should be:
“We come from the future to poison the people of today.”
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‘How Ikea mastered the Gruen effect’ (Vox)
Oh IKEA, they don’t know you like I know you.
“Researchers estimate that 50 percent of purchases are unplanned.”
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‘The 50 greatest innovations of 2023’ (Popular Science)
Truly fascinating.
I love this idea: ‘The Brimstone Process by Brimstone: A way to make carbon-negative cement’
Some of these are both impressive and very clearly useful/applicable in everyday situations.
20 oz. ShockStop Steel Rip Hammer - Milled Face
Tempo cooler by Oyster: A cooler cooler, no ice required (Uh, I’d wait for the price to come down on this one…)
Visible Plus by Visible Health: An app that helps long COVID patients manage their symptoms
Invisible Bandage by Violette_FR: Reinventing a first aid staple to fight acne
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Rolls Royce gone Nuclear (Interesting Engineering)
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‘Ranked: Top TV Advertising Spenders in 2023’ (Visual Capitalist)
Speaks volumes about audience.
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::: News of The Weird :::
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Do adults really need Happy Meals?
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::: Google Trending Searches This Past Week :::
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Searches for “Christmas tree syndrome” broke out in the past day, which is the phrase used when someone has an allergic reaction to a Christmas tree due to dust or pollen
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Burlington, VT and Provo, UT are the top trending cities searched with Spotify Wrapped over the past week in the U.S.
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Apparently, making gingerbread houses together is a top date idea right now
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Searches for “remote jobs” reached an all-time high in 2023 (specifically, “data entry remote jobs”)
Job seekers are also heavily interested in transcription, ecommerce (specifically as a website designer), cyber security, and UX design.
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People don’t seem to know what to do with their college degree. Big surprise.
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A nice to see spike in searches for “women’s shelter donation near me”
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A troubling increase in searches for “fast fashion” in the U.S.
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'Lots of things are getting cheaper, but you probably haven't noticed' (Business Insider)
"People aren't feeling deflation"
"Many Americans, particularly millennials and Gen Z, are investing more in experiences while cutting back on more tangible items. However, services are still becoming more and more expensive."
"Even among HENRYs — or high earners, not rich yet — who make between $100,000 and $500,000, inflation has made many become more cautious about how they're spending. Many are pushing back home and car purchases, as well as delaying starting a family. Additionally, many wealthier Americans have resorted to shopping at dollar stores."
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Maternity photography is trending upwards.
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People are in search of easy appetizers to make for holiday parties.
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People are interested in buying a particular issue of TIME magazine, which should come as no surprise. You can guess.
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