Welcome to the Monday Memo — your pop culture snapshot from Manifesto.
Hey friends, Mondays can be tough. Here are 7 things to make February 27th, 2023, a bit better.
1. Artist of the Week: Rachel Burnstein (Bad Glass)
Rachel Burnstein, owner of Bad Glass Shop, is a Los Angeles based stained glass artist and designer. She received her BFA from California College of Art and has studied at SAIC, Oxbow, & Penland School of Craft. Rachel’s work explores surrealism, psychedelia, nature, and reflection through the mediums of glass and object design. Each piece is thoughtfully crafted by hand in her studio.
2. What we're listening to: Rolling Up the Welcome Mat by Kelsea Ballerini
At the Memo, there is nothing we love more than when a songwriter takes their heartbreak and turns it into a career-defining masterpiece. Such is the case with Kelsea Ballerini and her new EP, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. Our favorites are "Just Married" and "Blindsided." And, just like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé before her, the release is accompanied by a short film.
3. What we're watching: Not Dead Yet - Hulu Not Dead Yet follows Nell Serrano, broke, newly single and feeling old, who is working to restart the life and career she left behind 10 years ago. When she begrudgingly accepts a position in obituaries, she begins receiving spectral visits from the subjects of her work. Stacked with a cast of sitcom greats, we love this fresh new concept.
4. Trend & Advertising Highlight: This London Fashion Week campaign takes the BS out of IBS They say beauty is pain, and no where is this sentiment more true than in the world of high fashion. That's why the clever people at MRM Spain released a campaign called "Fashion Cramps" just in time for London Fashion Week. At first, the images seen to fit in with any high-gloss spread, displaying beautiful models contorting their bodies and dressed in the latest designer sets. But when you look a little closer at the model's distressed faces and the accompanying copy, you realize this campaign is around IBS awareness. Fashion Cramps concludes with a reminder that 10 mg Buscopan tablets can relieve these stomach pains. In a press release promoting the campaign, Sanofi said it hopes that this will bring Buscopan “into popular culture.” We love seeing healthcare marketing that is so bold and disruptive! We have never seen cramps look so couture.
5. Cognitive Bias of the Week: The Restraint Bias The restraint bias refers to our tendency to overestimate the level of control we have over our impulsive behaviors. These urges typically come from “visceral impulses” such as hunger, drug cravings, fatigue, or sexual arousal. For example, let's discuss "Dry January." At the start of the new year, and after overindulgence during the holidays, many people abstain from drinking alcohol the entire month of January. At the start, most people will think it will be easy as pie. But for those of us who depend on a glass of wine to relax or a beer out with friends on the weekend, it can be an unexpected challenge and temptation. This is the restrain bias at work! While everyone's relationship with alcohol is different, the main takeaway here is that we often overestimate how much restraint we can practice in everyday life. To make it short, future you and current you have very different perceptions of difficulty. Just try your best to be realistic, and give yourself some grace.
Bob Newby set out to keep himself busy in retirement by restoring a patch of bushland.(ABC Capricornia: Michelle Gately)
6. Good News of the Week:
Community Land Trusts Are Building Disaster-resilient Neighborhoods (GGG)
Suburban bushland restored with 150 types of native trees by retired entomologist over 10 years (AUS News)
A community college’s guaranteed income program is supporting students who are also parents (GGG)
French Football Star Scores First Goal Since Beating Cancer – And it was World Cancer Day! (GNN)
7. Bonus: But it's actually Bad (Cinderella) Andrew Lloyd Weber, the genius composer behind Broadway smash-hits like Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar and more, has finally made...something bad? Bad Cinderella remixes the famous fairytale and since its previews have started on Broadway, let's just say the internet has had some THOUGHTS. It it bad in a camp way? Or is it just straight up bad? Either way, we love the cheeky marketing around the show.
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