Lockdown Diaries: Pivoting From Fearful To Hopeful

This past weekend felt as though we had been given the green light to move forward with our lives. For the first time in a long while, I saw people out with friends enjoying themselves and spending money where they could.

I’m even pivoting…

This will be the last of the Lockdown Diaries. Come June (next week!), I’m turning my attention to post-lockdown with a little Hindsight 2020 thrown in for good measure.

Until then, Scroll down for this week’s Top 10 highlights.
1. We’re all getting a bit more SOCIAL!
People are slowly starting to see their Friends again
  • I met up with friends on Sunday – at a safe social distance – for an ice cream social at Morgenstern’s followed by a walk around Washington Square Park. So great to discover that life is indeed proceeding – and especially great to see friends in person.
  • On Monday, I had a wonderful lunch (that extended into dinner) with two of my best friends. We dined al fresco on their terrace at their new apartment. A glorious, sunny day made even more fabulous with negronis from Sofia’s of Mulberry (the to-go cocktail trend is major), followed by wine, cheese, a delicious tortilla española, more wine, and then pizza! It resulted in a mighty hangover but absolutely worth it!
2. I WATCHED MY FIRST EVER JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE – 2hr 41 mins!
WATCH HERE: http://podcasts.joerogan.net/podcasts/adam-eget
WOW!!! Where have I been?

Of course, I had heard of Joe Rogan but I had never watched or listened to his podcast.

I have to thank Bari Weiss, an opinion writer at the NY Times for this fantastic article which finally got me to pull the trigger and dedicate almost 3 hours to experiencing the Joe Rogan Experience. Absolutely worthwhile. You can also opt for audio only but I prefer the video format.

Over the course of three hours, I took copious notes. It was like a masterclass on the culture. Here’s just a smattering of what he covered:

  • new books, e.g. Chaos by Tom O’Neill
  • “dangerous” comedians, e.g., Tom Dillon, Brian Holtzman
  • artists with a mission, e.g., Alex Grey who has built an art temple in Upstate NY (I had never heard of him)
  • how crucial it is to stay healthy including ways to boost your immune system, Rogan is a big Vitamin D advocate

Rogan’s podcasts are freewheeling, fascinating conversations with guests who are also often his friends. In this case, his guest was Adam Eget, the talent coordinator at LA’s Comedy Store. Topics, besides those listed above, included coronavirus and LA’s shutdown, Kubrick’s movie The Shining, the “suiciding” of Jeffrey Epstein, various cults, weed, and CBD, and why Los Angelenos might want to consider moving to Austin, Texas.

I LOVE this guy and I totally understand why he has such a massive following: 6 million on twitter including Preet Bharara, Casey Neistat, and Jack Dorsey. Guests on his podcast have included Bernie Sanders, Andrew Yang, Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Dr. Cornel West, Malcolm Gladwell, Candace Owens, and Elon Musk.

Rogan just signed a $100 million deal with Spotify (which made Spotify shares pop 7%). His podcast has over 190 million downloads a month. In terms of unaided awareness, he ranks highest, double that of any other podcast.

3. FOLLOW Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports on Twitter

I’ve written about Dave Portnoy previously – he’s quite the opinionator! He’s also the founder of Barstool Sports, a blog that has now morphed into a top podcast publisher with over 30 podcasts and more monthly podcast listeners than ESPN. And many of his podcasts are by women.

  • There’s been a big beef brewing between Dave Portnoy and a senior VP at HBO who is dating one of the women on “Call Her Daddy,” the No. 1 podcast in the U.S., that also happens to be owned by Barstool Sports. Dave’s response to “Suitman” (the HBO exec) has been fierce and is worth an occasional listen.
  • But I am primarily a Portnoy fan because of his strong stance opposing on-going government shutdowns of private, small businesses (due to corona).
4. Drive-In Concerts Are becoming a Thing
I’ve been tracking this as it’s happening in Brad’s backyard in AZ.
  • Spafford, an Indie band out of Mesa, hosted their first “social-distant” concert last weekend. Tickets sold out in minutes.
  • Tickets are also moving fast for Road Rave Arizona, a drive-in EDM festival scheduled for this weekend (May 29/30), at Wild Horse Motorsports Park in Chandler. It’s co-promoted by Relentless Beats along with Live Nation and DJ superstar Carnage.

Has anyone been to one of these events? I’ve heard they’re also doing them for fashion shows and, of course, movies. It sounds fun (if you have a car).

5. Artist Collaborations

With galleries, museums, and art fairs closed for the foreseeable future, I’ve noticed a few big-name artists doing collaborations with brands especially luxury fashion and home goods.

KAWS is doing a limited edition teapot.

I was excited until I saw the price: $2900!

Daniel Arsham is doing a pendant necklace for Dior. $770! And it’s out-of-stock.
6. Madfit Workouts – HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
One of the best things about the lockdown (for me) has been my daily workout routine.

And I’m happy to report that I’ve graduated to 4 or more MADFIT classes a week.

  • Two months ago I could barely complete any of the beginner MADFIT workouts. Now, while it’s still challenging I have gotten much stronger and am able to do most of the core and ab exercises without too much difficulty.
  • What I like the most about MADFIT, besides the trainer, is the studio set-up – there’s no chitchat and it’s NOT filmed in a domestic setting.
7. How to look your best on Video Calls
So many of us are on video calls every day and I’ve noticed that some people always look fabulous.
  • I’ve finally realized it’s because they’re knowledgeable about lighting and flattering camera angles.
  • I knew I needed help when one of my friends told me all he could see was my neck.
  • This video (above) by Angie is very helpful. The two biggest tips: how to get the lighting right and how to best situate your camera (or laptop in my case). It has to be slightly higher than eye level. People often have their cameras on a table or desk below eye level which means that whoever they’re talking to has a great view of their nostrils.
  • Angie’s tips apply to both men or women.
And this is a great opportunity to thank this week’s FaceTime crew

You guys keep me happy, informed and mentally strong. Big virtual hugs to all of you! I owe each and every one of you a real Happy Hour when this is over.

8. DIY Fashion Shoots. Prediction: they will remain with us post-lockdown. (Source: MarketWatch)

What we did at Women [was to send] a very big presentation to all our clients, basically telling them where models are, pictures of their location, because we want to help them to organize home shoots.”

Anthony Bourgois, President Women Management

Anthony Bourgois had the brilliant idea to offer brands and retailers DIY shoots. As a result, 40% of his talent has been able to secure work from home. Of course, it has worked especially well for models who happen to be married to, or dating, photographers!

ASOS (below) is also successfully using its influencers to shoot from home as brands across the industry pivot to online sales.

ASOS Influencer Doing A Photo Shoot
9. Post-Lockdown Observations: Remote Work Versus Offices (Source: Business Insider)

Office workers will become the elite overclass. Remote workers will be outsiders, sometimes confused, excluded from the in-jokes and cliques that develop in any real-world group.

Business Insider

BI prediction: Facebook and other tech companies will extend remote work, and for a certain class of employee it will be a godsend. Folks who generally work alone, who are temperamentally introverted, and who aren’t ambitious will love it and will thrive. But everyone who wants to manage, to run things, to influence, to jockey, to make friends, to build a network — they will clamor to work in the office. Almost every single ambitious person in a company will be demanding a desk at HQ. Within a very short time, Silicon Valley will largely revert back to the status quo, with centralized, crowded hub campuses where all the action happens, and a smattering of happy introverts working remotely elsewhere.

hmmm … that’s pretty strong. what say you?

My Opinion: It’s become popular to bash “the office” in favor of working from home. I must say I agree with Henry Blodget and David Plotz, the Business Insider writers who made the above prediction. It strikes me as being much closer to the truth than any of the prognostications I’ve read about how everyone hates the office and will want to continue working from home.

10. Hindsight 2020 Topic #1: Has the lockdown been worth it?
43% Of U.S. Deaths Are From 0.6% Of The Population (Source: Forbes)
The #1 COVID problem: Nursing homes and assisted living facilities
  • 2.1 million Americans, representing 0.62% of the U.S. population, reside in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
  • In the 39 states that currently report such figures, an astounding 43% of all COVID-19 deaths have taken place in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
  • Many states’ nursing home fatalities as a share of total fatalities are even higher: 70% in Ohio, 69% in Pennsylvania, 81% in Minnesota.
FAULTY MODELING AT THE OUTSET (Source: Daily Mail UK)
  • The modeling that spooked the British government (and potentially the USA) into the lockdown – carried out by Professor Neil Ferguson – significantly over-estimated the death toll.
  • Additionally, scientists working in the same field report that they couldn’t verify Prof Ferguson’s work calling it ‘deeply riddled with bugs’, ‘quite possibly the worst production code ever seen’.
  • Professor Ferguson has been forced to resign for breaking his own lockdown (for a rendezvous with his married mistress!)
  • Lockdowns while effective (for a limited period of time) have also been described as ‘medieval.’ Many scientists believe epidemiologists even exaggerate their claims so that people are more likely to listen to them. 
Increased risk of MEASLES AND POLIO in children
  • A new study in 129 countries found that the interruption of inoculation efforts could put 80 million babies at risk of getting deadly, preventable diseases. (Source: NYT)
  • In NYC, during the last six-weeks, the number of vaccines to children dropped 63%, compared with the same period last year.
  • Public health experts are also worried that deaths from cholera, rotavirus and diphtheria could far outstrip those from Covid-19 itself.
TOO MUCH “DO AS WE SAY, NOT AS WE DO

The rule-makers (our overlords) are not abiding by their own rules even our mayor, Bill De Blasio who insists that we all stay locked in our homes, has his security detail drive him 11 miles to Brooklyn so he can walk in Prospect Park (when he lives in a park in NYC!).

But he’s not the only one:
Dominic Cummings liberated himself from lockdown but got caught
Clearly, the ruling elites are not living by their own rules

And that is turning some of us into lockdown skeptics.

And finally

A heads up that Zandl Slant is shortly getting a rebrand. New name: ZandlSlant.

It’s a name I’ve previously used for my trend newsletters. I’m happily reclaiming it.

And full credit for putting it back on my radar goes to my friends, Mary Clarke and Susan Konig. In a conversation with them recently they both mentioned (independently) that they had met me through ZandlSlant. The minute I heard the name, it resonated. I’ve asked a few friends and subscribers about it and it appears to be a welcome change.

It feels more “me” than Zandl Slant. Look for it to show up in July.

That’s it for today. Have a wonderful weekend. If you’re in NYC, look for me at Morgenstern’s. I’ll be there on Sunday, enjoying an ice cream social followed by a take-out cocktail from Dante’s!

Sending you all big virtual hugs and kisses.

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