Good Morning & Hello Friday!

• Most overheard convos these days? Young people proclaiming how much they miss lunch with co-workers. I even ran into several groups in Soho yesterday who were out, in the sweltering heat, getting their lunches (at CAVA and Sweetgreen) and bringing them back to the office for what appeared to be team lunches (#1 below).
• Also this week, two major Brooklyn discoveries – one at the Brooklyn Museum (#5), the other, a spectacular spot in Gowanus for drinks, food, and music (#6). Thank you, Joe Santos, for the introduction.
• Axios also gets another shout-out for reminding me of the importance of Smart Brevity, i.e., the preferred style of writing for today’s modern reader.
• And finally, USCIS still completely and inexcusably backlogged. Visa and green card processing now takes anywhere from 2-to-3 years. I find it absolutely galling that Biden and Buttigieg rail against the airlines for their hours-long delays but have nary a word of complaint about their own government agency’s utter incompetence. So, anyhoo, I guess I am now firmly locked into domestic travel and have booked another Austin trip to catch the September debut of Bruce Munro’s 16-acre Field of Light exhibition (#4, #10).

And with that, please scroll down for this week’s Top 10.

1. The vibe shift is real

• “Being invited to a zoom lunch doesn’t cut it anymore….” a young lad chatting up a girl behind me at an outdoor restaurant this week. The gist of the convo, his desire to get back to the office for networking/socializing IRL
• Power lunching in LA is booming with industry regulars noting how difficult it is to get last-minute reservations amid the bustling patio scene in Century City and Beverly Hills. (Source: The Hollywood Reporter)
• NYC hotel occupancy rates, at 83%, are currently the country’s third-strongest. The top two markets are Portland, Maine (85%), and San Diego (84%). (Source: CNBC)
• LinkedIn is buzzing with moving-on-up announcements (happy for everyone but I could do without the ever-present humble brag).
• And then there’s the vibe shift at Starbucks. They’re finally doing away with that ridiculously woke idea of open bathrooms to all that Howard Schultz had gotten behind a few years ago. I mean who in their right mind would not have anticipated major problems when you roll out the welcome mat and bathroom privileges to one and all including junkies and violent, mentally ill homeless people. The resulting vibe shift? Close multiple stores because workers and customers no longer feel safe. Is any reasonable person surprised by the outcome of this dumb idea? I’m not.

2. 2022’s Most & Least Educated Cities in America

• Major cities not ranked in the Top 10 include: Minneapolis (#19), NYC (#25), Atlanta (#26), Chicago (#31), Columbus OH (#46), Nashville (#48), Cincinnati (#56), Milwaukee (#59), Phoenix (#72), Dallas (#73), Miami (#79), Los Angeles (#89)
• Also noteworthy how many of the biggest Top 10 cities are a mess to live in. All that education doesn’t automatically lead to orderly, well-run, desirable cities.
• Source: WalletHub. Charts and videos here.

3. top cities for tech talent

1. For the 10th year, CBRE has examined 13 measures, including tech graduation rates and job concentration.
2. Markets that climbed the most in rankings are Dallas/Fort Worth, Philadelphia, South Florida, and Milwaukee.
3. Trending cities that I track for the blog include Phoenix (#16, up 18% over the past five years), Salt Lake City (#18, up 29%), and Pittsburgh (#26 up from #29 last year).

4. heading back to Austin for the art and the food!

• Traveling to Austin for the September 9th debut of British artist Bruce Munro’s Field of Light at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas. The installation illuminates 16 acres in the Arboretum with 28,000 stemmed spheres lit by solar-powered fiber optics.
• Also on my itinerary: newly opened Bamboo House (out of Houston) with its famous Peking duck, Diner Bar at the Thompson from Chef Mashama Bailey (who just took home the Outstanding Chef win at the James Beard Awards in Chicago), the new Rag & Bone (right next door to Soho House), and possibly that just completed 900 ft long mural in East Austin.
• I would also love to meet someone from Forklift DanceWorks! This totally unconventional dance company asks everyday civic workers to embody their jobs in an artful way, to music. Past projects have included “Trash Dance,” a performance and documentary about Austin sanitation workers (some of them driving Austin Resource Recovery vehicles in tandem), and “PowerUP” with Austin Energy employees on utility poles.
• And finally, I am just REALLY looking forward to dining and cocktailing with the new (and old) friends from my last trip in March!

5. Virgil Abloh “Figures of Speech” at Brooklyn Museum: Absolutely Genius!

• A must-see exhibit for all my design, retail, fashion, and trend friends.
• So many highlights but the Social Sculpture 2022 is the highlight for me.
• The show opened in Chicago before traveling to The Brooklyn Museum (until Jan 29, 2023). I’m sure this exhibit will travel further but have not located additional show dates.

6. Public Records in Gowanus: the Perfect Complement to Abloh’s Social Sculpture

1. Public Records is a 30-minute walk from the Brooklyn Museum. It is an absolute gem and perfectly bookends the sublime Virgil Abloh exhibition. From what I understand, Public Records also hosted an Abloh event for the museum in their Sound Room.
2. The Public Records compound is located in a rambling historic building, formerly the Brooklyn ASPCA.
3. They serve fabulous cocktails. Per my vegan friends, the food is also delicious. Not being a vegan, I was less impressed but I would come back for the vibe alone. A very unique experience that I highly recommend.

7. Remember where you first heard about Nate Bargatze?

1. FROM ME!! I wrote about Nate Bargatze a year ago. Even saw him live at the Beacon in NYC in June.
2. I’ll admit he’s a bit of an acquired taste (his “I’m so dumb” schtick gets old fast). Nevertheless, I love his podcast, his regular crew, and most especially his guests, e.g., John Crist (seeing him at City Winery next month), Mike Vecchione, Greg Warren (amazing!!!), and Shay Mooney.

8. Ever wonder about which birds are making which sounds?

1. WONDER NO MORE. Get the free MERLIN APP (developed by the Cornell Lab). It identifies birds by sound, or by photo, or by location and activity.
2. I use it every morning while having my coffee – windows wide open, my fire escape hosting birds galore – some local, some just passing through.
3. My most frequent avian visitors are house sparrows and mourning doves but this past week three rare birds stopped by to say hello: the Eastern Phoebe (above lower right), the red-eyed vireo (middle), and the Northern Cardinal (top).

9. Clear BackPack Mandates for Schools. It’s come to this?

• School districts all over Texas are requiring clear backpacks in the fall for middle and high school students.
• Also in Atlanta. The Clayton County schools will spend $1.1 million to supply the district’s 51,000 students with clear backpacks for the new academic year beginning Aug. 3.
• And in Kentucky, the Knox County school district outlawed all school bags, mainly “out of an abundance of school safety concerns”.
• Is this the best idea we’ve got?

10. [WATCH]: Video – Upcoming Travel & new Restaurant Reco

And that’s a wrap for this week my friends!!

Today (July 22) starts Leo season!! I’m ready to embrace it with open arms! Lots of celebrations planned for this month for my magnificent Leo crew!! And that’s it for today!! Wishing you all a great weekend filled with friends, fun, and definitely, AC!!!