Aug 16, 2024

Down With This Sardo Thing

Sardo, as we all know, is a young firm cow's milk cheese from Argentina that is often used for grating. It has a mild flavor with a slightly salty note, a bit like this newsletter. Although it's also versatile for cooking, and I don't recommend you sprinkle any burritos with your daily dose of Need2Know. However grating you find Monty Python references or Joni Mitchell lyrics.

That said, Sardo is highly appropriate for today's cheese pun because we've had quite enough of this Sardo talk about a "looming recession," thank you very much!

It turns out, the Great American Consumer opened His/Her/Their wallet more than expected in July, a surprise that caused markets to shake off their recent nerves with the ruthless efficiency of the Spanish Inquisition.

Not to mention an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope,

—Matt Davis, N2K Chedditor

P.S. We've got a treadmill built for virtual reality gaming on our instagram.

Quote of the Day

"The notion that terms agreed to by a consumer when creating a Disney+ free trial account would forever bar that consumer's right to a jury trial in any dispute with any Disney affiliate or subsidiary, is so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience."—Brian Denney

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1. Markets Rise as U.S. Retail Sales Deliver a Welcome Surprise

As you may have heard somewhere recently, American consumers have surprisingly stepped forward with open wallets, showing impressive resilience in the face of rising prices and facing down fears about a faltering economy.

Yesterday's Commerce Department reports showed retail sales numbers jumped by 1%, a stark contrast to the slight decline in the month prior, even as prices rose by 2.9%. Heck yeah, America! Spend it while you got it—even if you don't got it!

The heartening news offered an antidote to Wall Street's recession fears. Increasing credit card reliance is funding the splurge, and delinquencies are creeping up. Still, as they say at Goldman Sachs, whatevs. Wall Street rejoiced at the figures, with the major indices all now flirting with their former peaks, which came before last week's jitters. Next up? Stay tuned. Read More

2. DOJ to Google: It's Not Me, It's You

The Justice Department, along with state attorneys general, is considering taking drastic measures, including the potential breakup of Google, to address its dominant position in online search, following a federal judge's ruling that the company has illegally maintained a monopoly.

Various remedies are being deliberated, such as splitting off parts of Google, including its Chrome browser or Android operating system, or forcing Google to share its valuable data with competitors.

The discussions come in the wake of last week's landmark antitrust ruling, which has intensified the scrutiny over the power held by tech giants. The outcome could have far-reaching implications, especially given that similar antitrust challenges face other major players like Apple, Amazon, and Meta.

Google, which has built a $2 trillion empire primarily on its search engine and online advertising, reported $175 billion in revenue last year from its search and related businesses. The firm is also due to go to trial in another antitrust case related to ad technology next month. Its stock is up 25% in the past year, suggesting investors are quaking in their boots over this recent development. Read More

From @cheddar

Hit your daily step goal while slaying dragons? 🐉👟

You can now virtually step into your favorite games with the Virtuix Omni One, a VR gaming system with a 360-degree walking treadmill and "support arm," paired with a VR headset.

The support arm connects to a vest and belt, allowing you to walk, run, crouch, and jump in virtual environments — without wrecking your living room.

Pre-orders are now available, starting at a mere $2,595.

Follow @cheddar on Instagram!

3. If You Wannabe My POTUS, You Gotta Get With My Veep: Debate Oct. 1!

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance have agreed to participate in a spicy vice-presidential debate on October 1. It'll be hosted by CBS News in New York City, moderated by Norah O'Donnell of "CBS Evening News" and Margaret Brennan of "Face the Nation."

Vance, who has criticized "childless cat ladies," is doubtless delighted that the two moderators will be women, both of whom have children and at least one of whom owns a dog. Vance has also questioned Walz's military service record. Meanwhile, Walz has alluded to baseless Internet memes suggesting Vance is romantically attracted to couches, and has also called him "weird." Assuming you find such things entertaining, which I do, this could be well worth a watch. Read More

You Need 2 Know About This Box!

Meet the Sunset Box, a quarterly subscription service sending home, wellness, and travel goodies straight to your doorstep, curated by editors at mag Sunset, the Western-lifestyle magazine that just so happens to be a sister company of ours.

Since you clearly have good taste (you're an N2K subscriber, after all), we think you'll love this box. Use code CHEDDAR15 for 15% off your subscription.

Gimme the Box!

Note: Sadly does not contain any cheese.

4. Disney Argues You Can't Sue Them If You Ever Tried Disney+

File this one under "negative press." Does signing up for Disney's popular streaming service mean you agree never to sue the entertainment giant over anything, ever?

I, too, have a Disney+ subscription, and it turns out, I probably should have read the small print. Because "signing up for a free trial of Disney+ means you can never sue us" is precisely what Disney is arguing in a wrongful death lawsuit involving a 42-year-old New York doctor whose family claims she had a fatal allergic reaction in October after eating at an Irish pub in Disney Springs—which as we all know is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando.

Disney is asking a Florida court to dismiss a lawsuit brought against it by Jeffrey Piccolo, the widower of Kanokporn Tangsuan, a family medicine specialist with NYU Langone's office in Carle Place, on Long Island.

The company argues Piccolo had agreed to settle any lawsuits against Disney out of court through the arbitration process when he signed up for a one-month trial of Disney+ in 2019 and acknowledged that he had reviewed the fine print.

But Piccolo's lawyer, in a response filed earlier this month, argued that it was "absurd" to believe that the more than 150 million subscribers to Disney+ have waived all rights to sue the company and its affiliates in perpetuity—even if their case has nothing to do with the popular streaming service.

"The notion that terms agreed to by a consumer when creating a Disney+ free trial account would forever bar that consumer's right to a jury trial in any dispute with any Disney affiliate or subsidiary, is so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience, and this court should not enforce such an agreement," Brian Denney, Piccolo's attorney, wrote in the Aug. 2 filing.

Disney said late Wednesday that it is "deeply saddened" by the family's loss but stressed the Irish pub is neither owned nor operated by the company. The company's stance in the litigation doesn't affect the plaintiff's claims against the eatery, it added.

"We are merely defending ourselves against the plaintiff's attorney's attempt to include us in their lawsuit against the restaurant," the company wrote in an emailed statement.

Merely. I think this is a case of Disney's communications department hearing what the lawyers have done, and then doing their level best to defend it in the court of public opinion. I can only imagine the time they must have spent drafting that response. Perhaps almost as long as CEO Bob Iger spent drafting the first chapter of his recent book, The Ride of a Lifetime, which details his efforts to respond to an alligator eating a child at the Seven Seas Lagoon back in 2016, just as the company was about to open a new branch of Disney World in China. The book is worth a read, if you're interested, although I can't believe how hard it must have been for the family to get a call from Mr. Iger, in China, having just learned about the news. Disney be complex, methinks.

Raglan Road, the Irish pub in Disney Springs where Tangsuan dined, didn't respond to an email seeking comment. Disney Springs is owned by Disney, which leases some of the spaces in the outdoor dining, shopping and entertainment complex to other companies. Meanwhile this whole paragraph makes me glad I paid attention in my media law classes back at journalism school. Because Disney got lawyers. Big'n's.

Disney+ also streams Bluey, which has more hours watched on the platform than the multi-billion-dollar Marvel or Star Wars franchises, combined. I can vouch for the authenticity of this based on the sample size of our household and the fact that we absolutely can't cancel our subscription, no matter how outrageous this all is, because our kid would go ballistic. Read More

5. Why Is Marky Mark Making a Documentary About the BlackBerry?

An evident thing about Marky "My Second Name Is the Same as My First Albeit Without the Last Letter" Mark is he doesn't mind repeating a good idea.

Marky "Actually Call Me Mark Wahlberg" ~~Mark~~ Wahlberg's production company—called, oddly, Unrealistic Ideas—is producing a documentary about the rise and fall of the BlackBerry. It'll delve into the story of the once-dominant device that originated from a small Canadian company called, oddly, RIM (it's short for Research in Motion!).

The project will feature interviews with former executives and includes a director known for expertise in character-driven storytelling.

Presumably the character-driven storytelling will be at least as good as that on offer in the comedy drama "BlackBerry," released by a Canadian production company (checks notes) last year. You can even watch it, if you dare, where it's now streaming on (checks notes again) Disney+. And we go round and round and round in the circle game. Read More