I've Looked at Blue Clouds from Both Sides Now |
As we all know, Blue Clouds is a delicate, soft blue cheese reminiscent of Gorgonzola, made in tiny batches at the Balcombe Estate in Sussex. The farm's dairy is right next to the very room where its herd of Holstein–Norwegian Red cows is milked each day, and the cheese won a Cheddar-colored gold medal at the Artisan Cheese Awards in 2022. Cheese-pun explanation time: It's also reminiscent of a line in a song, Both Sides Now, by Joni Mitchell, which she recorded first in 1969 and again in 2000, with the benefit of 30 years of heavy smoking and what sounds like even heavier regret. The second version is far better than the first. I hear it's also a great repeat-listen if you're getting a divorce. It's also a powerful metaphor for looking at the stock market. One can look at clouds, or the recent market run-up, as rows and floes of angel hair, and ice cream castles in the air. Or one could see them as an illusion. I've looked at the stock market from both sides, now, and something's lost, and something's gained, in living every day. But like Joni, I'm afraid I still really don't know it at all. Not to worry. The mystery is what makes life interesting. Today's cheddlines: It's life's illusions I recall! —Matt Davis, N2K Chedditor |
|
|
"Cupcakes are part of the American experience." — Bobbie Lloyd |
|
|
1. The Stock Market Jitters On |
The stock market's recent gains will be tested this week with a host of major companies due to report their quarterly earnings, and the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures index, due on Friday. Markets diverged a bit yesterday with the Dow Industrials up, and the S&P 500 slipping ever so slightly.
Chipmaker Nvidia is due to report its quarterly earnings on Wednesday, and other blue chips including Salesforce, Best Buy, Dell, and Lululemon are also due to report their results this week. Wednesday, though, is likely to see a big tick up or a big tick down depending on what Nvidia reports, since its chip sales are a great proxy for the AI boom bubble boom.
Further adding to market complexities are rising tensions in the Middle East. Oil prices rose 3% to $77 a barrel in a sign that markets think things are scary enough that they could impact supplies. Still, I'm sure it's FINE. Watch Now |
|
|
2. NASA to Astronauts: See You in February (We Hope)! |
You know how astronauts go through personality tests to ensure they could survive a long time in space without killing each other? This, it turns out, is why. Because astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "I Don't Have a Nickname and That's Totally Okay" Williams are about to get six more months of each other's company at the International Space Station, thanks to Boeing's faulty Starliner capsule. I hope they packed playing cards!
SpaceX will return the pair safely (we hope) to earth next year after NASA lost confidence in Boeing to do the job. Its Starliner capsule experienced multiple thruster malfunctions and helium leaks during a test flight to the ISS. Oops.
The Starliner is planned to return uncrewed in early September, while the continuation of the astronauts' stay — originally scheduled for only eight days — will now be around eight months. (It's a Hanukkah miracle!) The safety of the crew is NASA's primary concern, influenced by past tragedies such as the Challenger and Columbia disasters.
Boeing, facing other setbacks including issues with its 737 Max, has incurred significant cost overruns with Starliner and its future in NASA's operational missions is uncertain. Meanwhile, SpaceX will adjust its upcoming crewed flight to the space station, which will now include Williams and Wilmore on its return in February 2025. NASA has yet to decide which crew members SpaceX will replace to accommodate them.
Let's hope Sunita has a bad-ass nickname by then. Watch Now |
|
|
| Who needs roads when you've got a drone like this? The XERALL ATD drone is a versatile drone that is designed to navigate snowy landscapes, water bodies, and rugged terrains. With an impressive 8-hour journey capability and a flight time of 40 minutes, it combines travel across earth, water, snow, and air. |
|
|
3. 'Inside Out 2' Hits $1 Billion Overseas in Record Time |
Inside Out 2, the latest animated sequel from Disney-Pixar, has made box office history by becoming the fastest animated feature ever to surpass the $1 billion mark outside the United States, doing so just 19 days after its mid-June release.
Directed by Kelsey Mann, the film not only set a new animation record but also is the first movie of 2024 to reach the milestone. It outpaced the previous record-holder, "Frozen II," which reached $1 billion in 25 days.
The sequel's success was driven by its beloved characters: Joy, Sadness, Anxiety and my personal favorite, Embarrassment. Kidding. I'm immune. Disney and Pixar have now made eight of the 11 billion-dollar animated films.
Looking ahead, the film's performance may be bested with the release of Despicable Me 4, expected to draw significant attention. Also, Toy Story 28 is probably due any day now. Although I guarantee it won't include a character called Shame. 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. |
Note: Sadly does not contain any cheese. |
|
|
4. What's the Recipe for Success? It Involves Cupcakes, Says Magnolia Bakery's CEO |
It's only been two weeks since we last mentioned Magnolia Bakery's banana pudding here at Cheddquarters. Now we've got an interview with CEO and Chief Baking Officer Bobbie Lloyd.
"The first thing that I learned about Magnolia Bakery is that the brand name, the name Magnolia Bakery, had an enormously broad reach, even though there was just one tiny little store," Bobbie said. "It was known globally partly because of Sex and the City. And so we said, 'There's this brand recognition, people love it.' It's also about quality. So we said, we can take this brand, and we can grow, stay true to our DNA, make sure that we use really good quality ingredients and that we bake from scratch all day, every day."
Carrie Bradshaw eating the shop's cupcakes on the show sent it worldwide, Bobbie said.
"I remember we opened in Dubai in 2010, and it was the first international location inside a Bloomingdales store. They dropped this giant curtain at Bloomingdale's with an enormous grand opening. And the women outside the door screamed, 'Oh my God, it's Magnolia Bakery!' So, that's the brand."
"I grew up with cupcakes," Bobbie said. "So did my mom. Cupcakes are part of the American experience. I had them at my birthday party. I had them at my wedding. But the media kind of jumped on the fact that Magnolia Bakery was so popular. And then a lot of people opened cupcake shops. You saw this big spike in cupcake shops opening because entry is very easy. And then the ones who weren't businesspeople closed, and it didn't quite work out."
The firm has expanded its offering to add a range of icebox bars and cookies. It's opened more stores in New York City, and around the world. "We now have banana pudding cookies in almost 2,000 grocery stores nationwide," she said.
Magnolia is increasingly doing what the kids call "collabs."
"We have an incredible team in our office that works on collaborations," Bobbie said. "Sometimes they're incoming, where someone's reaching us to say, 'hey, we would like to do a product with you.' And it's also our team doing outreach. Something has to resonate with us so that it seems like a great partnership."
Speaking of which, cupcakes plus my mouth is a great partnership. #Collab Watch Now |
|
|
5. Telegram Founder Detained—WhatsApp With That? |
The only person I know who's asked me to download Telegram to message with them might work for the international intelligence services. I'll keep further details close to my chest, because with such people one tends not to broadcast such things if one values the relationship. Still, that's Telegram, in a nutshell, for me.
The arrest of the founder of the company, Pavel Durov, over the weekend, comes as no surprise. Nor does the fact that his platform has allegedly been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses including distribution of very dodgy and illegal imagery. Durov faces accusations that he's refused to cooperate with law enforcement over all this, having trumpeted "user privacy" and "freedom of expression" as his core values. There's an added geopolitical element to all this in that as a Russian entrepreneur—albeit one in exile—he's pointedly exposing fissures in Western democratic values. With free expression comes risk, as I'm sure Vladimir Putin would tell you before recommending you keep your mouth shut.
In France's first public comment on the arrest, President Emmanuel Macron said it wasn't a political move but part of an independent investigation. His country "is deeply committed" to freedom of expression, he wrote, but "freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights."
Durov, aged 39, was detained near Paris at Le Bourget Airport after arriving from Azerbaijan. Although he hasn't been charged yet, he remains in custody with the potential for the duration of this custody to extend through Wednesday. The investigations started on July 8 and are currently being conducted by cybercrime and anti-fraud specialists.
Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, has said that Durov was brought in for questioning as part of these proceedings. It is still unclear whether any of the potential charges will be officially brought against him. French judicial processes allow special magistrates to launch formal investigations and charge defendants if evidence is strong enough. However, these magistrates can also drop charges if they are not compelling enough to go to trial. Cases like these can span several years. Meantime, probably best for us to resort to coded conversation about "the pigeon being in the pot" and doing in-person brush-past exchanges if we've got any spy stuff to share. Moscow rules! Read More |
|
|
| So, What Do You Think of Cheddar?
|
We want to hear from you! From shows to site to this very newsletter, we'd love some feedback. |
|
|
|
