Studio Brief - Ed. 4
Our briefing on business, society, and creation.
Hi there,
I’ve been trying to reduce lately. From clothing to subscriptions to mindless social media scrolling, I want to eliminate unnecessary things in my life. Clean and crisp. It’s what brilliant artists, world class performers, and the most successful businesses do. A Michelangelo quote comes to mind:
“The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”
Instead of “more more more," I’m aiming to think “less is more.” The ancient Chinese philosophy Taoism has a similar theme known as the “uncarved block” (or “P’u” in Chinese - like the sound you make when you blow a pesky mosquito off your shoulder). P’u represents the unworked wood and natural state of humanity. The essence of the principle is that things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power; power that is easily spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed.
Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Let’s try it.
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Each brief is a collection of insightful articles, reflections, and news. Our goal is simple: peace of mind for your pursuit. And since success leaves clues, the ones I’ve found I'll pass along here.
Quick Hits
Canadian judge rules the thumbs-up emoji can bind a contract | USA Today (5 min read) As every first year law student learns, the essential elements of a contract are: (1) an offer, (2) an acceptance, and (3) consideration. Well, Judge T.J. Keene of the Court of King's Bench in Saskatchewan, ruled on June 8 that in certain circumstances the thumbs-up emoji, albeit a “non-traditional means to sign a document”, can serve as a valid way to agree to a contract.
Judge uses ChatGPT to make a court ruling | Vice (3 min read) The first recorded use of the breakthrough AI technology Chat GPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) to make a court decision was by Judge Manuel Padilla Garcia, who presides over the First Circuit Court in Cartagena, Colombia.
650,000 ways advertisers label you | The Markup (15 min read) If you spend any time online, you probably know the advertising industry is constantly collecting data about you and sorting you into specialized categories. In a rare look at just how deep—and weird—the rabbit hole of targeted advertising gets, The Markup analyzed a database of 650,000 of these audience segments, newly unearthed on the website of Microsoft’s ad platform Xandr. The trove of data indicates that advertisers could target people based on sensitive information like being “heavy purchasers” of pregnancy test kits, having an interest in brain tumors, being prone to depression, visiting places of worship, or feeling “easily deflated” or that they “get a raw deal out of life.”
Lawyers can slide into DMs to serve you | Law360 (10 min read) While a Florida federal judge recently blocked efforts to serve Shaquille O’Neal through social media accounts, this is an exception to the increasingly approved practice of tracking down elusive targets for service by alternative means.
New York’s proposed noncompete bill the broadest ban yet | Forbes (4 min read) Following the buzz of the FTC’s proposal earlier this year to ban noncompetes at the national level, New York state legislators fast-tracked a bill to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk last week that aims to ban noncompete agreements, putting the state in line not only to prohibit the contentious contracts, but be the state with the broadest ban yet and the spark to fuel momentum for passing similar bills in other states.
Upcoming Calendar
July 11-12: Amazon Prime days. Amazon's annual sale event exclusively for Prime members featuring special savings on thousands of items across all product categories.
August: Back to school sales ramp up.
September 15: Estimated taxes due for Q3 of 2023. *Note: CA residents subject to the October 16th disaster area extension can forgo payment until then.
October 16: As announced by Governor Newsom, California individuals and businesses impacted by 2022-23 winter storms qualify for an extension to file and pay taxes until October 16, 2023. This includes: Individuals whose tax returns and payments are due on April 18, 2023, quarterly estimated tax payments, business entities whose tax returns and payments are normally due on March 15 and April 18, pass-through entity (PTE) elective tax payments due on March 15, 2023 and June 15, 2023.
Client News
New Brew, the flagship product of the Los Angeles based company The Plant Program, combines the plant medicines of Kava and Kratom to create an effective alternative to alcohol and other common vices. Within a few months of launch the product is nearly in 200 Southern California stores. Be on the lookout and find some near you here.
Oceanic Global recently spearheaded UN World Ocean’s Day with the UN and DOALOS (Division for Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea). Diplomats, activists, and global business leaders were all present for the event at the United Nations in New York. You can rewatch the livestream here. The theme this year was “Tides are changing” and, as I was lucky enough to attend, it was clear to everyone that positive change truly is coming for our oceans and climate.
Lovell Holder, a prolific Los Angeles based writer, director and producer, has had his films screened at more than 75 film festivals, including SXSW, BFI Flare, and Outfest. His most recent film, Midday Black Midnight Blue, is now available in the United States and Canada
BookCase
Essentialism by Greg McKeown is about saving energy for the things that really matter. Since we are constantly bombarded by distractions these days, we need to respect our own time and see it as a non-renewable resource. McKeown says, “The faster and busier things get, the more we need to build thinking time into our schedule. And the noisier things get, the more we need to build quiet reflection spaces in which we can truly focus.”
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