Next Draft - Lock, Stock, and Peril
Decades ago, my friend Jeff O'Keefe created a great commercialpredicting the future of retail shopping. The ad shows a guy walking through the aisles of a market filling his jacket with various items. When he gets to the exit, a store security guard stops him and says, "Excuse me sir, you forgot your receipt." For years, the ad seemed quite prophetic as the tech to make "just walk out" purchasing became available—and we've even seen a version of it deployed in Amazon Go stores. What few of us predicted was that buying things from thousands of terrestrial stores would actually become harder as time passed. That's because so much merchandise is now behind lock and key. "The practice has since metastasized to so many kinds of products in so many more stores—big-box discounters, beauty retailers, chain pharmacies—that it’s become routine to discover entire aisles transformed into untouchable product galleries armored in plexiglass. The whole thing has a whiff of pawnshop, which might actually be unfair to pawnshops. They, at least, have someone ready and waiting to take things out of lockup. To understand how we got to this demoralizing retail reality, we have to go back to the Great Shoplifting Freak-Out of 2021." It's never been quite clear how bad the shoplifting crisis really got. It's more clear that the imprisoning of products on locked-down shelves is not working out. And as offline shopping becomes more of a pain, online shopping just gets easier and easier. Amanda Mull in Bloomberg (Gift Article): Retailers Locked Up Their Products—and Broke Shopping in America. Maybe my friend Jeff should put his old ad behind a paywall. At least irony is still grab and go. 2Give Truth to AlliesDuring a time when we see America’s finest athletes performing on the world stage, we also got to heartily celebrate the work of America’s finest diplomats whose tireless work around the globe just paid off big time. Yes, as with any deal, there were trade-offs. And Putin provided a troubling reminder that hostage-taking by rogue states can provide leverage. But the scenes at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland were just great; for those released, for their families, for the people who worked to get this deal done, and for the rest of us. NYT: A Triumphant Biden Welcomes 3 Freed Americans Home. 3Five Ring Circus"Three years after withdrawing from the team final of the Tokyo Olympics because of a mental block, a move that prompted critics to call her a loser, a quitter and un-American, Simone Biles on Thursday proved to the world — and to herself — that she was unstoppable." NYT (Gift Article): For Simone Biles, a Long Road Back Is Paved in Gold. Biles reinforced her GOAT status in the gym, and then won the internet. 'I love my black job': Simone Biles appears to take a jab at Trump after Olympic win. (I guess you'd call this a DEI Higher.)
4Weekend WhatsWhat to Movie: Out in theaters and now available on some streaming services, Touch "follows one man's emotional journey to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago, before his time runs out." It's a really nice movie and it has scenes in some of my favorites countries. 5Extra, ExtraCut Short: "The report will likely add to worries from some economists that the Federal Reserve has waited too long to cut interest rates in its bid to stamp out inflation." U.S. unemployment rate ticks up to 4.3% amid signs of broader economic slowdown. The market is not happy. Meanwhile, Intel is laying off over 15,000 employees and will stop ‘non-essential work.' 6Feel Good FridayFDA approves blood test to screen for colon cancer. Read my 📕, Please Scream Inside Your Heart, or grab a 👕 in the Store. |
Older messages
GTFO
Thursday, August 1, 2024
American Prisoners Heading Home ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The Outsiders
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Europe's Toxic Brew, Hamas Leader Killed ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Alienation Nation
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Fringe Benefits, Olympic Superman ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Getting Your Breach Body Back
Monday, July 29, 2024
Reforming SCOTUS, Venezuela's Counting Problem ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Put a Ring On It
Friday, July 26, 2024
Olympic Ring, Weekend Whats, Feel Good Friday ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
You Might Also Like
How I Sleep: The Narcoleptic Napping in Her Prius
Friday, September 20, 2024
Plus: Lots of On running shoes are on sale at the moment. The Strategist Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate
Welcome to The Flyover
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Thanks for joining The Flyover! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
What A Day: Red, white guys, and blue
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Trump and Harris are battling over a key demographic weeks before the election. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Opus Dei’s Mission to Convert D.C.
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Columns and commentary on news, politics, business, and technology from the Intelligencer team. Intelligencer politics How Opus Dei Conquered Washington, DC Gareth Gore's new book 'Opus'
The secret to lag-free Wi-Fi
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Our (all-new!) favorite routers View in browser The Recommendation We've tested more than 110 Wi-Fi routers. Here are the best ones. Our three picks for best Wi-Fi- Routers on an orange background.
🎰 Bet on yourself
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Fun stuff for you to click on curated with joy by CreativeMornings HQ September 19, 2024 Open in new tab Speech bubble logo with the words, CreativeMornings “You are so much more than one thing. Don
Friday Briefing: Israel bombards Hezbollah
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Plus, French drag is here to stay. View in browser|nytimes.com Ad Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition September 20, 2024 Author Headshot By Gaya Gupta Good morning. We're covering Israeli
How Amazon’s new office mandate will impact Seattle traffic | Smartsheet COO resigns
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Port of Seattle won't pay bitcoin ransom | Videos show remains of OceanGate Titan sub ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: Get your ticket for AWS re:Invent, happening Dec. 2–6 in Las Vegas.:
☕ Hot to go
Thursday, September 19, 2024
How Smokey Bear comes to life online. September 19, 2024 Marketing Brew PRESENTED BY Roku It's Thursday. Pizza Hut is letting people put their résumés on pizza boxes to send to potential employers.
☕ Weed the people
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Cannabis retail and the presidential election. September 19, 2024 Retail Brew Hey there, it's Thursday and a sad day after iconic container brand Tupperware filed for bankruptcy amid mounting