Burning alive

+ This is the Devil’s Bible

September 20, 2024

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OVERWORLD:
-Burberry is burning alive — can it survive?-

ONE BETWEEN:
-Nintendo sued Pocketpair, but possibly not due to the designs-

THE DEPTHS:
-This is the Devil’s Bible (Codex Gigas)-

. “Let go a little and just let life happen.”
– Sean “Diddy” Combs

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✦DISCOVERY PICKS✦

Faltering

Burberry is burning alive — can it survive?

Burberry is borderline dead.

Just this year, it had three profit warnings and a CEO switch, and it was ejected from the FTSE 100 index.

Right now, shares are at a 15-year low, with its market capitalization falling from £10 billion to around £2 billion. That’s really, really bad.

Now the new CEO, Josh Schulman, has to figure this shit out.

Ralph method: Schulman is expected to reveal his long-term strategy in November, but early signs suggest a model reminiscent of Ralph Lauren: a blend of high fashion with more accessible items. However, balancing premium outerwear with affordable products poses risks, potentially confusing customers.

Early hints: At last week’s London Fashion Week suggested a return to Burberry’s roots in outerwear, particularly its classic trench coat, a signature item in luxury fashion. This inches away from the high-end leather goods focus that previous CEO John Akeroyd had pursued.

Good timing: The fashion cycle is in Burberry’s favor with the reunion Oasis reunion tour. Old photos of the band rockomg Burberry in the ‘90s are doing the rounds again, and might make a return in the cultural zeitgeist. The reunion is also spurring the rise of the #Britishcore TikTok trend.

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✦QUICK HITS✦

✦Business & Tech✦

Good, probably: The UN proposes a global AI governance body to address risks, promote cooperation, and ensure equitable benefits. Despite US-China tensions, nations agree on collaboration, with human rights as a focus.

Bad, probably: TikTok is increasingly a news source for Americans, especially young adults. About 17% of US adults now get news from the app, with 39% of 18-29-year-olds using it regularly. Concerns over TikTok's Chinese ownership persist, as US lawmakers push for a ban.

Tucker Carlson is launching a nicotine pouch brand, Alp, after falling out with Zyn's manufacturer, Philip Morris. Carlson criticized Zyn for appealing to liberals and women. Alp will target conservative men. Haha.

✦Fashion & Culture✦

One thousand bottles of… : Diddy was indicted on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and prostitution. Allegations include "Freak Off" events involving coercion, drugs, and sex workers. Authorities seized narcotics, AR-15s, and 1,000 bottles of baby oil.

Yikes: Luxury brands like Armani and Dior are accused of using sweatshop labor in Italy. Despite claims of ethical controls, investigators found systemic exploitation. Growing scrutiny threatens their reputations amid slow industry reform.

✦Hmm… Interesting✦

Aliens and the Enlightenment: In the 18th century the existence of extraterrestrial life went from debatable hypothesis to fundamental tenet of Enlightenment thought.

Video: Have you ever seen soldering THIS close?

ONE

BETWEEN

Fight

Nintendo sued Pocketpair, but possibly not due to the designs

Did you know that Nintendo has never ever lost a lawsuit it started itself?

That’s why whatever happens with this new lawsuit against Pocketpair, maker of the smash hit Palword, is almost a guaranteed nail in the coffin.

But, they’re possibly not getting after them for similar designs:

Even the blind could see: On release, the similarities between the games Pals versus Nintendo’s Pokémon looked like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Reckoning: This week, it happened. Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced a lawsuit against Pocketpair, the developer of Palworld, The suit, filed in Japan, accuses Pocketpair of patent infringement — without clarifying which patents.

But: It might be the designs, but it might also not be. Remember, this is a Japanese lawsuit; different rules. An example of these rules at play, is demonstrated in a previous case of Nintendo suing mobile gaming company Colopl based on six patents.

Evil: Colopol’s mobile game White Cat Project did not copy any designs that Nintendo had made. Rather, Nintendo has a patent on a confirmation screen after sleep mode — the simplest thing ever.

Evil, evil: In that instance, Nintendo won a $20 million settlement for infringing on technical patents, plus initiated licensing fees.

Nintendo has many, many patents like this that it seemingly only cares about when a company gets big enough to profit off.

White Cat Project was one of Japan’s biggest mobile gaming hits, and Palworld has probably made hundreds of millions of dollars with a small, small team — and Nintendo likely sees their success as a threat. Rather than shutting it down, Nintendo may aim to impose licensing fees, as it did with Colopl.

Nintendo wouldn’t sue if they didn’t know they’d win. And the timing couldn’t be more nefarious — this is a real spoke in the wheel as Palworld looks to expand; including a potential PlayStation 5 release and an anime.

THE DEPTHS

Cool

This is the Devil’s Bible (Codex Gigas)

Here's a quick lesson in Latin for you:

Codex means book, gigas means giant — and Codex Gigas, of course, means giant book. Which is the perfect name for this 1-meter-tall, 620-page tome. Because it is very much a big book.

✦What even is that?✦

Codex Gigas is the world's largest medieval manuscript and the fact that it even exists is insane. Remember, no printing press - this was all done by hand.

✦Content creator of the century✦

It's actually believed to be the work of a single monk in 13th-century Bohemia (now Czechia). He hand-lettered each page in a labor that spanned somewhere between 20 to 30 years.

The big book encompasses a wide range of texts including the Old and New Testaments, exorcism rituals, grammar guidelines, a calendar, and medical treatises.

(Below is an image of “The Heavenly City.” Basically, heaven as the monk imagined it.)

The sickest part: This thing is known as "The Devil’s Bible"... because it has a huge full-page drawn picture of the red fucker himself. This unusual inclusion has fueled endless speculation and fascination as to why the monk went to such lengths to paint the Devil.

Originally housed in a Benedictine monastery, the Codex was taken to Stockholm in the late 16th century as war loot. Today, it is carefully preserved in the National Library of Sweden, shielded from light to prevent damage.

Those unable to view the manuscript in person can explore a digitized version online. Here's a link.