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OVERWORLD:
-Apple’s green bubbles are destroying society-
Mini-Stories:
-Stats: MF DOOM’s popularity is exploding-
-”Gross” office wear goes viral in China-

THE DEPTHS:
-This is history’s greatest photographer-

“There are five ascending levels of intellect: smart, intelligent, brilliant, genius, and simple. Simplicity is simply the highest level of intellect.”
— Albert Einstein

✦Trend Picks✦

Tech

Apple’s green bubbles are destroying society, according to the DOJ

There are two types of people in the world:

The ones who gather around for Mike Tyson vs. Logan Paul. And the ones who gather around for the US Department of Justice vs. Apple.

In case you missed it, last week the DOJ (+ 16 states) uppercutted Apple's soft San Francisco face with a fat stack of 88 pages.

Yes. They're getting sued, big time.

✦What it's about, very quickly✦

It's pretty hardcore because it's about everything that financially makes Apple Apple: from the brutal 30% cut from any money developers generate off the App Store, and Apple CarPlay, to the Apple Wallet’s monopoly on wallet software.

This closed ecosystem has been Apple's signature cash cow. But it has also closed out any incentives for developers to create better solutions - which the DOJ says is unhealthy for market competitiveness and illegal.

If you’re into this type of legal kerfuffle, read the entire doc here.

✦Racism, but make it tech✦

The most interesting point: the DOJ says that Apple’s exclusivity causes social discrimination. The greatest symbol of this… the infamous Green vs. Blue bubble battle.

For a decade or so, Android users have faced scorn from the iPhone community. It's almost to the point where they're considered a lower life form. They’re peasants, ostracized from the upper society of Tim Cook cocksuckers (Cooksuckers, if you will).

Basically, Apple has used its multi-billion dollar empire to synthesize a social stigma. The most intensified example of this is with teenagers, where an iPhone is a status symbol - even if an Android has superior tech. It's almost a luxury brand tactic akin to Hermés or Rolex, market dominance á la social dynamics. The only difference is that phones are commodities, not luxuries.

It's going to be a long one: This case is going to be years long. But it might just change everything about digital communication and software development. As always, time will tell.

✦Mini Stories✦

-Stats: MF DOOM’s popularity is exploding-
-”Gross” office wear goes viral in China-

💥 Stats: MF DOOM’s popularity is exploding
Last Saturday was exactly 20 years since MF DOOM, the “Don’t touch the mic like it’s AIDS on it”-rapper, released Madvillian with Madlib.

And as other 20-year-old rap albums have faded into obscurity, Madvillian gets more popular every year - exponentially so.

Actually, the album boasts an average annual increase of 73% in streams since Spotify's first operational year in 2009.

✦Some numbers✦

If this were the stock market, and streams were dollars - a €1000 investment in 2009 would be €2.15M in 2024, and Madvillian would be the greatest stock of all time.

✦Oh boy, even more numbers✦

While streams increased 250% since his tragic death, interest was rising year-over-year regardless.

What's crazy is that Madvillainy has outpaced Spotify's overall user growth. The album's streams grew by 26.8% from 2022 to 2023, against Spotify's 23% user increase.

Total streams on Spotify for "Madvillainy" since 2009 exceed 803 million, with tracks featured in over 8.2 million playlists.

Safe to say that MF DOOM has achieved folk hero status. Rest in peace.

🤮”Gross” office wear goes viral in China - workers pull up looking disgusting
Oh, you're looking for some disgustingly tacky fashion trend to hop on? As always, China's got you covered.

Lately, Chinese workers have been trying to embody one word: gross. Yes, gross as in disgusting/nasty, not revenue.

Last week, a trend of intentionally ugly work outfits blew up on Douyin (China's TikTok). User "Kendou S-" had showcased her (honestly terrible) outfit, which her supervisor called "gross." This outfit, he said, was damaging the company's image.

Just like that, 735,000 likes and 1.4 million shares. And of course, other people started dressing gross and posting it. Trend ignited.

It's about something bigger: On Weibo (China’s X), a discussion about young people’s unwillingness to dress up for work went equally viral. Some Chinese users saw it as a statement on post-pandemic self-expression and work-life balance.

After three years of China’s stringent Covid restrictions, Chinese employees don’t mind going to the office — but many want to do so on their terms and in their comfy clothes.

✦Quick hits✦

GTA VI's release may be delayed to 2026. The reason: production slowdowns. This is despite Rockstar Games mandating a return-to-office policy to maintain schedule.

Hermès is getting sued by two Californians. They say it’s too exclusive. According to them, the sales practices for the coveted Birkin bag unlawfully require customers to purchase other items.

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and destroyer of crypto exchange FTX, will be sentenced in Manhattan this Thursday. Sentencing guidelines recommend a 100-year sentence, though prosecutors have called for 40-50 years. SBF and his lawyers, however, call for 6.5 years, lol.

The Rabbit R1, the oh-so-hyped Teenage Engineering-designed AI assistant, will begin shipping on Easter Sunday, March 31st. Get it? Rabbit? Easter?

Intermittent fasting may significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular death by 91% compared to wider eating windows.

Banksy's "Happy Choppers," depicting helicopters with cute pink bows, failed to sell at a Newcastle auction. It missed its £500,000-£800,000 estimate. Meanwhile, other Banksy works sold for a total of £130,000, including a £29,900 birthday card.

Kevin O'Leary is leading a bid of $20-30 billion for TikTok, a significant reduction from its $220 billion valuation in 2023. Basically, he wants to buy the biggest entertainment and business network in history… for a 90% discount. The nerve.

Read: Nvidia Wants to Replace Nurses With AI for $9 an Hour

THE DEPTHS

Photography

This is history’s greatest photographer

If Yousuf Karsh took a picture of you, you didn’t simply "get your photo taken." Rather, people referred to it as being “Karshed.” It was its own thing.

And for a good reason, Karsh’s ability to bring out the deepest character of an individual was unmatched. Which is why he became the greatest portraitist of all time.

You’ve 100% seen his work. From the 30s til the 80s, he "Karshed" MLK, Hemingway, Queen Elizabeth II, Muhammad Ali, Audrey Hepburn, Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro, and many more.

Karsh's story is pretty crazy. He arrived in Canada on New Year’s Eve in 1925 at the age of seventeen. He, along with his family had fled from Turkey, where the Armenian genocide had murdered several family members.

Long story short: Influenced by his photographer uncle', Karsh fell in love with capturing images. Soon, he moved to Boston to apprentice with John H. Garo, a legendary portrait photographer. Garo, a genius himself, taught him everything about the artistry and depth of photo.

(Below is a picture of Karsh himself.)

Karsh's own professional career began in the early 1930s. But one photograph changed everything: the 1941 Churchill photo. Catching the British Prime Minister's defiant and resilient spirit in the heat of WW2 was nothing short of epic. And that photo was the beginning of Karsh’s new life as a world-famous master portraitist.

✦Analysis of Style✦

Karsh's compositions are deliberate and thoughtful. with every element in the frame serving a purpose. Positioning was everything. The backgrounds, simple and uncluttered, kept the focus on the individual.

Most importantly, Karsh displayed what he calls his "hero worship." It's not just a picture of a face, it's a monument.

His framing and use of space emphasize the dignity and stature of his subjects - these humans were statues, their faces told stories of awe.

The drama of his lighting was a product of a technique known as chiaroscuro - contrasting light and shadow for a deep, cavernous three-dimensional effect. It gives the beholder an opportunity you read the physical features, emotional depth, and character of a person.

Good job, Yousuf.