Stories we’ve saved to Pocket, Week #1
Stories that we’ve saved to Pocket to read this weekend with a decent cup of coffee. Apropos of which: We recommend Starbucks’ 2016 Holiday Blend, ground for French press. It’s fantastic — as it should be at EGP 160 per bag. That’s right: The cost of all Starbucks beans has doubled. On to the recommendations:
“Mr. Robot Killed the Hollywood Hacker” — in the MIT Technology Review, of all places — is actually one of the best pieces of criticism we’ve read in forever, tying Mr. Robot to War Games and the horrible legislation that arose from US lawmakers’ reactions to the threat of hacking in the 1980s — and throwing in some TV recommendations in the process. It’s good enough we saved it to read it again — and to watch the excerpts from 1983s’ War Games starring Matthew Broderick. “Shall we play a game?” “Love to. How about Global Thermonuclear War?”
We’re going to follow that last one with “Cyberwar for Sale,” which the New York Times plugs thusly: “After a maker of surveillance software was hacked, its leaked documents shed light on a shadowy global industry that has turned email theft into a terrifying — and lucrative — political weapon.”
One Man’s Quest to Change the Way We Die is one of the most-shared, most-clicked and most talked-about stories on the New York Times this week. It’s not a topic we enjoy, but we saved it to read after the first six paragraphs didn’t make us want to … uhm …
We want to grow up to become futurists after reading the Wall Street Journal’s “Think like a futurist to be prepared for the unexpected” (paywall), which argues “the art and science of futuring is fast becoming a necessary skill, where we read signals, see trends and ruthlessly test our own assumptions.”
SHOW ME THE MONEY: It has been 20 years (yes, you’re that old) since Jerry Maguire was released in theaters, and a new remastered version with a “making of” documentary hit stores last week. If you don’t want to plonk down the cash for the documentary, go read Deadline’s excellent interview with the even more excellent Cameron Crowe: “Tom Hanks, Jamie Foxx, Billy Wilder & Gwyneth Paltrow? Cameron Crowe Reflects On His ‘Jerry Maguire’ Journey”
We have no idea what this is even about, but four people have emailed or WhatsApped it to us in the last 24 hours. “In 1977, Johanna van Haarlem finally tracked down the son, Erwin, she had abandoned as a baby 33 years earlier. She immediately travelled to London to meet him. What followed, writes Jeff Maysh, is an unbelievable story of deception and heartbreak.” Read: “The spy with no name” in the BBC Magazine.
Planning your next career move — or just want to fantasize a bit? Start with Bloomberg’s look at “Where the World’s Highest-Paid Expats Live.”