Issue 010: Thirst Traps, Nudist Spas, CA-25 & Human Emotions
Hello! I upgraded to TinyLetter's parent company, Mail Chimp (Mail... Kimp?). Hopefully, everyone made the transition smoothly and you see this email. Enjoy the professional formatting!
Thirst Traps For A Cause. Whether we admit it or not, we all love Thirst Traps. The Museum Of Ice Cream (and subsequent copycats) has been a juggernaut.
Last year, I visited one of these museums, Happy Place, for BuzzFeed. There were some cool visuals (see below) but the bizarre cultural experience left me with some questions. Why do we crave these selfie experiences? What's the environmental impact? And, all this so an enterprising millennial can make $20M?
What if a thirst trap helped make the world a better place?
My pitch: pop-ups Instagram 'experiences' with a minimum $5 donation that goes straight to a charity. The design, retail space, and materials could all be donated for an in-kind write off if you set it up as a 501c3.
Imagine: an all pink room with a neon uterus for Planned Parenthood; posing in a human-sized cat tree with oversized cat toys to benefit a cat rescue; a 'boob room' for breast cancer research; etc.
Each pop-up would last only a month, making the experience more exclusive (vs. the same played out photos everyone gets at larger Instagram 'museums'). Maybe someone who reads this newsletter has access to a retail space we could try this out on. Whadya think?
Some things I read/listened to recently.
538: Brett Kavanaugh Is Polling Like Robert Bork And Harriet Miers
It'll still be tough to block his confirmation, but this is interesting context.
PODCAST: Trump, Inc. from Pro Publica and WNYC
Love True Crime podcasts? Fascinated by the corruption of Trump and friends? This podcast is an active investigation that is JUICY AF.
POLITICO: Mitch Landrieu Wants to Know: Does He Have to Run for President?
TL;DR - The Mayor of New Orleans is an interesting and smart dude who is maybe getting in the mix for a 2020 presidential run.
Many of my readers are in California, where I recently heard someone say: "It's hard to do anything for the Midterms since we're in a blue state."
GET THAT OUT OF YOUR HEAD.
California (especially SoCal) is one of the most impactful places to be an activist helping take back the House in 2018. Clinton won seven key districts with Republican representatives in 2016, and FIVE OF THOSE ARE WITHIN AN HOUR AND A HALF DRIVE FROM LOS ANGELES.
Sorry for yelling. Here's an excellent breakdown of these seven districts from The New York Times.
Here are some of the great candidates who are running:
CA-25 (Santa Clarita): 30-year-old LGBT ROCK CLIMBER Katie Hill (D) is running to unseat NRA darling, Steve Knight (R). Read more.
CA-45 (Irvine): Law professor and mom Katherine Porter (D) is hoping to oust Mimi Walters (R). Read more.
CA-48 (Costa Mesa): Harley Rouda (D) vs Dana Rohrabacher (R), who ranked the intelligence of different races and was recently outed as one of the Republicans in bed with a Russian Spy.
We're only 100 days out from the 2018 election, so pick a candidate you're excited about and volunteer!
SCORES: poorly written
but fascinating account
of Mafia Strip Club
Seeing Dead & Co.
with my Mom was a delight.
John Mayer can wail!
New Goliath is
still good but a totally
different show now.
My fav thing abroad
was a nude spa in Cologne
that blew our nude minds
Inspired loosely by psychologist Robert Plutchik's wheel of emotions, I've been filming actors interpreting different emotions.
My first test stars the incredible Dave Theune. At 26 minutes, I don't know who the audience is, but I'm enjoying tinkering with it.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on a rough cut: the password is 'emotions'.
Hey! You made it through another newsletter. Thanks for reading! I'd love to get your feedback. Favorite segment? What's working? What's not working? What do you want to see more of?