Around The Web | What We’re Reading
Some people will sink to great depths to make money. The world reacts to the uncovering of the multi million dollar ‘reputation management’ deal struck between PR firm Bell Pottinger and the South African Gupta family, resulting in a widespread fake news and slander campaign inciting racial hatred. But as we discover below, was this really unexpected in today’s corporate climate?
Talking about crap, PETA is now recruiting vegans from around the world to donate their poop for people in need. And due to their latest fad, a growing number of the top tech CEOs in Silicon Valley are going without food for days on end, all in the name of self-improvement.
The world is a funny place. Take a look:
“Centered on the surreal story of 17-year-old ballet dancer Leroy Mokgatle, Practice follows the South African protagonist as he journeys alongside the lines of ‘fantasy and reality,’ exploring the ‘extremes of discipline through the people’ he encounters in his day-to-day existence.” Watch the latest collaborative venture between Grace Wales Bonner, Harley Weir and Dev Hynes, the spellbinding short film Practice.
“The ropes that bind the artist’s immobilized body reflect bondage techniques, including shibari – a Japanese art form used to emphasize the female form. The installation seeks to raise further questions about idealized body standards. In ‘Cherophobia’, the artist becomes the imperfect object of the viewer’s gaze.” Artist Noëmi Lakmaier spent 9 hours tied to 20,000 multi-colored party balloons, floating above the stage of the Sydney Opera House. But what does it mean?
“Pre-Keith, Dwyer explains, ‘it was very clear no one took us seriously and everybody thought we were just idiots.’ When ‘Keith’ contacted collaborators, ‘they’d be like, okay, bro, yeah, let’s brainstorm!” When two female entrepreneurs were struggling to get ahead in business, they invented a fake co-founder named Keith. Find out what happened next.
“’People think it’s torture but it’s actually really pleasant. I get the social interaction, I can see the food and smell it. I usually leave a dinner where I eat nothing feeling kind of full.’ Does he still have to split the bill? ‘I have done that, yes.” Enter the new phase of self-improvement in Silicon Valley: intermittent fasting, with some of the top CEOs going without food for up to 7 days at a time. Are you this hungry for success?
“The PR industry has long operated on the taxi-rank principle, similar to the legal profession, that you take the next available client – however odious they may be – because everyone deserves professional representation, right? Well, no, as it turns out.” As the Bell Pottinger South African racial hatred scandal comes to light, did we really not expect this to come from a firm that counts Pinochet and Asma Al-Assad as its clients?
“It’s hard to put a price tag on good bowel movement. One report found that $9.5 billion in natural gas could be extracted from the world’s poop annually. Another estimated that, were it possible to mine the minuscule fragments of valuable minerals from human excrement, a single city could make $13 million a year.” As PETA calls on the world’s vegan community to donate their feces to help those in need, people are questioning if it’s all just crap. You be the judge.
“There are similar levels of distrust towards big companies, banks and governments. This reflects the fact that many young people (22.7%) are worried about corruption. The institutions deemed most trustworthy by young people are schools, international organisations, employers and courts of law.” The World Economic Forum conducted a huge survey of the world’s young people. This is how the future global shapers see the world in 2017.
