25 talking points for better conversation at cocktails from news of the past week.
1. Hamas planned its attack for two years.
2. The UK sends Royal Navy vessels and spy planes to support Israel.
3. American A-10 planes — nicknamed Warthogs for their snub-nose design and ability to assist ground troops powerfully — have arrived in Israel.
4. In his first known international trip this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived Thursday in Kyrgyzstan.
5. Manifest, a self-described "gathering of forecasting nerds," is a blend of data and debauchery — equal parts Math Olympiad and Burning Man.
6. Using AI to summarize an email is like getting a Lamborghini to deliver a pizza.
7. AI blurs the line between photography and 'fauxtography.'
8. QOTW: "We have quickly entered this time where it's going to be very, very hard to tell when images—and soon video and somewhat audio as well—are manipulated," said Hany Farid, professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
9. Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Gen X generate 30 percent of Birkenstock sales. Almost three-quarters of customers are women, and 45 percent of revenue comes from people earning more than $100k annually.
10. Luxury sea cucumbers and scallops face price falls as China bans imports.
11. TSMC makes roughly 90 percent of the world's advanced chips.
12. TSMC consumed over 22,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity last year, roughly equal to half of Taiwan's combined households.
13. China's EV exports have surged 851 percent in the past three years, mainly to Europe.
14. Google is opening a cafe, store, and event space to the general public near its HQ.
15. US teenagers watch more video on YouTube than Netflix, according to a survey from Piper Sandler.
16. "Las Vegas is the only town in the world whose skyline is made up of neither buildings, like New York, nor of trees, like Wilbraham, Massachusetts, but of signs," Tom Wolfe wrote in his 1964 essay about the city.
17. Is it Sphere or The Sphere?
18. For those who find the experience too overwhelming, the Sphere provides two "Sensory Rooms" — spaces where people experiencing vertigo or panic attacks can come to feel grounded.
19. Taylor Swift now has more VMAs than Madonna.
20. Bad Bunny is moving to Chelsea: He signed a lease on a $150,000-a-month penthouse.
21. David Beckham says he supports a sale of Manchester United.
22. The International Olympic Committee suspends the Russian Olympic Committee 'with immediate effect.'
23. On Saturday, Pakistan will play India in a Cricket World Cup game that might go down as the most-watched cricket broadcast in history, and some tickets on the black market are selling for as much as $300,000.
24. Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari – have won over 90 percent of all Formula One races since 2010.
25. Experts estimate that Lawrence Stroll shelled out $80 million to boost his son, Lance Stroll, to Formula One.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
