PicoBlog

“If you replayed the circumstances of my early life repeatedly, nine times out of ten, I suspect I’d end up in jail.” -Rob Henderson, best-selling author of “Troubled: A Memoir of foster car, family, and social class” Accepting luck's role in your success takes a certain level of maturity and humility. It takes the same maturity and humility to accept your role in creating your problems. Some things you control.

Addis Ababa correspondentYeka Hills, a once-tranquil mountainous area overlooking Addis Ababa, has been transformed into an enormous construction site. Excavators and bulldozers work through the night, flattening forests and farmland, on one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in Ethiopian history: an enormous palace complex that will serve as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s official residence. The prime minister himself is the most enthusiastic proponent of the development, known as the Chaka Project, visiting regularly to monitor progress.

I have never been one for moral panics. I grew up in the 90s, a time when television shows like Beverly Hills 90210 and movies like Kids drove adults into full hysterics. Any portrayal of teen sexuality was treated as inherently harmful and deviant, no matter how nuanced the depiction. People were terrified that teenagers would be driven to risky sexual behavior because of what they saw on a screen (or listened to in a song, or played on a video game).

In the discourse around anime, outsize attention goes to a few big names — people like Hayao Miyazaki, Satoshi Kon and Isao Takahata. It’s hard to complain, given their talent. Yet they do cast a shadow over other skilled directors who deserve to stand out, but often don’t. Yoshiyuki Momose (now 68) has spent his life beneath this shadow. Not many have had careers in anime as grand and underappreciated. He was a top animator by the ‘70s, and in the ‘80s began a decades-long relationship with Studio Ghibli.

More new subscribers found their way to Release and Gather this week: madeckmann, tabbi, thakkar, EmptyRedBullCan (hands down the most interesting name on my subscriber list to date!), Melstac, Philip, and Wayne. Welcome! I hope you enjoy this week’s edition where I’m trying something new—an interview with a local business owner who’s killing it with the “Release and Gather” concept! Settle in for the next few minutes wherever you are and enjoy this story that underscores the idea behind Release and Gather—letting go of expectations and finding yourself with open hands to gather all the good that’s waiting.

China has overtaken the US as the largest branded coffee shop market in the world by outlets. Growth was led by the rapid expansion of the local chains Luckin Coffee and Cotti Coffee. Starbucks is the second largest branded coffee operator by outlets in China.  While Starbucks may no longer be the coffee chain with the most stores in China, 🌍globally, it still holds the record for the highest number of stores with 38k stores.

“We've been following ShortBear on twitter for quite some time. We were very happy to see he also started his journey this year on substack. We look forward to reading his thoughts on broader macro and general trading thoughts/wisdom/ideas/plans/tips.” ncG1vNJzZmismJrAqbvRrZmemaJjwLau0q2YnKNemLyuew%3D%3D

In the past few weeks, it seems that there has been a coordinated campaign against mainstream “health” influencers and legacy media to convince the public that seed oils are, in fact, good for you. Their primary tactic has been to decry the “lack” of studies on the harmful effects of seed oils. Unfortunately, this tactic has been effective because few people, even those who vehemently avoid seed oils, are well versed in the extensive research on them.

On February 18, 2018, the rest of the world finally learned something that people who had been paying attention had known forever: Stacy Ann Ferguson, known to most by her stage name Fergie, is one of the most gifted performers to ever grace stage and screen. Not necessarily for her talents as a vocalist – although she certainly is blessed in that area – but for her abilities in performance art.