July 2023
Hey all,
I really came down to the wire with this edition of the newsletter, didn't I? It's Monday, July 31st, which means that this technically is still the July newsletter. But it's about as close as you can possibly get to missing my own self-imposed deadline.
Most of the time, writing this newsletter feels like shouting into a vacuum (meaning the emptiness of space, not a Dyson). But then I get a bit behind schedule for a month, and people start asking when the newsletter is going to drop. It's a nice little reminder that people are actually paying attention.
But motivation in general is such a fickle thing, isn't it? Sometimes it's easy to sit down and pump one of these newsletters out. Other times it's like pulling my own teeth. Not because it's difficult, per say, but sometimes it can feel like a herculean effort.
This newsletter has been 80% done for a couple weeks now. But I just...didn't finish it.
But now I did (finish it). Just in the nick of time.
-Dann
🪦 Me the Harbinger
I've had this inexplicable experience my entire life: I'll discover a fun new food item in the grocery store, love it, and then the shelf is completely empty when I return to buy more.
It's not just my imagination, either. Partners have commented on it my entire life. Grocery store inventory isn't something anyone has even thought about before me, and suddenly they're brought into a world of product release cycles, re-stock dates, and regular disappointment.
According to MIT, it's not just bad luck. I may just be a "harbinger of failure". There's a certain category of consumer that predicts the doom of certain products. I guess that's me.
On one hand, it feels great to have my experience validated. On the other, where'd my Skippy PB Bites go... 🙁
♟️ Your move
Have you played the Password Game by Neal.fun? How far did you get? I made it all the way through to the chess move rule.
🚫 While the iron is hot
By this point, you probably already know that we're in the midst of a massive writer's strike. The strike has recently grown to include SAG (actors). This means that both writers and actors are on strike at the same time.
This isn't the first writer's strike.
Looking back at past strikes can help provide some interesting context. The last time both writers and actors were striking together was the 1960's, as a direct result of the rise in popularity of television. The big new thing to come out of that strike was residuals (actors being paid after the original work, for reruns, home video release, etc).
Ben Thompson provided some interesting context about this strike that I didn't have before reading his article:
Preserving union jobs in the face of technological replacements...is what led to the rise of residuals, which were at the core of the 1960 strike: if studios were showing movies on TV, then that meant they were occupying scarce time with content that actors weren’t getting paid for, which is to say that the actors in the movie that was being shown were competing with themselves; thus the union demand that they be paid for it.
Before streaming, there was a limited amount of air time for everything: a maximum number of theaters where movies could air, and a maximum number of TV channels that could air content. If an executive chose to air a rerun, they were explicitly choosing not to air something new. Thus, actors were competing with themselves, and the solution was residuals.
Streaming has changed this formula completely. We're no longer limited by a maximum number of broadcast hours.
Due to this seismic shift in the dynamics of streaming vs. broadcast, it's no wonder that we're seeing such a big strike.
I'm not close enough to the industry to have an opinion about where I think things should end up. But it is clear to me that writers/actors deserve a fair wage, and that's not something that's currently happening in the industry.
I also miss new shows, so I hope it's resolved soon.
🎣 Carp-e Diem
I've been sinking some decent playtime this month into a totally remade and remastered version of one of my favorite mobile games. Ridiculous Fishing EX has been rewritten from the ground up, and has been a blast playing a game I haven't touched since its original release in 2013.
There's no wonder its so fun, it's made by an all-star team:
Based on Vlambeer’s popular 2013 original, Ridiculous Fishing was lovingly handcrafted over the course of two years by Vlambeer (Super Crate Box, Nuclear Throne), Zach Gage (SpellTower, Knotwords, Good Sudoku, Really Bad Chess, Card of Darkness) and Greg Wohlwend (Threes, Hundreds, TumbleSeed), and remade in collaboration with KO_OP (GNOG, Winding Worlds).
You may remember Zach Gage from a past newsletter, where I sang his praises after he released Knotwords.
The only big asterisk to note is that Ridiculous Fishing EX is part of Apple Arcade, a $5/mo gaming subscription offered by Apple. However, if you've never used Apple Arcade before, you'll be eligible for a free trial and can certainly finish this game before it expires. And if you've already used your free trial, $5 for one month of playtime is well worth the cost for making it through this game.
📈 Exponential Growth
Netflix started cracking down on Password sharing. It's actually been going pretty well for them.
For users who may have shared their passwords, it's a different story (skit).
End note
If you've enjoyed this, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend. You can send them here to sign up.
I'll be sending out these emails once per month, and I'm happy you're along for the ride. I'm trying to make it one of the best things that arrives in your inbox each month, so thoughts and feedback are always appreciated. You can just reply to this email.
Also, if you find anything interesting, send it my way.
Thanks for reading. Until next time,
Dann
The Dann Chronicles: July 🕶️