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Wyatt
Table of Contents
Our ancestors were bastards too
A lot of people have had a lot of fun ridiculing the billionaire who died on Titan, the ill-fated tourist sub that imploded on its way down to gawk at the Titanic.
And a lot of people have been outraged at how social media has made people this way.
Once upon a time, they tell us, we were more civil. We wouldn’t gloat about dead rich people.
But were we?
Nope nope nope nope nope.
Feast on some news clippings from the aftermath of the actual Titanic’s disastrous maiden voyage. People were no kinder 100 years ago than they are today.
However you feel about the Titan’s implosion, you’re probably justified.
It’s one of those rare situations where I don’t really think there are too many wrong answers.
The sub’s sinking sort of thing that bring to light all kinds of issues about wealth, privilege, freedom, how we allocate resources, and what people choose to care about.
Two quick notes that I’ve not seen reported widely elsewhere.
First:
Whether intentional or not, the sub shared a name with an ill-fated ship named Titan in the prophetic 1898 novella Futility.
Futility, which was released decades before the Titanic sank, told the story of the longest and fastest ship in the world – one considered unsinkable. It strikes an iceberg on its maiden voyage and capsizes. There are enough similarities between the novella and real events that the author was accused of clairvoyance.
Anyway, a bit hubric to use the same name.
Second:
Everyone sort of knows there was a super rich guy, his son, the company’s idiot CEO, and a pilot on the sub. The fifth member was a chap named Hamish Harding, a modern-day adventurer.
Harding lived an extraordinary life by all appearances.
“A member of The Explorers Club, he visited the South Pole several times, descended to the Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench, travelled into space, and held several Guinness World Records.”
He leaves behind a wife, two kids, and two step-children.
The Explorers Club sounds incredible by the way. I imagine a secret history there full of Indiana Jones type expeditions.
Spectacular rock ‘n roll schadenfreude
People like watching other people train wreck their lives. (I wouldn’t do this, of course.) But it makes us feel better about ourselves. That’s why Jerry Springer was so popular in the States, and Jeremy Kyle dominated so long in the UK.
Want to feel really good about yourself? Check out Rolling Stone’s list of top rock and rock screwups.
Of the 50 on the list, the most notorious has to be the day The (actual) Rolling Stones ruined the 60s by paying the Hells Angels $500 worth of beer to be security guards at a 300k person concert.
Dubbed “rock and roll’s all-time worst day,” December 6, 1969 is the day peace and love died.
The body count racked up by the blacked out drunk Angels was impressive:
- A six month pregnant woman got a skull fracture
- Jefferson Airplane’s guitarist Marty Balin was knocked unconscious
- Stephen Stills (of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young) was stabbed in the leg
- Two deaths from a hit and run car accident
- One LSD-induced drowning in a nearby irrigation canal
- Scores of stolen cars; and most tragically
- The stabbing death of meth-rage victim Meredith Hunter after he climbed the stage and pulled out a gun
The fallout from the concert is legendary — it’s said that’s the day innocence died.
But perhaps the most bizarre outcome was a plot by the Hells Angels to murder Mick Jagger after the event.
“They were going to kill him in retribution for his firing their security forces,” said former FBI agent Mark Young.
“Their plan involved making entry onto his Long Island property, going by boat. As they gathered the weaponry and their forces to go out on Long Island Sound, a storm rolled up, which nearly sunk the watercraft that they were in, and they escaped with their own lives.”
Anyway, check out the list, waste an hour, and feel better about yourself.
A step back for women’s sports
I’ve written a bunch about the rise of women’s sports both globally as well as in the US.
Most of the stories are positive. Rising attendance, increasing valuation, more pay and respect for the athletes.
But it looks like one step back this week as W Series, the women’s counterpart to Formula 1, has gone into administration (UK’s version of bankruptcy).
The league was created to give women a path to the brass ring — Formula 1 — that wouldn’t exist otherwise. But unfortunately the sums didn’t work, and now it’s folded.
This is in some part, though, to Formula 1’s creation of the F1 Academy — its own competing all-female circuit.
So it’s not all bad news; there’s still a path for women to advance in this insanely competitive space.
There hasn’t been a single woman in Formula 1 since Lella Lombardi in 1976; maybe it’s time for that to change.
If you want to stay on top of the business of women’s sports, check out The Gist. As far as I know, it’s the only outlet covering the space exclusively.
People are really unhappy with their jobs
Three different news pieces caught my eye over the last couple weeks, and they all point to the same conclusion — even more than usual, Americans really hate their jobs.
First up, the WSJ reported that Americans are working an hour per week less on average than they were even a year ago. Just mailing it in.
Second, a quarter of workers surveyed by PwC expect to change jobs in the next 12 months, up from 19% last year.
Third, a big report from Gallup featured loads of starting tidbits:
- Nearly six in 10 employees are quiet quitting, which is when someone psychologically disengages from work.
- Combined with actively disengaged employees, low engagement costs the global economy $8.8 trillion dollars, or 9% of global GDP.
- 44% of global employees feel a lot of stress at work, up from 31% in 2009.
- Across the countries and areas surveyed, 51% of currently employed workers said they are watching for or actively seeking a new job.
The data paints a grim picture of a rising ennui among the world’s — particularly America’s — labor force. People feel unfulfilled, disengaged, and unmotivated.
It could just be due to the strong job market over the last ten years. If people felt grateful just to have a job, they might not moan so much etc etc.
I suspect we’ll test that theory soon.
A different take on Saudi’s rise
Longtime sufferers of this column know I’ve paid a lot of attention to Saudi Arabia’s recent rise, and I’m uhhh…skeptical…of the Kingdom’s intentions.
Taking a leaf from the LIV playbook, the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF) is looking to acquire a stake in the ATP Tennis tour.
While many will say it’s more of the same sportswashing nonsense, it’s always worth presenting a counterpoint, so…
Ladies and gentlemen, Nick Kyrgios!
I do appreciate the honesty.
That’s all for this week; I hope you enjoyed it.
Cheers,
Wyatt
Disclosures
- This issue was sponsored by Diamond Standard and Elephants
- Our ALTS 1 Fund has invested in Diamond Standard
- My ancestors were definitely bastards
