The Minnesotalorian: Who is the Minnesotalorian? Well, he sure looks a lot like the Mandalorian—only his cape has been replaced by a scarf. His beskar steel suit? Well, that’s been appropriately swapped out for a pair of reliable choppers, and a winter coat and boots. Even the Minnesotalorian’s taser rifle sure seems to resemble a high-end ice scraper. See episode 1 here.
Spotify Wrapped: It’s that time of year again when Spotify allows users to share their top artists, songs, genres and trends. This year they added the ability to see your themes across the last decade, too. See yours by visiting this link and logging in. Meanwhile, Apple and Shazam have released their list of most streamed and Shazamed tracks and artists. At the top? Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish.
Snowball Fight, Shot on iPhone: David Leitch, the director of John Wick and Deadpool 2, produced a jaw-dropping “Shot on iPhone” ad called Snowbrawl that chronicles a young girl taking on her older brother and his buds in an epic snowball fight. Watch here.
iOS Tips and Tricks: This week CNet chronicled every hidden iPhone and iPad feature in iOS 13.2 worth knowing, including scanning documents straight to Files, voice search, optimized battery charging and full page screenshots. See the full list here.
Home Delivery Changed Everything: This week The Guardian wrote a long-read about How our home delivery habit reshaped the world. Key quote: “A tectonic shift has occurred… the effortlessness of home delivery urges us to forget that, once upon a time, we were a part of the supply chain, lugging our goods home in plastic bags or loading up our cars. We were our own last-mile solution. When we quit that role, it was as if the supply chain became invisible to us.”
Digital Impeachment News: This week The New York Times has a good roundup of all the places to get the latest impeachment news including a list of nearly 30 Impeachment newsletters and podcasts. The New Yorker recommends “Trump, Inc.,” an investigative project from WNYC and ProPublica that examines the businesses connected to President Trump and his administration. Key quote: “Its narration is intelligent yet conversational; its sophisticated sound design guides us along without being showy or intrusive. Listening, I feel like I finally grasp the topic at hand.”
DIY Drone Painting: This week KATSU and Tsuru Robotics debuted the first for-sale smart painting drone, dubbed the “KATSURU BETA.” See it in action here. Pre-order one here for only $2500.
Snap Spectacles’ 3D Film: Spring Breakers director Harmony Korine produced a 3-minute short, “Duck Duck,” filmed entirely with Spectacles 3 and making use of the new the 3D AR video capabilities of the glasses. Key quote: “By combining a first-person point of view and 3D Effects, the sunglasses inhabit their own hyper-personal universe, and helped inspire the multi-sensory experience of Duck Duck — like you can walk into this world when you watch it.”
Tweet of the Week: @RussianMemesLtd shares popular Russian memes but translated in English. If you dig this, try No Context Russian at @Russian_NC.
Podcast of the Week: Motherhacker is a new scripted fiction podcast about a single mom who starts “vishing” over the phone for a shady identity theft ring to support her family. The episodes are short and the plot moves quickly. Super good! Subscribe here.
Cyber Truck Yourself: Creative technologist Mike Bodge made an Instagram effect that lets you take a selfie on mars inside a Cybertruck. Open this link on a mobile device to try it out.
GREG SWAN 