Donald Trump didn’t just win in Iowa. He won Huge!
But recall that two weeks before the Iowa caucuses in 2016, then-candidate Trump said at Dortd University in Sioux City: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?…It’s, like, incredible.”
Incredible, but true, and Trump isn’t the only one anticipating his inauguration one year from today on January 20, 2025.
Credit card companies are as well, particularly American Express.
Back in 1999, they launched The Centurion Card, aka The Black Card. It seems that only 100,000 Black Cards have made it into circulation. In the best tradition of “if you have to ask, you’ll never know,” you can’t apply for a Black Card. You have to be invited, and sometimes all the money in the world won’t get you one. Attitude counts too.
Given the attitude of the man who’s favoured to be the 47th President of the United States (having been the 45th as well), it’s easy to see the benefits a new edition of this super-duper-elite charge card will endow.
First, a brand refresh. Out with The Centurion Card. In with The Gladiator Card.
Next, no more front-of-the-line. The Gladiator Card does away with any line. Even better, it will let you do socially unacceptable things with no consequences. Said one wealthy Trump supporter: “The Centurion Card is for pussys.”
Think of The Gladiator Card as a diplomatic passport on steroids. With it, you will never wait in line for a COVID vaccine, or worry about being caught in insurrections in shithole countries, and even in Washington (especially in Washington).
You can keep your phone on in a movie and use it when you’re on jury duty. You can speed unimpeded in Quiet Zones close to hospitals. Sit in the cockpit when flying commercial, and of course complain loudly when your flight is delayed or cancelled. You can even ask the airline rep at the gate: “Do you know who I am?” You can also cheat on exams, plagiarize your thesis, and even get into Harvard or the Wharton School, like President Trump did. You’ll never have to bow when meeting royalty and you can order everyone from your waiter, to your limo driver, to your pilot (though not your ophthalmologist) not to look you in the eye.
And after four years, if you have a spotless re-payment record, you can stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody. Because just as the President said, it really is incredible.
Meanwhile…
1.“#SoberCurious is one of the most searched for hashtags on social media.” Irish journalist Louise O’Neill chronicles the good, the bad, and the ugly of not drinking.
2. People from different cultures dream differently. We know that people of different races present symptoms of the same disease differently.
Now we learn that people living in Tanzania and the Congo have different kinds of dreams than those living in Canada or Belgium.
3. Presentation 101. Whatever you think of the arguments put forth at the International Court of Justice against claims of genocide brought by South Africa on behalf of Palestine, the arguers-in-chief had very different opening days this week. Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC, arguing for Palestine, was excellent by virtually all accounts. However, Professor Malcolm Shaw KC, representing Israel, wasn’t. Given that this is the most important court proceeding in the 21st century, you’d think slips like this would be unthinkable.
4. Where is the self-balancing monorail when we need one? In 1910, Irish-Australian engineer Louis Brennan invented a train that could run on a single track. It was faster than traditional two-track trains and cost much less to build. Sadly, Brennan ran out of capital. But if ever there was an argument for “everything old is new again,” it’s this.
5. You think you’re weird? Try the deepest fish ever captured on film. Or this strange ad in The Financial Times for AI in Defense Systems. Or this for building bridges between generations. Or why we need more film critics like this. Or what’s worse than fake news? Fake olds. Or how this antibiotic reduces mortality by 90%.
6. Ed Burtynsky goes global. From Feb. 14th to May 6th, The Saatchi Gallery in London will host the largest exhibition ever of the Toronto photographer’s works.
It’s a very big deal: The Londonist calls it one of the MUST SEE exhibitions of 2024 as does The Telegraph.
The Saatchi exhibit is part of a multi-media, multi-nation offensive including a mini-film festival at the British Film Institute with three documentaries Burtynsky’s been part of: Manufactured Landscapes, Watermark, and Anthropocene. Plus Domus Magazine will feature his images on all of its 2024 covers in a collaboration between Burtynsky and Domus’ 2024 guest editor, architect Norman Foster.
7. Read it and reap. The more books in a child’s home, the better their reading scores. But what about e-books? It seems not. The link between reading digitally and reading well is fading fast. The surprising and good news is, kids are reading more real books these days. So there’s hope.
8. Will Queen’s University be forced to shut down? That was the gist of a Globe and Mail article claiming that one of Canada’s top universities would have to cut costs drastically or shut down. Really? Well, maybe. Faculty and staff are skeptical. But the mere mention of closing Queen’s is a sign that even our most respected institutions face existential threats.
9. Hierarchies. They exist everywhere, from passports, to snowflakes, algorithms and delusions.
10. Olden goldie. On Monday, January 15th, the last living pupil of Sergei Rachmaninov, American pianist Ruth Slenczynska, celebrated her 99th birthday. Two years ago, Decca Classics released her latest album, My Life in Music.
Speaking of 99+1, here’s Elvis Costello’s list of the 100 best Beatles songs.
Finally, what a Postmodern Jukebox sounds like.
11. What I’m liking. The new 4-part Netflix series, You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment. Since everyone is different and responds differently to different foods, Stanford scientists tested identical twins (so they have exactly the same genetic makeup) by putting one on a vegan diet and the other on a ‘meat and dairy diet.’ The vegans won in every category, from better health to longer life to much much lower risk for dementia. So it’s not your DNA; it’s your dinner.
DON’T JUST RESOLVE TO TRAVEL MORE THIS YEAR, TRAVEL BETTER.
This is not an argument for travel, which Mark Twain claimed is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. You’re way beyond that.
This is a pitch for travelling with Jean and me and our friends who are oddly like you. In other words, familiar people and unfamiliar places.
This year we’ll be travelling with our friends a lot. Here are the trips, in chronological order, with links to all the details you need to learn, think about and join. And of course if you have any questions, just e-mail me at bob@ramsayinc.com.
- February 25 to March 9 – Lindblad Expedition from Fiji to Tahiti.
- May 29 to June 5 – Northern Italy Under Sail, aboard the Sea Cloud II.
- June 7 to 13 – Hiking in the Alta Valsesia in the Italian Alps.
- August 23 to 29 – Kayaking off Vancouver Island (we won’t be on this trip, but we were last summer, and it’s divine).
- Sept. 2 to 9 – Lindblad Expedition to the Great Bear Rainforest in BC.
- We’re also organizing a trip to the top of the world with Weber Arctic in the summer of 2025. E-mail me if you’re interested.
As we often say, adventure is not in the guidebook and beauty is not on the map.
Bob & Jean