Bearded Yankees and Bond Drama
Plus: "grandad" culture goes big in UK
Welcome to Small Talk, an email I serve out every Monday morning exclusively to our Breakfast Club members in NYC and Charleston. The premise is simple: my top of mind topics for the week’s worth of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners ahead anytime some chatter is required. From now on, I’ll be sharing it with subscribers of The Supersonic as well. Enjoy, and crib topics as necessary.
You’ve got breakfasts, lunches, and dinners scheduled for this week, I’ve got conversation starters. Let’s do this.
For consideration …
Pride of the Yankees
Maybe as a two-pronged consolation prize for extending non-winning manager Aaron Boone's contract through the 2027 season, the Bronx Bombers announced two bombshell policy changes last week. First, principal owner Hal Steinbrenner finally acknowledged that the team's no-facial-hair policy—first imposed in 1976 by his father, the late, legendary George Steinbrenner—was a smidge old-time-vibes for today's game, and dropped it. The NY Post called this "shocking" and, given how little anything ever changes at the Yankees, I agree. Second, from now on following losses at Yankee Stadium, Frank Sinatra's "Theme from New York, New York," will be replaced by other Sinatra tunes. Both of these policy changes are top-notch and I love this version of Hal, the all fire Yankee boss who will do absolutely whatever it takes to win. Except replace his manager.From Amazon Prime with Love
Speaking of shaking up an institution, let’s turn to James Bond. For a year or more, fans have speculated what actor would slip into Daniel Craig’s tux as the next 007. Instead, late last week, siblings Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson—producers and stewards of the 60-year-old franchise—announced that they’d recast themselves. In a billion dollar deal that would make Dr. Evil weep with envy, Broccoli and Wilson have ceded complete creative control to Amazon MGM Studios. Of course such an announcement was met with shock and outrage, from the British public to former Bond girls. Craig was more diplomatic in his response, while Timothy Dalton, another former Bond, sounded less enthused. Others likened the deal to Disney’s disappointing Star Wars takeover. The silver lining, perhaps, is that we might be getting a lot more of the secret agent than just a movie every few years. One hopes that Amazon understands a Bond film’s fundamental premise: they’re hospitality movies. At any rate, I’m sure in some hollowed out volcano south of Seattle, Jeff Bezos is diabolically petting a white cat.London Calling
In an effort to combat bots, some London restaurants are turning to a required minimum spend. Nothing knew, especially for any of us who’ve used certain apps to secure tables, but it is interesting to note that beyond bots, the other culprit that has triggered these required spends are influencers, perhaps the great scourge of our age. Many influencers do not a great restaurant guest make, especially those who “order just one dish and share a glass of wine to generate material for a post.” For those Londoners who want to escape the phone eats first culture of social media addiction, there’s now a club for the that … and a box. To access events organized by the “Offline Club,” Londoners pony up £9.50 and deposit their phone in a box then enter, say, a church to play board games and reconnect with the real world. “Freeing” is how some participants describe it. Or they could just go to a pub, like Mannions Prince Arthur. Old-man boozers, along with “grandad culture” at large, is apparently having a moment among young Brits.
Quicker hits …
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How Swiss sneaker brand On is outrunning the competition.
Timothée Chalamet wins SAG Award and reveals "I want to be one of the greats."
America's Mikaela Shiffrin wins her 100th Alpine World Cup ski race.
Enjoy your week.
BL
Ben Leventhal
Founder + CEO
Blackbird