This is the second issue of the Red Report, a weekly review on taste and trends. This issue is free to read. To comment or request specific coverage, follow @antimofm on Warpcast. If you're looking for design services, you'll find more information here.
Seasons
Ognuno sta solo sul cuor della terra
trafitto da un raggio di sole:
ed è subito sera.
I was inspired by Ted's cast about Starbucks' early launch of fall drinks. I've been waiting to write about the changing of the seasons, but I wasn't expecting to do that so soon (especially since some places, like Japan, will have to wait quite a bit for the end of summer).
Digital life doesn't have seasons, so it's on us to pay attention and not let them slip by.
It's too early to bring out the pumpkins, but late summer does have its own set of colours. My wife planted sunflowers in the garden; some of them are on their way out. This beautiful photograph captures the feeling.
It's a sad feeling; but sadness, itself, is a season. The leaves of autumns are, after all, withered leaves. The summer sun made me think of the opening poem. It's in Italian, one of the few poems I still remember from high school. In English, it would be something like this:
We all stand alone on the heart of the earth
pierced by a sunray:
it's suddenly night.
Quilibrium
Quilibrium is about to go live. It's one of the biggest project on Farcaster. Highly encourage you to follow her and the /quilibrium channel. Here's the cast:
It's silly, but I could not help thinking about the movie Equilibrium with Christian Bale. The plot of the movie is not entirely irrelevant. One of my favourite scenes, Sean Bean dies (is that really a spoiler?) and recites a poem by Yeats:
Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
Good luck, Cassie!
Atlas Shrugged
Nicolaus made a cast about The Fountainhead, which reminded me some of the anniversary editions have cover artwork that's perfect for this issue.
Books
The New York Review of Books is featuring two books from Eugenio Montale, a contemporary of Quasimodo (the one from the opening lines):
They're both great examples of Hermetic poetry, which became popular in early 20th century Italy. I like to think of them as Italian koans.
You'll probably like them (they're cryptic).
Tech seasons
This cast by @yanga (and this one by @daojoan lol) was a fun reminder that there are sorta, kinda, seasons in tech.
Chipped, Boys Club, Crowdmuse
The reason I like fashion is that it brings seasons back into urban life, which is otherwise unchanging; interesting to see projects like chipped by @winny, drops by @boysclub and the Crowdmuse x IDEO collaboration.
Oh also thanks @tako-unik and @pauline-unik for putting me onto Nicole McLaughlin.
See you in September
PS here's the Pinterest board for this issue: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/antimofm/rr2/
