5ish Links

More Or Less Brevity

(First published on 7/28/17 on 5ish Links, my newsletter)

M.G. Siegler
Jul 30, 2017 · 7 min read

Almost a year into my little newsletter “experiment” and I still haven’t exactly figured out what to do with this area. I thought it would be good for just writing some quick thoughts on something timely. But as time has gone on, such thoughts have quickly spiraled into 500-ish words-esque posts. So I should probably just post such things there.

Ideally, I would still like this to be a less formal and more direct form of writing/communication. But try as I might, things tend to formalize over time. Which may be fine, but not exactly what I started out with.

In general, I worry that this newsletter is getting too long. A number of you have written in to let me know the few times when the newsletter was so long that Gmail actually clipped it at the bottom. Obviously would prefer to avoid that…

Curious for some feedback from you, the readers of this! What would you all like to see here? Do you agree that the newsletter is getting too long in general? You can leave a response below…

Thanks in advance. And happy Friday! Lots of links below :)


5ish Links

Bn uj639 vinyl0 top 20170721144541
Bn uj639 vinyl0 top 20170721144541

Why Vinyl’s Boom Is Over

Neil Shah:

I feel like we’re a little spoiled here. It’s 2017 and vinyl record sales are still growing — yes, more slowly, but growing! — think about that for a minute.

From a particle accelerator to a record-press. Who says this isn’t high tech?

Mic drop.


George r.r.martin hp 187707819
George r.r.martin hp 187707819

George R. R. Martin Doesn’t Need to Finish Writing the Game of Thrones Books

Emily Dreyfuss:

I agree with this take. A Song of Ice and Fire will always be George R. R. Martin’s, but Game of Thrones has grown beyond him. And that’s okay. James Bond is now long beyond Ian Fleming. All those superhero films everyone loves are far beyond their original comic book creators. Etc.


25bond item1 facebookjumbo
25bond item1 facebookjumbo

Daniel Craig Never Says Never Again

Speaking of Bond, guess who’s back… Brooks Barnes with the scoop around “Bond 25” due on November 8, 2019:

Great news. Daniel Craig has been a fantastic Bond, even in sub-par Bond films like Quantum of Solace. His best is still his first, Casino Royale — which is definitely one of the best Bond films, period. Let’s see if he can top it with what will undoubtedly be his last one (he’ll be 51 when Bond 25 is released — not Roger Moore-Bond old yet, but close).

This news also may now officially rule out Idris Elba as the next Bond, as he’ll also be 46 when the next Bond is released, and presuming it’s at least two years before “Bond 26”, that would put him awfully close to 50 as well… Tom Hiddleston would still be the right side of 40 though… (Tom Hardy would not be…)


Bn uh750 2agvh top 20170717093640
Bn uh750 2agvh top 20170717093640

Gameday for Disney to Boost ESPN Growth

Miriam Gottfried:

I mean, if ESPN is really looking for “growth” by boosting fees and putting in more penetration clauses, good luck with that. Literally short-term gain for long-term pain. So of course that’s exactly what they’ll do.


28bezos facebookjumbo
28bezos facebookjumbo

Move Over, Gates. Jeff Bezos Gets a Turn as World’s Richest Person.

Nick Wingfield:

Putting aside the fact that the milestone was short-lived (Amazon’s stock fluctuations after earnings pushed Bezos back to number two), there’s little question that long-term, Bezos will firmly hold the top spot eventually. Partially because Amazon is an amazing company, but partially because:

If Gates had not given away that $30+ billion, he’d obviously still have a sizable lead. Bezos is still figuring out his philanthropic goals — though he’s also pouring money into space rockets, amongst other things.

I’m more surprised that Microsoft stock accounts for “only” $14.1B of Gates’ wealth. Hell of a diversifier.


Giphy Break

Never Say Never Again.

Quickish Hits

‘Dunkirk’: Why Didn’t Hitler Go in For the Kill?

Great, short historical read after you see Dunkirk, which you should! (via MediaREDEF)

Imax Posts Second-Quarter Loss, Revenue Falls

Hardly shocking when you’ve transitioned your business to reside on top of a hits-driven one. Dunkirk should help this quarter, but they need to figure out a better long-term game plan.

The Plan to Make Chip Credit Cards Less Annoying

The chip card roll out in the US has basically been a disaster — which is surprising because the blueprint was long-ago laid out in Europe and other parts of the world…

Misophonia: Why Noisy Eating Can be so Anger-Inducing

Yes. This.


Thriller

M.G. Siegler

Written by

General Partner @ GV (née Google Ventures). In past lives I wrote at TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and ParisLemon. A man of few words. Except when writing. 🍻

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