Errolson Hugh + more stuff

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Errolson Hugh

Acronym Designer Errolson Hugh Sees the Future | GQ“People often use the word ‘dystopia’ or the phrase ‘cyberpunk’ in relation to us,” Errolson says. “But really, our whole thing is, Acronym is really about agency. It’s about enabling somebody to do something they couldn’t otherwise. It’s inherently optimistic.” – Errolson Hugh and the design team at Acronym cross a number of different areas or disciplines. You could look backwards and see Hugh and Co. as materials innovators with martial influences walking in the footsteps of Massimo Osti who founded C.P. Company and Stone Island.

Errolson Hugh
Errolson Hugh via Bicycle magazine Japan

There is also a clear connective thread in terms of style between Errolson Hugh’s Acronym, Yoon Ahn & Verbal (Ryu Yeong-gi) of Ambush and also Paul Nicholson of Number 3.

Consumer behaviour

Despite Long Odds, Rural Chinese Continue to Bet on Education | The Sixth Tone – part of this is down to the Confucian system where centuries of civil service exams allowed families to elevate themselves if there was a bright kid in the family

Economics

Challenging the narrative about China’s rise. As with most things the truth is decidedly more complex in nature.

China’s coronavirus test providers hit by payments crunch | Financial Times – I heard that COVID kits accounted for about 1.5 per cent of GDP, the collapse in the housing market meant that the local government finances have been battered

How will the world pay to support its aging population?economic growth will falter, since working-age populations will shrink. In the US, real potential GDP growth is projected to drop from 2.4% currently to 1.5% in 2043. Some of this can be offset. “If inflation starts eating into savings, people will want to come back to work,” Pradhan said—something that’s happening even now in the US. Any official move to raise the retirement age will not go down well with people who have been used to thinking of stopping work at 60 or thereabouts, Pradhan said. “Even in Russia, at a time when Vladimir Putin had a lot of popularity, he found it hard to push the retirement age up,” he said. But even if, de facto, people retire later, Pradhan is unsure of “how much this can be juiced. Already, by reducing pension benefits, we’ve made people aware of this.” In the EU, for instance, the labor force participation rate for people between the ages of 55-64 rose from around 43% in 2005 to around 64% in 2019. “I’m not sure how much higher we can drag that,” Pradhan said. – in some economies this can blunted through women’s increased participation in the workplace.

Finance

China circles El Salvador’s economy as country edges toward crypto plunge | The Guardian 

Hong Kong

MPs and peers urge Sunak to sanction pro-Beijing Hong Kong officials 

Covid-19: Hong Kong eases curbs for visitors, but keeps cinemas and ice rinks on restricted list in late change

Criminal records checks of lion dance performers necessary, Hong Kong security chief says – Hong Kong Free Press HKFP“Given the unique nature of lion dance activities and attendant martial arts displays, it is necessary for the Government to ensure that public order is not disturbed and that public safety is not affected when such sport activities are conducted in public places,” he said. As of last month, the Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Dragon and Lion Dance Association had around 190 organisation members. In the year of 2018-2019, the association organised five dragon and lion dance competitions with funding from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The competition saw more than 200 participating teams and more than 2,100 participants in total. – National security implications given the lion dance’s close association with kung fu practitioners? There is also the subversive history of the lion dance.

Lion dancing gained its greatest fame during the Ching Dynasty. The Manchu reign at that time was an oppressive, inhumane government. Thousands of Chinese were massacres without any known cause until, it is said, “their blood literally reddened the rivers.” Ming loyalists attempting to foment rebellion against the Manchu warlords, expressed their hatred by inventing the green-faced lion. With brows made of twin steel swords, each measuring 1 foot 6 inches in length, the green lion represented the Manchu Government during the Ching Dynasty. Fighting the lion meant combating the Manchus. 

Since lion dancing was performed in villages all over the country for the purpose of celebrations, the rebels would use the opportunity to exchange information and to collect money for the revolution. As part of the dance, the lion would eat lettuce — which is where the money would be hidden. The lead dancer would cry, “Choi ching!” (“get the Ching!”) to signal that he was a fellow revolutionary and, therefore, it was safe to pass information to him. However, informers soon figured out the battlecry. So, since chiang (meaning “green”) sounds very much like ching, the revolutionary passcode was changed to “Choi chiang!” (“get the green”). To this day, this revolutionary cry is used when the lion “eats” the symbolic lettuce and good luck money. 

Qin, S. Lion Dancing. Ancient Worlds (Orient)

How to

3 things you need to do now, before Revue gets shut down | AWeber – shutting down at the end of the year. Its a casualty of Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.

Innovation

China’s semiconductor output posts biggest ever monthly decline in October amid weak demand, fresh US tech export controls | South China Morning Post 

Luxury

Estée Lauder acquires Tom Ford in $2.8 billion deal | Vogue Business – Estée Lauder has confirmed it is the new owner of Tom Ford, bringing its successful beauty licence in-house. Ermenegildo Zegna Group will produce the brand’s fashion.

2023 Porsche 911 Dakar: Lifted Rally Car Right From the Factory | Jalopnik 

Media

Nearly two thirds of full-time UK creatives are worried about job security, WeTransfer says | It’s Nice That 

Search Ad Spends Declined by 20% in Q3 2022 

Media, marketing, communications and PR list of Mastodon users – Google Sheets 

Game over for Warcraft in China, as NetEase and Blizzard end their 14-year deal from January 2023 | South China Morning Post  – part of a wider decoupling of media and entertainment between the west and China

Online

Tencent to ‘distribute’ most of its $22bn Meituan stake in dividend | Financial Times 

Retailing

Fashion firm Joules falls into administration putting 1,600 jobs at risk | The Guardian 

Hong Kong Customs seize over 100,000 suspected fake jerseys ahead of Qatar World Cup | Hong Kong Free Press 

Security

U.S. FBI director says TikTok poses national security concerns | Reuters 

US court sentences Chinese spy to 20 years for stealing trade secrets | The Guardian 

Hostile states are targeting you, Speaker warns MPs – BBC News 

China playing ‘long game’ as it co-opts UK assets, warns MI5 chief | Financial Times 

Taiwan

ASML expands in Taiwan and Korea to capture opportunities | DigiTimes