Yesterday installment #14 of my email shadow box series Mikey Likes It dropped. Have a look.

If you haven’t subscribed, you can do it here.

I’m graphic designer which means I collect ephemera in both printed and digital forms. I love business cards, matchbooks, magazines, old dictionaries, animated GIFs, and screengrabs of beautiful sites to name just a few of the things filling my shelves and hard drive folders.

This weekend I posted photos of the drink coasters I swipe when I go out to bars.

Why? Why not.

via Don Winslow

Solid piece by Chuck Mindenhall at The Athletic on Conor McGregor (paywall):

Even if McGregor is 100 percent sincere in his desire to change his ways — actually, especially if — we’re talking about a far different McGregor than the one who was bursting at the seams to make his name in fighting. At best, the man who spent years living up to his nickname, “Notorious,” will now be tasked with trying to live it down. That’s not exactly the same setup as before, when McGregor’s name was an enterprise. The context, at once so admirable and easy to root for, is now complicated. To associate with him isn’t the happy little rebellion it once was, and any vicariousness to the winner’s vibe these days feels something like enabling.

In other words, the spirit of Conor McGregor can’t be retrieved, because at first it was all going somewhere. Now it’s retreating from where it’s been. His downfall has become a burgeoning part of the story, and — sadly — that side has as much momentum as what’s left out there for him to accomplish.

The longer he’s out of the game, the more it seems like he won’t return. And why would he? He’s won UFC championship belts in two weight classes, boxed Floyd Mayweather for tens and millions of dollars, and launched his own whiskey. He figured it out. He won. It his own words that he tweeted five years ago, he got in, he got rich, and he got out.

Billionaire David Koch died today. Malcolm Jones wrote a piece on him over at The Daily Beast.

The last paragraph is a good one:

It is hard to muster much sympathy for a multi-billionaire, but spare a tear for David Koch, who in his last years apparently became the final victim of his own brother’s relentless desire for control. In 2018, Koch Industries announced that David Koch was retiring due to ill health. But two sources close to the family told reporter Jane Mayer that “Charles pushed David out. It was done with a wink, and a nod, and a nudge.” Another family associate confirmed this: “Charles had been pushing him out for quite some time. David kept resisting. It was bad. Charles took control.” And so ended one of the most remarkable careers in American business and American politics, not with a bang but a stab in the back.

Good riddance.

Americans are waiting three years to replace their phones, study finds:

A new study released by Strategy Analytics reflects the current state of the smartphone industry. Apparently, consumers in the US — Baby Boomers, in particular — are increasingly delaying their smartphone purchase for three or more years. In addition, the average iPhone now remains active for 18 months, while the average Samsung phone remains active for 16.5. The era of yearly phone upgrades is over. Smartphone shipments have been dropping around the world over the past year, and some analysts even believe the industry is bound to suffer its worst decline ever in the coming months.

I buy a new pocket computer about every 2 years. I’m currently using an iPhone X I bought in 2017. It still has solid battery life and is snappy as ever. I’m a geek and I like gadgets and I might get a new iPhone this fall, but I could easily wait until next year to upgrade.

Gwyneth Paltrow Hired a Personal Book Curator—Here’s What He Chose For Her Shelves:

After everyone tired of reading on their Kindles, there was a delightful, if unexpected, realization. Book lovers remembered that books aren’t just for reading, they can also be beautiful objects in and of themselves.

Thatcher Wine, a long-time bibliophile and collector, tapped into this concept in 2001, sourcing rare, out-of-print books to build beautiful libraries based on interest, author, and even color for his clients. Since then, Wine has curated the bookshelves of Gwyneth Paltrow and New York’s NoMad hotel; fans include Laura Dern and Shonda Rhimes.

I’m such an idiot. For over 25 years, I’ve been reading books myself and putting them on my shelves. I could have hired a personal book curator. Such wasted time.

I can’t say I’m surprised Paltrow does this shit. Remember, her company Goop is the one that touted the ‘benefits’ of putting a jade egg in your vagina.

Yesterday installment #9 of my email shadow box series Mikey Likes It dropped. Have a look.

The theme of this shadow box is the ’80s. Not the most original theme, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be good. The obvious show to feature would have been Stranger Things, but I think Halt and Catch Fire was a better series.

If you haven’t subscribed, you can do it here.