My world's on fire, how bout yours?
Dangerous heatwaves, deadly floods, and everything you need to know about the Hollywood actors’ strike 🥵⛈🕴
Good morning my angels! How are you? How was your weekend?? I think I had the second worst weekend of my entire life for reasons that I won’t bring to the internet, so if this newsy feels like it’s missing a little bit of its usual sparkle, that’s why. But - we go on! There is news to be told and a life to be lived.
Tonight I’m heading up to Tāmaki Makaurau for the BARBIE premiere (CLOSE FRIENDS ARE ALL COMING ALONG FOR THE RIDE SO BECOME ONE IF UR NOT ALREADY) so I’m pumped about that, and beautiful Rubes celebrated her birthday (albeit long-distance from me) on Saturday so pleeeease can everyone wish her love and Harry Styles for her 26th year on the planet (the best gift you could give our unsung hero is becoming a paid SYSCA supporter - just saying…)
Love you all the MOST xxx
Everything you need to know about the Hollywood actors’ strike
Dangerous heatwaves and deadly floods
🌽Shit You Should Cook About: SYSCA Sweet Corn Pasta🌽
The man whose mother-in-law’s blue and black (or white and gold) dress went viral was charged with trying to kill his wife
The actors are on strike now too
You’ve probably heard about it, but not only are the writers in Hollywood on strike, now the actors are too. Members of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) are striking at the same time as the WGA (Writers Guild of America) for the first time in 60 years (not so fun fact: the last time there was a combined strike like this is was led by Ronald Reagan.)
They’re striking for many of the same reasons that I outlined here, but in short it’s over things like:
the need for better pay
stronger contributions to the union's pension and health fund
residuals from streaming services to be brought in line with those traditionally paid out by theatrical and broadcast productions
and… some sort of reassurance in the new AI landscape.
Some other things to note:
The cast of Oppenheimer left their own premiere after the red carpet to support the strike
Fran Drescher (The Nanny and now SAG-AFTRA president) gave a fiery speech against Hollywood studios
During a press conference, SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, revealed a proposal from Hollywood studios “that sounds ripped right out of a Black Mirror episode.”
“This ‘groundbreaking’ AI proposal that they gave us yesterday, they proposed that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get one day’s pay, and their companies should own that scan, their image, their likeness and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity on any project they want, with no consent and no compensation.
So if you think that’s a groundbreaking proposal, I suggest you think again.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger (who earned a total compensation of $45.9 million in 2021) said this:
“It’s very disturbing to me. We’ve talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we’re facing, the recovery from COVID which is ongoing, it’s not completely back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption,” Iger said. “I understand any labor organization’s desire to work on behalf of its members to get the most compensation and be compensated fairly based on the value that they deliver. We managed, as an industry, to negotiate a very good deal with the directors guild that reflects the value that the directors contribute to this great business. We wanted to do the same thing with the writers, and we’d like to do the same thing with the actors. There’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive.”
I can assure you that I’ll be writing about this for many days/ weeks/ months to come (it’s apparently projected to last at LEAST until the end of the year), but that’s your quick catch up xx
Dangerous heat waves are hitting Europe and parts of the US
My world's on fire, how about yours? Well, if you’re currently trying to enjoy your ‘euro summer’ or residing in parts of the US, I’d hazard a guess that yours is too. The ‘Cerberus’ heatwave is currently hitting Europe, with the European Space Agency declaring that:
“Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing a major heat wave, with temperatures expected to climb to 48 degrees Celsius on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia – potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe” the agency said Thursday.”
Meanwhile in the US, nearly a third of the country - about 113 million people - are under heat advisories, from Florida to California and up to Washington state. On Saturday a temperature of 48C was recorded in Phoenix, Arizona and Death Valley in California (one of the hottest places in the world) is forecast to reach 54C, nearing the hottest temperatures ever reliably recorded on Earth. Unhoused people are being treated with third-degree burns just by being outside.
And when it rains it pours
At the same time as parts of the world are sizzling, other parts are facing deadly floods. In South Korea, excessive flooding has killed 37 people so far, in India over 100, three people in Pennsylvania (with four still missing) - it’s harrowing to see the news cycle be dominated by extreme weather event after extreme weather event, and I think we all know why this is happening.
🌽Shit You Should Cook About: SYSCA Sweet Corn Pasta🌽
Shit You Should Cook About is written by London Laura - our resident ray of sunshine and co-host of Culture Vulture (our weekly pop culture podcast!) She’s a new London dweller, chief of romanticising literally everything, and will definitely ask you all what your love language is at some stage. You can find more Shit She Should Cook About over here!
Mōrena!!! And HIIIII to all the new friends over on Shit You Should Cook About!! So so SO excited to be sharing lil snippets of meals I love, and the memories that go with them 🤍 and I absolutely love love love seeing people make and adapt the recipes to suit your preferences (s/o to the dairy-free, pealess risotto sent to me last week)! This week’s recipe is pasta (ofc) and summer’s true hero - sweetcorn 🌽 this is a meal eaten a LOT with my best pals back in Auckland that is synonymous with hot summer nights. We recently were reunited in London and I made it (alongside a huge loaf of focaccia and bowls of strawberries and cream). It’s best made when the air is humid and the corn is cheap - I force myself to hold out at the start of the season and wait until it’s being sold at side-of-the-road stalls on 10 cobs for $5 offers which is when it truly is the sweetest & the cheapest. This can also be made vegan / DF just swap the butter for olive oil and hold the Parmesan!
SYSCA Sweet Corn Pasta🌽
1x garlic clove
1 shallot or ½ an onion
2x corn cobs (one for each person)
¼ cup butter
Parmesan (lots)
Black pepper (lots)
200g pasta shells
(Makes for 2 people)
Cut the corn from your cobs - I do this with a knife I feel comfortable using and stand the cob on its end, slicing the kernels off into a bowl. Put to one side. Melt your butter in a pan on medium heat, add the diced garlic and onion, sautéing until tender. Add the corn kernels to the pan, seasoning with salt and a lot of black pepper - plus some chilli flakes if you fancy. Cook for 5-10 ish minutes until the corn tastes sweet and not raw, but don’t let it brown too much. While that’s happening cook your pasta shells, and once done strain them (reserving half a cup of pasta water) and add to the sweetcorn mixture, pouring in a little pasta water to make it as saucy as you like. Grate a LOT of Parmesan over the top and stir, with a few grinds of black pepper to serve. 🌽
The man whose mother-in-law’s blue and black (or white and gold) dress went viral was charged with trying to kill his wife
Have you ever heard of a ‘Milkshake Duck?’ It’s a term used online to describe a person who gains popularity on social media for some positive or charming reason but is later revealed to have a distasteful history or to engage in offensive behaviour. It all started with a Twitter joke about a "lovely duck that drinks milkshakes" who is then immediately discovered to be racist.
Anyway - this story is a classic example of that. The dude who found fame after posting a dress worn by his mother-in-law at his wedding (yes, the famous blue/black or white/gold dress) has reportedly appeared in court charged with the attempted murder of his wife.
Keir Johnston, 38, from the Isle of Colonsay in Scotland, is alleged to have conducted an almost 11-year campaign of serious domestic violence and coercive control which resulted in him attempting to kill his wife, the Times reported.
He appeared at Glasgow high court on Monday and denied all the charges against him, with the case continued for a further preliminary hearing before a trial in 2024.
And this is why we can’t have nice things! Because everyone sucks!
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