🌊 The Art of the Real

Happy Birthday, SNL.

49 years ago, Saturday Night Live premiered on NBC with a 12-person cast that included Chevy Chase, John Belushi, and Dan Aykroyd. We often talk about SNL as comedy’s kingmaker, but it’s also a kingmisser. On the one hand, it launched Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Bill Murray, Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chris Rock, Norm Macdonald, etc. But on the other, it passed on Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Kevin Hart, Jennifer Coolidge, and many other greats who auditioned but got a 👎.

Also, even if you think SNL today is hot garbage that makes Hurricane Milton look funny by comparison, it’s still given us some iconic sketches: Here’s Max F’s fav, and here’s Max T’s. Have a great weekend!

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

End Double Taxing?

Donald Trump proposed ending double taxation

• The US taxes its citizens’ income that was earned abroad. In most countries, people living abroad only pay taxes abroad. Many overseas Americans criticize the policy for making them pay excess taxes; others say that without it, Americans would get citizenship elsewhere to avoid paying taxes in the US

• On Wednesday, Trump said, “I support ENDING the double-taxation of overseas Americans!” He added, “Fellow Americans living abroad, your vote is more important than ever…No matter where you are, your voice can make a difference”

Dig Deeper

• The proposal joins a series of other tax cuts proposed by Trump, including ones that would eliminate taxes on tips, social security, and overtime

• It comes days after a study by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) – a nonpartisan group that calls for fiscal responsibility – found that Trump’s plans would increase the US deficit by $7.5T, more than twice Kamala Harris’

KEY STORY

Real Art > Fake Art

A new study found an “enormous difference” between how the brain reacts to original works of art and reproductions

• A group of researchers equipped 20 volunteers with eye-tracking technology and conducted MRI scans that recorded their brain activity while they looked at original art and reproductions

• The study found that original works evoked an intense response in the precuneus, the brain region associated with consciousness, self-reflection, and personal memories

• Volunteers’ brain responses were up to ten times as intense when presented with an original as a reproduction

Dig Deeper

• A professor unrelated to the study aid it shows that artwork can have a profound impact on the brain, “particularly for children in the growth phase”

• The researchers also noted that the eye-tracking software showed certain artworks draw viewers’ eyes in specific patterns

• Girl With a Pearl Earring, for example, drew viewers’ attention in a triangle between the girl’s eye, mouth, and pearl earring

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Dig Deeper

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KEY STORY

Milton Spares Tampa

Hurricane Milton ripped through the Florida peninsula but spared the Tampa area from the catastrophic storm surge that meteorologists and officials feared

• Hurricane Milton made landfall at 8:30 PM Wednesday night south of Tampa, FL, as a Cat. 3 storm. It was a direct hit on Siesta Key, a barrier island off the coast of Sarasota

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, “The storm was significant, but thankfully, this was not the worst case scenario”

• Instead of a storm surge, Tampa experienced a reverse storm surge that drove water away from the shoreline – drying out Tampa Bay – rather than overwhelming the city

Dig Deeper

• Sarasota, Venice, and Ft. Myers – just two years after Hurricane Ian devastated it – suffered the worst of Milton

• As of Thursday, over 3M in Florida were left without power. At least 19 tornadoes followed the hurricane, killing at least four in a trailer park in St. Lucie County

• “We don't have extensive injuries or any deaths,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said

KEY STORY

Pre-Built Homes for Ukraine

Gropyus, a startup that “prefabricates” buildings, raised ~$110M to start rebuilding Ukrainian property destroyed by Russia’s invasion

• Gropyus uses a robotic assembly line to create building parts – similar to how cars are made – which it then delivers to construction sites. The co. says its technology can vastly speed up the building process and can produce walls or ceilings within 16 minutes

• The company will be able to produce about 3,500 apartments worth of affordable housing per year. It will need some help, as the UN estimates 1.5M homes have been destroyed since the war began

Dig Deeper

• Alongside its $110M fundraise, Gropyus launched an initiative with One Ukraine, a non-profit organization, to rebuild homes that have been destroyed by the war

• “My wife is Ukrainian, and she’s originally from Mariupol, which was virtually destroyed. We had to try to get all the family members out,” Gropyus’ founder told TechCrunch

• The company earned an additional grant from UN Women after helping 13,000 Ukrainians evacuate

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🏛️ Archive.org – the internet archive known as the Wayback Machine – suffered a “catastrophic security breach,” impacting 31M accounts

📈 The US reported an annualized inflation rate of 2.4% in September, higher than the 2.3% economists had expected

☮️ The UN accused Israel of wounding its peacekeepers in Lebanon. The complaint was made after Israel conducted strikes near UN positions on the border between Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon and Israel

🏢 Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) vowed an “out and out brawl” if a potential Harris administration replaces Lina Khan, the Biden-appointed progressive who leads the Federal Trade Commission and has brought antitrust investigations against large companies

🌎 Iran has been privately threatening US allies in the Middle East with retaliation if they allow their airspace to be used by Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported

COMMUNITY

🧐 Yesterday’s question: When was America at its best?

ASK AND TELL
20 Questions

Ladies and gentlemen, the Weeknd.

In the comments section of last week's 20 Questions, one of you wrote: "I like the 20 questions that have us choose between 2 equally ridiculous options. You learn a lot about yourself if you have to pick between having mustard as your only condiment or having to wear Dolphin shorts, knee socks and a crop top every time I leave the house." So let's conduct an exercise in self-discovery and bring back a Would You Rather? Edition of 20 Questions. Starting of course with....

Here’s the link.

Last Week’s 20 Questions:

Some featured answers to last week’s classic edition of 20 Questions.

• Should men tuck in their shirts?

  • Depends on the shirt, pants, and man

  • T shirts- no. Polo- sometimes. Button up- usually, but not always. Never with shorts no matter what shirt except for specific examples.

  • Us fat guys say no

• A terrible first date idea?

  • Any place where you can't talk to one another, like a movie or Monster Jam

  • Sensory deprivation chamber

  • Dumpster diving (my manager did this as his first date with woman he is married to 🤷🏻‍♀️

• Has alcohol made the world a better place?

  • It's made MY world a better place

  • I'll answer that after I finish my glass of wine.

  • It's outlasted civilizations, empires and religions, what do you think?

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🐕 Man’s Best Friend Pt. Infinity: An 84-year-old man in rural Washington was saved by his 13-year-old dog Gita, who led a sheriff's deputy to her injured owner after he had fallen and couldn't get up for hours

🐻‍❄️ Revenge at Fat Bear Week: 128 Grazer defeated Chunk, the bear who killed her cub, to win Fat Bear Week for the second consecutive year

🦈 Got in Her Belly: The body of a missing 68-year-old South Dakota woman is believed to have been found inside the belly of a shark near Indonesia

🚗 Cool Dad or Bad Dad?: A 36-year-old Toledo man was run over and charged with child endangerment after allegedly attempting to teach his 9-year-old son how to drive

👮 Takes One to Know One: A Mississippi police officer was arrested after being found unconscious in his patrol car with a meth pipe in his hand and marijuana in the glove box

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

As an honorable mention to the best SNL sketches, we have to give a shoutout to SNL Celebrity Jeopardy. Norm Macdonald as Burt Reynolds is all-time funny.

Thank you for a great week of perusing the [email protected] inbox. So many great answers to the questions of the day, and so many nice notes about Katie’s relief efforts in North Carolina. Have a great weekend!

–Max and Max