Make America Rake Again.

Merch is a staple at every event these days. I still have the memorabilia from my very first concert – a Girls Aloud mouse mat (yes, I chose the mouse mat). It turns out Presidential Press Conferences are no different. When Trump’s administration committed their latest blunder, booking Four Seasons Total Landscaping, rather than the slightly classier Four Seasons Hotel, the garden centre was quick to jump on the merch bandwagon. Located between a sex shop and a crematorium (sounds like the start of a bad joke), this business is now rolling out hoodies, t-shirts or stickers with the slogan ‘Make America Rake Again’ or ‘Lawn and Order’ to remember the occasion.

Kudos to the garden centre for capitalising on this fantastic gaffe.

Have they gone too par this time?

The dad trainer made a comeback in a BIG way, but how about your
grandad’s golfing shoes? Interested? This latest pair of kicks from Nike are designed for the fairway but I give it 24 hours after a Kardashdian or a Hadid are spotted wearing them and they will be this year’s most desired footwear on the top of any hipsters Christmas list. The ‘kiltie’, or the fringe flap bit for the uninitiated, is what has got the people talking. I actually don’t hate them, although admittedly I am a classic Converse kind of girl. Maybe we should send Donald a pair as a commiseration gift? They’d be a great addition to his collection alongside the Four Seasons merch.

This season’s Frankincense.

This seems to be the year of the unexpected collab. From Travis Scott x McDonalds, Colgate x Supreme and Whitney Houston featuring on the next Palace collection, we have a new contender for ‘collabs we never asked for (or expected) but have been given’. KFC Canada have teamed up with Enviro-Log in their latest PR stunt to release a limited edition firelog that, when burnt, releases the sweet, sweet scent of KFC’s signature 11 Herbs & Spices. I’m alright for it, thanks. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a greasy KFC after a few drinks but waking up the morning after a heavy night to the smell of the unfinished chicken beside your bed just fills the room with regret, remorse and a ting of sadness. So, I don’t know about the rest of the world, but you won’t find me choosing to fill the house with the all too familiar smell this festive season.

Freezing for your art.

Fancy a trip to the Arctic? How about going in the nude? This is not some naturist weekend get-away, but a breathtaking art project. Filmmaker and body painter Vilija Vitkute took Małgorzata Suś, model and dancer, to some crazy harsh conditions and painted her into the surroundings. This is the real embodiment of suffering for your art. ‘The Memory of Water’ is a creation of a visually stunning work of art to raise awareness and encourage care for our planet and the ecosystems that be. I can’t imagine how cold it must have been for the model but I will say the final images are rather spectacular. Saying that, I think I’ll visit the Arctic in my own time.

Hole-in-one!

This seems to be a golf-heavy edition of coolsh*t, but I couldn’t finish off this week without mentioning a feat of golfing magic. I mean it is truly a ‘I’ll believe when I see it’ kinda hole-in-one. I have never found the urge to pick up some irons and walk the fairway, preferring a quick game of mini golf myself. If you like to win, then I am your ideal opponent – I have been known to make it to 25 shots (on one hole) before calling it a day and hanging up the clubs for another year. However, if you could guarantee that I could pull off what Jon Rahm did at The Masters this week, I really think I could get into the sport. The 26 year old Spainard potted his second hole-in-one in two days, this time with a gravity defying, water skimming stunt. I think it would be fair to crown him this year’s Master of The Masters.

realsh*t: Entertainment Special.

Is ‘influencer’ a dirty word? Is it now impossible to exist in the entertainment industry without being one? Are the new wave of online entertainers a threat to the traditionalists? As the world of entertainment experiences profound and rapid change, where do the opportunities lie for brands?

We asked our SELFHOOD network about their own experiences of being in the entertainment biz, what sets new media apart from old media, and what they think comes next.

Real People, Real Time… Realsh*t.