Camelot Newsletter

Pharma Bro - the antihero we didn't know we needed

In a world of heroes and villains, where the lines between good and evil blur, the story of "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli stands out as a complex tale of morality. Known for acquiring ownership of a life-saving drug and then raising the price by 5000%, Shkreli's actions sparked outrage and condemnation. However, amidst the villainous facade, a deeper truth emerges - his actions shed light on the broader issue of unchecked drug pricing in the U.S., and dare I say; he is the real hero of the story. This accidental antihero revealed a supervillain system so massive that their exploits know no bounds, and their target is you. As we navigate the intricate dance between heroes and villains, Shkreli's story challenges us to confront the shades of gray that define our moral landscape and question the structures that enable such a diabolical entity to exist among us.

Black hat, but make it high fashion

High fashion. Drama. Intrigue. I am just so captivated by AppleTV’s new series The New Look. The show follows the tumultuous life and rise of fashion designers Coco Chanel and Christian Dior during WWII.

I was absolutely shook to find out that Coco herself was a Nazi collaborator and German spy during the war. She even had her own code name and number. But wait there’s more, she was also known to have been involved with the French Resistance. All the while indignantly denying involvement with either side, hiding beneath a luxurious cloak of “I am just a gentle rich lady, I would never.” Whereas Christian Dior admitted to knowingly designing clothes for Nazi WAGS so that he could simply survive and continue feeding money to the Resistance.

At one point Christian Dior states “There is the truth, but there is always another truth that lives behind it.” I just can’t stop thinking about these words and how profoundly applicable they are, with all that is happening with our doom circus of a presidential election right now.

Would you collaborate with “the bad guys” in order to free a family member from a nazi prison camp? Would you trade a favor for a favor? Would you work for the enemy but use the money you received to help the good guys? Is doing a bad thing for a good reason okay? Is buying myself a Chanel handbag an acceptable tax write off for the work I put into researching Coco Chanel for this little article? Who’s to say. But certainly all worthy things to contemplate.

In other news…

• Sorry y’all but TikTok really is the wolf in sheep’s clothing. A super creepy wolf who is actually spying on you. Scale AI, a $7.3 billion AI startup, ended discussions with TikTok following national security risk revelations that TikTok's parent company ByteDance plans to surveil American citizens.

• The golden rule: do unto ai as you would have it do unto you. Treating a chatbot nicely might boost its performance.

• Klarna says its ai assistant is doing the work of 700 people after putting the brakes on hiring.

• In the ultimate personal power feminist rebrand Monica Lewinsky is back and is striking a fierce pose modeling her new collection for Reformation to encourage voting. Yes queen 👑 

• Mitch “the long pause” McConnell is finally stepping down. Just in time too because Washington must be running low on supply of formaldehyde to keep our politicians standing.

Turkeys and Angels

Every week brings new and exciting antics! Here I nominate one Turkey; a squawky or nefarious critter deserving of the “You are a Turkey” moniker. Because we must always bring balance to the force, an Angel will additionally be recognized for bringing laughter, love or all around goodness to the world.

This week’s Turkey: Wendy’s introduces new digital pickpocket menu

This week, because it’s not enough that fast food prices have risen 6.2% in the last 12 months with McDonalds increasing by 10% and Chipotle having increased prices 5 times since July 2021, Wendy’s decided to deliver news of a new digital menu board that would reflect new “dynamic pricing.” Sounds familiar. Anyone else having flash backs to when Uber implemented dynamic pricing and that 5 mile New Year’s Eve Uber ride cost you $650?? 🥴 Dynamic pricing means surge pricing, we know this. Which means that Wendy’s felt like inflation wasn’t quite enough so they needed to charge fast food patrons extra during the busiest times of the day. Wendy’s later came out with a statement saying we “misunderstood them,” they really just want to be able to charge you less during the non-busy times. Yeah. You spent $20 million on new menu boards so that you could charge people less. Turkeys.

This week’s Angel: Track Star Flo Meiler

At 89 years old, Flo Meiler was the oldest track competitor out of 200 athletes, who competed last week at the 2024 USATF-NE and East Region Indoor Masters Championship. She began her journey at age 60!

Flo, thank you for reminding us all that it’s never too late, and that you can begin at any age. Get it girl 💪