The Daily Valet. - 3/1/21, Monday

✔️ Hollywood's Messiest Night

March 01, 2021

Monday, March 1st Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Welcome to March. It’s almost like it never left ...

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Hollywood’s Messiest Night

“Even with stupid things, inclusivity is important.”

The Golden Globes unofficially kicked off Hollywood’s award season on Sunday, but the event looked a little different this year due to the pandemic, of course. Much of it was broadcast remotely and the end result was as awkward as your last Zoom meeting.

Technical difficulties abounded and hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler kicked things off with a monologue that poked fun at everything from Emily in Paris and the lack of diversity to whether this all could have been an email. “Even with stupid things, inclusivity is important,” they said. “And there are no Black members of the Hollywood Foreign Press.”

According to Vulture, the chaos began almost immediately, when winner Daniel Kaluuya began giving a speech on mute, as someone (a producer?) sucked in his breath and said, “Oh, I wish I could hear him!”

Netflix dominated the night: The Crown (Best Drama, Actor, Supporting Actress), Schitt’s Creek (Best TV Series, Comedy or Musical, Actress), Trial of the Chicago 7 (Best Screenplay), I Care A Lot (Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Best Actor for the late Chadwick Boseman) and The Queen’s Gambit (Best Limited Series, Actress in a Limited Series). The streamer definitely worked for it: While most studios and networks struggled to get films and shows out the door, Netflix had new releases nearly every week throughout 2020.

Chloé Zhao received top honors—becoming the second woman after Barbra Streisand in 1984—to take Best Director for her work on the buzzed-about Nomadland, which also won Best Picture. Then A24’s Minari won Best Foreign Film, despite some industry backlash, considering it was filmed by an American, set and filmed in the United States.

But there were also some genuinely hilarious moments as well. Like Jason Sudeikis, who donned a tie-dyed hoodie to accept the Golden Globe for “Most High Person To Reference Tolstoy” ... or rather, Best Television Actor, Musical or Comedy Series Award for everyone’s favorite pandemic sleeper hit Ted Lasso.

↦ Want More? The Hollywood Reporter has rounded up the 10 most memorable moments of the 78th annual Golden Globes.

Big Vaccine Progress

U.S. eyes Tuesday deliveries of new vaccine; urges minorities to get shots

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 75,236,003 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in the country as of Sunday morning and it had distributed 96,402,490 doses overall.

The tally is for both the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, which both involve two doses. But over the weekend, the FDA granted an emergency use authorization to Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine.

The first deliveries of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine should start tomorrow, senior Biden administration officials told Reuters, saying they hoped to boost lagging vaccination rates among minorities—acknowledging that vaccination rates among Black and brown Americans were “not where we ultimately want them to be.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, was on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday and made a point to encourage Americans to accept any of the three approved shots. About 14% of Americans have received at least one dose so far, according to government data.

↦ Dig Deeper: Johnson & Johnson expects to ship about four million doses right away, and to deliver another 16 million by the end of March (and 100 million by the end of June).

The 5G Battle Is Getting Ugly

Things have to slow down before they speed up

While you probably never thought you needed to understand the intricacies of how cellular networks operated by AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon actually work, some big news that affects those operations will have real-world impacts on their services that we commonly rely on.

According to USA Today, the FCC announced the final results of what's been commonly called the “C-Band Auction.” This involves purchasing the right to use certain radio frequencies for delivering 5G services—because they were once used for old school, large C-Band satellite dishes (hence the name). Major carriers were so hungry for access to these mid-band frequencies, the auction raised a record-setting $81 billion.

More than $45 billion of that was spent by Verizon, so they could keep their big push into 5G. But in a tweet on Sunday, which was spotted by The Verge, the company is advising people on Twitter to turn off 5G access on their phones to preserve battery life.

As Mashable points out, 5G could very well be the cause of battery drain for some phones. Many new features and tech don't work perfectly at first, and 5G is definitely a work in progress in the U.S. currently. And the new frequencies won't become available until the end of the 2021 at the earliest.

↦ FYI: Verizon's nationwide 5G network uses a technology called DSS, which in many instances is actually slower than the LTE network it's trying to replace.

The Future of the American Drive-Thru

They are getting both faster and smarter

During the pandemic, chains have relied more heavily on sales through their drive-thrus while dining rooms remain closed in many places. Even restaurants like Chipotle, with its rollout of “Chipotlanes,” and Shake Shack, which is opening its first drive-thru this summer, are recognizing their importance.

For chains that already had drive-thus, slow service, long lines and inaccurate orders are seen as serious threats after a year in which sales took a hit at nearly every major chain. McDonald's, Burger King and White Castle had already been quietly investing in technology like artificial intelligence, but COVID-19 made those upgrades even more critical, reports CNN.

Companies are now experimenting with smart menu boards, Alexa-style assistants, automated ordering and payment processes, and even payments driven by facial recognition, reports the Wall Street Journal. If the 1950s were the golden age of fast food—a decade during which the drive-thru rose to popularity—then the 2020s could be the golden age of drive-thru tech.

Just look at the ways that chains like Taco Bell are innovating to make it faster and smoother to order and pick-up mobile orders in the future. Anyone else hungry for lunch?

↦ FYI: In 2019 the average McDonald's drive-thru took six minutes and 18 seconds, but recently the company trimmed that to five minutes and 49 seconds in 2020.

In Other News

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Bruno Mars’ designer alter ego

What we’re eyeing right now

Hitchhiking

Going West?

A rugged style that is cool enough for everyday

I’ll just put this out there … Western style is seemingly everywhere at the moment. But that doesn’t mean you need to wear it head to toe like the second coming of the Marlboro man. This isn’t about actually trying to dress like a cowboy, but it is about pulling in some of that frontiersman energy.

It's tough and it's practical, but it's also just flashy enough to garner a little attention. When you're wearing your favorite jeans and a plain sweatshirt, but you pair it with a Western-style belt with silver-tipped hardware? It gives an otherwise simple fit a subtle, knowing wink.

Of course, this isn't the first time that fashion has wandered into the frontier. Every couple of years, the rustic charms of the Great American West rear up and you can get your hands on a quality snap-button denim shirt. And that's when you should buy one, because these shirts, along with other Western gear, will always look good on a guy.

We rounded up some shirts, boots and belts you should consider adding to your wardrobe.

↦ Buy: The Western pieces you should buy right now.

What We’re Buying

With the jogger moving from a signature piece of athleisure to a formidable workplace staple was a bit of a surprise, but we'll never be upset about the acceptance of an elastic waisted pant. This pair from Old Navy comes in seven colorways and features the classic jogger attributes but adds the faux fly in the front to give it a more classic, presentable look. Swap your standard sweatpants for these to up your daily look and feel a bit more put together. Even if your waistband is still nice and stretchy.

↦ Get It $39.99 / $34 at Old Navy

Special Promotion

Simple Sneakers With a Shot of Rebel Style

Moral Code x Donald Driver Purpose leather sneakers

Handcrafted in small batches from premium leather in three colorways, these sneakers from Moral Code’s collaboration with Donald Driver offer cloud-like comfort—unlike most minimalist sneakers. Plus, a portion of the proceeds will go towards Driver’s charitable initiatives—aimed at helping young men in underserved communities understand the importance of self-empowerment.

↦ Get It $149 by Moral Code