The Daily Valet. - 6/13/22, Monday

✔️ A Handshake Deal

Monday, June 13th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

I am the walking embodiment of this article from The Onion.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

A Bipartisan Gun Safety Deal

The handshake deal is being heralded as a potential breakthrough

Well, this is promising. Senate negotiators announced on Sunday that they had struck a bipartisan deal on a narrow set of gun safety measures with sufficient support to move through the evenly divided chamber. It’s a serious step toward enacting the most significant response in decades to acts of mass gun violence.

According to the Washington Post, twenty senators (10 Democrats and 10 Republicans) signed a statement announcing the framework deal. The move indicated that the agreement could have enough GOP support to defeat a filibuster, the Senate supermajority rule that has impeded previous gun legislation.

The handshake agreement, endorsed by President Biden, includes enhanced background checks to give authorities time to check the juvenile and mental health records of any prospective gun buyer under the age of 21 and a provision that would, for the first time, extend to dating partners a prohibition on domestic abusers having guns.

It would also provide funding for states to enact red-flag laws that allow authorities to temporarily confiscate guns from people deemed to be dangerous, as well as money for mental health resources and to bolster safety and mental health services at schools.

But as always with major legislation—especially something as controversial as gun safety—how the bill is ultimately written will be crucial. And according to Axios, there are still plenty of opportunities for the wheels to fall off.

Lawmakers hope to push any agreement into law rapidly—as in this month—before the political momentum fades that has been stirred by the recent mass shootings. But reporters were told that final details and legislative language remain to be completed, meaning fresh disputes and delays might emerge.

↦ FYI: Calls for action have again reached a fever pitch. Thousands of protesters turned out this weekend at March for Our Lives rallies across the country.

It’s Commencement Season

Kick off your week with some inspiring words

Young people are graduating and that means politicians, athletes, business leaders and even Taylor Swift and Charlie Day have been giving commencement speeches—hoping to impart some encouragement and advice to college grads as they head into their next chapter.

What a hopeful time. Remember the commencement speech at your graduation? Yeah, neither do I. But I remember how fired up I was and ready to take on the world. And that's just what these speeches do. I venture to say that those of us who have been beaten down by life in the real world could use them even more than these fresh-faced grads who are predisposed to being eager and idealistic.

And there's a lot to choose from. Recent Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson just spoke about the importance of being curious. Business leaders like Apple's Tim Cook and GM's Mary Barra spoke about building a life that provides meaning and fulfillment by harnessing your passions and giving back when you can.

On the TED Ideas blog, bestselling author Bruce Feiler reports on over 100 commencement speeches and says they all boil down to the same four lessons: Dream big, work hard, make mistakes and be kind. Are these earth-shattering insights? Of course not. They're some of the most agreed on pieces of advice in the world. But just because advice is common as dirt doesn't make it worthless. The fact that all these exceptional people offer such unexceptional advice might even be a worthwhile lesson in itself.

↦ Want More? NPR has amassed an impressive collection of commencement addresses, some going back to 1774.

Partner

Call it a marriage made in whiskey heaven. This buzzed-about brand is the first to bring together the best of Irish and American distilling traditions.

Are Calories on Menus Helpful?

They might not inspire healthier eating habits, but they do inspire guilt and shame

Do you pay attention to calorie counts on menus? I'm pretty sure I just mentally tune them out. And perhaps the majority of people do too.

New research has found that calorie labeling on menus hasn't significantly changed how many calories most people consume when they dine out, four years after the FDA began requiring chain restaurants nationwide to post how many calories are in their food.

Experts are still concerned about the calorie load from restaurant meals: Over a third of adults said they consumed fast food on a given day in a 2013-2016 national survey. Meanwhile, obesity rates have risen, from about 30% prevalence in 1999-2000 to 42% in 2017-2018, according to the most recent report from the CDC.

But Eater makes a good point: Advocates for calorie counts on menus have overlooked why people eat out, and more specifically why they frequently eat fast food. Yes, people eat it because they want a treat or something new. But a 2017 study suggested that the more time-crunched you are, the more likely you are to eat fast food. It's less a matter of choice than one of convenience—especially if your options are eating an “unhealthy” burger, or not having lunch at all.

↦ Dig Deeper: When it comes to the calories in our food, people aren’t very well equipped to add it all up. But does it mean that they shouldn’t bother? Vogue investigates.

Have You Tried DALL-E Mini Yet?

Meet the AI art generator that’s breaking the internet at the moment

This may not be news to you. Apparently DALL-E, the AI system that generates images from simple text prompts, has captured the internet's imagination over the past few weeks. But I was just turned onto it and had to share my amusement.

Despite the existential horrors that come from the ever-increasing wealth of knowledge gained by Artificial Intelligence, it can still be a source of joy and wonder. Created by the non-profit AI research group OpenAI, DALL-E is the latest in a series of tools that seem to tap into the internet's subconscious. The system uses machine learning to illustrate whatever phrases you feed into it—resulting in bizarre yet fairly realistic renderings.

Want to try? Of course you do. Just head over to the Hugging Face website. Type some words (any words) into the text box and then hit the Run button to start the program. The AI will then take over, “paint” the art, and generate the results.

It's easy, but not always functioning. So many people are utilizing it at one time that sometimes you get an error message. Just keep hitting the Run button until you see it start crunching the data.

↦ FYI: If you want to see a wild collection of the creations, there’s now a dedicated subreddit called WeirdDalle.

In Other News

↦ Ex-Trump Campaign Manager to Testify at Second Jan. 6th Hearing Today

↦ 31 Members of White Supremacist Group ‘Patriot Front’ Arrested Near Idaho Pride Event

↦ Virgil Abloh’s Work Abounded at Milan Design Week

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

‘Squid Game,’ season 2

Renting EVs

Out-horsing our email

Partner

How Do You Make Whiskey Better?

You combine the best of Irish and American distilling traditions

The whiskey world was rocked last year when Brian Nation, the former master distiller for some of Ireland's most famous whiskeys left his job to come to America and partnered with David Perkins, founder of High West distillery. The two very best experts have brought together their wealth of experience, knowledge and passion to a new craft operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota called Keeper's Heart Whiskey.

By combining the best of both countries' distilling traditions, they're creating a fresh and unique style of whiskey that has people clamoring to get a taste. Their latest release, Irish + Bourbon is a unique blend of rich Irish pot still and smooth Irish grain (both aged in American bourbon barrels) combined with bold American bourbon that delivers a wonderfully complex, layered and flavorful whiskey.

The familiar sweet taste of bourbon is accented with the earthy spices of the single Irish pot still whiskey and the delicate butterscotch sweetness from the Irish grain whiskey to deliver a unique tasting experience. There's a rich baked pecan sweetness on the nose, balanced by peppery, herbal notes and a sweet vanilla finish—ideal for any whiskey lover or as a gift this Father's Day.

↦ Get It: Keeper’s Heart is now available in 25 states on ReserveBar

Everyone Should Have a Rimowa

Which is why we’re giving one away

Rimowa’s signature aluminum luggage is the stuff of legends now, but back in 1937, it shifted what it meant to carry a high-quality travel bag. Instead of your standard (and heavy) leathers, the German luggage maker used lightweight aluminum to create streamlined and sturdy suitcases.

The bags instantly appealed to people who needed to travel out of necessity—architects, doctors, artists and engineers. The new line proved so successful, Rimowa and their nearly indestructible cases became something of a status symbol.

Like a Rolex or a Land Rover, they’re luxe but built for real world adventures. Of course, they don’t come cheap. Purchasing a new Rimowa Cabin will cost you $1,200. Or you win one for free by clicking below.

↦ Enter Now: Win a classic Rimowa carry-on

What We’re Eyeing

Two years of WFH made us all fans of slip-ons, slippers and slides. Now we're happily wearing them out of the house. And Viberg makes a really good looking pair ($645) that's as comfortable as it is stylish. The Mule is a unisex wholecut pattern featuring an unstructured toe and an open heel. The single-piece soft suede upper is finished with French binding for a sleek, clean look. And since it features the brand's channeled insole Goodyear Welt construction, the Mule will quickly mold to the shape of your foot and last you a lifetime.

↦ Want More? 5 stylish items to buy this week