The Daily Valet. - 7/29/21, Thursday

✔️ Nike Puts Its Foot Down

Thursday, July 29th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

If I were in Chicago today, I would be checking out Lollapalooza.

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

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Today’s Big Story

Nike Puts Its Foot Down

Cracking down on customizations could mean a reckoning for sneaker artists

Following its criminal prosecution of bootleggers, Nike is now cracking down on the growing customization businesses that revolve around some of the footwear maker’s most popular products.

According to The Fashion Law, the sportswear behemoth filed a suit in federal court asserting that it’s facing “a growing threat [of] unlawful infringement and dilution by others that seek to unfairly trade-off of Nike’s successes by leveraging the value of the brand to traffic in fake products.” One of those third-parties that’s looking to piggyback on the appeal of Nike and the burgeoning customization market? Drip Creationz.

Days later, Nike filed a complaint against a former employee that alleged trademark infringement and dilution, reports WWD.

The suits follow Nike’s settlement earlier this year with MSCHF over the sale of rapper Lil Nas X “Satan Shoes,” tied to the visual themes of his hit video for “Call Me by Your Name” that he released in March.

Vicky Vuong, the artist behind sneaker customization business Cestlavic, told Footwear News that customizers are often viewed as “strong ambassadors for Nike products” by using their products as canvases for their artistic creations.

It is important to note that Nike stated, “it has no desire to limit the individual expression of creatives and artisans, many of whom are some of Nike’s biggest fans.” Though it “cannot allow ‘customizers’ to build a business on the backs of its most iconic trademarks, undermining the value of those marks and the message they convey to consumers.

↦ FYI: The legal fallout from the so-called Satan Shoes inspired Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby” music video.

A Big Deal on Infrastructure

The roughly $1 trillion deal clears its first procedural hurdle

A major infrastructure package passed a key test vote Wednesday in the Senate, just hours after a bipartisan working group announced a deal after more than a month of negotiating.

The Senate voted 67-32 to begin debate on the measure, getting 17 Republicans to sign on—more than the 10 needed to break a filibuster. Of course, final passage is not assured. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told NBC News that senators may work into the weekend to finish it up.

According to Associated Press, President Biden welcomed the accord as one that would show America can “do big things.” The bill will target $7.5 billion toward a national network of electric vehicle charging stations, $25 billion for airport improvements, as well as roughly $50 billion to better equip communities to withstand extreme weather events.

But lawmakers will now need to navigate a potentially grueling amendment process while maintaining a bipartisan coalition that faces pressures from both conservatives and progressives.

↦ FYI: The package still includes $110 billion for highways, $65 billion for broadband and $73 billion to modernize the nation's electric grid.

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A Serious Black Hole Discovery

And it actually proves Einstein’s theory of general relativity ... over a century later

A team of astronomers at Stanford University have detected light coming from behind a black hole in a first ever observation that proves famed theoretical physicist Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.

The gravitational pull from black holes essentially bends light rays around themselves, which gave scientists their first glimpse of what lies behind. A co-author of the research, published Wednesday in Nature, said: “Fifty years ago, when astrophysicists started to speculate how the magnetic field might behave close to a black hole, they had no idea that one day we might have the techniques to observe this directly and see Einstein's theory in action.”

Why does this matter? According to Inverse, the new findings add one more brick in the column of evidence supporting general relativity. There are also implications for better understanding galaxies, stars and black holes themselves.

It's thought that most galaxies contain a supermassive black hole at their center, including our own Milky Way. The next step for the researchers is to refine the new techniques to get better and better measurements of X-ray echoes, as well as a better picture of what the area around a black hole actually looks like.

‘Arthur’ Is Ending

But, of course, the memes will live on

All good things must come to an end, right? Beloved PBS Kids show Arthur will wrap up after its 25th season, which debuts in 2022.

According to Deadline, the show—which first aired in 1996—follows the titular character (an aardvark) and his other animal friends as they navigate life, school and relationships. Based on the books by Marc Brown, it's the longest-running children's animated series to ever run.

Maybe you grew up with the show. Or perhaps you're more familiar with the countless memes that sprang from the program over the years.

In fact, they went so viral that the official Twitter account for Arthur addressed them. It even posted a tweet on Wednesday afternoon that reads, “The Internet realizing Arthur has been on PBS Kids for 25 years ... and will be there for many more years! #staytuned.”

↦ FYI: Ziggy Marley, the son of Bob Marley, performed the show's theme song (about empathy and believing in yourself and others).

In Other News

↦ ‘OK Not to Be OK’: Mental Health Takes Top Role at Olympics

↦ Eating Foods High in Flavonoids Could Slow Down Cognitive Decline

↦ Here’s What Some People Think About Gawker Coming Back

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Bob Odenkirk

These old school shorts

This music video

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