Watches, Stories, & Gear: Tim Cook Steps Down, a James Brand Favorite Gets an Upgrade, and Amazing Photos From Artemis II

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear.

Artemis II Flyby Photos

It’s easy to plunge oneself into the nihilism that is our current political landscape, but the photos taken during the Artemis II mission offered something of an unfamiliar sensation upon viewing them. What was it…I can almost put my finger on it…oh yeah, a sense of hope. 

Taken during Artemis II’s seven-hour flyby around the Moon on April 6, these images show the lunar far side in remarkable detail, along with an in-space solar eclipse. While, of course, this feat in itself is impressive, there was something else that seemed to touch the hearts and imagination of us back on Earth – a trust in science, a camaraderie with our Canadian neighbors (one of the astronauts on board was Jeremy Hansen with the Canadian Space Agency), and a change in perspective that, no matter what’s buzzing in the news cycle, we really are just a little blue marble rolling around the universe.

Beef, Season 2

Netflix’s original series Beef is back for a second season, garnering similar critical acclaim as its first. This season, we meet an all-new cast, including Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton, and Cailee Spaeny, and an all-new drama, focused both on economic and generational conflicts interacting against the drumbeat of dark humor that Lee Sung Jin can execute with a surgical precision into his dialogue and plotlines.

As this Deadline piece notes, Lee used his real-life experiences – from emergency room wait times to class distinctions at country clubs – as inspiration for this season’s Beef. But the themes of money, status, and age reach well beyond Lee’s own experience, giving the show a broader resonance. It’s my belief this is the secret sauce of the show: with so much of our world not clouded in the automated, curated, almost sterile world of AI, it’s nice to watch something with a little grit, a little emotion, that is anchored in a reality that we’ve all experienced, whether we wanted to or not.

Tim Cook Steps Down

After 15 years, Tim Cook has announced his decision to step down as the CEO of Apple, with John Ternus set to replace him. While Cook will stay on as Chairman, Ternus will undoubtedly lead Apple into the next era for the company – one dominated by AI, a market in which Apple has struggled to gain a substantial foothold.

Under Cook’s tenure, Apple grew the company’s revenue from $350 million in 2011 to the latest figures valuing the tech company at $4 trillion. While there’s no doubt that Cook was the right successor to Jobs, Ternus’ hardware chops will come in handy in staying ahead in an unsteady, yet highly competitive, market. Ternus has been credited with being part of some of the most defining projects in Apple’s history: the iPad, the AirPods, and the transition of Apple taking their chips in-house.

Once he’s settled into the role, I just hope he answers my email where I suggested they bring the classic iPod back (preferably with a streaming option).

The James Brand’s All-New Elko

If you’re in the market for a pint-sized pocket knife that won’t break the first time you use it (or, for that matter, break the bank either), the James Brand’s second-generation Elko has been redesigned from the ground up for even better performance and durability. Coming in four colorways, the keychain-style pocket knife has been designed with machined 6061 Aircraft-Grade Aluminum handles, a Sandvik 12C27 stainless steel blade, and a multi-purpose prybar that can be used as the knife’s keyring, a bottle opener, and a screwdriver. With summer around the corner, now’s a good time to reevaluate your EDC set-up and the Elko might be the perfect solution you didn’t know you needed.

Street Fighter Trailer

For fans of the video game franchise (or Nicki Minaj’s 2018 single “Chun-Li”), the release of the Street Fighter movie last week has gotten a bit of attention online. With its over-the-top costuming, cartoon-like performances, and high-octane fight scenes, director Kitao Sakurai isn’t trying to make a cinéma vérité piece here – and I’m all the more thankful for it. And, considering Sakurai’s longtime partnership with Eric André, I’m sure we can expect a level of absurdism that complements the video game-turned-film genre much more than, perhaps, more “serious” directors.

The post Watches, Stories, & Gear: Tim Cook Steps Down, a James Brand Favorite Gets an Upgrade, and Amazing Photos From Artemis II appeared first on Worn & Wound.

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