This past week or two have been excellent for those among us who feast on eye candy… we’ve had the Oscars, Brad Pitt, NYFW… a veritable pinata of high glycemic people watching. Given that sugar high, you may have missed the big buzz going down in NYC last week, celebrating 25 years of MLS. Running right in front of the fashion crowd, the elites of Major League Soccer and Adidas put on a show that was loaded with celebs to introduce the 2020 new performance kit collection. Fresh and modern, this new gear will likely join the pantheon of sports/streetwear looks gracing the streets this summer. Check out the new lewks above.

In today’s highly visual world, owning something is far less important than being photographed in it. Our endless feeds have awakened a voracious appetite for more stuff, but our heightened awareness of a planet at risk (along with some minor budgetary concerns) have given birth to a world of rental and subscription options. The result – dozens if not hundreds of start-ups hoping to rotate hot and fresh looks into our closets, if only for a moment. So far, the biggest boom has been for women, with gently worn couture and high street lines driving most adoption (think the RealReal, Rent the Runway, and more). Nordstrom’s announced last month that they will be opening resale departments in major metro markets this year. But there is a new movement afoot, focused on young men, and serving up streetwear, specifically. From coveted kicks to fly watches, these new start-ups are betting on the ever escalating desire – and high costs – of streetwear to drive to success. With this new cross over trend, it looks like closed loop, fashion rental services have made the move to permanence. (And given the increasing agenderism of the style category we think the girls will be showing up here too) . Check ‘em out.

One of the first laws of marketing is to go where you consumers are. Well, the Girl Scouts of Chicago are heading the call! Following the recent legislation legalizing marijuana dispensaries in the state of Illinois, legions of young girls toting that legal form of crack: Thin Mints, are setting up to manage your munchies. Last Sunday, one Brownie troop hustled over 230 boxes outside of a dispensary in just a few hours. The owner of the location, Abigail Watkins, approves. She also noted that one particular blend of marijuana the shop sells is a strain that originated on the West Coast, originally called Girl Scout Cookie. It sold out last weekend as well. Here’s to Cookie Capitalism!!

Who would have thought that Canada would become the trendsetting capital of the modern world? (well – who besides Meghan and Harry, obvi). After becoming the second country to legalize marijuana (yes – the first was Uruguay, you are correct!), Canada is now making moves to provide the first federally sanctioned capital resource for psychedelic drug companies this year. The Canadian Securities Exchange, which has become the go-to stock market for U.S. cannabis companies that can’t list at home, is now expecting listings from psychedelic drug companies in 2020. To be clear, this is not about recreational use, but rather for companies developing medical treatments from psychedelic drugs like LSD, ketamine and the active ingredient in magic mushrooms.

Makes the phrase ‘Run for the Border’ that much more enticing…

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How do I love thee? Let me count the days. In an artisinal version of lighting a single candle to banish darkness, crafters around the world are using their needles to register climate change. A Twitter thread started by writer Josie George jumpstarted the project, urging others to follow suite. “I decided that this year, every day, I would knit a row on a scarf to mark the corresponding daily temperature/weather of my town. It felt like a good way to engage with the changing climate and changing year. A way to notice and not look away.” The project has been adopted by crafters of every medium, who use their skills to make a permanent note of the ephemeral changes of the every day. Follow the hashtag #temperatureblanket to see work made in the name of love.

In more Earth Mother-love inspired craftiness, a new sustainable-focused clothing brand, Panagaia, has unveiled a new puffer coat that promises to warm you with flowers. Instead of the traditional duck or goose down coveted by most cold weather customers, the company has developed a unique process that stuffs the puff with Flower Down – a fiber derived from wildflowers. And… the flowers themselves grow wild and serve as fodder for a butterfly sanctuary before they are harvested. The thought alone warms our cold little hearts.

We are told we are living in a global village these days, but sometimes, it is incredibly hard to imagine exactly how day to day lives play out elsewhere, especially in times of crisis (times that perhaps demand the greatest empathy.) As reports of the panic and deaths in China dutifully roll across our news feed, it feels hard to translate the numbers into emotion. One photographer looked to offer up a more visceral picture of fear and isolation. Shanghai-based American photographer Nicoco has embarked on a photography series that documents how the illness has rendered China’s largest metropolis (population 23.4 million) a ghost city. “My objective for this series was to capture the feeling of apocalyptic emptiness. Some of the photos may look as if they were captured at strange early morning hours, but as a collection, it seeks to reinforce there were no people, anywhere.” The fear is palpable. The condition, universal. Our work? To not look away.

Love can sound like a cry of passion, it can sound like a howl of pain…or even, the whimper of compromise. Whatever the feelings being expressed, one can only hope it sounds like Colombian-Canadian singer Lido Pimienta. “Eso Que Tu Haces,” her latest track from her new album (due in April), tugs at the heart while making a substantial cultural statement weaving Afro-Colombian roots with an electrical quality that pulls it into the future. Mesmerizing and addictive.

Time can do amazing things – it can make pain small, joy large, and even tinge the banality of the everyday with a hot pink brush of nostalgia. Tame Impala, the Australian singer who rose to meteoric fame several years ago, is ready to tangle with our hearts once again with his latest release, Slow Rush. Soft, yearning, sarcastic and sardonic, this single calls out our own heart blindness, but gently, as one who has been there too. A perfect Valentine for the heart that pines…

Love of a child – any parent will tell you it is perhaps the most powerful love of all. We will do anything for their happiness. Well, the digiterati are here to serve that wish, despite our own complicated feelings about what results. First up – the popular YouTube channel Cocomelon is diving deep into the merch game to supplement the ad revenue lost after the server giant had to tighten controls on kids content. But don’t cry for Coco! This YouTube channel dedicated to nursery rhymes and creators of original songs and characters generates about $2.5 billion views in a typical month!

In terms of viewership, an average Cocomelon video dwarfs that of most of the world’s sports leagues, pop stars, and scripted TV. In fact, It’s the second-most-watched YouTube channel, trailing only T-Series, India’s music king. (That ain’t tater tots!! ) As they ready their foray into toys and plush, we can only expect their fanbase to want more.

Next up – let’s all sing-a-long! Spotify is coming for your kids! By popular demand, Spotify has launched into beta a ‘walled garden’ for kids. Available only to Premium users of the service, Spotify Kids is ad-free, algorithm-free and totally separate from the main Spotify app. Parents set up the guardrails and can keep Taylor and Justin out of the playground until the age they deem appropriate. The colors are soft, the features rounded, and the premise lovely. The question is how long this garden can stay neatly tended before the kudzu creeps in.

I think it was Selena Gomez who once said: “The heart wants what it wants.” For Monty Python co-founder Terry Jones that love was for Chaucer. The comedian, who died last month, was also a scholar of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, and even had written two books about the great English poet. Before his death, he was collaborating on a Canterbury Tales app called the “General Prologue.” It was to be the first in a series…it’s a lovely testament to a rich talent.