On the record

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today. Fed minutes reveal governors considering September rate hike; the growing market for functional non-alcoholic beverages; and Tom Holland hits the jackpot

Let’s get into it!

Non-alcoholic (NA) beverages have been steadily growing in popularity in recent years, driven by a broad societal shift toward greater health-consciousness, and the fact that young people are drinking less alcohol.

While the traditional beer enjoyer might find it bizarre that anyone would be looking for functional health qualities in booze, the market is growing rapidly for NA beverages that include things like electrolytes, adaptogens, amino acids, prebiotics, etc.

One of the first products out of the gate arrived with Wellbeing Brewing’s 2018 launch of Victory Wheat, which the brewery describes as “enriched with all-natural electrolytes and vitamins.”

The trend has even made its way to some of Europe’s most evangelical beer hotspots. Ghent, Belgium and Edinburgh, Scotland are respectively home to Thrive Beer and BRULO’s All Good IPA.

The former includes recovery, hydration, and relaxation blends, which respectively include protein, vitamins B and D, and magnesium. The latter is advertised as containing five grams of fiber per 11oz can.

HOPKIND is yet another that launched recently in the United States, which its president, Adam Klausner, describes as “a natural postbiotic canvas.”

“There is no [functional NA beer] category yet,” he said, noting it “isn’t elbowing its way into an existing conversation, it’s rewriting the script entirely.”

Another short-term trend, or the future of beer?

Clinical psychologists often hear their patients question their own sensory anticipation. “Is it intuition or just my anxiety?”

If this question is being asked, the answer is typically the latter. If you’re an intuitive person, you can attest to the epiphanic clarity of that “aha!” moment; you just know what you know.

Swiss psychologist Carl Jung considered intuition one of the four pillars of consciousness, next to thinking, feeling, and sensation. He did not consider it an emotion, but its own form of awareness in relation to the world.

In fact, the feeling of awe that often comes with being met by an intuitive revelation is often described as a brief moment in which the barrier between self and world is breached, and the two are experienced as one.

Intuition is rooted in the present, though with a clarity about the future that transcends normal logical discourse. It’s difficult to scientifically explain how you know what a puzzle looks like before acquiring and assembling the pieces.

Anxiety, on the other hand, is rooted squarely in emotions associated with past negative experiences. Anxiety is a survival instinct, but it’s insecure and ignorant, constantly bubbling into the conscious mind in search of reassurance.

Tom Holland would have had an incredibly successful year just from his role in Chris Nolan’s The Odyssey. Instead, he’s having a generationally successful summer with the explosive popularity of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The film has eclipsed $2 billion in worldwide box office revenue, and is already the 8th-highest grossing movie ever released (though not adjusted for inflation).

The man behind the man behind the mask, Tom Holland is reportedly poised to take home more money than any villain in a Spider-Man comic could ever dream of.

“Three individuals with knowledge of Holland’s deal” told The Wrap that, on top of his “base salary of at least $20 million up front,” he has “the potential to earn upwards of $100 million when backend bonuses are factored in. [His] backend bonus is not capped, so there’s no ceiling to how much he may ultimately make.”

Holland is just 30 years old. His first appearance as Spider-Man was ten years ago in Captain America: Civil War, for which he earned $250,000.

Like the arachnid DNA develops and forces Peter Parker to level up with each new film, Tom Holland is showing no sign of slowing down.

Christopher Columbus wasn’t even alive yet the last time white storks were seen in Derbyshire of the English Midlands region. King Henry VI was declaring war on France, and William Shakespeare was 150 years away.

In 2020, exactly 604 years after the fabled bird last nested anywhere in the U.K., British conservation authorities began an effort to reintroduce them, and they’ve officially returned, bringing along babies of their own.

They’ve joined the beaver as the next animal to gracefully reacclimate to their once-natural habitat. Beavers had been gone from the region for an even-longer 800 years (as far back as the Magna Carta).

“This project offers a rare opportunity to facilitate the return of a key missing species,” said Harvey Tweats, Director of Celtic Rewilding, in a statement.

“The Trent Valley is uniquely placed to support white stork recovery in the Midlands, combining extensive wetland habitats with restoration opportunities in former gravel pits. Historical evidence, including archaeological finds and place names around the Humber, also points to the species’ former presence.”

Burnin’ down the what?

Get ready to start flexin’ those pipes, Staker. It might just help you figure out the next line with today’s complete the lyric trivia 🎤 🤩