Category Archives: Futurist

From air travel to restaurants and mom-and-pop shops, businesses relying heavily on the in-person customer connection have been hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Shopping malls are no exception.

Retail futurist Doug Stephens ends an interview trying to sound positive about the retail industry. But he acknowledges its not easy to be upbeat.

We could be facing a retail refugee crisis, said Stephens, who founded and runs the consulting firm Retail Prophet. He describes monumental changes ahead for Canadas retailers and their employees, especially those located in large and medium-size shopping malls across the country.

Problems lie ahead for workers and the companies that own historically-profitable shopping properties occupied by retail brands that are struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are going to have a crisis in the commercial real estate market, Stephens makes clear.

Theres no way to get around or candy-coat it.

READ MORE: What shopping will look like as retail stores open across Canada

Retailers couldnt open their stores for weeks as a result of the global pandemic. In many parts of Canada, including Ontario, shopping malls still are not permitted to reopen to the public.

Many stores and shopping malls that have reopened have found an unenthusiastic consumer base reluctant to come back.

If they had no great reason to go four months ago, they are going to have much less reason to go in (the next) four months, said Marina Strauss, who spent 40 years as a Canadian journalist, mostly with the Globe and Mail.

Strauss spent the last 20 years at the newspaper reporting on the retail industry until her retirement in 2019.

To get people back at the malls they will need to really convince people theyre safe and theyre something to go for, she told Global News in an interview.

It wont be easy.

READ MORE: Can I try on clothes now that stores are reopening?

I dont predict the death of the shopping centre, I think the question is: what will it become?' said Lisa Hutcheson, managing partner of J.C. Williams Group, a Toronto-based retail industry consultancy.

Hutcheson says mall owners and retailers are wrestling to figure out how to open and operate businesses safely, knowing they must limit the number of customers in stores to ensure physical distancing.

The COVID-19 crisis has driven consumers to shop differently out of necessity. Online shopping for everything from groceries to clothing to electronics has become mainstream.

The internet is the biggest big box store in the world, said Stephens.

Anything I want is in that store 24 hours a day.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated change in retail, which was already in the midst of upheaval. For example, J.C. Penney, a 118-year-old retailer, filed for bankruptcy in May.

What COVID-19 is really doing is pushing the retail industry out of the industrial age of retail and into the digital age of retail. This is going to be really painful, not just for brands, it will be painful for consumers as well, said Stephens.

Almost inevitably, the shift to digital will have an effect on traditional stores.

READ MORE: B.C. retail stores are reopening mid-May. Heres what they need to do

We are going to see stores close, we are going to see more dark spaces in malls, thats not going to attract people either, said Strauss.

Rather than occupying a huge footprint, retailers may favour smaller stores designed to give consumers a taste of what theyre about.

It might be a showroom where people come in and the product is shipped to them at a separate time, said Hutcheson.

2020Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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The New Reality: Future of shopping malls in jeopardy as COVID-19 pandemic pushes shoppers online - cjoy.com

Even when a vaccine for COVID-19 becomes available, many in the U.S. may decide not to take it.

At least, thats the result of a new poll of 1,056 Americans conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.Its alarming conclusion: only 49 percent of American adults plan on getting vaccinated against the coronavirus, AP News reports.

The results were divided by political party. 26 percent of Republican respondents said they definitely wouldnt get the vaccine compared to 14 percent of Democrats.

Respondents seemed to be mostly concerned about the safety of the vaccine, according to the researchers.

Some of those concerns stemfrom a misunderstanding of how vaccines work. AP News reports that 40 percent of people who dont plan on getting a vaccine whenever it becomes available are concerned that they may catch the coronavirus from the injection.

But all the most promising vaccine candidates dont actually contain SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, meaning its impossible for the vaccine to transmit the disease.

Others said they were concerned about the potential side effects of vaccines that are being developed and tested under an accelerated timeline. Thats more understandable for instance, STAT News reports that a man who took the vaccine being developed by Moderna Therapeutics suffered side effects including a 103-degree Fahrenheit fever and needed to go to urgent care.

I would not want people to think that were cutting corners because that would be a big mistake. I think this is an effort to try to achieve efficiencies, but not to sacrifice rigor, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins told AP News. Definitely the worst thing that could happen is if we rush through a vaccine that turns out to have significant side effects.

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Only One in Two Americans Say They'd Take a COVID-19 Vaccine - Futurism

Virtual Hugs

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are officially on their way to Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center.

Their journey could become the first time astronauts have returned to the International Space Station from American soil since 2011. Their ride is a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft thats lifting off at 4:33 pm Eastern time if everything goes according to plan and the weather plays along.

But thanks to the ongoing pandemic, their goodbyes to their loved ones were bittersweet: Behnken and Hurley had to resort to giving their families a virtual hug from six feet away, thanks to social distancing rules and to ensure that the coronavirus wont make it into space.

It was an emotional scene. Well, Im crying, Axios Space editor Miriam Kramer wrote on Twitter.

Both astronauts have been under quarantine since May 13. Contact with others has been kept to a minimum.

SpaceX has already completed more than twenty trips to the space station to date, albeit without passengers on board. Heres to hoping Behnken and Hurely make it to the space station safe and sound as well.

More on the launch: Stormy Weather May Delay SpaceXs Historic Launch

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Watch the Astronauts Give Their Kids Virtual Hugs Before Launch - Futurism

Liverpool has always been a great city but over the years it has changed dramatically.

As trends change and time moves on, it can be hard to remember what the city centre used to look like.

From the closure of Littlewoods and Woolworths, to more recent changes, like the development of Liverpool ONE and the demolition of the Futurist Cinema, parts of the city are unrecognisable today.

To see just how much it has changed, we took a look back in our archive at different sections of the city and some of the stores which have now sadly closed their doors.

Liverpool ONE opened in 2008 and completely changed the city centre.

Paradise Street, North and South John Street and sections of Church Street were all transformed by what was called the "Paradise project".

Photos from our archive show just how much the area has changed since the early 2000's, including the car park, bus station and Moat House which aren't around today.

Coopers is remembered by many shoppers for the distinct smell of coffee running through the air.

The butchers and bakers come green grocers, was a popular spot with shoppers and had a second home on Bold Street.

It remained on Church Street until the early 1970s, when it was replaced by the former WH Smith's site which is now home to River Island.

It's hard to remember a time without Primark on Church Street - but before the fast fashion retailer opened its doors in 2005 the site was home to Littlewoods.

Littlewoods is one of the biggest names in Liverpool business history, with owner John Moores starting the company in 1932, when he launched a mail order shopping business.

The first Littlewoods store officially opened in 1937 but it wasnt until after WWII that the company came to Church street.

Today, Littlewoods is known by shoppers as an online shopping catalogue, based in Speke.

The buildings in St George's Place were once home to a range of different shops and a popular Chinese restaurant.

Illuminated with colourful signs, the Victorian buildings advertised everything from Manns and Double Diamond beers, to Schweppes, Martell and even the Co-op.

Today, they have been replaced by St Johns Shopping Centre and the Holiday Inn.

The original St John's Market opened in 1822 and soon became a landmark for visitors to the city.

The vast building between Great Charlotte Street and Market Street, designed by John Foster junior, was divided into five huge shopping avenues.

However, it could sadly not survive Liverpools 1960s building boom.

The building, along with many streets around it, was cleared and its site eventually became the St Johns Shopping Centre.

While that centre was being built, the market moved to a temporary new home on Great Charlotte Street, opposite Blacklers store.

Eventually the market moved to its current home in the St Johns Shopping Centre which was reopened by the Queen in 1971.

The iconic market underwent another transformation in summer 2016 when it closed for a 2.5m revamp. This renovation saw the market grow by a third from 90 stalls to approximately 120.

Dating back to 1921, The Futurist cinema was demolished in 2016 to make way for a 39m redevelopment.

The cinema had stood derelict for decades after it showed its last film on Saturday, July 17, 1982.

The redevelopment of the block saw the cinema and surrounding buildings replaced by a hotel, student accommodation and a Lidl store.

Designed by artist Anthony Brown, the facade of the building tells the story of the history of the street, from the Futurist to the Yankee Bar, the National Milk Bar and even Marks & Spencer.

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Before 2008 the front of Lime Street station featured an arcade of shops and an office tower block.

In July 2008, the shops and tower block were demolished and work began on creating the new station frontage and redeveloping the area.

The Lime Street Gateway project, cost 35m and was completed in October 2010.

The station front looked completely different back in the early 2000's, with shops blocking the entrance to the historic station.

Bold Street has a thriving independent scene, with restaurants selling food from around the world.

But just over a decade ago, the street was dramatically different from what it is today.

As photos taken from our archive show, at one time the street had more retail shops than restaurants.

Stores including Argos, HMV and the Rex Liverpool department store which were based in Radiant House have now sadly closed their doors.

In April 2017, LIV Organic and Natural Food Market opened in Radiant House after the building underwent a 1m restoration.

However, in January, the food market closed suddenly after nearly three years in business, when a bailiff notice was left in the window.

Today businesses situated at the bottom of Bold Street include Taco Bell, The Cat Cafe and The Sweets and Gift Company.

Where John Lewis in Liverpool ONE now stands a Sailors' Home stood in Canning Place for nearly 120 years.

From 1852 to 1969, the building provided board and lodgings, as well as a range of other services, to thousands of merchant seamen before it was demolished in 1974.

The home offered educational and recreational opportunities and was built not only to provide safe board and lodging but also a bank, medical facilities and a register of good character which allowed ship owners to find suitable crewman.

It was the end of an era when Woolworths closed over 800 stores between December 2008 and January 2009, including one in St John's Shopping Centre.

Known to many as Woolies, the iconic store sold everything from clothing and books to games, pick 'n' mix and chocolate fountains.

The St Johns site remained vacant for a number of years after the closure, before it was transformed into a huge Aldi store.

Today the supermarket is popular with students thanks to its location near to Grand Central student accommodation at the side of Lime Street.

The former BHS store on Lord Street closed its doors in August 2016, leaving a big hole in the citys most important shopping street.

After months of speculation and waiting, H&M opened for business in the building in November 2018.

Spread over two floors, the store has clothing, kidswear, homeware and beauty departments.

Prior to the move in 2018, H&M closed its Liverpool ONE branch which was based on Paradise Street to make way for this huge new store.

McDonald's opened its doors in Clayton Square shopping centre on the corner of Church Street and Ranelagh Street, in October 2017.

The site was formerly home to a My Local store, as part of Morrisons bid to create a chain of smaller shops to rival Tesco Express.

The unit, which had previously been a Disney Store, became a convenience store in 2014.

Morrisons sold its M Local stores in 2015 to private investors, who renamed them My Local. But the chain struggled and went into administration in June 2016.

The world's biggest Lush store opened its doors in Liverpool city centre in March 2019.

Spread over three floors, the store is five times bigger than Liverpool's previous Lush store and includes a whole wall dedicated to famous bath bombs.

The store which opened in the former Dorothy Perkins and Burton building on Church Street, also boasts a hair salon, a florist and a perfume library.

Read more here:
Changing face of Liverpool city centre and the shops we've lost along the way - Liverpool Echo

Before he was known for his own songwriting, Jason Wilber played many musical stages alongside the legendary John Prine. As Prine's guitar player, Wilber cut his teeth on the live circuit in a big way, more recently becoming his musical director. Upon the country-folk icon's passing due to complications of COVID-19 earlier this year, Wilber reflected on his time with his boss and friend for an American Songwriter piece. Now, a small piece of the "Zen of Prine" lives on in Wilber. He is exmplary roots artist with his own collection of world-weary reflections and offbeat poetic to share, and he's been doing so since 1998's Lost in Your Hometown.

Now, Wilber is hot on the release of an all-new cluster of songs. Titled Time Traveler, his latest is a contemplative collection of acoustic folk and Americana. When it comes to the allegories that he weaves, Wilber is unafraid of the supernatural and intergalactic. If the album title weren't hint enough, Time Traveler features such songs as "The Disappearance of Bigfoot" and "Living in Space". Musically, it's serious, straight-shooting roots done up in a traditional style, making for a juxtaposition fully intended by the artist. At times irreverent, pensive, and worldlyand, at other times, all three at onceTime Traveler is a more-than-worthy new addition to Wilber's expansive catalog.

Wilber reflects, "Time Traveler is about the science fiction that has become our modern world. Futurism contrasted with some of our traditional musical forms. I had no idea how timely the themes would be now as the album is coming out. Living together and living in isolation, living on the earth and living off the earth; the seasons and cycles we live through in our own lives, and that we see played out in history."

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Folk's Jason Wilber Examines the World Through a Futurist Lens in 'Time Traveler' (album stream) - PopMatters

Unemployment Claims Update; Futurist Ponders New Normal; Interisland Shipper Seeks Funding Aid; Foster Parenting

Unemployment Claims Update

Thousands of jobless are still waiting for their unemployment checks but scammers may be trying to jump in line in front of them. State Labor Director Scott Murakami reviews the progress in processing the record-breaking number of claims. He assures the public that safeguards are in place to make sure the money gets into the right hands.

ThePandemic Unemployment Assistance websiteis available 24/7.

Scott Murakami, Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Director

Futurist Ponders New Normal

With all the talk about reopening our economyhow can futurists studies help as we make tough decisions about what is going to be the new normal? Political scientist and Hawaii Research Center of Futures Studies Director Jairus Groves studies alternatives.

HPR Reporter Noe Tanigawa

Interisland Shipper Seeks Funding Aid

Today's RealityCheck is about one of the lifelines in our community, Young Brothers and the financial assistance needed to keep its interisland service running. Click here to read Stuart Yertons story at CivilBeat.org.

Chad Blair, Politics & Opinion Editor, Honolulu Civil Beat

Foster Parenting

During this health and economic crisis, children from broken homes are still in need of safe care from foster families. Jonathan and Danielle Mendoza have years of experience with foster care within Catholic Charities Hawaii, and they say that the challenging times have complicated what was already a tough situation. Click here to learn more about CCH's program, which connects foster parents with children in need.

Foster parents Jonathan and Danielle Mendoza with Catholic Charities Hawaii

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The Conversation: Beware of Unemployment Insurance Scammers - Hawaiipublicradio

Six months ago, Greater Victoria was celebrating one of its strongest business climate in years. Now, much like the rest of the world, its facing an economic recovery that could take years.

Around us, local economies are faltering. Health-care systems are strained. Were all told to stay at home and when we do venture out to observe social distancing.

Blame the coronavirus.

ALSO READ: Depression-era unemployment figures could hit Greater Victoria

Even futurist Jim Bottomley didnt see it coming.

This isnt like any economic downturn before because when you look at past recessions, typically theyre human made, said Bottomley, a Sooke resident.

This time its an actual physical threat. Its a very scary because people didnt see it coming.

But recovery is coming, say officials.

Paul Nursey, the CEO of Destination Greater Victoria, says the Islands tourism industry was the first to be affected by the COVID-19-induced slump, and will likely be the last to fully recover.

His group is working on an 18-month plan through to next summer that aims to keep as much of the industry intact as possible, including reaching out for more government support.

Its really about making sure [those government measures] can actually help us back to recovery and are not just there in the short term. Otherwise, I cant see how our small- to medium-sized businesses are going to last until next summer, Nursey said.

Sooke Mayor Maja Tait, who is also president of the Union of B.C. Municipalities, said recovery will likely look different from one corner of the province to the other.

We know a rush to recover economically will result in a spike of [COVID19] cases, she said.

The road to recovery will be long and hard for most industries, Bottomley said.

This is something thats not going away, he said, noting the 1918 flu pandemic lasted nearly two years, and the second wave was bigger than the first.

The scary part about this particular virus is that its very spreadable.

But there are positives, Bottomley said.

As with any major disruption throughout world history, society has changed often for the better.

He predicts a real disruption on how industries work, more entrepreneurs (although he admits many small businesses will likely shutter), and how we connect each with each other through innovation and technology.

Many businesses have realized that employees can work at home and be productive, and that will mean communities like Sooke could be in for more growth.

Companies wont locate to where they want to locate. Theyll be going to where the workers live, Bottomley said, noting we are entering an innovation age where jobs and careers are changing.

Tait said the District of Sooke is already seeing that movement as council work towards a new work plan for some of its employees.

READ MORE: Employers worry about safety, cash flow, second wave in COVID-19 restart

Were likely going to see more municipal staff work at home permanently, those who dont necessarily meet with the public on a daily basis, she said.

Weve seen through the pandemic productivity and performance climb through the roof.

editor@sookenewsmirror.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

SIDEBAR

The quickest way to economic recovery is to find a vaccine for COVID-19, says futurist Jim Bottomley.

Vaccines are perceived as key to ending the restraints on work and life that have decimated the global economy, and returning to some sense of normalcy.

Worldwide, there are nearly five million positive cases and over 300,000 have been killed by the virus.

The vaccine is what everyone is hoping for and the sooner the better. But it could still be years away, Bottomley said.

Coronavirus

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The long road to recovery will have a few bumps Victoria News - Victoria News

Our new series, Rebuilding America, sheds light on the many efforts to resume life and reopen in the aftermath of the deadly coronavirus pandemic USA TODAY

America will rebuild. But much like shopowners removing boards off windows in the wake of a natural disaster, Americans aren't quitesurewhat the aftermath of the deadly coronavirus pandemic will look like.

Will our economic engine need to change what it sells and how it sells it? Will the same consumer habits return? Can the familiar rhythms of the nation's unabashedly capitalist system resume?

The galvanic forces exerted by pandemics have always shaped global history, says Marina Gorbis, executive director at the Institute for the Future, a nonprofit think tank in Palo Alto, California.

Whether its the bubonic plague, the Spanish flu or coronavirus, pandemics inevitably are both health events and social events that cause transformations in society and politics, she says.

(Photo: Starbucks)

Leading indicators from soaring unemployment to looming bankruptcies suggest a rough re-start. As the nation opens, scientists continue afeverish search for a vaccine while health officials remain concerned that the coming fall and winter could bring a spike in new virus cases that require renewed quarantines.

But those possible obstacles aside, those who study the human march through history say it is vital to remember the nation'sfuture can be better than its past.

This isnt a snow day where youre waiting for the sun to shine and the world to return, because the world we have lived in for so long in many ways is never coming back, says Jamie Metzl, technology futurist and co-founder of OneShared.World, an online group that promotes a globally interconnected response to the pandemic.

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for the country, the world and our species, says Metzl. Everyone has a role to play to build back something better than what is being destroyed.

From Maine to California,reconstruction has started, in most places with equal parts excitement and caution.

Kurt Smith wears a mask while helping a customer at the reopened Schnee's boot store on May 4, 2020 in Bozeman, Montana.(Photo: William Campbell, Getty Images)

In Roswell, Georgia, restaurant general manager Mikaela Cupp says "the communitys excited, theres this pent-up We want to get out of the house energy."

But in Atlanta, office worker Denita Jones fears bringing the virus home to her family since few coworkers wear masks.

I see people going back to pre-pandemic behavior like everythings OK in the world, and the rest of us are walking on eggshells, she says.

As this tenuous rebuilding phase unfolds, the USA TODAY Network took a deep dive intoa dozen societal sectors to get a sense of how things might look in the future for key facets of the economy.

The result is a portrait of a nation in the initial throes of a rebirth, one both painful and high-risk as the country continues to feel thetoll in human lives and economic livelihoods.Among ourglimpses into the future:

Health care:Despite its critical role in safeguarding the public during the pandemic, the virus has exposed the dire distress of those without healthcare, the financially tenuous nature of smaller hospitals, and the need to better secure nursing homes, whose residents and staff account for manyU.S. coronavirus deaths.

Education: School districts are facing massive shortfalls as state coffers get decimated by the coronavirus outbreak. That puts into jeopardy school feeding programs, teacher job security and online learning curriculum for students without at-home technology.

Visitors flocked to Utah's Sand Hollow State Park and barber shops in Georgia after some states reopened some public places.(Photo: AGENCIA EFE/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Employment: The highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, around 15%, is arguably the biggest threat to a robust recovery from the pandemic. Inevitably, sectors will face consolidation, new businesses will be created, and employees will be expected to develop new skills accordingly. The workplace environment also promises to be forever changed, with employees increasingly shifting to telecommuting.

Entertainment:Restaurants are in dire straits, with reservation service OpenTable recently predicting 25% of all restaurants might never re-open. Scripted TV shows will remain on hold until sets can be made safe.Movie theaters, when they come back, are likely to find patrons seated apart and the same film on multiple screens. Big concerts may well never return until there is an effective global vaccine.

Unmistakable in this emerging post-virus reality, experts say, are signs that human creativity will forge new approaches, new products and new social paradigms not only more adaptable to future global crises, but also more responsive to income inequality, climate change and other issues laid bare by coronavirus.

COVID-19 is a dress rehearsal for a more turbulent world, one that will require businesses to be more adaptable to a consumer that is forever changed, says James Allen, senior partner at global consulting firm Bain & Company and author of a recent blog post, The Great Retooling: Adapting for Coronavirus and Beyond.

Among a variety of coming trends, Allen sees a shift towardmore "values-based consumption, where consumers reward enterprises that are acting as good citizens during the epidemic."

Meanwhile, white-collar professions will combine lessons learned from remote working with the enduring need for some occasional high-touch experiencesat offices," he says. Andthose office spaces are likely to shrink, paving the way for a possible revitalization of urban cores as office buildings become condos.

1920 Tavern Owner Jenna Aronowitz takes the temperature of bartender Shane Goode before the Roswell restaurant opens for sit down meals in Brookhaven, Ga., Monday, April 27, 2020. (Photo: Steve Schaefer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Maria Bothwell, CEO of future-focused advisory firm Toffler Associates, a firm started by the late futurists Alvin and Heidi Toffler, authors of the seminal 1970 book, Future Shock," says the nation will reach a phase called "the novel normal" in three to five years.

Bothwell anticipates a long period of discomfort in public spaces with strangers, as a heightened sensitivity to the vulnerability of our health causes a reflexive recoiling at sneezes and coughs even after there is a vaccine.

In addition, no-touch paymentsystems will proliferate. Public places will temperature screen. And expect an exodus from crowded cities for those whose jobs promote telecommuting.

In the end, theres little debate that the America that emerges from the coronavirus pandemic will be a New America, not unlike the new nations that emerged from the forge of the Great Depression and World War II.

The former created a nation of frugal savers, the latter created a young post-war populace that fueledan unprecedented era of optimistic consumerism.

People enjoy the sun and sand at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach on May 2, 2020. Although spring break hotspot, restrictions continue at Cocoa Beach, allowing only groups of five or less. (Photo: Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY)

If there is one thing futurists seem to agree on as America rebuilds, it is the hope that resides in those children and young adults whose lives have been indelibly stamped by thispandemic, a group that may well prove to be the next Greatest Generation.

Says Bothwell: In 10 years, well look back at todays graduates in amazement at what they did as a result of this event.

Follow USA TODAY national correspondent Marco della Cava: @marcodellacava

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/28/after-coronavirus-ends-what-life-like-new-america/5193279002/

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The stakes have never been higher as America reopens. What can a post-coronavirus world look like? - USA TODAY

The lockdown in London began with a dearth of pasta. Photos circulated on WhatsApp groups of the barren shelves of branches of Waitrose a want of linguini, a shortfall of fusilli, a paucity of pappardelle. My larder was already overflowing with the stuff, thank god, with two or three pouches of pasta tumbling on my head every time I opened the cupboard. Not stockpiling, I promise; just business as usual. Loo roll is one thing in this household, rigatoni quite another.

The pasta problem would have pleased F.T. Marinetti. In December 1930, the artist-provocateur declared war on pasta with the publication of The Manifesto of Futurist Cuisine (co-written with Filla), a campaign that continued through outr banquets andnonna-goading newspaper articles, and culminated in the publication of The Futurist Cookbook in 1932. Out with spaghetti, in with aerofood, tactile, sculpted meat and totalrice. The aftershock could still be felt by the time Elizabeth David published Italian Food in 1954: her introduction to the chapter on Pasta Asciutta is largely given over to Marinetti and his antipathy to macaroni.

The Futurist argument against culinary traditions came couched in a quasi-scientific language of nutrition and the national interest. Let us probe [] with genius into gastric chemistry, as the manifesto has it. Or, playing on the rich, ruinous past of the Italian peninsular: The defenders of pasta are shackled by its ball and chain like convicted lifers or carry its ruins in their stomachs like archaeologists. Pasta, they claimed, made men sluggish and anti-virile (they were more interested in men than women); its consumers were even predisposed to lethargy as they dined on it, abstaining from chewing and thereby casting their digestive organs ever further into lassitude.

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti eating pasta at Biffi, a restaurant in Milan in 1930. The Estorick Collection, London

This being Marinetti, the entire enterprise had a Fascist edge, if not expressly then at least in its nationalist and patriotic seasoning; the artists love-hate relationship with the party, despite his break with it in 1921, tended to veer on the side of sympathy. Its there in the glorification of Italian products (particularly its rice industry), in the insistence on Italian coinages to replace French borrowings (mescitore for barman; quisibeve for bar), and in the go-faster militarism of Futurist recipes (from steel chicken to veal fusillage and fisticuff stuff). (The translations are Suzanne Brills.) There, too, in several of the dinner programmes supplied by the Futurist brigade. The geographic dinner contrived by Filla imagines a charade of sexual-culinary colonisation, in which a shapely young woman wearing a tunic decorated with a map of Africa acts as waiter and menu (or rather, listavivande): The guests must choose the dish they want not according to its composition but by indicating [] the city or region that proves most seductive to their touristic imagination and spirit of adventure.

The Futurist Cookbook, writes Lesley Chamberlain, was not a collection of recipes for self-nourishment but a disguised artistic game, full of ideas for avant-garde experiments. Thats true enough, at least in so far as playing with food has ever been genuinely avant-garde. What makes it a sustaining snack for readers today, perhaps, is its enduring capacity to test out its caustic concepts on the senses, trolling the taste buds as they wonder whether these recipes ever made it off the page: sardines with pineapple; a mustard, banana and anchovy sandwich; an entire salami standing to attention in a bath of coffee and eau de Cologne (the excited pig). I thought about knocking up some simultaneous ice cream to give me fodder for this article, since the ingredients are easy enough to come by, even in lockdown: dairy cream and little squares of raw onion frozen together. But then I thought better of it.

Perhaps most ludic of all is the form of the book, a collage of manifesto, reportage, recipe, glossary, narrative and fantasy all set out for the reader to graze on like a laden aperitivo table in Milan. Perhaps everything was a radical game for Marinetti, albeit a largely unpalatable one. Theres a photograph of him in the Biffi restaurant in Milan in 1930, forking up noodles as though there were a shortage. Perhaps a ruse by Marinetti, the art historian Romy Golan suggests, or perhaps he was just another lethargic spaghetti-eater caught napping? The picture reminds me of nothing so much as Alberto Sordi in Un Americano a Roma (1954), setting aside his American diet of marmalade, yoghurt, mustard and milk as he is seduced by a dish of spaghetti. Maccarone, mhai provocato e io ti distruggo adesso, maccarone!, he says before shovelling up the stuff. Pasta, youve provoked me, and pasta, Im now going to destroy you.

From the May 2020 issue of Apollo. Preview and subscribe here.

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On the Futurist Cookbook - Apollo Magazine

Today more than ever wed all like to have a glimpse into the future. As the country struggles with public health and economic troubles not seen in decades, what the coming weeks, months and years hold are hard to fathom.

Theres no crystal ball to look ahead but there is a futurist.

University of Wisconsin Oshkosh alumnus Daniel Burrus 71, is a business strategist and futurist speaker who works as an advisor to Fortune 500 company executives and has given thousands of keynote speeches to corporations, associations and other professional organizations worldwide. The recipient of the 2001 UW Oshkosh Alumni Associations Distinguished Alumni Award and an honorary doctorate degree in 2017, Burrus is the author of seven books, including the New York Times best-seller seller Flash Foresight.

Looking ahead is kind of his thing.

With the coronavirus crisis in mind, we reached out to the Hartland native to ask about his in-demand services, any silver linings hes seeing during the pandemic and what advice he has for the class of 2020.

How has your daily life changed due to the pandemic? You must be spending a lot of time talking to your computer screen.

Yes, I have been talking to my computer quite a bit. I have been very busy doing press interviews, giving executive webinars, giving virtual speeches and helping executives solve seemingly impossible problems and plan for post-pandemic success.

Theres so much unknown about our present and future. What are the most common questions youre getting asked right now? And do you have answers for them yet?

The most common question is what will our post-pandemic world be like and how long will it take to get back to a new normal (and how new is that new normal)?

Daniel Burrus

I have developed a methodology for finding certainty in an uncertain world. Based on my anticipatory methodology for separating hard trends based on future facts from soft trends based on assumptions that might happen, and my predictions have been very accurate, many have been seeking my advice on how best to position their organization for post-pandemic success. Because hard trends will happen, they provide certainty and therefore the confidence to make bold moves.

Our hard trend, soft trend methodology has a long track record of success. Because its being used by the Department of Defense, as well as many of the most innovative companies most of us read about, I have been very busy helping people plan during this pandemic time.

What are the events from our past youre relying on to help you figure out what the future might look like?

There are basically two types of change that provides a great window on the future. One is the science of cycles. I track over 500, and because they have a long history of repeating, you can use them as a lens to see farther down the road. The other type of change is linear/exponential change, which is driven by technology advancements. They also provide a great window to the future.

Have there been situations that have come up during the crisisthings that could have been avoided with more forward thinkingthat have made you want to pull your hair out?

Sadly, there is a very long list. In January, I remember reading about China locking down millions of people to try to stop the spread of this highly contagious virus, and South Korea and Singapore were doing the same. It didnt take a rocket scientist to clearly see there was a big problem heading our way. U.S. scientists and pandemic experts did sound the alarm, but for reasons that will be debated for decades, the U.S., who should have been the best prepared county on the planet, waited far too long to take action, and we have suffered both a health and economic pandemic ever since.

At the time of this interview, many states are reopening even as their numbers of people infected and deaths rise. Unfortunately, the virus is still with us, and without a vaccine, this will most likely create another problem we could have avoided.

The good news is that pandemic will end, that is a hard trend future fact! And we will all learn from it and be better prepared for any future pandemics.

What are the innovations youre seeing right now during the pandemic that have stood out to you?

Digital disruption is being greatly accelerated now because of the pandemic. The use of tools, such as telemedicine, remote learning, cloud services and many others, were advancing before the pandemic, but now their use and application are greatly accelerated. This represents new levels of opportunity to innovate and improve everything we focus on in a positive way.

There are many specific innovations that are advancing now, including new methods for testing to see if a person has antibodies for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that is causing the COVID-19 pandemic and getting the results quickly, as well as a vaccine to keep people from getting it. But there are many more including new small, inexpensive heat sensing cameras to see in a crowd of people who has a fever, mobile apps to track whether you have been close to someone who is infected, new ways to quickly disinfect a room, and more new AI applications for getting real-time actionable insights regarding safety and the movement of people.

Since UWOs virtual commencement ceremony is coming up, what advice would you give for the students about to graduate and head off into the world full of such uncertainty?

There has never been more opportunity to make a difference that there is right now. We are all at a unique moment in human history, a defining momentdont squander it!

With so many things closed or shut down, many think the world has hit a pause button, others think its more like a reset button so that we can get back to the way it was. What we really need is to hit a transformation button. Its the perfect time to make all of our processes, all of our systems, all of our products and services far better. Instead of going back to the way things were, we need to go forward to a better tomorrow and we need you to do it.

The transformational tools are already there to re-invent and re-define just about everything. What we need is new thinking and new mindsets to make that happen. The world needs you more than ever.

If you think and act beyond success, which is all about you and your accomplishments, and you think instead about significance, which is what you do for others, you will find yourself far more successful. If you like a significant life you will tap into your true gifts and find yourself far happier and fulfilled.

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UWO alumnus and renowned futurist: 'There has never been more opportunity to make a difference' - UW Oshkosh Today