Kickstart: Celebrating the 'dumb material that I love to use so much'

In these difficult days, I've developed a new appreciation for Bubble Wrap. Bubble Wrap has helped all my pandemic purchases make it to my home safely, followed by the mindless popping for stress relief once I open those packages.

So of course we have to acknowledge Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, even if Kickstart is a day late.

Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day has been around for a few years, and embracing the "pop" culture elements of the protective film always seem to point me to something new, such as a podcast featuring Howard Fielding, the son of a co-creator of Bubble Wrap.

"I think I was probably the first kid to pop the bubbles in a roll of Bubble Wrap," Fielding said.

And for this year's cool Bubble Wrap find, we have the artist Bradley West, who creates art using Bubble Wrap by injecting paint into the individual bubbles, creating an image similar to the pixels on a screen or pointillist art of the late impressionist era.

"It's just this quintessential dumb material that I love to use so much," West said in a video from Insider magazine about his work.

Dow Inc. had seven of its leaders receive recognition on three 2020 OUTstanding lists: for LGBT+ executives, LGBT+ ally executives and LGBT+ future leaders.

This is the eighth year that OUTstanding, a professional network for LGBT+ executives and their allies, has published the list. The Midland, Mich., chemical company notes that a Dow leader has been recognized on a list since 2014.

Annual rankings are based on a "review process of nominees selected among professionals actively contributing to an environment where employees feel safe, respected and valued both within and outside of the workplace," the company said.

Honored for the 2020 award were:

• Javier Constante, president, Latin America, No. 7 among Top 100 Leading LGBT+ Executives.

• Louis A. Vega, president, North America, vice president, government affairs and advocacy, No. 12 among Top 100 Leading LGBT+ Executives.

• Amy Wilson, general counsel and corporate secretary, No. 10 among Top 50 Ally Executives.

• Terri Johnson, global champion for employee experience, No. 40 among Ally Executives.

• Jarrod Trusler, product manager, No. 11 among Top 100 LGBT+ Future Leaders.

• Jose Alberto Pino Andrade, global strategy leader, consumer solutions, No. 29 among Top 100 LGBT+ Future Leaders.

• Alex Papastrat, operations leader, No. 38 among Top LGBT Future Leaders.

In addition, after being named to the Top 100 LGBT+ Executives list for five consecutive years, including ranking No. 1 in 2018, CEO and Chairman Jim Fitterling will be elevated to the OUTstanding Hall of Fame, joining other long-standing champions for LGBT+ inclusion.

There will be a lot of familiar things from past years that will show up at this year's Super Bowl on Feb. 7, familiar sights like Tom Brady and last year's champs from Kansas City.

But the differences will also stand out. That includes a limited crowd in the stadium and, for TV viewers, fewer familiar brands during advertising.

Thermoformer and injection molder WeatherTech will be advertising for its eighth year and already has dropped a sports-related commercial tying its mats and floor liners to the game. But some very big names — and big plastics customers — will not be there. No Coca-Cola Co. or PepsiCo Inc. ads and for the first time in 37 years, no Budweiser ads (although PepsiCo is still sponsoring halftime and Budweiser maker AB InBev will run ads for other brands in its stable.)

Budweiser is instead donating its time to a vaccination awareness campaign (but the brand name does pop up at the end of the spot, which is already streaming online).