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Hello Old, Young and Middle-Aged Alike,
A lot of new subscriber this week so hello to all the new friends.
I spent a lot of time thinking about how to do this intro. This newsletter is not really made to talk about heavy topics. And this intro is usually a fun little missive about something or other full of bad jokes.
But some things are too important to not comment on and just as I tried to bring important resources to everyone’s attention with regard to BLM over the past year I will do my best to do the same when it comes to the in Anti-Asian sentiment and violence we’ve seen in this country of late. I’ll be the first to admit that I personally need to do better with regard to educating myself on much of what is going on and how to help. I found this article Why This Wave of Anti-Asian Racism Feels Different to be really informative and helpful in understanding a lot of the complexities of the situation. And this Twitter thread from Dylan Adler has a lot of good resources for further helping and educating.
To all my subscribers, if you ever have any important resources to share that you think would be helpful for other subscribers to read, please do send my way.
No quippy comments in the intro this week. Enjoy the links y’all.
We Feel ‘Alonely’ When We Don’t Get Enough Time By Ourselves
Just Give Me A Synopsis:
A lot of studies are now also being done as to what happens when we don't ever get any alone time. Sure we know that being all alone ain't good, but we're also starting to realize the importance of solitude. We can only subsist for so long on the only solitude being in the bathroom.
And A Quote From The Article Please:
But Coplan and his colleagues focus on aloneliness considers the flip side, and they're finding that too little time alone can lead to similar feelings of stress, depression, or negative moods that loneliness can. It’s an area that’s become incredibly relevant for the enduring social limbo we’ve found ourselves in. “I have to say, it's certainly become an interesting time to be someone who studies social isolation, loneliness, and solitude,” Coplan said.
And Tell Me Why I should Care:
Depending on what your past year of Covid has been like, you're either acutely aware of this feeling, or very much craving it. My girlfriend and I share a small one bedroom apartment and approximately twice a week we look at each other, both silently hating the other's guts for simply being around them for the 24th straight hour, and say "we can't keep living like this" in a jokey but underlyingly serious tone. Check on your friends who get no alone time too. Or rather, don't maybe.
Why Would Anyone Open A Restaurant In A Pandemic?
Just Give Me A Synopsis:
The exalted Pete Wells answers the question by speaking with a wide swath of restauranteurs on what their Covid-time restaurant entailed and how they needed to change things up to make it work.
And A Quote From The Article Please:
“I don’t want to give the impression this is something we threw together in the middle of the night on a weed binge,” he said. “It’s a good chicken sandwich. But I really want to make dishes that tell our story and say something about who I am, and a chicken sandwich really isn’t that. But it is what it is.”
And Tell Me Why I should Care:
Restaurants are one of the industries hit hardest and one that you probably still interact with multiple times per week. I found the above quote to be very enlightening in showing how restaurants are doing whatever they can to survive right now. Sometime you just gotta sell the chicken sando you know? It's also really interesting to see how chefs are changing menus to be delivery-friendly. Don't nobody want to pay $30 in delivery app fees to get soggy french fries.
Why You Should Cut Out Jargon From All Workplace Communication
Just Give Me A Synopsis:
This piece argues that now more than ever we need clarity in what we expect out of our colleagues. You shouldn't be an a**hole, please don't be an a**hole, but you should really focus on being direct in your needs and expectations and communicating as clearly as possible.
And A Quote From The Article Please:
As we struggle to figure out dynamics and standards around increasingly more sensitive topics like language, race, and gender, we need clarity, kindness, and humanity in the workplace more than ever.
And Tell Me Why I should Care:
If this email doesn't find you well then you should circle back and level set with me what your expectations for these sort of team-wide communications are going forward. We can set up a post-mortem to open up a dialogue on how to reach out to some brand champions to tackle low hanging fruit for better adoption. WHAT THE F*CK DID I JUST SAY??? No one knows! So just be clear in your communication with coworkers. Overclarify things. It's easier than ever to lose track or misinterpret stuff when we're all working from our couches and not face to face. Be stern but fair. Also just want to highlight this brilliant Key & Peele sketch about how communication can go wrong when you aren't clear.
Other Newsletters You Should Check Out
If you’re out there looking for a new job because your current one sucks (or you’re just doing some window shopping) you know what an actual pain in the ass it can be to find good opportunities all in one place. That Indeed algorithm ain’t it. ExitUp is a weekly newsletter that delivers a curated list of fresh job openings across PE, VC, strategy/biz ops, finance, marketing, product, and chief of staff roles right to your inbox. You'll also get useful insights to help you navigate your job search so that when the time comes, you'll be ready to nail the interview. Check it out here.
Working Off The Beautiful Land
What Problems Does Organic Cotton Solve?
The short answer? A lot. The long answer? A complex thread of socio-economic issues that are often rooted much less in yields and much more in social clout.What Bankers Should Learn From The Traditions Of Pastoralism
Basically people who live off the land are very ready for when sh*t hits the fan, and I suppose, according to this piece, bankers need to be more ready for that. Or at the very least not directly cause it (*cough 2008 cough*).The Surfers And Skaters Of California Winemaking
Talk about double barrel amiright? Wait you can call a wave a barrel right? And wine goes in barrels right? Ok phew I thought so. Synergy baby!
Weird Internet Resource Of The Week
The Zoom Escaper is really exactly what you need when it’s 5pm and you just ain’t about that Zoom life no more. Its website describes it thusly: a tool to help you escape Zoom meetings and other videoconferencing scenarios. It allows you to self-sabotage your audio stream, making your presence unbearable to others. Essentially the Pandemic 2020 version of saying “I think I’m going through a dead spot” and then making a bunch of fake static noise on your phone so you don’t have to talk to someone anymore.
Other Interesting Things You May Or May Not Care About
American Special Ops Forces Are Everywhere
The history of how Special Forces went from being an incompetent joke (article’s words not mine) to how they are currently: used any time a leader doesn't so much as like the socks someone in another country is wearing.Nike Has Carefully Positioned The Dunk To Be 2021’s Hottest Sneaker
Bringing me back to my middle school days when dunks were truly the most sought after varietals in the game. A good look at how Nike uses both scarcity and scale to pull the desire levers on its products.The Story Of Humanity's Search For Bigfoot
If you've ever thought to yourself "damn I really wish there was some sort of chronological record that I could read on searching for Bigfoot" boy have I got an article for you! What do we think? Real or not real?We Had Marlon Brando’s Island Utopia To Ourselves
If you want to have some major Covid-induced travel fomo read this article about Marlon Brando's Polynesian resort that consistently hosts some of the biggest celebrity names on the planet but is also a shining beacon of conservation, hosting top ecologists from around the world on a just as consistent basis.The Horse Meat Vigilante
In other parts of the world horse meat is a regular thing to eat. In America it is not. One guy has taken it upon himself to cut out the illegal butchering scene in South Florida (because duh South Florida). This is like the weirdest damn superhero origin story I've ever read. Horse people be crazy.
Brands I Quite Like
There are so many brands out there that are not cool or unique that I thought I would highlight new brands that I think are in fact doing dope things and are worth knowing about. This is not sponsored or full of affiliate links.
Hen’s Teeth - Art Gallery and Store
Hen’s Teeth (I looked this up) is an idiom for scarcity, cause you know, hens do not have teeth so they are very hard to come by. This is a multi-dimensional art shop in Dublin, Ireland (not Ohio) that in my opinion has one of the most fun and accessible selections of modern art and photography. The star of the show are the wide variety of graphic work and illustrations they sell for pretty affordable prices but they also have a lot of great home goods. Their IG is also a great follow, full of great Irish wit and of course, art recs. Check em out here.
Let’s Just Looks At Art Because Reading Sucks
Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy’s Figurative Style Features A Mix Of Line Work And Digital Color Drawings
These Photographs Were Taken On A 10,000-Mile Road Trip Across The United States
Delicately Illustrated Tattoos Take a Whimsical Approach to Flora and Fauna
Y’all Wanted Music, You’re Getting Music!
Now would be a great time to revisit Grammy winner H.E.R. and her eponymous breakout album because it truly is a masterpiece.
Also a good time to revisit Kaytranada’s equally as masterful album, 99.9%, which just has more bangers than you can shake a stick at.
In case you missed the Paak / Mars performance at The Grammys it is, as to be expected, a groovy song incorporating a perfect blend of both of their styles. Bonus though is that the performance is actually kinda cool.
Lists Are What The Internet Was Made For!
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