in the end, we're never NOT just a surname

Sep 09, 2021

Hello!

I’m in week two of starting acupuncture again after 15 years and it’s kinda… meh? Which was exactly my reaction last time? I’m not saying it’s NOT working but I’m also not saying it’s not NOT working? Ya know?

Excitement reigns as my flights to the USA appear to NOT be canceling themselves for the umpteenth time over the last few months and I may actually make it up to California. (See “virtual Argentine border closure.”)

For part of the journey my three kids will be there, two of whom are nearly five and have only been to the USA once, on a particularly dismal trip when they were 14 months old, non-verbal but very pissed off, and addled with repeat midnight ER visits for urinary tract infections (Mateo, not Santi).

We keep telling the twins that in California a LOT of people speak English (like their grandparents) and so they will have to speak ONLY English. It’s about then that we get a lot of bored staring and walking off.

Their older sister, however, who still remains twin-less, has great English! That said, one benefit of the truly bilingual child, aside from generally being bilingual which is never NOT worth bragging about, is the nature of someone with otherwise perfect language skills not understanding actual usage.

Cue yesterday with Lucia, 7.

“Mama, is Lexi a surname for Alexa?”

SURNAME!

On a deeply personal note, I’m deep into the best season of Bachelor in Paradise EVER and honestly go ahead and judge me all you want. Preferably, of course, if you spend multiple hours every week watching your favorite sportball (cue a New Yorker essay someone needs to write about why reality tv is like sports.)

Moving on.

….

Dumpster Fires, etc.

Welcome home to the apocalypse, self. (For real. My kids call them pigs.)

The Sun @TheSun

Population boom of the biggest rodents on Earth take over a suburb in Buenos Aires

Reading, etc.

How to stop languishing and start finding flow (Adam Grant’s brand-new TED talk! run!)

Adam Grant @AdamMGrant

Being a workaholic doesn't drive productivity. It's a recipe for languishing. Having fun isn't an enemy of efficiency. It's fuel for finding flow. Play isn't a reward for finally making it through your to-do list. It *belongs* on your to-do list.

ted.comHow to stop languishing and start finding flowHave you found yourself staying up late, joylessly bingeing TV shows and doomscrolling through the news, or simply navigating your day uninspired and aimless? Chances are you’re languishing, says organizational psychologist Adam Grant -- a psychic malaise that has become all too common after many mo…

I rewatched Titanic so you don’t have to.

The vintage punk clothing market, and its endless spoofing.

I want this homemade ice cream sandwich for breakfast. Just gluten free and dairy free of course. Please?

Autumn rainy day ambience noise while you work.

How to turn your iphone into a “light” phone. Have you heard about this practice? It’s too rich for my blood, but I salute you.

In the wake of The Social Dilemma and increasing awareness of the reality of smartphone addiction, the Light Phone is an appealing option.
That’s because the Light Phone doesn’t have social media. Or access to the internet. Or really much of anything that makes a smartphone “smart.”And that’s the point. With only an unobtrusive black-and-white E-ink display and few essential features like placing calls, sending texts, setting alarms, and listening to podcasts and music, the Light Phone II is, among many phrases used by its creators, a phone “for humans,” “designed to be used as little as possible,” and “that actually respects you.”

Startups, etc.

Trove of treasures for founders raising money, herein: