we used to be gods
Discover more from Claire Diaz-Ortiz’s Newsletter
oh hello!
it got wildly hot in Argentina so I aggressively signed everyone up for swim lessons but then remembered it’s not actually summer yet (cue December 21) and then it stormed and now i’m wearing a mid-weight linen jacket with a feather pin on it.
how are you?!
also, 2/3 of my children turned 5 last week. 5!
now, not only did this mean I was able to celebrate the life of my children, but I ALSO got to celebrate my favorite internet translation of all time. thanks to BFF Lara and husband Jose and Facebook (sorry META) for their collaboration on this.
also, because it was Thursday (or maybe it was Wednesday?), the newly-5-year-olds and I watched Naked and Afraid XL, which is honestly just getting worse and worse (and by that i mean better and better) with each passing season. even though I am a PRO at watching reality television by now, I am still confused how production / talent can legally co-exist so CLOSE to the South African man-eating crocodiles, despite endless NDAs? (is that not the word?)
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Dumpster Fires, Etc.
I’ve never felt more seen. Daily, I stand offended.
Reading, Etc.
you guys i’ve already read 90+ books this year (list forthcoming) so I’m 110% gonna hit my annual 100 book target. (this is good, since the rest of my 2021 (okay, and 2020) annual goals have been effectively dumpster fired.)
also?
100 gifts under $100 for everyone on your list. (I bought the Bala bangles because the Fashion Editor of the WSJ (friend / co-conspirator / high school co-captain on a field hockey team that never scored, etc.) told me to do so. unfortunately, I’m bored already.)
Are airpods out? Why the cool kids are wearing wired headphones. (From said fashion editor, above.)
Since Apple launched the Bluetooth-enabled headphones in 2016, they’ve become an inescapable feature of daily life: Countless people walk around, chat, run and work with those two little knobs sticking out of their ears. If you are among them, you may right now be considering buying a new pair, namely the 3rd-generation version that launched last month featuring “spatial audio.” What is spatial audio? I don’t quite understand it myself, but it sounds exciting!
Take a moment and just sob (ok, maybe just me?) over the sweetness of this poem this week. Thanks, Mel at Strong Sense of Place.
Air out the linens, unlatch the shutters on the eastern side,
and maybe find that deck of Bicycle cards
lost near the sofa. Or maybe walk around
and look out the back windows first.
I hear the view’s magnificent: old silent pines
leading down to the lakeside, layer upon layer
of magnificent light…
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Startups, Etc.
women and latam continue to reign in the startup and venture capital hotness. the end.
also:
Want to learn from some of the great LatAm investors and hang with some of the latest soonicorns?! (Soonicorn = soon to be a unicorn, y’all! Read ALLVP’s extensive research on them here.)
Sign up for ALLVP’s November 18th event here. (Details below.)
1/ The Age of Soonicorns - 12 pm CT (20 minutes)
How has the Latin American venture landscape evolved over time. Learn about this ~100 group of startups building the next tech giants.Speaker: Manish Goyal, Portfolio Manager at JP Morgan Asset Management
2/ Redefining Founder-Friendly, 12:20 pm CT (40 minutes)
Raising funds yes, but how to choose the right VC? Some advice on how to pick investors that would best fit your needs to become the next Latam unicorn.Facilitator: Sonya Huang, Partner at Sequoia
Speakers: Mariana Castillo, founder & CEO at Ben&Frank & Agustin Feuerhake, founder & CPO at Fintual3/ Scale Proof Culture - 1 pm CT (40 minutes)
Each startup has a soul. Maintaining your culture while scaling is key. But how to do so?Facilitator: Lolita Taub, Stealth Mode GP & Lightspeed Scout
Speakers: Courtney McColgan, founder & CEO at Runa HR & Miguel Mc Allister, founder & CEO at Merqueo, Marlene Garayzar, co-founder of Stori Card4/ Wanted: Angel Operator - 1:40 pm CT (40 minutes)
Investing is a way to give back. How to expose capital to buddy entrepreneurs’ success? You might be the right investor.Facilitator: Mary Ann Azevedo, Senior Reporter at TechCrunch
Speakers: Deepak Chhugani, founder & CEO at Nuvocargo & Daniel Bilbao, founder & CEO at Truora
Did we celebrate the launch of The Fund Global for Women yet? I forget, so let’s do it again.
Don’t sleep on this awesome Harry Stebbings interview with Mac Conwell, emerging manager extraordinaire.
And, to make it about me;)
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that’s a wrap for this here November 16.
in conclusion, WE USED TO BE GODS.
Claire
P.S. how do I get a 7-year-old to love reading?!? I’m actually 1000% asking!!!! (and dear god do NOT respond saying to me anything along the lines of “surround her with book-reading adults starting at the age of zero and read to her daily!”or I may just have to vomit outside my mouth.) as you were!
we used to be gods
My younger sister hated reading growing up despite being from a family of readers. Our parents didn't read to me and I loved and love reading. They read to her from day 1. It wasn't until her 30s when she finally got into reading. Turns out she's one of those people without an internal dialogue which affected how she read. Audiobooks is how she finally got into books. Audiobooks and then a kindle and finding what she loves to read. And now she reads and listens to books all the time!
Re: getting a 7 year old to love reading, I found that my kid really loved manga (Japanese comic books) when they were around that age and that was their gateway into reading. They're 21 now and a very avid reader of everything. So my advice is to try comics or audiobooks (perhaps even audio dramas that are completely dramatized) and see if your little one responds to a particular medium. My kid ended up being diagnosed with ADHD as a teenager, which explained a bit about their initial resistance. They just needed something to spark the love of reading and that made it easier for them to focus when reading regular books.