Hello gorgeous email friends. I wonder if it’d be possible to construct the opposite of an SAD lamp, that I could use in the height of summer to make it as cold and dark as it is here right now. For this is my literal comfort-zone. I hope it’s comfortable where you are.
🎬 What is the carbon footprint of streaming video on Netflix? Not as appauling as you might imagine. See also: The new ‘gold rush’ for green lithium.
😞 Boyfriends for rent, robots, camming: how the business of loneliness is booming: Even before Covid, loneliness had been deemed an epidemic in several countries, and some companies have offered tech-based solutions.
📺 Zoom and gloom: Sitting in a videoconference is a uniformly crap experience. Instead of corroding our humanity, it’s time empathy and creativity re-humanised videoconferencing.
😃 Faking Optimism Is Hard—But Then, It Works: This author turned her dejection over an unsettling newsfeed into action.
🚐 The 5 Best Affordable RVs and Camper Vans for Sale: Now, I love an article with affordable in the title. Is there anything more dishonest. But anyway, the pictures are nice. Hint hint.
🥅 Why the English can’t let go of the Hand of God and Latin Americans love it: The death of Diego Maradona, produced an outpouring of grief and nostalgia around the world. He was such an important figure in Argentina that the president declared three days of mourning. Meanwhile for some in England, Maradona was still the cheat who could not be forgiven. Yet, it was precisely his refusal to recognise the presumed superiority of the Englishmen flailing before him that gave joy to millions worldwide.
🤔 How to Think for Yourself is an excellent essay from Paul Graham, encouraging independent thought. See also: How to Disagree.
Whither fun?
Many people have had the hardest year they can remember. But as we stumble into the final month, attentions turn to what may lie ahead.
For the first time in a while, the future is looking brighter. The global economic projections for next year look better. And now that vaccines are emerging, an end to the pandemic disruption is in sight.
The problem with that new normal was it was almost entirely joyless. With such strong focus on what we were going without, what we couldn’t do, what we were missing out on, moments of pleasure seemed either guiltily snatched or out of reach. But we can’t be so dour indefinitely. As things look up, we need to rediscover fun.
