Hello petal, hope you’re well. I bought myself a dangerous-looking Japanese-style wood saw and am currently learning how to use it. It involves breaking muscle-memory developed from years with a regular panel-saw. Although I’m far from mastering the new technique, I may have been doing it all the hard way all this time. Such short days necessitate faster cuts, after all.

• 🧪 The Journalist and the Pharma Bro: Why did Christie Smythe upend her life and stability for Martin Shkreli, one of the least-liked men in the world?

• 🍑 The surrealism of Sexy Beast at 20: I love this film; I tend to carry it with me and watch it on short-haul flights. Remember them? Anyway, this article calls it out as standing apart from a gaggle of overstyled blokey gangster thrillers from the same era, perhaps owing to its surreal background.

• 🎼 The best songs of 2020: Said The Gramophone’s 16th annual roundup. It’s worth flicking through the previous years too: it’s interesting how a song can be a worthy short-range pick and yet not necessarily persist over a longer period.

• 😴 Why Naps Are Great: This year I rediscovered naps. First medicinally, later recreationally. In a lean year it’s worth celebrating the little things. Try it.

• ☃️ Why snow days are becoming increasingly rare in the UK: British winters are now warmer and wetter; warming faster than any other season. While Bing Crosby is dreaming of a white Christmas, this article looks at the meteorological science dictating snow days and why their frequency is dropping.

• 🌍 Is the Earth an organism? The Gaia hypothesis states that our biosphere is evolving. Once sceptical, some prominent biologists are beginning to agree.

• ☘️ Canada’s little-known Emerald Isle: Besides its spectacular natural scenery, one of the most striking things about Fogo Island is the pure Irish accents of its people.

• 🎓 52 things I learned in 2020: I’m envious of Tom Whitwell for learning a thing a week through this year.