By the way, here’s a meta update which I forgot to put out there. I have ended the trial of the Glass app — the subscription price was hefty for my usage. I am not a photographer, you see. So, I did not fit there. At the same time, I decided to pay for Ulysses and Reeder. I love both the apps, and they reduce that slight friction from the two activities that I love doing.
Why’s the colour of everything marked unisex so bland? Who decided that mens don’t like any colours other than black or grey or silver? Or who decided that women will only like pink or purple? Why can’t I go on to a street carrying any non-black coloured umbrella and not get stares that judge me?
Some might say it’s trivial, yet I find this behaviour extremely frustrating. We claim we are making progress on multiple levels, yet we continue to stick our age-old presumptions of choices among sexes. And you know what, I have a theory why the choices of colours specifically are advertised in a way they are.
Professional places are bland — colours aren’t professional. Life and playfulness is colourful. So, who do we see as a professional? Well, of course, men. And who’s all about play? Right? Right?
Do you want to test this hypothesis? Here are Google Image searches for “man with umbrella” — how many blacks do you see there? Now, here’s the results’ page for “woman with umbrella”. Same question, how many blacks do you see there? Plus, what other commonality do you see among the images that are on the page? What’s the look that men are flaunting? And what about women? The industry is infuriating. Sigh!
I updated my Now page today, the weekly reminders help. Sure, I don’t update the page every week. But I am doing that way frequently than what I would otherwise.
I had no idea the president of Guinea is named “Alpha Condé”. Wow! What a great name. No surprise he, eventually, started acting like an ass. With that name, he had to be a saint to keep his cool and stay down to earth.
PS: I know, am bad at keeping up with world politics.
I have heard many good things about Derek Siver’s new book “How To Live” from a few people I trust. So, it was instinctive of me to purchase the book the moment I saw Derek announce it is launched. I had missed purchasing this when Derek shared a preview link — no idea why.
Anyway, I am excited to read this, both as a reader and as a writer.
The Atlantic is right, the Internet isn’t dead. It is just crowded with more people who aren’t living — literally and metaphorically. There are still people active on the Internet, they will keep it thriving. Let the non-living bots crowd the space, take over the corners that have been deserted. The folks with life will keep the oasis of the Internet busy, colourful.
Some newsletters are just too long for my liking. I can read long ones if they are genuine essays, someone sharing what they are or have gone through. Some life experiences. Or something of interest for them. But when you curate, and still have hoards of links to some external content, I am not in. In short, long texts are fine for me. Not 100s of links.
When you say you curate, you should curate. Not include link to everything that you and your friends read.
I am on a video call, setting a Windows laptop for one of my cousins. I am sure she is confident that she can set up her laptop — but family wants me to be there. So, here I am for her moral support, which I am sure she didn’t ask for.
I published a few thoughts on busyness. Over the years, I’ve realized that my mind has become a pool of copious ideas from varied fields. It is like an open pond, extremely prone to ripples from externalities, big and small. I allow that no more.
Be natural, flaunt your multiple shades. It is the contrast that makes us interesting. Even royal gold needs a contrasting shade on the side to be an ornament. Otherwise on its own, it is just a brick.
