What I Read This April Instead of Doing 1,000 Other Things
Escaping Reality & Subway Stares with a Good Read
“I won’t date hot women anymore”
File under “better used in the bottom of a New York City public trashcan,” this New York Post article explores “dating” hot women, or really, not dating them at all. Pitting good looks against brains, this man’s man finds out dating “hot” women 10+ years younger than him doesn’t work because they “couldn’t carry a conversation.” Wonder why? If you base your dating pool on just appearances, do us all a favor and stay home. Alone.
The Gambian footballer who drowned in search of a better life
In three-minutes, viewers of this BBC video clip are introduced to Hamadou, a Gambian football enthusiast who attempted to enter Europe “the back way” and drowned off the coast of Libya after falling from an overcrowded boat.
The BBC team interviewed his fellow football players, who talked about his dedication to the team, his desire to pull his family out of poverty, and his dream to live a better life. Thousands of refugees have drowned trying to cross different bodies of water to pave a new way forward in life, but hearing about one specific death can be all someone needs to remember that these are people, just like us, with families that need them, and a mother who will mourn their absence.
Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito
In her English debut, author Malin Persson Giolito’s Quicksand initially caught my eye because the title font seemingly sinks into a pool or other body of water, a peek into the school shooting storyline where the truth lies just below the surface of reality. Told in the first person by the accused shooter, 18-year-old Maja Nornerg, the book takes you through flashbacks, pre-trail proceedings and present day, begging the question, how did Maja end up here?
UPS drivers don’t turn left and neither should you
Even though there are stoplights set up to allow drivers to turn left and get to where they need to go, evidence from UPS may indicate it’s not the best driving decision after all. A recent TIME article examines a UPS policy enacted in 2014 that prohibits drivers from turning left (based on countries that drive on the right-hand side of the road) in order to avoid accidents, eliminate time wasted waiting at a left-hand only turn signs, and cuts down on fuel costs. According to their industrial manager, Tasha Hovland, only 10 percent of turns made by UPS drivers are actually left turns. Something to think about the next time you’re waiting five minutes to turn left when you’re already running late? Maybe.
Capsule Experiment
In an effort to unclutter my life one step at a time, I’m trying to downsize my closet into something more manageable, wearable and actually capable of being closed. I stumbled upon this super cute site through a link sent from a friend. Caroline, the blogger, lays out a step by step guide to creating a capsule closet, “a mini wardrobe made up of versatile pieces” that works for what you wear. With a fall, winter and summer wardrobe somehow jammed into my room, I definitively have my work cut out for me!
Cookie Monster on the Dole
Along with my National Geographic, I recently snagged a New Yorker subscription for a time-well-spent, not heavy to bring on the T escape into important life happenings (thanks, Easter Bunny!). The April 17 issue hits back hard on President Trump’s proposed plan to cut funding for arts, humanities and public media, using a voice we should all get a little more used to hearing, Cookie Monster. Written in first person, Cookie Monster challenges Trump to realize that he and everyone else on Sesame Street won’t be backing down without a fight.
“Meanwhile, me send message to Washington via quiet assertion of strength. Me remind government that Cookie Monster have no eyelids. Me remind government that Cookie Monster always watching.”
Amazing. Makes me want to grab a pack of cookies and watch the end of the world as we know it with Sesame Street quietly playing in the background. Surreal reality at its finest.
