Week 29: Teaser
Coming soon: Recommendations for tiny readers
Hey friends,
We did it. We’re over the hump.
Links first:
Even if you don’t work in communications in any capacity, this is a quick and worthwhile read: Christchurch Messaging Guide (Australian Progress). If you Liked a meme about Eggboy or RG’d that Instagram cartoon with the two women hugging, this isn’t meant to call you out or shame you — I’m learning right alongside you.
If you’re enjoying the show Shrill (I’m sure I would be, if I had Hulu) and you haven’t read the book behind it, I remember enjoying it a lot. And if you’ve never listened to Lindy West’s This American Life story, from the episode If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say, SAY IT IN ALL CAPS, I recommend that, too.
Speaking of podcasts, longtime readers already know I <3 Still Processing. This week is no exception: their new episode about climate change, Circulars, had the most relatable opening of any podcast I’ve listened to in…maybe ever. The Michael Jackson episode is absolutely worth a listen, too. (Links are NYT, but you can bypass the paywall and just find it in a podcast app; I use Stitcher)
A throwback from 2014: Anil Dash’s The Year I Didn’t Retweet Men (Medium)
How George Aye of Greater Good Studio created a productive and loving space for his Portraits of Color studio/event (Via AIGA Chicago, also on Medium)
What It’s Like to Go to the Oscars With a Nominee (Who Wins!) (Vulture) — I meant to share this right after the Oscars. This is fluffy brain candy with a surprisingly sweet ending.
This seems like a game changer for folks in precarious situations: A flushable pregnancy test! (meetlia.com)
Is My Absence from Social Media a Red Flag? (Ask Polly) - This is kind of about social media, but it’s also about knowing ourselves. “We have to honor our needs without cutting ourselves off completely. We have to protect ourselves while also being brave.”
Full disclosure: I haven’t watched the clips yet. But this seems worthwhile: John Oliver talks public shaming with Monica Lewinsky, who has some thoughts (AV Club)
Recipes: I tried these Chicken, Eggplant, and Basil Wraps with Cashews (Splendid Table) and they were easy and pretty good. They needed hot sauce, but lots of things benefit from hot sauce. And my friend Sonam recommends the NYT recipe for shakshuka.
And a funny-but-not-haha-funny Twitter thread sparked by @aminatou.
Report back: Management resources
Last week I shared a question from a reader who was looking for podcasts about management. Big thanks to the folks who replied:
Miriam Brosseau, the human behind Tiny Windows Consulting, mentioned the Bossed Up podcast
Kate Barrow, a therapist and management consultant, suggested Harvard Business Review’s Dear HBR podcast, plus the sites (not podcasts) NonprofitAF and Fakequity. She also shares resources and articles via her own listserv.
Joanna Eng, a freelance writer, shared the Third Wave Fund’s podcast and specifically mentioned the third/most recent episode
Coming soon: Books for babies
Before the December holidays I meant to put together a gift guide of sorts, a list of recommended board books for the tiniest readers in your life based on my kid’s first year. I didn’t get around to it, so tonight I decided to make that list.
And I decided to make it in the form of…a March Madness bracket.
The problem is: this makes no sense. Not because non-sports brackets aren’t cute. (They can be very cute; shoutout to my pals at Greater Good Strategy for the one you made for a wine shop’s Instagram followers!) But there are some crucial things about brackets that I forgot/didn’t realize. Because I am the opposite of sporty. Namely, I forgot that:
1) I’d have to put an end date on the bracket, meaning the link will expire.
2) Though the random, free bracket-making website gave me space for/required me to write a blurb about each book, it doesn’t actually show those blurbs to you when you view the bracket.
3) Also, duh, there’s really no reason to make you click around in this format instead of just giving you a list of our rankings in order. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that exactly one subscriber to this list has read both Ten Noisy Rickshaws and Moo, Baa, La La La and has a strong enough opinion to rank one above the other and have any fun with this.
So. Stay tuned for the list next week, to be shared in a format that actually makes sense, that you can bookmark for a future day when you need a gift for a fresh new bookworm-to-be.
To Wednesday fails and Thursday mornings,
Julia
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Photo from my iPhone; gif from Lowe’s Home Improvement (yeah, I dunno, it’s so late)