Reverse ageism, dangerous things for kids, the history of cocktails, and more!
RWL #379
Greetings from the University of New Hampshire! We’ve finally had some snow that has stuck around, so now the ground is white, even if the trees are all gray. It makes it so much easier for me to bear the winter when there is snow on the ground. I think of the late fall and the early spring as the long gray time. The snow breaks that up.
TLW* and I went out to the Riverworks Restaurant in Newmarket, which is the town south of Durham where UNH is, this weekend. Our middle daughter worked there for a year or so just prior to and through the early stages of the pandemic as the sous chef. It’s a charming New England pub in a charming New England town. We were seated in the upstairs dining room by the window and I was sitting there looking out and thought, this would make a cool picture. So I took one with my phone. That’s the joy of art. Spontaneous (or impulsive). This was one of my goals when I started doing my daily sketch project back in… well the first one was 2017. Art should be democratic. Photography certainly is, with all of us walking around with high resolution cameras in our pockets. All it takes is paying a little attention.
This week’s links are something of a mish-mash, but if you haven’t listened to my interview with David Krempels, do check that out (in Listen).
I hope you enjoy the links.
As usual, willing good for all of you!
*TLW stands for The Lovely Wife for those of you who haven’t been following along.
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Read
What: WSJ, She Talked Like a Millionaire, Slept in a Parking Garage and Fooled Nearly Everybody
Why: This is an excellent story about the unromantic reality of mental illness. I plan to incorporate this into my health systems course. Here is a brilliant and talented person who is able to conceal her illness (to a degree) because of her intelligence, but still clearly suffered greatly, and at great cost to her family.
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What: The Evil HR Lady, Reverse ageism: why do companies avoid Gen Z workers?
Why: The Evil HR Lady strikes again with a fun post about how Gen Z is being discriminated against. A couple of interesting points:
Most employers think college is setting expectations too high for new grads, such that they are disappointed when the get their first real job.
Gen Z don’t behave appropriately in job interviews.
“And who raised these good-for-nothing Gen Zs who don’t have the sense to put some pants on, turn on their cameras, and cover their tattoos for a job interview? Well, that would be Gen X and the younger boomers.” (that’s what my kids tell me)
I generally really dislike generation talk. Every generation thinks the next generation is lazy and worthless, which is what Evil HR Lady opens with.
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Watch
What: TED, Gever Tulley: 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do (9 min)
https://www.ted.com/talks/gever_tulley_5_dangerous_things_you_should_let_your_kids_do
Why: Last week I wrote about the importance of play. I wish I had found this piece for last week. Tulley wants you to let your kids play with things like knives, old appliances, and fire. Talking about fire, he says: “The mysteries are only revealed to the people who are allowed to play with it.” It’s a short, fun video.
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Listen
What: Flourishing in the World, "You're not who you were, be who you are" with David Krempels (64 min)
Why: My latest Flourishing in the World podcast is with David Krempels, the founder of the David Krempels Brain Injury Center. David survived a life-altering traumatic brain injury when he and his new wife were struck by a truck. With some of the money he received in damages, he sought to create a space for people like him who have survived brain injuries. David tells his inspiring story in this podcast, and I loved his slogan, "You're not who you were, be who you are". He and I joked a bit about how it really applies to everyone who is on this life journey. As you pass through life’s stages, you are always changing.
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What: The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast, The First Uniquely American Culinary Art (64 min - but I recommend skipping forward to 13 minutes)
Why: What’s the first uniquely American culinary art? Cocktails! Cooke interviews Peter Suderman, who I am a fan of for his work at Reason, but during the pandemic he started writing a newsletter about making great cocktails. Peter talks about the history of cocktails and what it takes to make a great cocktail, and why most bars don’t make good cocktails. It’s a fun conversation. I would skip the first 13 minutes - that is all introductory remarks. The actual conversation starts at 13 minutes.
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What: The Good Fight, Albert Wu on Taiwan’s Past, Present and Future on Apple Podcasts (54 min)
Why: What is happening in Taiwan and what is its historical background? The Department of Defense has been making plans to defend Taiwan from a Chinese takeover. What do you know about the history that has led us to potentially have to go to war with the Chinese over a break-away Chinese province? I learned some interesting things in this pod.