Pocket + the nature of time + Goblin Mode
May I recommend
No, not pockets, although obviously they are wonderful.
Pocket. Singular.
It is an app (I think) that allows you to beetle around the Internet reading all of the things (or glancing at the headlines) and then slipping them into your virtual pocket so that they are saved and thencely (it’s a word, don’r worry about it) you’re able to go back and read them at your leisure.
You can download it to your phone, laptop or wherever and it magically synchs to all of the places.
I use it when I’m teaching, I use it when I’m writing, I use it when I’m leisureing (also a word, it’s fine) and I definitely use it when I’m writing this newsletter.
You can tag things and archives things (you know I love an archiving function — that’s actually not true. I don’t know what archiving means in this context - I’ve never archived an email in my life… where will it go? Too dangerous).
At the end of the year they send you a wonderful wrap up of everything you read and you get to revisit all of the things you cared about that year — so, so many articles about Ancient Egypt and also about languishing!
Pocket is terrific and everyone should get it.
What do you use to manage your Internet consumption? Tell me in the comments below!
The end of Daylight Savings Time or the end of time itself?
Why we should be watching the sun, not the clock
As Americans move closer to ending (or permanently implementing?) Daylight Savings Time, maybe we should abandon time all together and just do what the sun tells us.
Quickly, the two men began drawing up a manifesto of the things they’d like to change: schools should start later, children be educated outdoors where possible, and examinations not conducted in the mornings; businesses should be encouraged to offer flexitime, allowing people to work and study when they felt at their best; health clinics could pioneer chronotherapies, tailoring drug treatments to patients’ internal time; hotels might offer guests variable meal- and check-out times; and buildings should be modified to let in more daylight.
The World’s best Tetris player
This is an old (2007) article that came to my notice this week and I loved it. Everything about it is wonderful - the Harry Potter-like premise that someone is the chosen one with a secret skill they’re not even aware of, the gas station attendant in Winnipeg, the juggling angle, the “Oh my.” Also, I hate video games, but Tetris, well, Tetris IS different.
From a recent trip to Victoria, BC, where we discovered an arcade…
There are many things that attracted me to my wife, though I can't say an exceeding amount of hand-eye coordination was one of them. She's 31, she works as a nutritionist at UMass, and she's fairly athletic. She can hit a softball and catch a football, but there was nothing about her to suggest she had some innate ability for the split-second decision making required to succeed at Tetris when the pieces are really coming fast. The idea that she could be the best person to ever play the Game Boy version of Tetris seemed beyond crazy.
Forget the sourdough starter, we all need to become goblins
Not sure if I’ve entered Goblin Mode, or if I’m leaving it … the eminent arrival of spring has actually cheered me up quite a bit (though I did spend part of Saturday morning bingeing the end of White Lotus - have you guys seen that show? Amazing!).
At some point in the stretch of days between the start of the pandemic’s third year and the feared launch of world war three, a new phrase entered the zeitgeist, a mysterious harbinger of an age to come: people were going “goblin mode”.
The term embraces the comforts of depravity: spending the day in bed watching 90 Day Fiancé on mute while scrolling endlessly through social media, pouring the end of a bag of chips in your mouth; downing Eggo toaster oven waffles with hot sauce over the sink because you can’t be bothered to put them on a plate. Leaving the house in your pajamas and socks only to get a single Diet Coke from the bodega.
The Honeybee Emeralds is out soon!
Guys, in ten days or so I will be an official published author! What a bonkers bonkers thing!
I’ve been doing a bit of book promo, which is quite a thrill!
Here I am on my favourite writing podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing… I haven’t listened to this one yet, because I am worried that I might sound unhinged.
Here I am, in a weird surprise twist, on the radio station that accompanied my childhood, Montreal’s CJAD, talking about this article that I wrote for Chatelaine… The station just contacted me out of the blue, like I am a fancy celebrity, and asked me to come on and share my relationship expertise (ha ha ha).
Also, if you’re in the Eastern Townships, and want to hang out and discuss all things Honeybee, come and find me on April 30th at 2pm at Brome Lake Books. I would love to chat!
Don’t forget to pick your forsythias! Now is the time!
A timely reminder from the me of one year ago…
** Ignore my overly optimistic references to last spring’s “final” lockdown. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
TikTok
You a water guy?
Don’t worry, it had a happy ending
Good morning
Left leaning elite
A boy named Sue
Don’t embarrass me
Thanks for reading my weekly newsletter.
You can follow me on Twitter here and Instagram here and now check out my website (I’m reposting my old Belgian blog Beer+Waffles there, if you want to take a trip down memory lane! )
Amy Tector, The Honeybee Emeralds (March 2022)