Hi friends,
We made it through March, vaccinations are on the rise, and the weather is getting warmer. Things are looking up! And hey, I even put more YouTube videos in here than usual, so that’s one more thing you can enjoy.
Is that because I was on YouTube more than usual this month? Don’t worry about it.
Let’s get to the links.
Allow Yourself To Be Seen - “The issue isn’t that you’ll be despised for who you really are… It’s scarier than that: it’s that you lose control over who you are. Other people get to decide. And it may turn out that you’re not who you thought you were.”
Buildings - An interactive map of the Netherlands that shows you the age of nearly every building in the country.
Charts - If you’ve not subscribed to Anne Helen Petersen’s newsletter, I highly recommend it. Her most recent edition is a fascinating, meandering look at how much things cost, and why we value what we value.
Daft Punk - After 28 years, the legendary duo has broken up.
Essay - Parker Palmer on presence vs. advice.
Fifth - Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, animated with the “Line Rider” game. Prepare for your jaw to drop.
Glowing - Scientists say they’ve found some species of glow-in-the-dark sharks.
Hidden - NYC apartments are small. But this Tik-Tok user found something unusual in hers when she felt a strange draft…
Imitation - What is imitation crab meat actually made of?
Japan - A library of pictograms to enhance the tourist experience in Japan. It’s free to download and use!
Keep the birds safe - Philly is about to turn off the lights in tall buildings for a while. Why? Because hundreds of birds are flying into the windows.
Lebanon - Meet the people rebuilding Beirut after an explosion rocked the city.
Murmuration - A large group of starlings is called a murmuration, and a photographer captured one in the shape of… a huge bird.
New & Old - Scholars say they’ve found a new set of Dead Sea Scrolls in Israel.
Overview - The world from above in stunning, beautiful detail. Meant to “provide a powerful look at the planet where we live and the civilization we are creating.”
Private School - Caitlin Flanagan on why “private schools are indefensible.” (The Atlantic, possible paywall.)
Q & A - John Mulaney + Seth Meyers. Just a really lovely chat (and surprisingly intimate).
Relax - A black bear decides to take a soak in a hot tub.
Silk Sonic - The duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak is bringing all the retro, sexy vibes in their new music video.
Teapot - I can imagine making a lot of tea with this simple and beautiful porcelain teapot.
Underfoot - The next time you’re standing on a deck, you might not be standing on wood, but plastic bags. This company is one of the largest plastic bag recyclers in the US!
Vaccine Tracker - See how the vaccine rollout is going by county and state. (NYT, possible paywall)
Wonderment - Poet Ross Gay’s “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude.”
X - Goat towers.
Yo-Yo Ma - The world-famous cellist sat down and played some tunes in the waiting room right after getting his second COVID vaccine shot. See also: His NPR TinyDesk concert.
Zebra Finch - Take a moment to just admire this beautiful Australian bird.
Special thanks to Karyn for her contributions to this issue!
Have a suggestion for the next issue? Reach out to me by replying to this email. And if you enjoyed this edition, go ahead and forward it to a friend and tap the heart at the top of the page.
See you in a month,
-Brady