Hello!
Hi! I’m still in New York. It’s still very good. I am, for the most part, no longer jetlagged. I’m having a nice time! Even though I have begun hating the MTA with every fibre of my being. Why not - hear me out! - why not simply run a subway system that works? Where the trains arrive at regular intervals? Where the lines weren’t designed by someone who clearly loves a riddle? Just one woman’s opinion. Eric Adams, if you’re reading this: I could be your subway tsar.
Anyway! The Americans do occasionally come up with good things, like this long read on…I guess productivity? And what it’s meant to feel like, and why we chase it so much, and what it means to us and our sense of self. It’s a great essay, I hereby recommend it.
A column
I was trying to think of stories to write in New York the other day then realised that they all had something in common: they would probably go viral as videos. I’m not going to tell you what they are, because I may still end up writing them at some point, and because what they are doesn’t really matter.
What does is the format - the medium in which I’m used to convey information, and the fact that it seems to be on the way out. A few other people have had that realisation recently. One tweet that - perhaps ironically - stuck with me was from a New York Times reporter.
“in a world where TikTok & Reels has shown the revealed preference of many of our (younger) readers is to not be readers at all but viewers of our essays & articles read in 'Vox, Explained' voice, i wonder if the most telegenic or articulate among us will being doing more of these”, Talmon Smith said.
“These”, in this context, actually referred to the video he was quote-tweeting, in which a beautiful, well put-together young woman engagingly talked about nuclear disarmament. She was charismatic and seemed very friendly; her tone was chatty but confident, and she relayed a lot of information in an easily comprehensible way, and in a short amount of time. Good for her! It’s just a shame that I cannot, and will not do any of these things.
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