5 Things I Consumed Last Week (fluff/no-fluff)
on information compression, book recommendations, mental load and modern love
Dear reader,
I will start with newsletter with an excerpt from an essay I am reading- ‘Self-Reliance’ by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
Life only avails, not the having lived. Power ceases in the instant of repose; it resides in the moment of transition from a past to a new state, in the shooting of the gulf, in the darting to an aim.
I have been indulging myself in new experiences lately. I went through a rigorous period of exams constantly mulling ‘how to make muffins fluff more’ while studying tax. Well now I have all the time to ‘fluff’🐥(like everything else fluff is relative so this newsletter is all about fluff or no-fluff, whatever you make out of it); putting all the ‘not having lived’ into action.
Note: If my emails end up in the ‘promotions’ tab, please move them to the inbox so you don’t miss out.
Let’s get the recommendations rolling!
Information Compression on Rational in the Fullness of Time by Alexander Wang
Often a lot of details are lost in translation (no, not the movie). If you're working in any people-facing role where most of your work happens via written or verbal communication, this essay will help you plan for avoiding communication gaps.
This process of translating the mental image of a complex system to something human-readable (usually words or pictures) is information compression, and what Person B then understands from that message (“the compression”) is the decompressed image.
My all-time favorite books on Out of the blue by Mari Andrew
I was a fool!
A fool for not subscribing to Mari Andrew’s newsletter earlier. I subscribed last week and BAM, the first post I received was about her favorite books.
She takes us through a tour of her bookshelf meandering through book excerpts and recommendations from genres like culture and creativity, writing influences, history, self-help and much more.
The child-like artist in me always gets influenced by the stroke of a brush and Maria Kalman did just that in me. Her book ‘The Principles of Uncertainty’ is going to be my next read for sure. An artist cum author, her art and her books are irresistible.
Kindness on the road on Mysticeti by Tarang Mohnot
Share your live location! I would often tell my girlfriends while I was living in Delhi.
Living away from home is a life-changing experience. While I have solo-traveled enough, I still feel this tinge of terror when I see someone walking behind me. It’s hard to trust people, that too strangers but while you are out in the world, I guess that’s the only way to survive.
In this article on Mysticeti, Tarang describes about her experiences on the road. Reminds me of my girlfriends who made me feel at home all the time. Full of warmth!
Mental Load on Womaning in India by Mahima Vashisht
No salt! Did you get bananas? We are out of lemon.
Any of this sound familiar? If yes, welcome to Adulting.
Mental Load is the invisible labour involved in managing a household and keeping a family fed, functional, and free of bird faeces.
Performing none of these tasks requires an organ specific to the female anatomy. Yet, 99.99% of households run because the woman of the house shoulders this load.
When I read about Mental Load last month, it was like naming a disease you never knew had a name. A little link hoping and I found this mural of an article explaining (in a comic strip) how a lot of women go through this mental pressure of constantly keeping to-do lists in their mind.
It should serve you as a reminder to get up and help your mum/partner if you don’t.
If you don’t mind going into a rabbit hole start with this thread from NYT.
Modern Love Mumbai on Amazon Prime Video
Of love, longing and loss
Six stories by six directors
Of different parts in Mumbai
An unorthodox celebration of love
The series, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video is adapted from The New York Times bestselling column and the Amazon series Modern Love. If you don’t have any weekend plans and want to spend the weekend lying in your bed this is for you.
Ali Sethi’s oozing with love, melancholic voice in Chandni Raat will make your heart melt.💕
Maang rakhi thi badi der se Jo wasl ki shaam Wo mere haath badi der Ke baad aayi hai
That’s all for this time!
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As always, I appreciate your feedback (suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement) as well ideas that inspire you, reading/podcast recommendations etc.
You can write to me on bhumikasankhla12@gmail.com. or connect with me on IG at _i__cook or use the comment section!
With love and gratitude,
The Hummingbird🌺
As always I appreciate the great quality content you dig up from diverse places :)
You are an absolute gem