First thoughts
This week I managed to get back to my home in Italy.
1 rescheduled flight, 1 cancelled flight, 1 rebooked, 1 very tight connection.
2 quarantines of 14 days, 3 covid tests,
more calls to embassies, health insurance companies, airlines and passport offices than I can count.
About a million documents printed off, all clumped together in a sad plastic pocket which I clung to throughout the journey like a sticky comfort doll.
It’s been a lot, but I also know others are dealing with a whole lot worse.
Anyway, I listened to the entirety of French and Saunders Titting About podcast series on the plane, which was really cosy although I’m not quite sure I would add it here as an interesting recommendation. More just something nice and reassuring to have on in the background, if that’s what you’re needing right now. Which, to be honest, is what I need most of the time these days.
Photo by Uta Scholl on Unsplash
I’m still in quarantine, so my life is mostly watching Grace & Frankie, reading a lot, listening to Jules & Sarah The Podcast, and doing a lot of Zoom exercise and yoga classes.
It also, as of this evening, will consist of packing. And a lot of it.
That’s because the big news is - if all goes well…
I will be moving to a gorgeous area of Rome (called Trastevere) next weekend (Hurrah!)
Photo by Iga Palacz on Unsplash
Film
Rose Island / Isola delle Rose - Netflix
I watched this on Netflix this week, and many of my Italian friends had already seen it, but I would highly highly recommend this to those of you that haven’t. It’s based on a true story of an Italian man who constructed his own island in international waters, and went on to the Council of Europe and UN to register it as an independent state. It’s a light film set in the 1960s, with all of the gorgeous costumes and cars that come with the era. I also really enjoyed this as I have worked in the EU bubble (and one of my offices looked out onto the Council of Europe in Strasbourg), and I worked in a UN context too, as well as currently living in Italy. It was all very relatable, in a ridiculous kind of way. This is funny and light and perfect Sunday night viewing. (It’s in Italian but there are English subtitles.)
Typeface
To raise awareness of the need for urgent action on climate change, Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and TBWA\Helsinki created a free-to-download font that can be size-adjusted on a sliding scale that reflects the pace of global warming. It’s a font that melts.
The Polite Type is an open-source font that rewrites hurtful words, replacing them with more inclusive ones.
The initial vocabulary for the font was co-created with high-school-aged teenagers and youth from diverse backgrounds in Finland, together with The Children and Youth Foundation. In Sweden, the initiative was supported by Friends-organization.
(It should be said that The Polite Type is meant to be used for educational purposes, for example in the context of school or by parents.)
This is quite an interesting concept, although of course brings up the issue of censorship etc. But I think this font can definitely bring about important and meaningful conversations about words and their impact.
While I’m here - I really loved the Abstract Documentaries on Netflix, and there was a great one on the topic of typefaces in season 2.
Something to read
These are a few (mostly tech-related) articles that I had bookmarked a while ago, and would recommend, especially if you are working from home or spending much more time on social media these days.
Too Much Cross Talk. Too Little Creativity. How to Fix the Worst Parts of a Virtual Meeting - Kellogg Insight
How Social Media Shapes Our Identity - New Yorker
Slack Is the Right Tool for the Wrong Way to Work - New Yorker
You Don’t Batch Cook When You’re Suicidal - Jack Monroe
This last one is more serious, but I felt strongly that more people should read it.
Podcasts
Mirin Fader - Longform Podcast
This was brilliant. A really interesting chat with a sports writer, which made me think a lot about hard work and not stopping even when you have setbacks. As a young female sports writer she had to deal with a whole lot of “no”s, and knock-backs, and she just kept going. She got used to being told “no” as a 5ft something female basketball player, and was often told that she was too short to play. I found her resilience so inspiring. Even if you’re not particularly interested in sport, this will make you think again about giving up the next time you are feeling demotivated.
Books
I’ve been a bit slow and sporadic with reading, but trying to get more consistent going forward.
Recently read: The Art of Disruption: A Manifesto For Real Change by Magid Magid & Intimations by Zadie Smith.
Reading: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (this is the one I am reading with my little book group with my school pals), On Beauty by Zadie Smith & Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.
(I’m still on Goodreads, although trying to move over to Storygraph soon)
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with your thoughts, ideas and suggestions at catrionamedia@gmail.com
(If you are nosy - like I am - you can find out a bit more about me here).
Until the next time,
Catriona
(🔊“cah-tree-nah”)