Five Things: Average, California, Paris, Personal Lives, Alcohol

Happy Easter! Before you eat too many eggs and too much candy, read this!

Every week the audience of my little newsletter Five Things grows. Thanks to you, my loyal readers, who share this newsletter among friends and colleagues or who tell other people to subscribe to my newsletter. Five Things is just a little side project for me, but one that I have been doing for years now. It means the world to me to see the subscription numbers grow and getting feedback from my readers. So thanks for reading! If I only get a few thousand more paid subscriptions, I could turn this into a full-time job. So don’t be shy, go paid! 🤓

Easter Sunday at our house is celebrated in the same way every year. We prepare little baskets with chocolate bunnies, marzipan eggs, some other candy and a little present. Then I go hide everything in the garden, come back inside and yell from the kitchen that I just saw the Easter Bunny hopping through the garden. Then the kids all try to look astonished and excited at the same time as we walk into the garden and let the kids search for the little baskets. After about a minute and half all the baskets have been found, then they all have to line up for a photo my wife wants to take of all four, which they usually object to, so this takes at least 5 minutes and a lot of screaming. Then we go back inside and have a nice long breakfast, where the kids leave after about 5 minutes and I stay and eat their marzipan stuff. Traditions. So important. I’m sure Jesus wanted it this way.

Anyhow, I picked five really interesting articles this week for you to read. I know I always say that, but it’s true nonetheless. Enjoy! 🐇

The Age of Average

The age of conformity might seem dull, but it makes it easy to stand out by being different. “For years the world has been moving in the same stylistic direction. And it’s time we reintroduced some originality.” What a wonderful essay! (Alex Murrell)

How 1970s California Created the Modern World

“The history of Apple Computer or the rising influence of Hollywood tells us as much, if not more, about the rise, fall and rebirth of this order as a micro analysis of any G-7 summit or annual World Bank meetings. California dreaming should force us to think in more creative ways about the actors and agents that matter, what time horizons shape our current world, how to locate complex historical causality, and, perhaps most importantly, how to reimagine how we understand power.” (Engelsberg Ideas)

How Paris Kicked Out the Cars

Anyone who’s ever had the wonderful idea to drive into Paris must have had immediate regrets. Sitting in endless traffic on the Périphérique, just to finally get off and then finding out that the traffic on the streets in Paris is even worse, this is how I remember our “quick” stop-overs in Paris. But this has changed, and if Paris can do it, so can other citites! (Slate)

When Did Our Personal Lives Get So Professional?

Ok, guilty as charged. A long time ago I required my family to send me a calendar invite if my presence is required somewhere. Too often somebody complained about me not knowing about an event, because honestly that’s why I have a calendar: so that I don’t have to remember where I need to be or what I need to do. Or want to. My family has accepted this, for the most part. (New York Times)

No, moderate drinking isn’t good for your health

That sucks. I thought there was some easy way out. And I also felt really clever pointing out to my wife that a glass of red wine in the evening is actually good for me and that I’d drink it just because of those health benefits. Hopefully they’ll never study the effects of a bag of potato chips on the health of a 50-year old male. Cheers. 🍷 (Washington Post)

That’s it. Have an amazing Sunday! Go splurge on Easter candy! 🍬