Five Things: Walz, Political Ads, Japanese Clutter, Clog Heist, Social
Your Sunday Morning starts here. Grab a coffee and read this now!
Hello and welcome back to Five Things!
Let me start with a quick reveal. While I write this newsletter in English, I am in fact German and also live in Germany. I did study political science and history a while back and was focusing on the USA in my studies. Also, I’m politically left of the center and I don’t think Kamala Harris is socialist at all by any definition of the term. And I should know, having studied at the supposedly leftist strongholds of the University of Göttingen in Germany and the University of California in Berkeley, California.
I guess I just lost a subscriber, at least that’s the feedback I got from him a few days ago during an email exchange. I tried to have a conversation with him, but had to find out that he was too MAGA brainwashed to actually calm down for a few minutes to read what I wrote. Also, I don’t think he’ll read the article about Tim Walz that I picked for this newsletter. We need to get over this divisiveness in the political debate and have to find common ground again, but this is currently such a lost cause, not just in the US, but also in France, Germany and other Western democracies, which is really a terrible development.
How Tim Walz Makes Progressive Values Feel So Moderate
I have to admit two things. One, I had never heard of Tim walz before he entered the campaign. Two, I think he is an amazing politician who just knows how to communicate well with his constituents.
Inside Our Wildly Expensive, Dubiously Effective Political Ad Machine
Honestly, I’m so glad we have different campaign finance laws in Germany and don’t spend a gazillion Euros on political campaigns to bombard people with ads everywhere.
The life-changing magic of Japanese clutter
So there is more to Japan than just minimalism. That’s good to know. Although I don’t think clutter has anything magical attached to it.
The Great Bedrock Clog Heist
I had a hunch that not everything in the global supply chain would work smoothly, but this is really an interesting story involving a mountain clog.
from the outside, you look great
“Earlier this week, I was trying to find time to connect with a very dear friend who lives in Paris. He couldn’t wait to hear what was new, he said, but “from the outside, you look great!” “It’s true, some things have been good,” I replied.” - how does social media change the way we interact with our friends and how has social media itself changed in the last two decades and what does that mean to our relationships online?
That’s it. Have a great Sunday! If you missed last Sunday’s edition of Five Things, have a look here:
— Nico
Appreciate Five Things, Nico! You mentioned losing a reader because they didn't like your politics. I've noticed that when I post on a politically-charged topic, like abortion, two things happen: (a) Someone reposts and I instantly get a spate of new subscribers, and (b) a few people who'd become subscribers since my last politically-charged post immediately cancel. I gather that my readers are becoming more homogeneously liberal, even though I try to be impartial or at least acknowledge my liberal biases. I think this shows that ideological siloing occurs even when it's not the writer's goal. Just a thought....