Hello, my name is Matt. James is taking some well-deserved offline time and he’s subbed me in to hold the fort in his absence, much like José Mourinho throwing on an extra defender in the 89th minute to hold onto a 1-0 lead.
It probably won’t have the panache of James’ newsletters (I’m sure it’s the first time his newsletters had a football analogy in the opening paragraph) but I hope to provide a – dare I say it – strong and steady performance while he’s away.
OK, intro out of the way.
ON TO THE THINGS.
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1. WHO KILLED THE WEEKEND?
I often feel a pang of guilt as Sunday night draws to a close. I’ve spent a good few hours playing and then reviewing a game, pulling my hair out as I try to put words onto paper in a cohesive sense.
Checked my email, work email, my email again, Twitter, because unplugging yourself feels a bit selfish.
Then there’s the litany of other things, small things, things that I have to do. Finally, I sit back as Monday starts to loom on the horizon, shattered because I’ve essentially crammed as much activity as possible into 48 hours, and think “Have I made the most of those precious two days off?â€
This excellent article argues the case for doing what weekends were created for: giving yourself time to relax, time with loved ones, time disconnected from the digital world.
Time to breathe.
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2. EVERY GENERATION HAS BEEN THE ME ME ME GENERATION
“Millennials are the “ME ME ME GENERATION,” writes Joel Stein for the cover of Time magazine, which is apparently a marked departure from the Baby Boomers, who were the plain old “Me Generation” (one me, no caps) and who created the “Me Decade” in the 1970s, and who coined the phrase, “But enough about me… what do you think about me?” in the 1980s when they were raising the next narcissists, Generation X.â€
You often hear commentary about the supposed narcissism of Millennials, documenting every moment of their life via filter-tinged Instagram posts or selfies on Snapchat. Elspeth Reeve, writing for The Atlantic, argues the case that every era seems to think the one that follows is the ‘ME Generation’.​
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3. ARE YOU BRAVE ENOUGH TO WATCH JAWS LIKE THIS?Â
I’m a notoriously easily scared person, so much so that my documented attempt to play through the recently released Resident Evil 7 in VR was brought to an inglorious end after one solitary video (Yes, I know James has linked to that video in a previous Five Things On Friday. What can I say? I’m part of the ME Generation).
So, would I choose to watch Jaws 3D while bobbing along in a rubber dingy, in the middle of the night, in a lake?
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
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4. 50 WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT
“Several years ago I decided to be “not fat†anymore and lost 20KG (44lbs). Ish. During that time I have read a lot of books. A lot. Watched a shedload of videos, ate a lot of chicken and in the process accidentally became an “enthusiastic amateur†into the how and why. I meet a lot of people who knew me before I lost the weight and they all (seemingly slack-jawed) ask me the how so I decided to try and distill all I have read and watched into SIMPLE tips, guidance and advice as one list. They all worked for me.â€
Now, a few years back I decided to ‘get fit’.
I started eating better, running, and strength training, and in a relatively short space of time I lost a decent chunk of weight, became noticeably stronger, and just generally felt better, physically and mentally.
One knee injury, that required a surgical procedure, led to a lengthy period confined to a sofa. Sure enough, old eating habits crept back in and the weight piled back on.
Many people, including myself, over-complicate losing weight, jumping from diet to diet, often doing themselves more harm in the long term. Dave Parkinson (pictured before, and after, below) has put together a list of simple, easy to follow tips, to help you shift some pounds. He’s not quite reached 50 yet, but the 41 so far should get you well on your way.
Also contains a cracking protein pancake recipe.
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5. SPECTACLES LAUNCH IN THE UK / ACROSS EUROPE
Snapchat’s first foray into hardware debuted in September 2016, although initially only in the US, and even more initially (pre-initially? Pre-nitially? Is that a word? It is now.) via vending machines called Snapbots.
Well, now they’ve made their way across the Atlantic and can be yours for £129.99.
So far I only know one person with a pair of Spectacles, and that’s James himself. He acquired a pair while at SXSW last year, allowing me to follow him galavanting around Austin.
I don’t think he’s used them much since though.
Passing fad? Maybe.
But there’s some undeniably cool stuff captured so far.
Want some? Go get some.
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BONUSES THIS WEEK ARE AS FOLLOWS:
CONTINUING THE TREND OF THE PAST FEW WEEKS, HERE ARE A TON OF RANDOM LINKS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE USEFUL TO YOUR LIFE.
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Ryan Broderick took umbridge at Theresa May spouting ‘a load of bollocks about Islamic radicalization and the internet’ and put togethera thread of articles about the topics that are most definitely not bollocks.
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Ben Shneiderman, a computer scientist from the University of Maryland, argues that algorithms are risky enough to be regulated like cars, banks, and drugs.
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Jia Tolentino tried to shop at Amazon’s new Brick-and-mortar bookstores in New York and opines they are not built for people who actually read.
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Not even wrong – ways to dismiss technology by Benedict Evans
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Mark Rabkin, VP Core Adverts at Facebook, breaks down their playbook for mobile video adverts.
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I adore David Fincher, and this is a wonderful look at the hidden visual effects work of David Fincher’s filmography.
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Speaking of films, we got a new trailer for Edgar Wright’s Baby Driverand it looks AMAZING.
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And… I’m done.
I hope this was at least partially as good as an authentic Whatley-written Five Things. Enjoy your weekend and, like I said above, have an actual day off to yourself, and breathe.
To borrow James’ weekly sign off…
Matt out x​
Ps. If you reply to this email it’ll go to James. If you want to send me feedback directly, I’m @munkimatt on Twitter – you can find me there x