Sent as an email newsletter April 18, 2021. Join my email list to get future editions.
👋 Hi friends,
Welcome to the latest edition of Newley’s Notes, a weekly newsletter containing my recent Wall Street Journal stories, must-read links on tech and life, and funny dog videos.
👉 Image of the week, above: Ginger and the Hong Kong skyline, snapped during a recent picnic at the West Kowloon Art Park.
Here are 10 items worth your time this week:
1) ✍️ My latest: I had a story out Monday; the headline: India Accused of Censorship for Blocking Social Media Criticism Amid Covid Surge. It begins:
India’s government ordered Twitter Inc., Facebook Inc. and Instagram to block about 100 social media posts criticizing its handling of the exploding Covid–19 surge in the country, sparking public anger and allegations of censorship in the world’s most populous democracy.
Click through to read the rest.
2) 👉 The situation in India is alarming indeed. The latest figures out today: 392,488 new infections, down from 401,993 the previous day, and 3,689 deaths. “Experts believe both figures are an undercount,” the Associated Press says. [AP]
3) 🧪 Interactive: “How Pfizer Makes Its Covid–19 Vaccine.” [New York Times]
4) 🎬 “Nomadland” won an Oscar for best picture. And Beijing-born director Chloé Zhao became the first Asian woman to win an Academy Award for best director, and the second woman to do so. [WSJ]
5) 🇨🇳 …and the win by Zhao, who has criticized China, was censored in her home country. [WSJ]
6) 🗣 A fascinating oral history by Garrett M. Graff, out on the ten-year anniversary: “The plan to kill Osama bin Laden – from the spycraft to the assault to its bizarre political backdrop – as told by the people in the room.”
7) 🏛 Democratic strategist James Carville: “Wokeness is a problem and everyone knows it. It’s hard to talk to anybody today — and I talk to lots of people in the Democratic Party — who doesn’t say this. But they don’t want to say it out loud.” [Vox]
8) 🚙 Amazing car parking demonstration of the week: “Eugène from Liedekerke is an 87-year old man who, since 1951, still parks his car in a very narrow garage. So narrow that he only has 1,2 inch to spare at either side of the car. Luckily for Eugène Fiat has produced the Panda.” [YouTube]
9) ⭐ From author and technologist Kevin Kelly: 99 Additional Bits of Unsolicited Advice. One I especially like: “Be governed not by the tyranny of the urgent but by the elevation of the important.” (Previously: “68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice.”) [KK dot org]
10) 🐶 Feel good (I think?) dog-related story of the week: “Prancer, The ‘Haunted Victorian Child’ Dog From Viral Ad, Has Been Adopted.” (The original ad is well worth reading. To wit: “He’s literally the Chihuahua meme that describes them as being 50% hate and 50% tremble. If you’re intrigued and horrified at how this animal sounds already, just wait….there’s more. ”) [NPR, Petfinder]
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🦴 Dog-related video of the week: “Majestic jump!” [Reddit]
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What I’ve Been Watching:
📖 We watched, and loved, the new PBS documentary “Hemingway,” by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. In three parts spanning six hours, we learn about his monumental works, his involvement in events like the Spanish Civil War and both World Wars, and his tumultuous, tragic personal life. Highly recommended.
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💡 Quote of the week:
“As long as I have a book in my hand, I don’t feel like I’m wasting time.” – Charlie Munger
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👊 Fist bump from Hong Kong,
Newley