Captivations is a monthly feature with links, stories, and news that captivated me. It’s also a monthly update/recap of what’s going on in my world.
Conscious Consumer
This New York Times article is very informative (and a good primer) if you want to be more sustainable at home.
Moving Rhinos
When rhinos are moved for conservation, how are they moved? Well, this 3,000-lb beast prefers to hang from a helicopter upside down.
Factors for Wellness
I love the way that five elements and analyzing each area can help you check in to your well-being.
Bad Day
This piece about Asian hate crimes by Ly Tran was a good read. I’m working on a delicate post that’s been a tough thing to write. It talks about my life as an Asian American and a response to the racially-charged Atlanta spa shooting and a year of anti-Asian attacks.
Future Plans
If you had asked me a month ago what the next month would look like, I couldn’t have imagined it. I think the fast roll-out of vaccine availability in the U.S. has resulted in a widespread positive outlook and urgency about the future. It’s a good thing – future plans to look forward to is good for the mind!
Fearless
As a Taylor Swift fan, I’ve been following the saga of her re-recording her masters. If you need the whole story, this Billboard article gives the full timeline. Her first re-recorded album was released and this article gives an analysis of the differences between the original and the new albums. It’s interesting that this expert (a professor of music) says the new album is technically flawless but lacks the conviction of 18-year-old Taylor Swift. Kudos to Taylor for topping charts with this new release!
Languishing and Getting Back to Normal
I read two great articles recently about how we will return to pre-pandemic life. This one talks about how we have been languishing – feeling stagnant and directionless. It makes sense because life has felt like it’s been on hold. The article suggests some solutions: resetting your routine, setting boundaries, and accomplishing small goals. This post by The Everywhereist asks “how do you go back to normal when that world is already gone?” Do we go on with our lives and back to “normal” and laugh off the last year? Has everything we thought we wanted or valued changed?
Changing Your Life
My friend Kendall wrote this post about changing your life. It’s a great reminder to visualize who your ideal self is like and then take little steps to make it happen.
At-Home Healthcare
When we adopted Kaira, we used Embark to find out what breeds of dog she is because we constantly got the question. While this is for pets, at-home healthcare tools have progressed from ancestry tracking for humans too. This article talks about a few companies that will analyze your fertility, blood, and gut biome. These can be a low-cost alternative to expensive doctor visits and tests if you are simply curious (and not in pain or have serious issues).
Best Chocolate
You know I love chocolate! Food & Wine created this list of the best chocolate shops in the U.S. One Austin company made this list – Madhu Chocolate!
BIPOC
I heard an NPR interview with one of the writers of this article. It clarifies that previous phrases “non-white” and “minorities” centers around white and don’t work. The phrase “people of color” (the phrase they recommend using) turned into “BIPOC,” which stands for black, indigenous, and other people of color. Yet, BIPOC still puts Latin Americans and Asian Americans as “other.” The best option is to call out the group by name instead of using the general “people of color.”
Third Culture Cooking
Third culture kids are people who were raised in a culture different from their parents or a culture different from their nationality or country in which they spent their formative years. This applies to many first-generation children of immigrants. Author and food writer Hetty McKinnon wrote a cookbook based on third culture cooking – taking her parents’ Chinese cooking and combining it with her experiences growing up around Australian cuisine. While some will gawk at the fusion, it’s an inevitable and authentic evolution for people who have experienced different cultures!
Amanda Gorman
Poet Amanda Gorman was thrust into the limelight and stardom after the inauguration this year. Her performance of her poem was inspiring. This Vogue interview talks about her life since then and these artistic photos are beautiful!
Seaspiracy
The new Netflix documentary Seaspiracy is going viral because of the terrible things that commercial overfishing is doing to our oceans. Here’s a summary of the documentary and the response from various organizations. The documentary has some good points. Do your research to know what parts are facts and what parts are skewed facts. I like this explanation, analysis by scuba divers.
The documentary argues that the only solution is to stop eating fish. This is a huge, privileged ask, especially for people whose cultures focus on fish or people who don’t eat meat except for seafood. I understand why they offered this solution. It’s the “simplest” way to solve it and quickest for most people who live in first-world countries.
The documentary reminded me that it is important to know where your food comes from and the answer always comes back to eating locally. I believe there are ways to consume seafood responsibly. Check out Local Catch as one resource.
What’s got you captivated lately?
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