The Hello You Sunday Supplement, Issue 21
Because there *are* good things happening, and we need to read about them
Hello, you. How’re you doing?
That’s not just something to say after ‘hello you’, by the way. I really would like to know how you’re doing. What’s going well for you, what’s going less well. What you’re excited by or concerned about. What you’re doing or thinking about that more people should be aware of. We’re all members of the Hello You family, so feel free to share what’s on your mind? You can share it around the Hello You family virtual kitchen table, by posting a comment:
… or you can get in touch with me directly, by sending me a message:
Maybe we could do more things as a family? Live chats on here, a meet-up in a café, perhaps a live recording of the Hello You podcast? Tell me what you think?
How do you become part of the Hello You family? Well, just by reading this or listening to my Hello You podcast, that’ll do it. If you like what I do, and you want to properly become a member of the family, then just subscribe. That’s all it takes
If you really like what I do, and want to make sure I can keep doing it in the somewhat-uncertain future, you can become a paid-up member. I’d love it if you did, but you don’t have to. And there’s a halfway house: you could always buy me a coffee?
As for how I’m doing: I’ve felt knackered all week, I’ve got a stinking cold, deadlines and my to-do list are looming over me along with a lot of unanswered messages (sorry), and I’m just waiting for the next catastrophic technical failure to beset me. So, not great. But hanging out with you makes me feel better, so thank you for that!
Something to listen to while you read
I’m sad, because Garth Hudson - keyboards, saxophones, accordion and the last surviving member of The Band - has died. This lovely obituary tells his story better than I ever could, but today needs to be spent listening to The Band albums. Join me? Dive into Music From Big Pink, Stage Fright or The Band, where you’ll find this example of Garth’s inventiveness, and his ensemble playing. The inventiveness? Playing a clavinet through a wah pedal for that weird jaw-harp sound. The ensemble playing? An organ part that blends perfectly with his bandmates’ playing, but at the same time makes you feel like you’re dreaming you’re on some distant fairground … Up On Cripple Creek. That’s Garth at the back, beaming with happiness at the sound they’re all creating together
If that’s whetted your appetite, the flawed but magnificent Band movie The Last Waltz is on Amazon Prime Video, Sky Store and Apple TV+. You could spend two hours much worse today.
What went right this week
There was a global work reset, fossil fuels ‘lost their grip on EU energy’, and a vast new reserve was created, plus more good news from the good people at Positive News
On with the Good Stuff!
Look, there’s no way around it, there’ll be some Trump-adjacent stuff in the Sunday Supplement this week. But it’ll have the Hello You twist to it: Positivity, or at least keeping you informed of things that might’ve escaped your notice
First, though: The world isn’t as bad as you think
‘I saved a dog’s life by giving it CPR’
'I'm exploring what makes my heart sing - and I bloomin' love it. I hope you can too'
A bishop asked the president to show mercy to immigrants and scared children. The response tells us everything. And if you’ve not yet seen this, take three minutes now:
'I walked 150km for charity, and here's what I learned'
First mansplaining, now manwaisting!
Do dogs actually watch TV?
The musical universe of David Lynch
Meet Queen Cat, Secret Cat, Hungry Cat and Dunce Cat
In his Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, Hokusai uses woodblock printing to take our breath away
Prince Harry gets what he wanted, but will we ever get what we need? And is Harry winning the larger war with the British media? (I really hope so. Go Harry!)
‘It's finally happened!’ Scientists film footage of really incredibly extremely ancient deep sea creatures
Gambling can change your brain
More of the good stuff in a moment, but first …
Hello You 83: 'Are you a secretary?'
More of my conversation with Shropshire-based executive coach Sarah Clein. The first part can be found in Hello You 81: Getting Off the SAD List, and if you - like me - find the darker time of the year difficult to deal with, I hope you’ll check it out.
Sarah helps, as she puts it, ‘knackered mid-life women in public service’ to have a better life, either in their current job or elsewhere. As you’ll hear in this episode of my Hello You podcast, she brings a lot of related life experience to her work
Topics covered include:
navigating a toxic work environment
what it means to be a public servant
Sarah’s ‘Good Wife’ era
neurodivergence, especially in the workplace
growing up in an orthodox Jewish household
mid-life women as role models
how to reply when someone asks if you’re a secretary!
Hello You is about people, stories and ‘the complexities of life’. To make sure you don’t miss anything, whether it’s an episode of the Hello You podcast or the Sunday Supplement, why not subscribe? If you really love what I do, you can take out a paid subscription (and I’d be very happy and grateful) but you don’t have to. Hello You will remain free for everyone, for ever. You might just help keep it - and me - going, though
OK, back to your weekly good-stuff round-up!
Everything wrong with Big Journalism, in six words (this is so good!)
Instrumental Archaeology, Issue 10: The ocarina
Even by the standards of American food, this is just bloody disgusting
‘… in the UK, remember there is very little you can do to affect anything happening in the US, but you can show solidarity with those working on the issues that matter to you ... Remember there is a bigger world out there’
Navigating the chaos (lots of good advice here)
Welcome to the HaHaHouse!
What can you do if your company is cutting DEI programs?
The soul of 1970s Harlem
Hello Kitty at 50: a Japanese success story of simplicity and cuteness
'Why I have finally quit Facebook (it’s not just about fact-checking)'
These are some of the world’s last internet cafés
If you're a film and/or history nerd, here's a movie for you
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If you read one thing this week, make it this
The sermon that enraged Donald Trump
Final Thought, à la Jerry Springer
Let me make one final plea, Mr President. Millions have put their trust in you. As you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families who fear for their lives.
And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in our poultry farms and meat-packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shift in hospitals – they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes, and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara, and temples.
Have mercy, Mr President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. Help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land.
May God grant us all the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, speak the truth in love, and walk humbly with one another and our God, for the good of all the people of this nation and the world.
How was that for you?
I hope you enjoyed the Hello You Sunday Supplement, Issue 21. If you have thoughts, questions, suggestions, whatever then leave a comment
And as I mentioned at the top, I’m always glad to hear from you
Once again, I’d be thrilled beyond words if you could hit Like on this, or wherever you’ve found it, or both
Even better, why not become a Hello You family member by subscribing?
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Thank you for being there
Take care of yourself, and take care of the people around you. I hope they’re taking care of you, too
