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The Perambulating-Soul Edition Sunday, December 29, 2019

Look Up, by Clyde Haberman, New York Times

Richard F. Shepard, as keen and joyful a chronicler of New York as ever graced the pages of The Times, had simple advice for anyone out and about on the city streets. Look up, he said. Look especially at second-floor windows above storefronts. That, he liked to say, is where a lot of absorbing action takes place. Why would a perambulating soul wish to miss any of it?

One can imagine Mr. Shepard shaking his head at many of today’s New Yorkers. He died in 1998, so he never held an iPhone or, I’m willing to bet, any of its forerunners. But there’s little question that he would have found something hollow about this smartphone age, when so many people routinely violate the Shepard rule, New Yorkers being no exception. At any given moment, thousands of them are so focused on their little screens that they fail to look up. Truly, they don’t know what they’re missing.

Apple Shares New 'Slofie' Videos Shot On iPhone 11, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

Apple today shared four new "Slofie" videos on its YouTube channel, each shot on the iPhone 11.

Stuff

Monopoly Mobile Review: Fun If You're Single, Buggy If You're Not, by Abby Espiritu, The Gamer

In my opinion, no features of the original game have been watered down or axed, and if you're a single player looking for a digital Monopoly fix, this game doesn't disappoint.

Develop

What Happens When Your Career Becomes Your Whole Identity, by Janna Koretz, Harvard Business Review

While identifying closely with your career isn’t necessarily bad, it makes you vulnerable to a painful identity crisis if you burn out, get laid off, or retire. Individuals in these situations frequently suffer anxiety, depression, and despair. By claiming back some time for yourself and diversifying your activities and relationships, you can build a more balanced and robust identity in line with your values.

Notes

‘We Have A Huge Problem’: European Regulator Despairs Over Lack Of Enforcement, by Nicholas Vinocur, Politico

Ireland and Luxembourg have faced special scrutiny because so many U.S. tech companies have set up shop in those tiny nations, which have actively courted them thanks to a mix of low corporate tax rates and business-friendly regulation. Those close relationships have created a strong degree of economic dependency, particularly in the Irish case, which raises questions as to whether these countries are best suited to regulating Big Tech.

The Architects Of Our Digital Hellscape Are Very Sorry, by Rose Eveleth, Wired

Perhaps my desire to see a meaningful apology for our current digital hellscape is wishful thinking. It might, in fact, be impossible to properly apologize for any of this. (In fact, some research hints that apologies are always better when we imagine them than when we actually receive them.) But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. “Maybe the apology is the first step in trying to think about doing that affirmative, forward-looking work,” Zuckerman told me.

So this December, I’m channeling a sentiment that several celebrities have lately shared on Instagram earlier this year: “I don’t want to end this year on bad terms with anybody. APOLOGIZE TO ME.”

Bottom of the Page

I sympathize with Adam Driver: I don't like to look at myself or listen to myself. I don't like to look at mirrors, and I am, more often than not, in photographs only because of social pressure.

So, no. No slofies for me.

~

Thanks for reading.