It’s the end of the year and time for another round of some Pinterest Humour! Read and enjoy!
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In My Hands Today…
Gazing at Neighbours: Travels Along the Line That Partitioned India – Bishwanath Ghosh
In July 1947, British barrister Cyril Radcliffe was summoned to New Delhi and given five weeks to draw, on the map of the subcontinent, two zigzagged lines that would decide the future of one-fifth of the human race.
One line, 553 kilometres long, created the province of West Punjab; the other, adding up to 4,096 kilometres, carved out a province called East Bengal. Both territories joined the new-born nation of Pakistan—an event called the Partition of India, which saw one million people being butchered and another fifteen million uprooted from their homes.
Enough and more has been written about the horrors of Partition, but what of the people who actually inhabit the land through which these lines run?
Curiosity leads Bishwanath Ghosh into journeying along the Radcliffe Line—through the vibrant greenery of Punjab as well as the more melancholic landscape of the states surrounding Bangladesh—and examining, first hand, life on the border. Recording his encounters and experiences in luminous prose, Gazing at Neighbours is a narrative of historical stock-taking as much as of travel.
Poem: Reflections of the Past Year
We’re winding down to a new year and this poem is about the reflections we usually do at this time of the year. What reflections have you done about 2022 and what are your hopes and aspirations for 2023?
Reflections of the Past Year
As the year winds down and the old start to give way to the new
Its time to take a break and look back on the year that just flew
Did everything go your way or was anything awry and absurd?
What went well, and what can be bettered?
Was there any learning this year?
Were you a better version of yourself this year?
2023 is that chance we get annually
To take stock and have another try, that’s the new year’s beauty
This year let’s do things differently,
Let us be grateful for what we have
Family and friends, work and play in perfect balance
In 2023, let our life provide us with that beautiful fragrance
Here’s hoping your life is the best one this coming year
One that brings with it all that you need and makes your troubles disappear
2022 Week 48 Update
The countdown to 2023 has begun and we are just 27 days to the new year.
Today’s quote is from Brazilian author and lyricist Paolo Coelho. He tells us that when we are enthusiastic about something, everything we do becomes just that much easier. When we are disinterested, every task becomes tedious and laborious and we can’t wait to get over it. We are bored, unhappy, and disinterested. But when we approach the same task with enthusiasm, it becomes a joy and pleasure to do and we can’t wait to start working on it.
Singapore finally repealed Section 377A, a decades-old law that criminalises gay sex, at the same time endorsing changes to the Constitution to protect the current definition of marriage from legal challenge. This is a major milestone for Singapore and one that I endorse because I believe everyone has the right to live their authentic selves.
A United Nations panel has recommended that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef should be listed as a world heritage site that is in danger. The world’s biggest coral reef ecosystem was significantly impacted by climate change and the warming of oceans. Frequent bleaching events are threatening the reef, including four over the past seven years and the first during a La Nina phenomenon, which typically brings cooler temperatures, in 2022. This is something that urgently needs to be addressed because coral restoration is needed to save the reef.
BB & GG are busy with school with both having tests and exams soon. And that’s all from me this week. See you next week!
In My Hands Today…
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products – Nir Eyal
How do successful companies create products people can’t put down?
Why do some products capture widespread attention while others flop? What makes us engage with certain products out of sheer habit? Is there a pattern underlying how technologies hook us?
Nir Eyal answers these questions (and many more) by explaining the Hook Model—a four-step process embedded into the products of many successful companies to subtly encourage customer behaviour. Through consecutive “hook cycles,” these products reach their ultimate goal of bringing users back again and again without depending on costly advertising or aggressive messaging.
Hooked is based on Eyal’s years of research, consulting, and practical experience. He wrote the book he wished had been available to him as a start-up founder—not abstract theory, but a how-to guide for building better products. Hooked is written for product managers, designers, marketers, start-up founders, and anyone who seeks to understand how products influence our behaviour.
