If I was Timothée Chalamet I too would attend my own lookalike contest
+ New Gaga, and Contiki just conducted the most fascinating experiment about what happens to our minds when we travel… AND I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A PART OF IT!!!!!
Hi my angels!!!! It’s been a long weekend here in Aotearoa, and dare I say, I spent it in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY so naturally I wanna tell you all about it. Saturday it was PISSING IT DOWN so I drank wine and did colouring with a couple of my besties, and then on Sunday I jumped on a boat with my bestie/ flatmate Lucy (yes, we’re both called Lucy) and we went out to a little spot in the Marlborough Sounds called Punga Cove. And let me tell you - it’s one of the most magical places you’ll ever visit if you’re lucky enough to go.
Here are some pictures:
And we had such an iconic time that for some reason (two bottles of wine in) we felt the need to write a poem about it, which, much to Lucy’s horror I am now sharing with you all:
Ok, pen pal update over!! Now let’s do some news!
⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ IN THE NEWS⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖
Contiki just conducted the most fascinating experiment about what happens to our minds when we travel… AND I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A PART OF IT!!!!!
This section is brought to you by our besties at Contiki, who are literally changing the game when it comes to meaningful travel 𓆩♡𓆪
Ok so if you’ve been following SYSCA for a while, you’ll know that travel can sometimes bring me massive anxiety - the organising, the flying, the fact that I’m often alone - it all requires a lot of bravery, which is why personally I’m SOOO into the idea of a Contiki, where you don’t have to worry about the organising, AND they set you up with a bunch of new friends 🥺
For this very reason, I was SO jazzed when earlier this year I was asked to be a part of their industry-first experiment where they partnered with Myndplay (a UK-based neuroscience-technology company) to send me on a trip and record what was going on in my brain for the duration to see how all these new experiences affected me. The idea was that I’d wear a lil headband that would measure my brain activity and a camera that was synced up to it, and every time I hit some sort of emotional peak, it would take a photo!!!!
As it turns out, life did that thing it often does where it gets in the way, and I didn’t end up going (SAD) but I still wanted to tell you about the results from the people that did get to take part because I’m not gonna lie it’s so fuckin interesting. (BTW these people didn’t all go to the same place, they got to go to places like Thailand, Greece, Italy and even South Africa!!!)
Some key findings:
the participants experienced 12 joy spikes each day (like that joy you get when you play with a puppy) and one extreme euphoric moment (meaning they hit 100% peak euphoria) per trip - that’s SUPER RARE AND INSANE ACTUALLY!
Travellers hit 151 moments of super-focused attention (I feel like I would have skewed these results with this brain of mine hehe)
They had 18 daily "zen" moments, similar to monks meditating
And on average, travellers experienced 10 euphoric moments (above their baseline of 90%) and 11 bursts of creativity every day! ICONIC!!!
My biggest takeaway from the experiment:
To me it feels like this type of group travel didn’t just make travellers happier and braver; it also helped them relax, learn, and be more creative. The group vibes that make Contiki so special seemed to enhance everything—making new friends and sharing experiences led to lower stress and more joy.
Why it’s shit I think you should care about:
Well first of all, this experiment is a world-first, using real brain data to show that travel - especially with friends or a group -gives you real happiness boosts + it’s like… scientific proof that travelling with Contiki really does change your life 🥺
GET ME ON THE NEXT TRIP CONTIKI ANGELS 𓆩♡𓆪
The LA Times and The Washington Post won’t be endorsing anyone for president this year
First of all, call me stupid (you can, I’m brave) but I genuinely didn’t realise that newspapers outwardly endorsed people to win this thing. Like, I thought it became evident in their reporting, but I didn’t know they actually came out and said it? That feels weird right? Anyway, they do. Well, unless you’re The LA Times and The Washington Post who have, for the first time in years - since 2004 for The Los Angeles Times and 1988 for The Post - decided not to endorse a presidential candidate. It's really insane that, for the first time since the 1980s, The Washington Post won’t be endorsing a candidate - and IT’S IN THIS CLIMATE????
Some details on The Washington Post:
“The Post’s endorsement of Ms. Harris had reportedly already been drafted, only to be shelved on the orders of its owner, Amazon’s founder, Mr. Bezos. But it fell to the paper’s publisher, William Lewis, to announce the decision, saying, “We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.””
Some interesting context:
“Neither paper has developed a sudden allergy to endorsements; The Post backed the Maryland Democratic Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks weeks ago, as The Los Angeles Times did for the California Democrat Adam Schiff. And the arguments against endorsing have been circulating for years. Announcing a sudden change in policy so close to the election suggests cowardice more than conviction, however much airbrushing the apologists do.”
It’s 10pm and I’m still feeling the lingering effects of this morning’s hangover, so please forgive me for how much better and more in-depth I could have gone on this section, but where I am lacking,
is there to pick me up, so please go and read this:
And in related news: Trump fills Madison Square Garden with anger, vitriol and racist threats (Big eeeeeeeek.)
More news you can use!
Japan's ruling party loses its majority in blow to new PM (BBC)
Formula 1: Liam Lawson fights off Sergio Perez then flips him the bird at Mexican Grand Prix (Stuff)
☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ ON THE WEB ☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★
🚨POP MUSIC EMERGENCY: NEW GAGA🚨
EXCEPT IT’S LIKE OLD GAGA AND I LOVE IT!
Timothée Chalamet showed up at a Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest
In a move that I would 10000% do if I found out people were having a lookalike contest of ME, Timothée Chalamet showed up at his own lookalike contest in New York. Not much more to say on it really, but here’s the video:
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Yo! So it’s normal I travel every time possible ❤️