Tunnels, Stanley Cups & The Hottest Year on Record ʘ‿ʘ
+ Michelle Obama is scared for the 2024 election too, & I neeeed a longer version of Farleigh singing on Saltburn thanks x
Angels! Me oh my how I’ve MISSED you!!
Considering the last time you properly heard from me was in that emo newsy I sent out in December, you can probably guess that last year genuinely almost ruined me. For the longest time, I thought I didn’t have a limit - that I could do it all and continue to be a functioning member of society/ friendship groups/ family - but 2023 was the year I found that limit! Turns out it’s somewhere just below writing a daily newsletter, hosting two podcasts a week, running a Book Club, WRITING A WHOLE ASS BOOK, moving to a place where I don’t speak the language, being battered by everyone with a keyboard on social media, and trying to make enough money to pay rent.
In a lot of your messages (which I’m still making my way through - god you’re good to me) you told me to just ‘please do a bit less’ and ‘look after myself’ which is exactly what I did over the break. I read and read and read (keep an eye out for the big SYSCA reading list coming to paid supporters at the end of the month) and wrote and wrote and wrote (Bel and I handed in the first draft of our manuscript! Huge!) and now I feel ready to exposure therapy myself back onto the internet in the cutest place I know - this newsy.
Thank you so much for sticking with me, I can’t wait to show you what we’ve got in store for 2024. Here’s to reaching but not exceeding our limits 𓆩♡𓆪
⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ IN THE NEWS⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖
2023 was the hottest year on record☀
I’m going to predict that 2024 is NOT the year I get to stop reporting on us breaking all the bad™ records, and we’re starting off strong with the award for hottest year since records begun!
According to The Verge “2023 didn’t just break records — it pulverized them” and if you look at the lil graph I’ve included below, you can see for yourself:
So it wasn’t just the warmest year on record - it was the warmest BY FAR.
“Global ocean heat content set a new record high: The 2023 upper ocean heat content, which addresses the amount of heat stored in the upper 2,000 meters of the ocean, was the highest on record.”
“Polar sea ice was scant: The 2023 annual Antarctic sea ice extent (coverage) averaged 3.79 million square miles in 2023, the lowest on record.”
It’s been 100 days of bloodshed in Gaza
As the situation in Gaza reached the 100-day mark, protests have been held around the world to demand “an end to the bloodshed that has killed 23,843 people and wounded more than 60,317”, according to Palestinian health officials.
Here’s what these horrific 100 days have looked like by the numbers, according to Al Jazeera:
PS, tomorrow I’m going to give a brief explainer on South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel.
Michelle Obama is terrified about the 2024 election
You know when you hit some turbulence on a flight and you look around at the other passengers to check whether they’re freaking out too? It’s like - if they’re not, you can go back to your book and relax, but if they are then you have permish to be rationally scared. That’s how I feel about Michelle Obama saying she’s “terrified” about the 2024 US Presidential election. Like, I know I was scared - but you are too? Yikes.
To be more specific, when speaking to Jay Shetty on his podcast ‘On Purpose’ Michelle said this:
“What’s going to happen in this next election? I’m terrified about what could possibly happen, because our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit, it affects us in ways sometimes I think people take for granted.”
“The fact that people think that government — ‘eh, does it really even do anything?’ — and I’m like ‘Oh my God, does government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted.’ And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up,” she said.
All I’ll say is 2024 is gonna be one hell of a news year.
☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ ON THE WEB ☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★
Did you see the story about the tunnels underneath New York City last week?
Follow up - did you see the person called ‘Richard Strocher’ (AKA Dick Stroker) who blew up online (and then went on a whole bunch of news broadcasts) after ‘tweeting’ that he was hearing Yiddish under his floor? Yeah, well, as
found out (after some simple digging), this dude who became somewhat of an authority on this story was not only lying, but he’s a white nationalist troll.If you’re interested in this story,
has done a more comprehensive newsy on it - but all I’ll say is internet literacy is important in media jobs!!
Also on the web:
What an Actual Kid Thinks About the "10-Year-Olds at Sephora" Outrage on TikTok
I am the proud non-owner of a Stanley cup
‘No spend’ challenges are taking over TikTok
In a world that feels more mystifying by the day and misinformation spreads faster than a leaked Harry Styles song, finding media that you trust, understand and actually want to read is so important.
I know you value what I do - so many of you email me saying how much you love the newsletter, thanking me for explaining topics you might not have heard of, and telling me how much it means to you that you’ve got a friend on the other side of this thing (🥺🥺🥺) If you believe in paying for the media (or the person???) you love, then please consider becoming a supporter.
▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။|||| CULTURE VULTURE ▶︎•၊၊||၊|။||||
I NEED more than just these few lines of Farleigh singing on Saltburn
Ariana Grande wants to know why you care so much who’s d*ck she rides
(◔_◔) TODAY’S MUNDANE POLL (◔_◔)
☆Other good shit☆
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PS, if you wanna chat to me about anything I’ve written today, your latest crush, or if you just want a pen pal, reply to this email and we can be friends 𓆩♡𓆪
Working in a warehouse that moves Stanley cups. We are all having a blast with the cup craze :,)
Also not to be too depresso, but a lot of climate activists talk about how every year into the future will be the hottest year on record but also the coolest year for the rest of our lives :( (until things change)