Commonplace Reading - Issue #15
It's Christmas!
I'm using the (notional) downtime to catch up on saved articles in Pocket, Medium, Facebook et al. And for the next week, I'm going to share a small selection each day, to give you something interesting to read between the awkward family moments and the period of hedonistic over-indulgence.
But as the frequency goes up, the volume will go down. My friend Stephanie Booth has been doing a weekly newsletter with just three links - less is more, as she says. Well, I can't quite restrict myself to three, but for the next few days, it's just five a day.
And for the next three days at least - it'll all be variations on happy or interesting news - no downers here. We've had quite enough of that in 2016…
Festive link feast…
The secret chord that makes Christmas music sound so Christmassy
Interesting video from Vox explaining exactly what makes a song feel like a Christmas song.
Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemanski remake ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ to emphasize consent
If you think about the original lyrics - it's kinda creepy. This new version is just cute - and makes a good point.
We finally have an effective Ebola vaccine. The war on the disease is about to change.
A study confirmed that the new vaccine is 100 percent effective. 🍾🍾🍾
Wonder Woman has empowered me since I was four. She was a great UN ambassador
I'm really hoping the Wonder Woman movie breaks the dismal streak of recent DC comics movies, because I want my daughters to grow up seeing women leading superhero films, not just men. And this is a great explanation of why Wonder Woman is so important.
Watch an Impromptu Medieval Icelandic Hymn Sung in a Modern Train Station
I started with a video, so let's end with one. This is a moment of real beauty.
