A Group Of Otters Is Called A Romp, And Other Collective Nouns That Belie Murderous Intent.
Sweethearts! Happy Monday, hope your weekend was full of adventures and carbs. I just spent 45 min on the phone with a pharmacy who screwed up a prescription, so my spice level is HIGH today.
And hey - if you’re in San Francisco, Odd Salon IRL is back for our eight annual Oddments holiday show tomorrow, and your favorite morning oversharer will be taking the stage once again! (AHHHHHHHH I cannot wait) I’ll be speaking on a Belle Époque female con artist and burglar, and I am so excited. Due to COVID precautions, capacity is limited, so we’ll definitely sell out. Get your tickets here!
LET’S DO THIS, INTERNET.
Friend of the Missive Alex Wilhelm is already my go-to source whenever I need to better understand company financials (which, let’s be clear, is pretty much all of the time.) So his Saturday Essay on the Better.com fiasco is a must-read, in that it deals with the fiscal realities of the company as well as the ethical and moral issues brought to light by “a PR mistake”. And in analyzing a CEO who raged at his employees and fired hundreds of them via Zoom, he makes an excellent point about leadership and, frankly, start-up culture: “I sincerely do not believe that [the Better.com CEO] is an outlier in his behavior.”
Ah yes, that good old familiar feeling of democratic existential anxiety: Meadows Jan. 5 email indicated Guard on standby to ‘protect pro Trump people,’ investigators say (POLITICO)
A new study shows that Vikings were in Canada 1,000 years ago - suck it, Columbus: In tree rings and radioactive carbon, signs of the Vikings in North America (NBC News)
Elon Musk was named TIME’s person of the year and I am not even going to link to it because seeing that made me say “oh for f*ck’s sake” out loud and woke up my napping dog.
And finally, a few of you have sent me this, including my Mum, which makes me think that you all believe that if I saw a pack of otters running at me, I would try to cuddle them and get eaten alive. I cannot confirm nor deny that supposition. ‘I thought I was going to die’: otters attack British man in Singapore park (The Guardian)
You’re all swell. Stay hydrated, get outside for a bit today, and be kind to yourself, won’t you?
xoxo Amy