The Monday Mix (07/06/2021)
Hey friends,
This Friday sees the start of the month-long Euro 2020, which is an international football competition in Europe. It was cancelled last year due to the pandemic and was sorely missed during the summer months.
Thankfully, it’s going ahead this year and is another sign of normality beginning to creep back into life. I love sport for the simple reason it brings people together. There aren’t many mediums which can unite people from a variety of backgrounds, but sport is one of them.
Football tournaments are exhilarating, especially if you’re country does well and progresses to the latter stages. That’s why I’m so excited for it to start. It’s a moment where we can come together and enjoy a spectacle, much like the Olympics which I hope goes ahead too.
Not everyone likes sport, but it’s hard to argue there’s a spectacle like it that comes around with regularity.
Below is my latest article on Medium. It looks at how the allure of making a living on the internet isn’t as great as you might think it is. It’s very much a case of be careful what you wish for.
Working Online Doesn’t Give You the Freedom You Think It Does
Life in a boomtown
Ever wondered what life is like in a boomtown before and after the boom? This article does a brilliant job of conveying the often surreal reality. What’s remarkable is how much money flows into these towns, and to the people who work there, but how little stays in the town or in the pockets of the people.
Bill Gates Divorce
Bill and Melinda Gates divorce could eclipse the record settlement reached when Jeff Bezos and his wife McKenzie split up a few years ago. While this will make the headlines, a more important question is how much influence should billionaires have via their philanthropic endeavours? Their level of economic might gives them the power of a state without the oversight. Is this a situation which is good or bad for the planet? It’s an interesting question and one we need to consider.
Colette
This is a fantastic short documentary film which won an Academy Award. The film looks at the life of Colette who survived a Nazi concentration camp where her brother was killed. It’s an important and moving film which raises questions and offers many lessons we should heed today in a climate that is becoming more polarised.
Book I’m reading - I’m still making my way through Putin’s People which is a beast of a book, but staggering in its content. One tidbit, the number of people who’ve died mysterious deaths in Russia, or ou Russians who’ve died in mysterious circumstances is crazy. Take from that what you will.
Quote I’m pondering - “You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts.” - Kahlil Gibran
Until next week,
Tom