Whakakoakoa and other words to make your days more positive.
Plus other cool things people wrote, recorded, and photographed.
The Language(s) of Love
— LANGUAGES
Dr. Tim Lomas, a psychology lecturer at the University of East London, has put together one of the most uplifting corners of the internet—The Positive Lexicography Project. It’s an online glossary of untranslatable, positive words in languages from around world, broken up into categories such as affection, compassion, decency, soul, and revelry (Whakakoakoa in the subject of this newsletter is Māori for “to cheer up”, categorised as kindness). I love how the project harnesses the power of language to help us learn about positivity from other cultures. The world could use a little more love and kindness right now.
Been Around the World
— PEOPLE / TRAVEL
In 1987, American Airlines introduced an unlimited, lifetime AAirpass—for a purchase price of $250,000, the purchaser could fly first class anywhere in the world on the airline for free for the rest of their life. Writer Caroline Rothstein’s father was one of the few people who bought the pass, granting him (and one companion) virtually unfettered access to the world.
I ask my sister, Natalie, a psychotherapist living in Chicago, her earliest memories of traveling on an airplane: landing in Australia at age 3, walking down the aisle as the plane was still moving, and someone grabbing her to keep her safe. “I think I remember that because it was really dramatic,” she says. “I have a lot of vivid memories from that trip, actually.”
Then, in December 2008, American Airlines stopped the AAirpass on the grounds of alleged “fraudulent usage”. This story is long, but it’s well worth the time. Travel doesn’t have to just be about going places—it can also be about making connections and coping with loss.
A Culinary Collection
— BOOKS / CULTURE
There are hundreds of cooking blogs that give you recipes from hearty to healthy and everything in between. But amidst this easy access to global recipes is the quiet comeback of the cookbook—more specifically, the Indian cookbook(s). Meher Mirza delves into regional cookbooks from every nook and corner of the country, spanning the classic (published in 1935) to the contemporary (published in the 2000s). I read everything Meher writes, and I strongly suggest you do too. Her words are such a pleasure to read.
Relationships in the Digital Era
— RELATIONSHIPS / COMMUNICATION
How do you usually communicate with another person? Except for your family (whom you live with) or roommates, I’m going to safely presume it’s mostly by text or email. We rarely pick up the phone anymore. There’s no need to catch up with friends when you can chat with them a hundred times a day online. All documented for future reference.
…in the four years since we began dating, we’ve exchanged an average of four emails a day, which works out to more than 5,500 emails. If we had just typed out literature to each other, we would’ve recently completed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, though we won’t finish Infinite Jest for another six years or In Search of Lost Time for another 19.
Statistics student Emma Pierson analysed e-mails exchanged between herself and her boyfriend and realised that the real strength of a relationship can’t be measured by the number of times you type “I love you”.
A Day at the Beach
— PHOTOGRAPHY
In 1995, photographer Massimo Vitali began his Beach Series project, photographing the rocky beaches he liked to visit. These aren’t photos of turquoise seas with white sandy beaches and palm trees—Vitali stays away from the ‘typically’ beautiful, often barren beaches for ones that are full of life and energy. He shares his process—and some photos—with writer Alex Kahl.
Night comes knocking.
— MUSIC
In honour of Spoon’s recently released Greatest Hits album, I’m sharing one of my favourites, I Ain’t the One (which didn’t make the cut).
The album version is a bit different, so if you have a Spotify account, you can listen to it out below.
The Masters of Art.
— ART / APPS
Don’t know your Monet from Manet or Renoir from Rodin? There’s an app for that. DailyArt is an education in art history that fits into your pocket. Delve into the archives and dive into the world of art, learning about artists, artworks, and museums (famous and lesser-known) from around the world.
You can read artist biographies, explore art periods, and admire stunning paintings from your screen—it’s no substitute for seeing the real thing, but unless you plan to visit every museum on the planet, it’s the best option you have.
The free version gives you limited access to the archives, but the pro version is totally worth the low price—a one-time payment INR 420 (USD 5.99) unlocks everything the app has to offer. It was a no-brainer, really.
DailyArt is available on the iOS Store and the Google Play Store.
Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash
La Pointe de la Hève, Sainte-Adresse by Claude Monet, Oil on Canvas, 1864 via The National Gallery, used under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license
Thanks for reading! I’m Shivani, a writer & editor, caffeine addict, and runner who loves tacos and has no hand-eye co-ordination. You can find me on Twitter at @wordsbyshivani.
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