Congrats on surviving Christmas 2023

Issue #27 - making it through the holidays once more, giggling at the Taliban suffering, reviewing Britney Spears' autobiography and pondering the positives of living abroad, among other tidbits.

We’re in the post-25 Dec days, phew

I’m well aware that it’s not the weekend but these post-Christmas, pre-New Year days are a hazy blur of summery days where I’m from, so quite frankly if I send this today, tomorrow or more timely for Saturday morning, it doesn’t matter.

I’ve not the biggest fan of Christmas it has to be said but that’s really less about what I actually do for the day, and more about all the commotion and silliness that goes on about it. Literally a month ago in November I was in Japan subject to a Santa costumed DJ blasting EDM remixes of religious festive classics. All the commotion from people to have the perfect day, the pressure to assemble some lavish kind of meal, the hype, the build up and the expectations could only result in disappointment. To quote my friend who I shan’t totally put on blast, but who put it rather aptly:

I know some people are really sincere and go-lucky and heart on their sleeves types and that’s really sweet, but alas those aren’t the vibes here at Lo-fi weekend reads. We’re cynical, tongue in cheek and know damn well it’s a capricious world where high expectations and hopes can come crashing down at a moment’s notice.

The beauty of this approach is that, because I expected nothing and had barely thought about it, I actually had a lovely Christmas. A low key late lunch with my family, and further catch-ups with some extended family on Boxing Day. Delightful catch-ups, delicious food, great weather. The beauty of life after all?? It’s not like I expected anything bad to come from Christmas, but people go on and on and runs themselves ragged panicking about gift buying, planning the menu, logistics of people’s travels, running hither and tither between split-parent families. It’s all nightmarish and I’m glad my family is for the most part happy to keep it low key.

Now it’s simply time to get back to my atomised life ruled by capitalism and void of community and commitments I fear.

p.s. the smug Christmas photos people are are sharing..! Cringe!

p.p.s. writing “Merry Christmas to those who celebrate” is also silly, just write Merry Christmas. It’s a polite well wish for those who choose to accept it. I’m not seeing any disclaimers for Diwali, Lunar New Year, or Ramadan and rightfully so. De-cuck culture 2024 challenge.

The office 9-5 ain’t cutting it for the Taliban

I remember vehemently saying to myself “I’ll never be an office worker!” as a pretentious university student with unrealistic world views, only to watch those dreams crash down around me and to now say hi, 10 years-ish of office worker experience in.

Two years since we all watched online and did nothing but post some shit while Afghanistan was taken over by the Taliban, the jihadists are now struggling with their office jobs and low key opting to quiet quit. It does answer a little bit of the “what happens post-revolution” and it seems once the blazes of (well not really) glory wear out and it’s time to implement new systems, the drudgery of administration isn’t such a riot.

“The shift to working within government structures has forced them to adhere to official rules and laws they never faced before. They find ‘clocking in’ for office work tedious and almost unbearable, although some said they were now getting used to the routine,” the report states.

A study conducted with interviews with former-jihadists, now government bureaucrats, revealed their main office-life gripes that included:

• Mundane office culture

• Added responsibilities

• Lack of social life

• Low pay, high cost of living

Seems a small karmic price to pay for denying millions of women education for years and undeniable negatively impact tens of millions of lives from what they were prior to the takeover?

Book review: The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

When I first heard Britney was working on a book, I was ecstatic. Finally! After not hearing from her for years, finally her story, in her words. As snippets and tidbits from this book emerged, I realised it was kinda a hollow and shallow glossed-over cash-in. That’s not to say it wasn’t probably a terribly therapeutic experience for Britney, having been held practically hostage the last 13 years in her conservatorship, but as a novel and for a diehard fan, such as myself, looking for juicy behind-the-scenes tidbits and stories on iconic moments throughout her life and career, it was rather skint.

Breezing through iconic performances, barely mentioning other iconic moments, practically glossing over some big moments of her career or not even mentioning them, the book felt rushed and sloppy. The cover art, some random 2003 pic of Britney repurposed for this book, felt lazy and I can kinda get the sense that Britney was simply offered a sum too good to refuse, but had no interest. She is sick of the media attention on her personal life and never her artistry, and her passion for performing and recording has well and truly been practically extinguished, for the time being.

I think for a casual Britney fan, or for someone unaware of the terrible circumstances in which her father assumed legal control of her life to bully and diminish her, using her as a cash cow to perform and blackmailing her with access to her own children to do what he wanted. It’s an incredibly harsh story, but not a new one for fans who’ve been paying attention.

I don’t know if this was intended or not, but the book did unfortunately give the impression that Britney was less in control of her career (pre-conservatorship) than I’d believed. She’d always seemed so confident and in control, but the way she tells it, perhaps just her sweet-southern girl humility, it almost seems like others pulled the strings and it all just happened to work out well.

Living abroad apparently helps you develop “a clearer sense of self”

Well how convenient that I found an article that tells me my own experiences were a net positive. I think everyone knows that there are huge benefits to ones person from experiencing other cultures, other ways of living. My city Wellington, and New Zealand in general, is currently embroiled in an endless culture war about cycleways. New Zealand has long been dominated by the car and simpleton smooth brains have really bought into car culture and see it as the ultimate travel tool.

For anyone who has travelled anywhere vaguely civilised, you’d know that cycling makes so much sense for most cities, especially now that e-bikes have come along and unlocked hillier and more troublesome places. To be honest I may well have been one of these dummies had I need seen people easily cycling in big cities like Tokyo and Taipei.

I’d never thought about what innate changes may have happened within me as a result of travelling, other than being more independent. (Though as I’ve just discovered, that leans into my “avoidant” relationship style - eek)

In Harvard Business Review’s article, they talk about self-discerning reflections being a big part of this, writing:

We found evidence that people’s self-discerning reflections—musings on whether parts of their identity truly define who they are or merely reflect their cultural upbringing—are a critical ingredient in the relationship between living abroad and self-concept clarity.

So why are self-discerning reflections more likely to happen when living abroad? Well, when people live in their home country, they are often surrounded by others who mostly behave in similar ways, so they are not compelled to question whether their own behaviors reflect their core values or the values of the culture in which they are embedded. In contrast, when living abroad, our data found that people’s exposure to novel cultural values and norms prompts them to repeatedly engage with their own values and beliefs, which are then either discarded or strengthened.

I think this kind of challenging of your own ideas and culture is an important thing in obtaining personal growth, and of course far easier to find when inhabiting cultures unlike your own. Kiwis love running hither and tither to and from UK which is fine, you’re living overseas and quite frankly UK “Englishness” is barely the dominant force people are going to encounter when there, given how international and diverse London in particular now is. However I fear, and I’m sorry to toot my own horn, you’re going to find your New Zealand ideals and behaviours questioned more so somewhere like Japan than in UK.

Of course, not everybody moves abroad wanting to be challenged, and you don’t need to be, but it’s something I’ve found when going to somewhere like Australia and kinda feeling dejected and uninspired realizing it’s practically the same as NZ.

The article prattles on further to examine the depth (in this case, duration) of living somewhere, rather than the breadth (how many places) is what influences your sense of self moreso. Also, it can influence your career decisions and future direction.

[T]he late Michael Crichton, who captures the spirit of our research in his autobiographical book, Travels: “Often I feel I go to some distant region of the world to be reminded of who I really am…Stripped of your ordinary surroundings, your friends, your daily routines…you are forced into direct experience [which] inevitably makes you aware of who it is that is having the experience.”

More to meets the eye with Slayyyter

Iconic pop star Slayyyter is known for her sexual af music and skimpy attire, basically her aesthetic is “slut” and that’s why we love her. I hadn’t really bothered to investigate her personality until now, but with her latest album STARFUCKER out collecting my daily streams, it was time to really see what she’s all about.

Surprisingly enough - she’s switched on, she’s in on the joke and Slayyyter is absolutely a personality that a normal girl had manifested and brought to life. She’s utterly self-aware, tongue firmly in cheek, pro-slut, pro-sex, doesn’t take herself seriously, and makes the kind of pop music that she thinks her teen self would have loved. Name a more perfect pop star?

In this age of incredibly sanitised and boring pop stars like Taylor Swift running the show, it’s heartening that (primarily gay) culture still holds a place for raunchy lower-tier pop stars like Miss Slayyyter. She’s unlikely to have any radio hits with her raunchy lyrics about drugs, plastic surgery and her kitty going “purr” (I’m not sure if she owns a cat…) but she’s fun and has a great voice. What more do you want?

As Azealia Banks once so wisely said, “"McDonald's sells a lot of burgers and no one is telling them that they're the pinnacle of cuisine and taste.”

Also I just have to add her incredible album cover, phew! Visuals!

New Year Resolutions - you gotta love them

I love setting New Year Resolutions because they are a glimmer of hope that in the near future a better, fitter, less internet addled, more book read and worldly version of myself exists. In these dreary capitalist dreary days of humans muddling their way through life without religion, with little thought to values, words like “compassion” and “charity” barely registering as verbs, the New Year grants a rare moment to reflect and take stock of your life and ponder what needs to change.

Of course if you’re binge eating and guzzling booze non-stop in late December, there’s probably no hope you’re gonna snap your fingers come 1 Jan and be able to straddle a lifelong dietary change. I don’t set goals very often, but when I do I know they need to be actionable goals. It needs to be something that you can clearly tell when it has been achieved.

“Get fitter” is not a goal, it’s a lofty pipedream that you’ll never know when you’ve reached. “Be able to do 20 non-stop press-ups” might be a better goal? (for example, eek I don’t think I can do this)

The Huffington Post has compiled a list of the top 9 most popular resolutions and ranked how achievable they are.

• Cutting back on social media - achievable 3/5 due to our usual job and family requirement to be on social media in some form.

• Saving money and cooking more - achievable 4/5, requires planning and preparation but doable.

• Being more proactive dating - achievable 3/5 because it’s easy to get overwhelmed (or underwhelmed) and easy to start feeling hopeless after a few bad dates.

• Invest more time with friends - achievable 3/5 because its unlikely you’re going to suddenly have more time, it requires effort and intention, from all parties.

• Eating more mindfully - achievable 2/5 because it’s usually other reasons contributing to the way you eat.

Go check out the article here for the rest and all the details.