Stuff #75 - Writing, Wizardry, Love

Hi, I'm Matt.

First things first, Stuff has moved home, and (hopefully) this edition will come from a new platform that allows me a bit more flexibility and scale. If you want the background, it's here.  Things might look a tiny bit different, but all the usual Stuff is here, and now I have a shiny new archive for editions since the start of the year.

Thank you for being here. If you received this email from an excellent friend, and would like to subscribe, please go here.

I’m still Matt, lets get on with the Stuff that MattR’s…

1. Monday Motivation: Let this week be the one where we all learn how to be better allies at work. This article has 13 practical ways to be a better ally.  
2. Your new superpower: It seems obvious that we want our writing to be understood, this excellent interactive article will show you what makes writing more readable.  I've mentioned using Grammarly or Microsoft Editor to help with grammar and syntax before, which are both great tools. The latter is helping me right now!
3. More essential advice: I've been thinking a lot recently about making decisions, and how we can improve the process and outcome.  Some research led me to this 2007 article of ten ways to make better decisions. (More decision making resources in #74)
4. Essential Reading: The pleasure of handwriting letters you might never send.  I love a card, to say thank you or just to recognise someone, but I cannot remember the last time I wrote a letter.  It feels overdue.
5. TWIL: Influencers can hire a photo studio that is made to look like the interior of a private jet, just $64 per hour will get you the fake lifestyle.
6. Wizardry: I'm not sure what is going on here, or how it was done - but this is one of the cleverest pieces of art I've ever seen.
7. Walk with me: Previously on Stuff, we featured a site where you can take a drive around a city somewhere in the world.  Now, this very well executed site will let you take a walk, listening to the gentle sights and sounds of a random city.  
8. This web page predicts the future: Do I need an umbrella today is a simple site, with only one purpose. To let you know if you need to pick up your bumbershoot today.
9. Visions of Love: A beautiful collection of photos that celebrate love in all forms. For the weeks that we're in, these are the sorts of collections that can lift the spirits.
10. From retirement to authorized: OK, it's another daily word game. However, I'm going to warn you up front that this one is infuriating and might just kill your productivity. Dictionar.io challenges you to find a route between two words in the dictionary.   It sounds simple, but I haven't been able to get close to par in one of these.  Let me know how you get on, hit reply and we'll compare scores.

My aural Stuff for you this week is the excellent new collection from an Italian composer, Federico Albanese, called 'Before and Now Seems Infinite'.  Spotify describes this as 'electronic concentration', and that's accurate - gentle electronic music, with some vocals and stunning piano playing.  I picked up a copy of this on vinyl this weekend, and it's a highly recommended listen.

Smart Stuff that someone else said:

The easy problems are often an illusion.  If they were real and they were easy, they’d be solved already.

Difficult problems, on the other hand, stick around until someone with insight, dedication and commitment shows up and gets to work.

Seeking out difficult problems is far more effective than avoiding them.

Seth Godin