Happy new year! Even though it’s been a few weeks sans newsletter, I worked pretty straight through the break, so let’s lean into ~the continuity of time,~ shall we, and open this year the same way we closed the old one: With a playlist. Long-time readers will recognize Kev Nemelka‘s RN, an annual compilation of the year’s best music according to, as he writes, his “most contemporary-minded friends and collaborators.” I didn’t get my shit together to contribute this time, but you know who did? Drag Syndrome, Aja LaBeija, and Paul of THE Kim Petras stan account, among others. If those names weren’t strong enough cues, the list skews arty, which feels like a breath of fresh January air. See everybody’s picks in the correspondingly vibey digital zine designed by Soljee Lee — then turn them on up.
Speaking of breaks, the big hype in business today is that Bolt, also known as “some software startup,”* is instating a four-day work week after a test showing how much more productive their employees became when they took Fridays off. The first maybe three times I saw the story, I waved it off — how many times have you heard about how great this works in Iceland or whatever — but as the deluge continues, I’m convinced the company engineered the experiment to earn themselves some press.
To be fair, the headline resonates when everybody else is out here fiddling with mouse jigglers to avoid getting dinged by their remote bosses when they go to the bathroom. Hope you don’t need one of these, but if you do and didn’t know about them until now, please show yourself some respect and smash that order button** hard.
*that is also a unicorn, dime a dozen these days
**apparently the service that Bolt offers
Promise you’ll believe me when I say I came across this Refinery29 headline in an aggregator, not on any of their official channels. And now that you’ve read it, too, can we synchronize our raised eyebrows? Sure, we all wish we were getting more done, and/or that our bosses would lay off the expectations. And this piece does a good job of attributing that familiar feeling to a mix of burnout, imposter syndrome, and you know, life — turns out, when you accomplish something, you’re still just you. But uhhhhh, are we still slinging around pathologies like that? Even PureWow knows!
Enough with the desk-sitting; free yourself with movement. As every gym targets you with #GOALS this month, obé is offering something a little more joyous: 10- to 30-minute classes for every level and every body that you can do literally anywhere, no equipment needed. Their platform is about friendliness — no leaderboards, no PRs, no RPMs, just accessible workouts taught by entertainers of all stripes, from Broadway actors and Rockettes dancers to comedians. Normally, membership is $19 / month, but right now they’re offering 2 months for $2. Use the code LOREM2 to jump in.
