Thoroughly Thursday - The Christmas Edition
Thoughts on holiday gift-giving. Also, Ira Glass' "The Gap," benefits of keeping a diary, excellent doc on Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and holiday music for those who dislike Holiday music.
Welcome back to Thoroughly Thursday, the Christmas Edition. When my kids were little, Christmas was all about the gifts: big ones, small ones, wind-up ones, build-it-yourself ones, and the play-with-it-straight out-of-the-box ones.
The unspoken challenge for parents was to find gifts that matched their child but also provide the feeling that it was “a good haul.”1 This was a challenge. The hard part is trying to find presents for your kids that would both surprise and excite them, without bankrupting you in the process. But, it is nearly impossible to surprise a child who spends hours contemplating what Santa might bring. How much is enough when anything short of a living pony munching carrots next to the tree on Christmas morning feels like a disappointment?
Admittedly, we were never great at this. Some years, I’m sure we under-gifted to their expectation (sorry, Santa said no to skydiving lessons). However, I’d venture to guess that most years we over-gifted to the point that their eyes glazed over.
This year, the main gift for both of my nearly-fully-grown children could fit in my hand, but cost as much as all the Christmas gifts they got as toddlers. Of course, it totally changes the definition of “a good haul.” Instead of dozens of gifts under the tree, there are a handful of small packages, some of which cost about the same as the annual salary of a civil servant in many countries. The others are knock-off T-shirts and a value pack of chapstick that I found at a discount store.
Merry Christmas!
Take care, my friends, and good tidings to you, and all of your kin.
A few cool things I have seen/read or have been sent from readers this week, in no particular order:
RESOURCE: Ira Glass’ short audio segment from an interview in 2010 with CurrentTV known “The Gap” (or “The Talent Gap”) has gone on to have a life of its own. One of the most fun elements of that short 2min audio segment is how much great work it inspired, such as this typographic piece by David Shiyang Liu, or this multimedia video by Daniel Sax.
ARTICLE: I mentioned last week, that I’ve been getting back into journaling. Writer/artist Austin Kleon, who is truly a dedicated diarist, writes about keeping a daily logbook for nearly 10 years, to see both what has changed over time, and what hasn’t. For myself, I have been finding daily journaling really useful in keeping myself organized and (mostly) sane, but also because I’m beginning to see the long-term value in my personal recollections of a day’s events.
FILM: I really enjoyed the NASA documentary Good Night Oppy, which traces the development and deployment of the Opportunity and Serenity probes that explored Mars and the scientists and engineers that built and looked after them. The initial mission was to explore the Martian landscape for 30 days. Due to a combination of excellent engineering, smart planning, and dumb luck, the mission extended for almost 15 years. The show does an excellent job of showing the dedication of the team members and when Opportunity finally stopped transmitting, how heartbreaking it was for everyone involved. Also, kudos to TT-friend Josh, whose storyboard work with director Ryan White helped craft the flow of the film.
MUSIC: Last week, I mentioned that I got a little twitchy with a month-long loop of Christmas classics. Several of you responded with similar feelings. I want to thank TT-friends Jon and Stephanie for providing two alternative Christmas playlists for those of us who can’t take another repeat of Dean Martin’s Silver Bells. Jon had “Things Fall Apart” while Stephanie suggested “Mars Cremas 2022,” an annually curated playlist curated by her friend Joe Wisler which is billed as a “holiday music mix for people who hate holiday music.” Both are really fun and strangely festive.
What I'm Thinking About - For the People Pleasers in All of Us
“Nothing [...] will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be first overcome.”
- Samuel Johnson
All the best, and remember, tomorrow is Friday. :)
Scott
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P.P.S. Several years ago, I made a $10 donation to a Presidential election campaign. Little did I know that I would then be on every political mailing list until the end of time. McSweeney’s has a hilariously spot-on parody titled “IF I EMAILED MY PARENTS LIKE DEMOCRATS EMAIL ME.”
P.P.P.S. Do you have something you would like to promote? Email me and I might be able to include it in a future edition of TT.
Defined as a variety of gifts (minimum of twelve) in multiple colors that will easily fill a small swimming pool.