#5SmartReads - July 22, 2022

Hitha on election reform, cooling down cities, and Missy Elliott

July 22, 2022

When there’s a new story that catches my eye - particularly a bill being proposed or making its way through Congress - I like to read a number of articles (from conservative and liberal outlets alike), both to better understand the legislation and more importantly to see how both sides view it.

The bipartisan Electoral Count Act Reform proposal is not grabbing headlines the way other issues are, but it very well could be the thing that protects our democracy from misinformation-fueled chaos and fake news. And the coverage across the political spectrum is positive.

I certainly think our government can and should do more to protect voting rights and other issues, but I also live by the adage “perfection is the enemy of progress”, and such a bill would be a strong basis to build on (contingent on enough Democrats willing to modify the filibuster to pass voting rights and reproductive healthcare protection legislation).

She’s an icon. She’s a legend. She IS the moment.

That, my friends, is and has always been Missy Elliott to me. She was my gateway into hip hop (ever since I heard the tabla in Get Your Freak On back in 2001), and her music is my ultimate pump-up music when I’m trying to motivate myself to focus.

And speaking of focus, she has the best advice on how to focus and stay true to yourself:

““I believe every artist – especially when you stay in it for a long time – has periods of feeling ‘burned out,’ Elliott said. “I can’t speak for everybody, but I’m going to say that any artist that has spent 20 or more years – sometimes even 10 – you’re going to have those moments. Because you’ve been in it so long and you’ve done so many things, so many sounds, so many looks. I think that for me, the way that I came in it, I’m not a person who watches everyone else – I think that’s the biggest thing.”

“When me and Timbaland came in, we weren’t watching other people’s videos, we weren’t listening to the radio like that,” she added. “Because if you don’t see, or you don’t hear, then you end up creating your own sound. But if you begin to watch and listen, then a lot of times you end up catering to what’s happening right now.””

Listen to me now? You better believe it, Misdemeanor.

There are so many immediate solutions we have to combat the climate crisis, cities especially.

Planting more trees. Painting asphalt surfaces with a special coating that blocks solar radiation absorption. Replacing mowed grass in parks with native grass. Installing solar panels on roofs.

And these interventions won’t just help cool cities by about 5 degrees - they’ll make cities feel cooler by about 15 degrees. And on a sweltering, humid day, those 15 degrees can make a massive difference.

This is also an impactful measure for climate justice:

“Smart surfaces are an environmental justice issue. The "urban heat island" effect disproportionately harms low-income neighborhoods, where there's less tree cover — and where cool surfaces are particularly important (yet scarce).”

Baltimore is currently leading the way on this measure, and I’m excited to see the near and longer-term impact of their surface strategy - and how other cities will follow.

If you’re not following Serena - please start.

Her recipes are amazing (I own and cook from both her cookbooks often). We have very similar taste in brain candy/medium trashy books and a deep love for Rubirosa’s tie dye pizza. Her dog Taco is the cutest creature I’ve seen. And Serena is incredibly open about her own experiences with anxiety and mental health, and this might be one of the best pieces of advice she’s shared.

“the Needle List is a running list of smaller tasks that I am prone to procrastinate—think returns, personal emails/texts, cleaning “the chair,” organizing a drawer, getting something repaired, making non-urgent medical appointments, sending thank you notes, etc. These little to-dos, which usually take only a few minutes to complete—live rent-free in the back of my mind and just NEEDLE me on a daily basis (my anxiety loves it!😂)”

When you’re feeling overwhelmed or those anxious feelings starting to hijack your brain, take a beat and a breath, and go to your Needle List wherever you may store it (mine is in my Notes app). Take a few minutes to pick one item and just do it before you try to jump back into the big tasks on your list.

Serena reserves time on Fridays to get items from her Needle List done. I like to start my work day by tackling a single item to give me a sense of accomplishment that helps me get into work mode faster.

It’s a genius tool to work through the not-so-great moments or feelings. Thanks, S!

Crawdads wasn’t my cup of tea (I found it hard to make it through the free sample on my Kindle). But the underreported news of its author Delia Owens - she’s wanted for questioning by Zambian authorities as a witness and possible co-conspirator to a murder that happened decades ago - is extremely troubling, given the high profile of the film adaptation (produced by Reese Witherspoon and Hello Sunshine, featuring a new song by Taylor Swift).

And the major elephant (well, murder of a suspected elephant poacher) is being ignored and actively shunned by Owens during this press tour, and a lot of the press and reviewers are just accepting that.

I can’t give this a pass. So if you’re new to the controversy, this article does a great job of reporting on it.

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