#5SmartReads - March 1, 2022

India Walks Diplomatic Tightrope on Ukraine as it Brings Students Home (The Juggernaut)

This headline - and honestly, the factors that contribute to India’s frustratingly meek response against Russia - breaks my heart.

The truth is complicated, as are my feelings and the history and present alliances that factored in India’s abstaining to convene an emergency session of the UN General Assembly and Prime Minister Modi’s tepid plea to Putin.

But this quote sums up my thoughts on this matter perfectly:

Disclosure - I am an investor in The Juggernaut.

For Avril Lavigne, It’s Never Been That Complicated (Glamour)

For me, Avril Lavigne goes with sunny car rides with the windows open, blasting Let Go, and sipping a soda after having crushed a Taco Bell order while sitting parked in their parking lot.

And feeling free.

How I’ve been jamming to Love Sux looks a little bit different (in an Uber either to or from the airport, bopping my head as subtly as I can and unabashedly lip-synching behind my mask).

There is something so comforting about one of your favorite artists growing up with you, and the comfort I find in their art is something I can’t quite put into words.

If you share the same fond memories of Avril Lavigne, you’ll love this article. And her new album.

Why Is This Group of Doctors So Intent on Unmasking Kids? (The New Republic)

Most of the public health messaging and CDC guidance has been based on the rather comfortable lives of the privileged, not based on the most vulnerable.

It’s been something I’ve been most frustrated by, and the privilege of the Urgency Of Normal group is something I’m glad this article addresses head on, as well as the “normal for whom?” and that normal wasn’t great for millions of Americans to begin with.

At this stage of the pandemic, we are going to do what we’re going to do. There is no changing of minds about risk profiles and how we mitigate, and it’s affected so many of our relationships.

But I do ask that you consider the most vulnerable - and for those whose normal was pretty awful to begin with - when you think about masking and other precautions.

‘The history of fantasy is racialized’: Lord of the Rings series sparks debate over race (The Guardian)

The fantasy genre should be the most inclusive. Whose to say what skin color a dwarf, an elf, a High Fae, or a Gollum should be?

And yet, the fan base in this genre has traditionally been one of the most racist, misogynistic, and toxic in fiction-based fanbases.

I am so excited for The Rings Of Power, the LOTR prequel series that will air on Amazon Prime Video this fall - not just because of my longtime love of the series, but also because of the long-awaited diverse cast the show will feature.

Sam Thielman has more eloquent words on the topic than my usual ragey rants, so I’ll leave you with his smart piece and will welcome you to join me in the comments of this post on the 5SmartReads website to discuss further.

America's fastest-growing sport is a cross of tennis, pingpong and badminton (NPR)

If the first half of 2022 was all about work for me, summer is going to be focused on some fun (and building the #HowToPack app).

And fun definitely includes pickleball, which my friend Lydia has become the unofficial ambassador of and got me to purchase new pickleball racquets which I have yet to use.

I digress. I found this article about the fastest growing sports in the United States to be fascinating and a delight, and I think we all need a little bit of delight right now.

And definitely more pickleball.