Lifestyle topics
Isn’t nature wonderful? In no time at all (70 years) a plastic-eating bacteria has appeared that is capable of breaking down the molecular bonds of polyester. The journal “Science” reports that the bacteria can polish off (it’s technically called hydrolyzing) polyethylene terephalthate in just six weeks, much faster than leaves are degraded by bacteria. In …
“….These days everyone “talks a bit like a management consultant”: it’s symptomatic of the growing “professionalisation” of ordinary life. Thanks to blurring work-life boundaries and the rise of the “self-help” industry, we increasingly view our lives as “projects in which excellence needs to be achieved” – and can be, with “the right toolsets”. Hence the …
British television has been enjoying its “finest hour” in the US. Shows such as Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, Sherlock and Dr Who have attracted huge ratings and critical esteem. Indeed, Downton, while winning few awards at home, has become the most decorated foreign TV show in US history – a fact that “speaks to pathologies in both nations: in Britain, nothing …
50% of 13 to 19-year-olds have never written a thank-you letter; 26% have never written a birthday or Christmas card. 58% think writing by hand is too slow to bother with. 9% say they don’t own a pen; by contrast, 74% have a tablet and 89% a smartphone. (Bic/Daily Mail) It’s not thanking people for gifts that is shocking. This is the fault, not of the teenagers, …
Continue reading ‘I haven’t quite finished with teenagers!’ »
Some (un-comprehensive) answers to the excessive angst among young people: – Pull back on organized, adult-led activities, and allow kids to organise their own play, setting their own rules. – Parents offer too many compliments to their children. One should praise children for effort and sticking at it – constant praise for everything breeds egotism …
Continue reading ‘Unhappy young people – some answers (No.3)’ »
