What We’re Reading
A few good pieces Collaborative team came across this week …
Americans are among the most stressed people in the world, according to a new survey. And that’s just the start of it.
Last year, Americans reported feeling stress, anger and worry at the highest levels in a decade, according to the survey, part of an annual Gallup poll of more than 150,000 people around the world, released on Thursday.
“What really stood out for the U.S. is the increase in the negative experiences,” said Julie Ray, Gallup’s managing editor for world news. “This was kind of a surprise to us when we saw the numbers head in this direction.”
Utah forgives 25% of a college graduate student’s loans for each year the graduate remains in state and works in a field where the state faces a workforce shortage. Texas offers loan forgiveness to psychologists or other mental-health professionals, while Maryland helps local farmers pay down their loans. And Delaware covers loans up to $10,000 to residents teaching in high-need areas.
The Scrabble career of Nigel Richards went from great to astounding this week, after he won the French-language Scrabble World Championships. A New Zealand native, Richards has won several English-language titles; his new victory follows weeks of studying a French dictionary.
“He doesn’t speak French at all, he just learnt the words,” his friend (and former president of the New Zealand Scrabble Association) Liz Fagerlund tells the New Zealand Herald. “He won’t know what they mean, wouldn’t be able to carry out a conversation in French I wouldn’t think.”
Competition:
Vinyl crushed by cassettes,
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) April 16, 2019
which got crushed by CD's,
which got crushed by downloads,
which got crushed by streaming. https://t.co/ZL0X8cJEGN
Because most cast member roles at Disney World are exactly what you would expect. Scheduled meal appearances. Character meetings and photo ops. Peter and Wendy do all that, too, sure. But most of what they do at Disney is whatever the hell they want. Try to catch their shadows in the brutally long lines for Peter Pan’s Flight. Jump the line for the Mad Tea Party, hop in a teacup with strangers and spin it until they turn green. Play pranks on other cast members.
Peter Pan and Wendy run free at Disney because no one would believe in them if they did anything else.
Have a nice weekend.