On romanticising Berlin, learning windows, and the broccolification of joy

Hello friends!

7 days says the countdown widget on my phone. 7 days until I get to go to the airport, check in a huge bag to fit all kinds of adventures, maybe treat myself to a drink since I for once fly at a decent hour and not 7am, and finally board the plane that will take me to three weeks of quality time with my favourite situationship: Berlin.

It's been close to a year since last time, and that is simply too long. And I'm planning on romanticising the shit out of my time there. What I look forward to, in no particular order!

• Our first stop will be our local favourite wine bar Weinverein, with the best flammkuchen and delicious wines.
• Go all in on calisthenics at Urban Gladiators. The handstand classes are my favourites, but I'm very excited to work on skin the cat too.
• Get tipsy on glühwein at all the Christmas markets.
• We're gonna stay right across from Coffee Circle, and there are few things I love more than to go out in the fresh air for a perfect flat white in the morning.
• Put on my dancing boots, go to the type of gritty club you can only find in Berlin, and dance all night to techno.
• Spend a whole day at Vabali, read a book by the fireplace, die of heat at an aufguss, shock myself with five minutes in the cold plunge, and finally recover with a cocktail in the bar.
• Hang out for hours at Coffee Pony, drink coffee, write, eavesdrop on people's awkward first dates.
• On a cold day, just pop into Olivin to heat up in the sauna and get a quick massage.
• Eat my own weight in truffle mac & cheese at La Marinière.
• Also, central heating. We are currently enjoying "polar winds" in Lisbon, which would be fine if only we had any form of insulation inside.

Ok, writing this is making me too excited. Is one week too early to check in? Maybe I can camp outside. The temperature is basically the same as inside so.

See you soon, Berlin! 💕

🖋 Recently written
I wrote about something that has been on my mind a lot lately: A case against apathy. What sparked the piece was the election in the U.S., but my point is broader than that. I want to talk, and write, more about misinformation, pseudoscience and what we can do about it.

Speaking of Berlin, I also published my list of spots I love there. Looking forward to updating it after this visit!

🧠 The Ecstasy of an Open Brain on Radiolab
Found via Pausplings trendspaning (Swedes interested in tech, I hope you subscribe). It's about how we have different windows open for intense learning periods through young age and how psychedelics can open that window up, even as adults. Incredibly fascinating.

Psychedelics aside, the part about opening critical periods by depravation made me think that this can be part of what makes Vipassana so impactful. You deprive yourself of many impressions, making you very sensitive as you come out of it.

💼 6 lessons I learned working at an art gallery
Good read on agency at work and how to make it fun for yourself.

"Ie. you don’t say, “This is my job and that thing is outside my area”—no, if the value you are trying to promote requires you to go outside your role and learn new skills and politick to get the authority to go ahead: then that is your job."

Word.

A while ago I read in Swedish media that it's becoming more common that parents job hunts for their kids. With the risk of sounding ancient, back in my days you had to humiliate yourself by handing in your resume by hand, facing instant rejecting many times per day. If this happens in your surroundings, maybe share this piece with them and encourage some personal autonomy for the Gen Z's.

🌖 The Cult of Astrology Apps
It's no secret I'm highly sceptical of all things astrology, but combine it with techbros and VCs, and you get a proper dystopian cocktail. Interesting discussion about how even people believing in astrology should be sceptical of astrology apps.

🗞️ Populism, Media Revolutions, and Our Terrible Moment
In this video Hank Green puts what is happening in the world into a historical context that I actually find kind of soothing. The internet era feels so normal to me I forget what it means when you zoom out. That we don't yet have "regulations in our mind to deal with internet" is such a good framing.

🦋 Opinion: Bluesky is a dangerous echo chamber because no one wants to hear from me, specifically
Found via LegalNomads and I sure appreciate a good, snarky satire.

"And instead of respecting my inalienable right to be debated, they just… blocked me. Like I’m some kind of annoyance, rather than the iconoclastic and fascinating truth-teller which I know myself to be."

Chef's kiss. Also, are you on BlueSky yet? It's giving early twitter vibes and who knows for how long, but I am enjoying it (and the experience of a chronological feed).

🥦 The broccolification of fun
Found via Caroline O'Donoghue and it nails the explanation of a mental pattern I think I'm far from alone in having: "Broccoli activities are once-fun pursuits that have taken on the flavour of broccoli: something that I really should be doing because it’s bettering, not because it’s fun and/or delicious."

What activities do you do for the sake of pure enjoyment? I don't know about you, but when I feel stressed I have a habit of shrinking my life to become all broccoli. I don't sleep well due to stress, and to improve my sleep I avoid alcohol and try to optimise everything, and the pressure of optimising makes my sleep even worse. It's a vicious broccoli cycle.

Sometimes, the best thing I can do is just go to a rave and dance til 6am in the morning, despite the toll on my body, the pleasure it brings to my mind is what I actually need.

(Ok, can you tell I'm excited for Berlin?)

📥 Inboxes, feeds, articles, notes
I've shared Ghost's Building ActivityPub newsletter before, but really want to highlight it again. In this edition they shared an experiment they are testing out, with splitting the view between short and long-form content and I'm really liking it!

🌸 Living Deliciously with Florence Given
Florence Given showed up on my TikTok months ago, like a pink cartoon character, hyping us all up, and I've been a fan ever since. This conversation was an energy boost, and if you want more, I can recommend her interview on Happy Place podcast too.

“I don’t want to think about myself, I want to think about literally anything else but myself.”

Yes, exactly this.

Time to pack my bags! Looking forward to more consistent writing adventures in 2025 and would love to hear your thoughts on any of these pieces in the meantime. Cheers! 🥂