20251228
Drop a Duralex glass and it will most likely bounce, not break. The French company itself has tumbled several times in the past two decades and always bounced back, but never quite as spectacularly as when it asked the public for money. An appeal for €5m (£4.4m) of emergency funding to secure the immediate future of the glassworks took just five hours and 40 minutes to reach its target. Within 48 hours, the total amount pledged had topped €19m. François Marciano, 59, the director general of Duralex, said the response had astonished everyone at the company. “We thought it would take five or six weeks to raise the €5m. - Duralex
People: Fixing typewriters. Swift’s career. Noticing what works. The fantasy of bookmarks. Credentialed precariat. Where do kids play? H1b shortages? Advice to students. Small press books in 2025. People’s risk as a single number?
Health and energy?Planet: Riding horses changes the world. Finding new geothermal sources with AI. Impact of COVID19 vaccines.
Tech: Buying guilt removal. Appropriate fear. A replacement for GPS ? Sand batteries. Airbus stranded.
Futures: Best inventions of 2025. Short stories for the future.
AI: State of AI 2025. Gods behind the masks.
Staying away from AI ? War on AI ?
Coparenting with AI.
Faked images close railway line.Deep rabbit hole: Talking with whales, CETI, classifying clans, and their alphabet.
Navigating the Cul-de-Sac of Chaos
In the multifaceted urban sprawl of Glenwood City—where morning traffic morphed into a personality type, and mailboxes had collectively decided to be “inconveniently placed”—Lilian, a perennial juggler of chaos, leaned into her shimmering marble countertop, gazing down at her glowing smartphone. “Oh goodie,” she said to herself, scrolling through yet another series of meticulously crafted bookmarks, each faithfully cataloguing articles on everything from whale communication to the nutritional superiority of gummy vitamins. Her brain felt like a library being readied for renovation, packed with dusty books on topics she’d never truly explored.
“Have you ever truly appreciated a marble countertop?” she mused aloud, addressing the stubborn potted cactus on her windowsill that was doing a commendable job of being both prickly and silent. *1
Just then, a notification chimed from her AI assistant. “Lilian, I recommend the Sandwich Generation screening from Netflix, perfect for balancing your schedule!” Sandwiched between a parenting crisis and an impromptu Waffle House pancake breakfast—because who needs sustained energy when you’ve got a plethora of bookmarks?—Lilain sighed. “Ah, the legends of the past would be horrified at how many ‘real’ experiences we save instead of live,” she muttered, recalling some documentary she’d stubbed her toes over during a late-night laptop pilgrimage through the annals of YouTube.
There was a surreal resemblance, she thought, between the elegantly controlled chaos of the waltzing AI services and the wild horses that had galloped through history, enabling empires to rise magnificently. After all, who needed controls in the realm of domesticity when cavalry could help creators like her take a detour around the unending loop of laundry and lunches? *2
With a twinge of existential panic, Lilian decided to wrench herself free from the digital siren song. “Let’s experiment with gratitude today,” she proclaimed, standing up decisively, though her feet wavered like an unfulfilled promise. “I might even write thank-you notes, like I’m planning a revolution,” she laughed. An absurd notion, yet she was firmly convinced it would help dislodge her groundedness—*3 turn the tides of her mundane existence—at least for a fleeting moment. She figured it could bridge the chasm between her ambitions and her 8 p.m. Netflix binges.
Meanwhile, down at the coffee shop, Zohran Mamdani—recently retired from politics after an invigorating but exhausting term—was tackling his own towering to-do list of educational reform, hoping to steer today’s precariat youth into a brighter tomorrow. “We’re all just trying to make a splash in a puddle of ambition,” he mused, contemplating a world where bibliophagists and gratitude practitioners could coexist harmoniously. Perhaps their discussions could veritably unite the polarized—be it for better healthcare access or adequately stocked fridge shelves. *4
The aroma of fresh coffee wafted through the café like a modern-day cavalry charge, and as he daydreamed about forming a motley band of misfits—folks who understood that parenting and progress often came with the ominous background hum of exhaust fans—he realized something beautifully simple: adults were just confused children trying to navigate cul-de-sacs decorated with bookmarks of wisdom they had never understood. “Now where can I find the manual on that?” he chuckled to his steaming cup.
And just like that, another day in Glenwood City unfolded, equal parts chaotic, hopeful, and utterly mundane—like a series of unfortunate bookmarks waiting to be clicked but craving the electric flicker of spontaneous living instead.
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*1 - It’s common knowledge that cacti serve only to prick one’s fingers while gleefully remaining silent on the most pressing existential crises.
*2 - After all, cavalry certainly didn’t scout ahead to see if you’d remembered to feed the fish!
*3 - Note to self: ‘rising from the ashes of sedentary lifestyle’ officially on the list of life goals.
*4 - Because let’s be honest; everyone deserves a dairy-free latte after fighting off the metaphorical wolves of life.