# The Reason You Can't Stand the News

*Hello friends! You likely signed up for this after reading one of my
essays on Medium. I send this thing every few months, mostly a wrap-up
of stuff I'm working on and the best reading from around the web—all
ending with a sweet flag. See past
issues [here](http://tinyletter.com/blanda/archive?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news).
Now, to the newsletter:*![Rice farmers in Chiang
Mai](../images/f0a39b972eec.jpg)*Rice farmers work in a field just
outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand. In a labor intensive process, they'll
replant each seedling several times before harvesting—so never waste a
grain of rice. *\
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***Personal Update***\
 \
**I wrote a thing!** I’d guess that you, like me, can’t stand the news
anymore. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering why and I think you can draw
a straight line from the bad business models of news to the current
state of discourse in America. I’m tired of news outlets playing to our
worst instincts and I’m tired that Americans now default to harming one
another rather than helping one another. [So I did my best to outline
how we got
here](https://medium.com/@SeanBlanda/medium-and-the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news-anymore-c98068fec3f8?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news).
*Warning: long read ahead.* \
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...The piece has been up for a week and the main criticism, especially
from folks that work in the media, is that there’s no solution offered.
I suppose that was kind of the point, I wanted to point out how systemic
these issues were. Especially to people who don’t stare at media/tech
landscape every day. But otherwise feedback has been good, and the piece
was the number 1 read piece on Medium for parts of last week. So if you
shared or commented or emailed me to share your thoughts, thank you!\
 \
...But, after seeing reaction, I wish I better hammered home how it all
leads to divisiveness. I really really really can’t stand how Americans
assume the worst in one another.\
 \
\_\
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**In other news, I’m currently in the last leg of my five-month travel
stint. Next up: Namibia and South Africa.** The end of my trip is in
sight, and so my quest to return to the working world is getting
serious. \
 \
***The Links***\
 \
**One of the first games to take advantage of the cinematic
possibilities of console gaming was Final Fantasy 7**. But such an
ambitious undertaking didn’t happen easy. *Polygon* [has an oral history
of the video
game](http://www.polygon.com/a/final-fantasy-7?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news).
Which, even if you’ve never heard of the game, is a great look at how
complicated creative projects happen (and yet a single staff member
wrote most of the game’s translated English text…) Also, shoutout to all
my gamers that beat the Ruby and Emerald weapons.\
 \
*Related: The flip side of an ambitious video game: the colossal flop
and redemption of [No Man’s
Sky](http://thespinoff.co.nz/featured/20-12-2016/back-from-the-abyss-the-story-of-no-mans-skys-death-and-resurrection/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news).*\
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**We like to think that all young people know how to use technology**.
But, like most things, this depends on your level of education and
income. Poor children are more likely to use technology to play games.
Wealthy children are more likely to use technology to find “practical
information.” Like careers, technology is a case of “you don’t know what
you don’t know.” From the piece, “disadvantaged students are [less
likely to be aware of the opportunities that digital technology
offers](https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/07/rich-and-poor-teenagers-spend-a-similar-amount-of-time-online-so-why-aren-t-we-closing-the-digital-divide?utm_content=buffer45b99&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer).”\
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**Something to keep an eye on: Finland is piloting Universal Basic
Income** by [giving 2,000 unemployed people €560 a
month](http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/finland-introduces-basic-income-unemployed-170103190406168.html?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news). \
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**Most job-seeking advice is wishy-washy stuff like “master your
elevator pitch.”** So leave it to a computer programmer to keep detailed
records on his job search and how he received eight offers ranging from
\$60-125k in salary. The main takeaway? A good job search requires with
[connecting with as many people as
possible](https://medium.freecodecamp.com/5-key-learnings-from-the-post-bootcamp-job-search-9a07468d2331?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news#.e91g30voq).\
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***Vox* [profiled Trump
supporters](http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/21/14336694/trump-supporters-boring?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news)
at the inauguration and how nice most of them were.** I can't believe I
just typed that sentence. Hopefully it leads to more pieces that seek
out commonality. Hopefully. Maybe.\
\
**Speaking of, women's marches took place all over the world
yesterday**. For the American edition, organizers made clear that
[pro-life groups were not
welcome](https://qz.com/890798/womens-march-abortion/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news).
Many folks have pointed out that winning elections requires aligning
with people you may not always agree with. So how does one
balance ideological purity end and inclusion? Especially when including
the group would have likely been [a smart political
move](https://twitter.com/McCormackJohn/status/822867422873088000?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news).\
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**Peter Thiel is probably the most interesting man in America**. Gawker
killer and seemingly the tech world's only Trump supporter. He's either
so smart he’s crazy or so crazy he’s smart. [This interview in *The New
York
Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/fashion/peter-thiel-donald-trump-silicon-valley-technology-gawker.html?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news)
is a pretty good litmus test for which side of that equation you fall
on. At least read it for this sick burn of Twitter’s role in the
election: “I think the crazy thing is,” he says, “at a place like
Twitter, they were all working for Trump this whole year even though
they thought they were working for Sanders.”\
 \
**On the internet, all roads lead to “Quit your job and travel the
world!”** Which is why I enjoyed this candid look at the process from
Caterina Kostoula. [Inspired by Stephan Sagmeister’s TED
talk](https://www.ted.com/talks/stefan_sagmeister_the_power_of_time_off?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news),
she decided to use her savings to move her family to Greece and Thailand
for six months. As my own little mini-sabbatical winds down I
appreciated the financial realtalk, about how any time off is likely a
huge hit to any of your future earnings and there’s [no guarantee you
come out happier
or fulfilled](https://medium.com/the-mission/how-i-decided-to-go-on-a-sabbatical-5859c777af11?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news#.pov4j5h25).\
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**Did you know** that, since both companies went public in 2004, [the
stock of Domino's Pizza has outperformed
Google](https://twitter.com/charliebilello/status/820279982387773440?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news)?\
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***Official Newsletter Flag (for now)***

 

![Eureka Flag](../images/3a0f102089a8.png)

 

Featuring the southern cross constellation, this is the flag of the
Australian Eureka rebellion, commonly known as the "eureka" flag. It was
flown by multi-ethnic and mostly immigrant gold miners who rebelled
against colonial forces during the Victoria gold rush in 1854 over
taxes. Easy enough, right? Well, the flag has been co-opted by all kinds
of anti-establishment political movements in Australia since, both left-
and right-wing. So now it means different things to different people.
But in modern Melbourne, the flag can be seen around the city and
perhaps [the city's most distinct
skyscraper](http://spacecowboymodels.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/1/3/2313836/1267363_orig.jpg?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-reason-you-cant-stand-the-news)
is modeled after the flag with a striking red band to mark the blood
shed at the rebellion.\
\
Dear reader, I'd model my skyscraper after you. Thanks for making space
in your crowded inbox for this ol' thing.\
\
-Sean