![\"Me](\"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/newsletter-022023.jpg\")
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Berlin, 6:25 pm, new note: I am typing this in iA Writer\u2019s \u201cfocus mode\u201d, a tool that highlights only the very current section that is being edited. I never use it because\u00a0focus,<\/em> what even is that?! Haven\u2019t heard from her in years. And you, dear reader, haven\u2019t heard from me and this letter in months, either, so: Welcome back.<\/p>\n \u2733\ufe0e \u2733\ufe0e \u2733\ufe0e<\/p>\n Some smaller towns in Italy have so-called \u201cNecrologi.\u201d Big analog boards in the center of the town, or at relevant pedestrian crossings, that originally announced the passing of a parishioner. When walking through the cities around Amalfi coast this summer, I saw them. Posters informed passers-by about recent deaths, yes, but also about upcoming celebrations, concerts and the town\u2019s goings-on. They were not advertisement billboards; they were very local, specific platforms for communities to share events of interest.<\/p>\n The famous Parisian bookshop\u00a0Shakespeare and Company<\/em>\u00a0has been cultivating a wall of analog notifications for ages. On little paper notes, people share messages, stories, call-outs for other visitors to dig through and find each other. True love may or may not be found in those layers and layers of paper, but the board itself is a manifestation of romance that visitors long for. Paper as a real connection to a stranger.<\/p>\n And also: Do you remember\u00a0BVG Augenblicke?<\/em>\u00a0Berlins public transport system, BVG, used to have a digital platform where people who shared a moment on the train\u2014a smile, a gaze, a brief conversation with a stranger\u2014could find each other again. Oftentimes, secondary romance is to be avoided (as it turns out less exciting as expected), but having the tools\u2014both digital and analog\u2014to give it a chance; it was magic. Technology was magic!<\/p>\n As a true millennial, I stopped believing in digital tools as true connectors for a while now. But I don’t mind it too much. I’m just over it, really. Like Jason Parham writes in his essay on\u00a0wired.com<\/a>: \u201cIt’s not that I consider myself too old for social media, or the pace and attention it requires. I\u2019m just less interested in being everywhere these days.\u201d Same, really. I still enjoy posting to my Instagram story from time to time or write a blog post when I have something to share or need to feel productive. It\u2019s ok to realize that the magic has vanished. Maybe it\u2019s to be found offline, on public notice boards and in book shops and on train rides and through the people I already know. Or within a little community of readers and friends like you\u2014thanks for sticking around!<\/p>\n \u2733\ufe0e \u2733\ufe0e \u2733\ufe0e<\/p>\n The\u00a0last issue of this newsletter<\/a>\u00a0was sent in May. Summer passed, the world still spins, sometimes and recently so furiously that it has been hard to manage. I hope you do, somehow.<\/p>\n One of my coping strategies: I keep writing my monthly lists. They keep up the feeling of being creative, or at least productive; it’s some output that comes around every month. If you\u2019re interested in what\u2019s happened during my summer, find some notes from June<\/a>, or\u00a0September<\/a>, or simply scroll through this blog. I\u2019m planning on sending them out as a separate newsletter in the future because who visits weblogs these days, really. I’ll keep this letter as an English format, though.<\/p>\n How was your summer? Where are you right now? I\u2019d love to hear from you: What\u2019s been keeping you spinning? I hope you\u2019re well!<\/p>\n (If you enjoy content like this: I send it out as an irregular newsletter called\u00a0<\/em>Christel\u2019s Corner.\u00a0Sign up for it here<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Berlin, 6:25 pm, new note: I am typing this in iA Writer\u2019s \u201cfocus mode\u201d, a tool that highlights only the very current section that is being edited. I never use it because\u00a0focus, what even is that?! Haven\u2019t heard from her in years. And you, dear reader, haven\u2019t heard from me and this letter in months, … 022023: Manifestations of Romance<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1206],"tags":[3606,41,40,2],"class_list":["post-2891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christels-corner","tag-christelscorner","tag-english","tag-newsletter","tag-text"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2891"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2894,"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2891\/revisions\/2894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christowski.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}