Amigos! Saxiibo! Les amis! Friends! How’s the week going? You’ve nearly reached the end, hope you’ve got something smashing planned. I’ll be… working, but working on new and interesting things, so I don’t mind so much. But first… out to the kitchen to make bread pudding with half a loaf of leftover Irish soda bread I baked for St. Patrick’s Day. (Because everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, including Americans in the Horn of Africa). Here’s a few links to keep you bobbing along into the weekend!

Baya, the Algerian artist who inspired Matisse and Picasso, is being celebrated in the first North American exhibition of her work in New York. Stunning x 1 million. Wish I was there! (via The Cut)

Question for you: Anyone out there use project or task management apps? How about time trackers? Would love to hear suggestions as I set up freelance work. Been using Trello and Toggl, not especially thrilled with either. Thoughts welcome!

On the other hand, “It’s really clear from personal experience, from research, that if you get really, really efficient at doing stuff, you just get busier.” (via Hurry Slowly)

In case this was keeping you up at night, Uber has confirmed it is not testing autonomous flying taxis in Kenya. You heard it here first. (via Fast Company)

Lindy West’s night at the Oscars. (via The Guardian)

Many were dismayed at Stephen Hawking’s recent passing. In the unlikely event you don’t regularly partake in conversations about his scientific achievements, here’s a great, simple breakdown of his background and career. (via ThoughtCo.)

Are intricately designed teabags a thing? Did I miss a trend? These are unbelievable works of embroidered, painted, and appliqued teabags. (via 101Cookbooks)

I recently listened to an episode from the Invisibilia podcast that considers how people cope and move on following significant losses, like the death of a loved one. The episode mentions a study from UT Austin that piqued my interest, in which a group of people who had recently suffered loss were asked to write about their experiences for a few minutes each day. Reviewing their writing, the psychology professor who led the study found something remarkable:

PENNEBAKER: What really jumped out were there were huge differences in pronouns.

H. ROSIN: You know…

PENNEBAKER: He, she, they, we.

H. ROSIN: The most important pronouns to track were I words – I, me, my. A person who uses I words at a higher than average rate…

PENNEBAKER: Tends to be more honest, more self-aware.

H. ROSIN: But, according to Jamie, a person who stays in the I mode all the time and never shifts, you need to worry about.

PENNEBAKER: Depressed or depression prone.

M. ROSIN: Why didn’t I just – don’t want to eat, I don’t want to cook. I don’t want to – why didn’t I pay attention more? I don’t know.

H. ROSIN: The pattern the computer picked up was the people who benefited the most were people who switched from I to he, she, we, back to I again, not because this meant they were selfless or deeply invested in others, but because perspective switching…

PENNEBAKER: Implies detachment.

H. ROSIN: If you’re having trouble coping, you have to step outside at some point and actively construct a new story. 

(via NPR)

Have a good Friday and a sweet weekend!