July 2, 2023

King Cole Trio - Sweet Lorraine (1940)

perfect song for a rainy summer late afternoon Sunday here in Stockholm

Label: Decca – 8520
Format: Shellac, 10", 78 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1940
Genre: Jazz
Style: Swing

July 2, 2023

Europe's Tallest Sea Cliff Just Got a Brand New Climbing Route

Norway's Mount Hornelen just got a brand new via ferrata.

https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/hornelen-via-ferrata-norway-open-to-tourists



Calling all adrenaline seekers, climbing enthusiasts, and nature lovers. Europe's highest sea cliff just opened to tourists, and you can now take part in a hiking tour to climb the whole mountain in a very European way.

It isn't a climb or a hike like the ones you're probably used to. Mount Hornelen, which is located in Norway's Nordfjord and is the highest sea cliff in Europe standing at 2,822' (860 meters) tall, is now equipped with its own via ferrata, which has recently opened to tourists on June 18, according to Drift. The term comes from the Italian word for "iron road," which is used to indicate hiking trails featuring iron steps, hoops, and grips that have been attached to the mountain for climbers to use. The practice is pretty common in Europe and especially in the Alps, which count numerous vie ferrate across Italy, France, Switzerland, and the other Alpine countries.

Now, you can head to Norway and test the Hornelen Via Ferrata yourself. If you're new to climbing, you're welcome to join the party, too. Visitors are only allowed to climb the ferrata with a guide, and the company behind the route offers three different guided tours to meet every expertise level, from beginner to advanced.

From easiest to hardest, the three available routes are the Ørnelia (Eagle Hill), the Hekseveggen (The Wall of Witches), and the Olavsrute (Olaf's route). Eagle Hill only takes a couple of hours to complete, and it doesn't summit the mountain. However, you still get to try the ferrata, and you definitely won't miss out on gorgeous views. The Wall of Witches is more climbing-heavy, both vertically and horizontally, and it is considered moderate in terms of difficulty. It is only by taking the Olaf's Route, though, that you'll reach the top of Mount Hornelen, but not before going through a pretty strenuous adventure. The views at the top, though, are the real reward, and you'll definitely feel like it was worth the fatigue.

For more information and to reserve your spot, you can visit Hornelen Via Ferrata's website.

July 1, 2023

Why some people are at higher risk of 'stress contagion'

Our stress levels don’t rise and fall in isolation. Grasping the social side of stress could help us manage it better

https://psyche.co/ideas/why-some-people-are-at-higher-risk-of-stress-contagion



Can you recall a time when your workplace was especially busy, and no one seemed to have a chance to take a breather? Even if you were managing your own duties well, you might have found it challenging to remain calm in the face of the stress or anxiety penetrating the workplace. Simply watching people around you complaining or panicking can trigger tense feelings. As social animals, we inherently tend to relate to other people’s experiences, ‘catch’ their emotions, and adopt their ways of appraising events as they unfold.

Stress has traditionally been regarded by psychologists as something that emerges from someone’s personal, psychological response to situations in which the demands – eg, uncertainty, unpredictability, time pressure, conflicts, performance expectations – are high, while resources for coping with these demands are low. Yet, this individual-level perspective on stress has been complemented in recent decades by evidence that interpersonal processes play a critical role as well.

For example, Mina Westman and Arnold B Bakker published a series of studies examining the so-called ‘crossover’ of psychological strain in relationships and small groups. They found that in married couples, a spouse who is under a lot of pressure and experiences stress at work may bring such feelings back home, leading to an increase in the stress experienced by the other partner. Bakker and colleagues also observed that the burnout levels of colleagues within a work team often converge or co-evolve over time. Emily Butler developed a ‘temporal interpersonal emotion systems’ (TIES) framework to explain how various elements of negative emotions, such as distress experience, expression and autonomic physiology, are transmitted between people.

Building upon these developments, my colleagues and I suggest that stress can be better understood when viewed as a dynamic, network phenomenon – something that develops and propagates in a social environment. In a stressful situation, other people’s responses can provide potentially useful information about what’s happening. They help you interpret and clarify the demands of the situation and the available resources for dealing with them. Others’ responses also provide a reference point that allows you to determine the socially appropriate way of responding to the situation. You are likely to constantly pick up on cues from those around you and assess changing social norms as you chat and share perspectives, leading to an updated view of your situation and, in turn, a heightened or lowered stress response. As a result, your stress level is likely to become increasingly similar to that of your social contacts.

snip

July 1, 2023

Is American Decline Inevitable?

audio at the link



https://wisdomofcrowds.live/p/is-american-decline-inevitable





Shadi Hamid, Samuel Kimbriel, and Christine Emba head to Aspen to record a live episode of the show. The crowd gets involved.

The broad topic of the conversation was decline. We don’t always know how to express it, but many of us feel it: There’s something wrong with America today. The mood is tense. More Americans say they won’t have children because of climate change and other future catastrophes. But are things really as bad as they seem? Is decline something we need to accept—or is there a case for a new optimism?

You won’t want to miss this one.

Required Reading: