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Weekly Digest #25

The Paperless Press

Updated: Jan 19, 2021

The Paperless Press- Weekly Digest #25


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The Paperless Press Word of the Year for 2020 is…. ‘Positivity’!


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v2021.2.0- my vision for a new world in 2021

By: Abhimanyu Rao

Saying that 2020 has been a weird year is the understatement of the century. From the pandemic stripping away any sense of normalcy, to the unfortunate state of the world and increasing racism, the year gone by has been one filled with grief, and isolation. Luckily, we at The Paperless Press are right around the corner to bring out some positives, even in the darkest of days, and today, the positive we bring is, looking back at the year, reflecting on it, and using that reflection to develop a vision for what the world should accomplish by the end of 2021. This is very similar to a New Year Resolution, which seems to be the central theme for this digest. The only difference between the two are the scale - small scale, personal resolutions, and large scale visions for 2021, that are for the world at large. So what are we waiting for? Let's dive in!


Vaccines- The first wish everyone obviously has is a vaccine for Covid-19 to be mass produced. While the world may never be the same again, most of us are anxious for a vaccine to be mass produced and available to everyone. This is simply because this vaccine is more than just a needle that will be poked in your arm. It is a symbol of the fighting spirit of humanity, from the frontline workers and vaccine developers, who worked tirelessly to help protect us, to the people who kept on doing their jobs, even in the middle of the pandemic so that safety and security were upheld, and even to all of us, who stayed strong, and stayed at home, staying safe, and ensuring that everyone else was safe as well.


Movements for equality- As Mihir rightly wrote in Weekly Digest #4, the pandemic hadn’t diminished our fight for equality, it had actually enhanced it! Well, my second hope for 2021 is that this fight for equality, in its new and enhanced form, stays until equality is finally reached, and that 2021 becomes the year that not only overshadows 2020, but becomes a more historic year for equality. Now that the world is healing, not only because of the vaccine, but also because 2020 was synonymous with the pandemic, and so its end is symbolic of a newer, stronger, beginning. So is there a better time to push even harder for equality than a time that the world has almost unanimously accepted as a new beginning?



Wildlife stays safe- Way back when in Weekly Digest #6, Agastya wrote about how it took a pandemic to save wildlife, and as sad an observation that it was, it was true. Hopefully, all of humanity has now understood that this pandemic was nature’s “break glass in case of emergency” action, and now that nature has healed, we must keep it that way, and not go back to our old, careless ways.


The Paperless Press- Just because this year of sadness if over, doesn’t mean our mission of spreading positivity is. The Paperless Press will continue spreading positivity for a long time. A little bit of positivity can go a long way, and pandemic or not, The Paperless Press will be there for all your positivity needs!


Using what we have learned for good- This year has been full of experimentation, for everyone! Disney experimented by releasing movies like Mulan directly onto streaming services, Hamilton had an officially released video of the whole play, countless musicians released albums without any current plans for tours, and instead had televised concerts, and students worldwide experimented with various applications and web services for school. Now, since the vaccine is almost here, and schools may be open by July, what will a year’s worth of experimental teaching methods amount to? Well this answer applies to all the items I mentioned. Movies could be released directly onto streaming services on a pay-per-view basis to encourage social distancing, or during times of protests and unrest, many musicians may be able to have a more accessible televised concert mini tour to decrease carbon emissions from travel, and school days missed in pollution holidays can be covered up through online classes from home! This way, all that we have learned in this experimental year can stay with us for a brighter future

To conclude this long discussion, I would like to raise a very important issue. The only possible flaw in my vision will undoubtedly occur if we do what we think will help us, and that is, forget about 2020 at all! While forgetting about 2020 might seem as the best way to get over the negativity that 2020 was more than full of, we should instead use it as a teacher; and remember all the times we closely followed developments with the Covid-19 vaccine, and the things we learned. We should remember 2020 like our favourite book, full of comedy, drama, climaxes, twists, and a happy ending, which we will never forget, and keep on re-reading for various unknown reasons.

PS- Does anyone else feel like The lockdown symbolised the beginning of 2020, and January and February are just some floating around months without any year for them, or is it just me?


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Cover Story

The New Year Difference -(In Resolutions)

By:Agastya Rao



Every New Year celebration, no matter how big or small- can only be completed with New Year Resolutions. Yup, those 2 lines that you write down in that little diary of yours, and hope to stick to the entire year. This year made it no different, and people did make New Year resolutions. New Year resolutions are normally goals or dreams that a person writes down or aims to achieve in the coming year. However, all New Year resolutions are not the same or are similar around the world for different age groups, or are they?


What I have noticed is that the New Year Resolutions of children and adults are very different. I have decided to explore the differences between the typical New Year resolution of an adult versus those of a child. This article is slightly philosophical, but from a child’s point of view :)


Comparison #1



Adult- I will lose weight- This is probably the most cliched and common New Year Resolution that adults generally think of. In my opinion, this one doesn’t really stay for too long because well… chocolate! Many adults think that the only way to lose weight is by going on a full diet, where they remove all the sugar, fat and carbohydrates from their diet, which isn’t good for the body.




Child- I will play more games- Every child loves to play. Whether it is video games, sports, toys or board games- children live for playing. This resolution is the most likely one a child would take, because they love to play. In comparison to the adults’ resolution to lose weight, a child will play more games and that will help them exercise.




Comparison #2



Adult- I will detox- This is the second most famous New Years Resolution. Adults keep changing their diets and getting on new ones, with the hope of losing weight. This many times causes adults to try out various diets which again, may not be good for them. Maybe, instead of this they could just stick to healthy food and add a bit of exercise, unless they have a particular medical condition.




Child- I will eat and have as much ice cream as I can- Children love enjoying sweet and carefree lives, and very few children don’t like sweets. I mean, who doesn’t like a good ol’ chocolate bar? This one is definitely something that children will be able to fulfill, so it is more realistic.


Comparison #3


Adult- I will decrease my screen time and use my phone less- One resolution that is again increasingly common and tackles one of the world’s biggest problems- the dreaded phone addiction. Adults have to use the phone a lot, mostly for work and messaging, maybe some social media too. Screen time in the Lockdown has increased a lot, and the Washington Post reported that the average screen time for adults during the pandemic is 3 and a half hours. This makes it a slightly vague but sensible resolution. Vague, as in there is no specification of what type of screen time on the phone will be decreased- work or social media?





Child- I shall keep a track on my parent’s screen time- Another very sensible resolution. This one is 100% unselfish- this is making sure that your parents are safe! This resolution is not as popular but is definitely going to help your parents in the long run. It may or may not give you some sadistic joy :) Comparing this to the adults’ resolution, they are pretty similar except for the fact that in this case the child will be helping his parent(s).






Comparison #4



Adult- I will spend more time with my family- One positive that worked out well from the lockdown is that parents got to spend more time with their children. This resolution works out well in this case. This is a resolution that is positive and doesn’t revolve around diets for losing weight but more about cherishing and spending time with their family.




Child- I will teach my parents how to play video games and play more games with my family- Many children tend to think that their parents don’t know enough about a certain game to play it with them, and they exclude their parents from it. Now this may cause their parents to feel sad and lonely, and that is why this resolution is also kind. Comparing this resolution to an adult’s both of them wanting to spend more time with each other, the child wants to spend it through games, but the adult has again left it a bit vague and not specified how exactly.



Real life resolution from one of our readers-


One of our readers, Uday Soni from Grade 9 shared his New Year Resolution with us-


“My New Years Resolution was to start being a little more flexible, to go with the flow and all that. When anything doesn’t go according to plan I freak out.”



-What adults can learn from children’s resolutions


Sometimes adults have to learn to be a bit more carefree and need to relax and not worry that much. Adults have to stop worrying too much about weight and instead of trying out many diets that may harm them, focus on consulting a doctor or maybe just cutting back on unhealthy food and exercising daily.



-What children can learn from adults’ resolutions


Children have to learn to start focusing a bit more and including their family members in their games. Maybe they should try finding new ways to play with their family, even some pranks wouldn’t hurt! Try making a weekly board game/video game night that will add a few more arguments, but it'll still be fun!




*Disclaimer- The Paperless Press is not sponsoring or recommending that children eat sweets. It is also not recommending or stating that particular diets are bad. The views expressed by the author are personal.*



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Rest Assured, Resolutions are the way!

By:Mihir Rao

Even if it is a little late, Happy New Year to all of you out there who are reading this! Hope you are having a great time and I know we’ll all have an awesome year in 2021. A

s with every New Year, comes the tradition of writing New Year’s Resolutions.


These ‘Resolutions’ are you making a vow to do something that you stated in it for the whole year. An example of this could be eating more/less..


These are a very important and crucial part of our lives, as this is the way through which we can get work done. You may ask why we have to resolve to do something every New Year when we can resolve to do anything at any time. Well, to put it simply, making resolutions has now become a tradition. The second reason is that not a lot of people can make a decision on the spot to do something for a long time out of the blue. It is in human nature to finish a task first before starting another one. This is also true for a new year, as humans want to get the old year out of their system (especially this time) and start ‘afresh’.


Now, that is all well, but here is the problem with New Year’s Resolutions.


They are too fantastical.

Everyone wants to have a good New Year’s resolution, and no one wants to be left behind in all the fun, but then there is a problem of people wanting to show off their new Year’s Resolutions as if they were an item. To do that, they would pick one of the most unrealistic and unachievable resolutions, and inevitably would make themselves and everybody else feel bad. It is almost like peer pressure, in a way. But this time, it is for a goal.


They are too vague.

This is one of the main problems with New Year’s Resolutions, as beating around the bush only strays us from the path of achieving our goals. If our goals/resolutions are too vague, then we will not know how to start achieving our resolutions!


Now, I will give you a few examples of 2 resolutions and show you what is wrong and right in each of them.







EXAMPLE 1:


I will go to the gym more.


OR


I will go to the gym for at least 2 to 3 days a week.


As you can see, in the first resolution, it is too vague. The element of when you exercise is unknown, giving you a bad start to the resolution! However, in the other one we have a more well defined resolution, with an achievable goal!


EXAMPLE 2:


I will eat healthier.


OR


For every item of junk food I eat, I will eat 2 fruits.


The same kind of logic is applied in this resolution, as you can see. ‘I will eat healthier’ may be a resolution, but it will not be a good one for you to follow. But in the second resolution, we have a defined set of cause and effect that is supposed to be applied to your life, and this is much easier to follow.


EXAMPLE 3


I will eat 10 apples for every second I don’t exercise


OR


I will eat 2 fruits each day


I’ll admit, this is a bit of an exaggerated example, but still an example nonetheless. In the grossly exaggerated first resolution, an unachievable goal has been set, and one cannot live up to that goal, no matter how much you try. But, in the latter, the goal set is an achievable one and one can live up to the goal and even achieve more.


With all of this, we all have to learn one thing: No matter how hard it gets, no matter how impossible the end goal is, no matter what obstacles lay in wait for us in our path, nothing should stray us from the path to success. We should NEVER GIVE UP.


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By: Agastya Rao


-Unhealthy food gave the world a big obesity crisis, and it looks like England has decided to solve it. The British Government has decided to bring out guidelines on how Supermarkets can advertise and sell various products like chocolates, fizzy drinks etc. Also, deals like Buy 1 get 1 free for junk food, or making people buy unnecessarily more/extra of a product. Free refills of Fizzy drinks at restaurants will also be banned.


- Despite all of the anti-police sentiments, and the police brutality in America, some policemen truly do have a heart. Officer Mat Lina in Massachusetts, found two women and two children at a supermarket not scanning all the items they were taking. Only one of the women was working, the other woman was out of a job. Instead of arresting them, he empathised with them and did not want to take Christmas dinner away from the children. Instead, he gave them a notice of trespassing and let them go on their way. On top of that, he even gave them a $250 gift card to help them buy their groceries elsewhere! Thank you , kind Officer!


-Have you ever heard of the Giant Swinhoe Softshell Turtle? Well, probably not, because there is only one known Male Giant Swinhoe Softshell Turtle left, and the last one was in Vietnam. Recent studies and DNA Testing have found another female Swinhoe Turtle!! This turtle is the most endangered turtle species on the planet. Now, it has hopes of carrying on its kind and not becoming extinct!



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By: Mihir Rao


  1. The D’Cruz family of 12 siblings originating from Pakistan, has achieved the Guinness world record for the highest combined age! It measures up at around 1043 years in total!

  2. Recently, a monolith was discovered in Ahmedabad park. The three sided structure with glass covering it had some numbers etched on it. One can only speculate what they mean, but the creator of the monolith said that the beauty of the sculpture evokes a conversation.

  3. A cricket’s ears are on its front legs! Yes, some may not fathom the idea of even having ears on any other body part other than your face, but crickets do. To add to that, they have not only 2, not 3, but 4 EARS! Each one on their legs serves as an opening where acoustic input is taken.

  4. Poison Ivy, the creeper that causes the most itchy and blistering rashes that you will ever have, is not bad for everything, surprisingly. The plant is eaten by many animals, and insects even munch on the leaves of the ivy! Like the saying says, one man’s trash is another’s treasure.

  5. On the 2nd of January, the coldest wave hit parts of North India including Delhi, going down to just 1 degree! This unprecedented wave is one of the coldest waves ever! It is the COLDEST wave that hit North India in about 14 years!

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Entertainment quotient for the week:

A.Amazon Prime Video

  • Chef

B. Netflix

  • Aquaman

C. Disney + Hotstar

  • Call of the Wild



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The Last Shot:Your weekly sports roundup

By: Abhimanyu Rao



Tennis

If Novak Djokovic manages to stay World No. 1 till the 8th of March, 2021, he will beat Roger Federer to have the highest weeks at the top spot on the ATP rankings! Additionally, for more world records, if Rafael Nadal wins a Grand Slam in 2021, he will beat Roger Federer for spot of king of the hill by winning a total of 21 Grand Slams! Furthermore, Andy Murray will miss the ATP 250 Delray Beach Open, to minimise the risk of contracting Covid-19 close to the Australian Open.


Basketball

In the NBA, The Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat 93-83 on Saturday, 2nd January, and LaMelo Ball scored a whopping 22 points, when his team, the Charlotte Hornets, faced off against the Dallas Mavericks. 2020’s MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Miami Heat with a huge margin of 144-97!


Cricket

India and Australia are tied at 1 test match each, in a series of four. The third match is scheduled for the 7th of January, and will go on to the eleventh.



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From The Literary World:



Looking for Books? See how we rank this week’s top book- The Time Machine by H.G

Wells

Video Book review # 11



Reviewed by: Mihir Rao


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Visit these pages to see some of our other endeavours!

Visit A Dogs Daily Antics to laugh your heart out with crazy captioned dog photos!

Visit TheChinappaChannel to see some quirky but nice videos that will make you roll with laughter


Our Request to you-

Here at The Paperless Press, we are committed to saving the Earth and making it a better place. The AQI (Air Quality Index) has rated Delhi pollution as severe. By bursting firecrackers, we are not only polluting the air and ruining our lungs, but are also running the risk of severely injuring birds and animals.This festive season, it is our humble request to you to stop bursting firecrackers, and to stop other people from bursting firecrackers. Only together can we make the world a better place. As always, as our motto goes, ‘Pressing a head for a better world’. We shall be saving paper, one article at a time.

A Note To Our Readers:

We thank our readers for supporting us these past months. We truly hope you enjoyed this digest and we hope this put a smile on your face. Here at The Paperless Press, we strive to provide free,fun and positive news. We would be very happy to receive your feedback and receive guest submissions from our readers. We hope that you spread the word and enjoy reading our digests.


-The Paperless Press

We hope this issue brightened up your day!







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Suresh Khajuria
Suresh Khajuria
2021年1月04日

Well done Boys.....apt subject for the new year . Resulutions.... resolutions...and more resolutions. Adult world goes for resolutions to satisfy their ego to achieve something. More often these resolutions are deresoluted in no time. Young minds must have resolutions and carry them through to be successful in life. My Resolution....... To see Paperless Press Digest reaching World Audience soon! Good luck

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