back from break but not really back to work

Issue # 🤷

12 Oct 2021

Reading time:

6 mins

So I took a week off, and had a great time offline! I saw lots of plants, and lots of animals. I spent time with the people important to me, and I was reminded who matters and why. All in all a good break 💝

Now I’m back to share some of the things that I found interesting. I don’t have any deep stories to think about because I’ve honestly been focusing on letting my brain rest a little bit in that time. It has …honestly not been going super great, but I’m trying!

I’m also trying to redesign my newsletter. I want to clean up the theming that I’m using, and combine that with a new website theme. It’s going slowly this time around because I’ve not really settled on how I want to incorporate new WordPress features that are getting added in.

For those who don’t know, I use a WordPress plugin, Newsletter Glue (affiliate link), to create newsletters as if I’m writing a blog post. I’m really loving that flexibility! But that also comes at the price of balancing a theme for the site to look well both for blog posts and regular content, in addition to the newsletters being published and sent via email.

Anyway, that’s the inside baseball for the week, nothing groundbreaking. But if you happen to enjoy design and want to share any ideas for newsletter/site design, I’m happy to hear them! I plan on putting something out publicly for others to use, just like my current site theme.

tweet from @GavinDYoung which reads, "People making jokes about the Facebook services going down make me sick. Anyone who was using an Oculus headset at the time is currently trapped in VR, and if they die there then they die in real life."

📚

Juice Like Wounds – Seanan McGuire, Tor

I’ve been reading the Wayward Children book series the past few weeks, and it’s been enjoyable to take on a lighter but not without consequence fantasy series.

This is a short story interlude from book four, but I think it’s readable without the others and may pique your interest in the rest.

TikTok’s algorithm leads users from transphobic videos to far-right rabbit holes – Olivia Little, Media Matters

Pretty much a given, but here’s some receipts. As the study author puts it: “A user could feasibly download the app at breakfast and be fed overtly white supremacist and neo-Nazi content before lunch.”

Facebook Banned Me for Life Because I Help People Use It Less – Louis Barclay, Slate

Again, color me shocked. If I still had a FB account (you know, one that I “control” and not a shadow account), I’d use this tool.

For $84,000, An Artist Returned Two Blank Canvasses Titled ‘Take The Money And Run’ – Bill Chappell, NPR

At least they don’t seem to be mad about it 😅

.io considered harmful – cariad

Something else terrible about tech that’s new to me. I didn’t know that islanders were not even able to return home.

Furries Realllllly Hate Lindsay Lohan’s Furry NFT – EJ Dickson, Rolling Stone

One of the worst parts of furry art, and crypto, energy wasting nonsense? I can imagine.

📽

Adult Animation: Why Cartoons Make Great Therapy

Why yes, cartoons have made me cry before. Like, regularly.

The Horror Short Film In Spider-Man 2

I like this breakdown of a scene that I’d forgotten exists. I kinda want to watch the second best Spider-Man movie (somehow they keep forgetting Into the Spider-Verse?) before the new one comes out.

The Demonic Possessions of Loudun • Puppet History

The professor can’t really be dead, even if it’s canonical.

… right?

Game over screens: are they a bummer?

Love me some gaming history about one specific feature changing across time.

🎧

How It Could End – A Final Space Orchestration

I’m saddened to learn that Final Space was cancelled after I finally got into it. While the story isn’t currently over and may never be, I still recommend checking out the first three very good seasons.

The Joy of Sweat with Sarah Everts – Factually! with Adam Conover

Besides learning lots of interesting things about sweat, you can hear a research crush on someone that they’ve never met based on scent alone. I feel ya there 😅

6969 (Level Up) – NSP

Ninja Sex Party is putting out a new album in a few weeks where they are taking their music from a decade ago and rerecording it. TBH I liked the original 6969 video more, but I’m glad that they have the opportunity to redo things the way that they want.

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!

back from break but not really back to work

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