Last week was a relaxing departure from the internet for me. I returned immediately to a lot of things to take care of. I wish that I had this Charlie Warzel newsletter about Out of Office messages last week. It led me to thinking about OoO messages in general, how deleting email on break can show how unimportant most of it is, and the anxiety inducing phrase, “Just Checking In.“
Next time I’m going to use this Wikipedia Out of Office Message Generator.
While I’m away, you can learn about inventors killed by their own inventions, or ponder this beautiful quote: “People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.” Blaise Pascal.
Out of Office Message Generator
So I’ve continued thinking about Bo Burnham and have watched his special a few more times and listened to the music album even more since my last newsletter.
Whether the straightforward send up of “White Woman’s Instagram” or the depressing reality of “Welcome to the Internet” and “All Eyes On Me“, Burnham has made a commentary on being online, having mental health issues, and how that is applying to more and more of us.
That’s it, I don’t really have anything deeply profound to say but these are earworms both for the catchiness of the music and the salience of the messages.
📚
I’d previously seen all but seven of these videos. I don’t know if I should be shocked at how many I’ve seen or shocked at how many I’d not seen considering my terminally online life.
What I like more than the game (though it sounds very interesting if not harder than something that I’d play) is the fact that the developer embraced open source to make a compiler language that he released for anyone to use. And use it they did!
all the things you wanted – Emily Zhou
I’ve been enjoying the short fiction weekly from anecdata. It’s queer in a variety of ways. Only three issues in, so hop on now while you can still catch up!
Planning My Wedding as a Nonbinary Bride – Claire Rudy Foster, Narratively
I’m lucky that my husband shared my view that a wedding didn’t have to be a big, fancy occasion. We ended up going even more Florida casual, with shorts and flip-flops, though I did wear a button up shirt, which is out of character for me.
MacKenzie Scott donates another $2.7 billion to 286 organizations – Erin Doherty, Axios
…we are all attempting to give away a fortune that was enabled by systems in need of change.
MacKenzie Scott
…we are governed by a humbling belief that it would be better if disproportionate wealth were not concentrated in a small number of hands, and that the solutions are best designed and implemented by others.
Gosh I really hope that MacKenzie Scott keeps her word and either proves that billionaires don’t have to be bad (doubtful), or gives away enough to no longer be a billionaire.
📽
MY WEIRD ICE CREAMS: a cooking video
I kinda expected this to go horror like some of BDG’s prior videos. Instead, some good looking ice creams, and I’ve even seen folks make the Old Bay one already.
Ryan & Shane Get Drunk & Read Spooky Campfire Stories • Too Many Spirits
I can’t not share some good Watcher stuff (looking at you, Allie!)
🎧
I bought some physical pins a couple of years ago to help fund this video getting made. Then the pandemic happened and it got delayed. Now it is here, and I’m glad that I paid.
Jensen McRae – Immune (Official Music Video)
I’ve shared this song in the newsletter before, but it has a video now and Jensen McRae has an upcoming EP announced.
I’ve been listening to the Hue game soundtrack yet again, and wanted to share this other track that moves in a few directions and coalesces into a cohesive noise.
Wanna share the stuff that you liked this week? See yall next week and stay safe! 💝
Creative Commons Attribution