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I’ve been trying to get myself to do some projects just for fun. I’m sure that we’ve all got a few things that we’d like to work on for ourselves, but the pressures of daily life and keeping ourselves housed and fed make it hard to justify time to just be.

One of the things that I want to do is spend more time drawing. I know that I can just sit down and do it whenever, but like any leisure activity, I wonder if it is the “best” use of my time.

I’ve decided to put some pressure on myself to spend more time on drawing. I planned in 2020 to take some in-person art classes, but of course that changed. Now that I feel like I could do so in a small group, I signed up for a drawing class at an in person studio which I’ll be starting in a few weeks. Having put down some money and set aside time in advance, I don’t have as many excuses to say no.

Another thing that I’ve been wanting to do is create some interactive fiction. I know some of the tools that I can use to build, and know that before all of that I can just use any text editor to write in preparation of adding interactive features. But making this a priority has been lagging.

This weekend I attended the virtual Narrascope Interactive Fiction conference, to learn more tips and techniques. I took a lot of notes on the many different sessions that I sat in. I plan on writing a long blog post covering the event, but it’ll be long enough that I wasn’t able to get it all in before today.

Hopefully next week I’ll have both that blog post and a new site design for returning to blogging to share with yall. Until then, choose that hobby that you’ve put off pursuing, and find something to jog your interest and push you to get started.

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📚

Very Online – Karen Maniraho, Columbia Journalism Review

Five people who write about the internet talk about their habits online. I’m glad to know that you can have a semi-healthy relationship with social media and still do this work.

How Checkers Was Solved – Alexis C. Madrigal, The Atlantic

The best tech writing is less about the tech, more about the lived experiences and obsessions of the people behind it.

The Great Fiction of AI – Josh Dzieza, The Verge

After Narrascope this weekend I’ve got a better idea of how writers are using AI to help them write. I don’t think that this is the end of narrative fiction, but a new way to create.

Human skulls deposited by badgers in Dudley garden, BBC

They’re sending a message, and you haven’t left yet smh

Florida man stole truck, attempted to break into military base to warn of fight between aliens and dragons – Alex Galbraith, Orlando Weekly

Florida Man… yeah, sounds about right.

Hobbies for the hell of it, Brad Frost

I’ve not got many of these, tbh, but I try to cherish them when I do. I blame capitalism for feeling that I have to monetize everything.

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📽

The furry commission 🖋️✨

I love hearing stories from artists who start getting furry commissioners and realize that it’s a group who cares about the well being of artists and about the work that they create.

The Deadliest Virus on Earth

I learned a few things about rabies that I didn’t know beforehand.

How Cerebral Trivialized ADHD and Overprescribed Millions | Corporate Casket

Are you telling me that pill mills don’t have the health of their patients in mind?

Why Elon Musk Couldn’t Save Free Speech

Spoiler: there’s no one definition of Free Speech, and he doesn’t actually care about that.

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🎧

Gorillaz – Cracker Island ft. Thundercat (Official Video)

New Gorillaz!

The Dark Side Of Gaming

A new to me podcast about creepy gaming things. Scary stories and video games? I’m there.

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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!

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