While this is still a crazy month for me (trips and a big move), I figure I can still recommend some other websites that have inspired my blogging. Some of these I still read regularly, others I'm revisiting again after a while - all have played a part in the development of Ars Nihil.
Credit to Li Zhang (Unsplash)
Originally a zine created back in 1988, I was an avid reader of the web version everyday during college - this was back when Cory Doctorow and Xeni Jardin were big contributors. I enjoyed how they had clear outlooks but still found the time to find cool, weird things. I haven't kept up and only just found out that both Doctorow and Jardin have since left but I think I'll be checking out Doctorow's newest venture, Pluralistic, going forward.
The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings)
Maria Popova does a great job finding life-affirming things from history and literature. The occasionally aggravating lack of separate pages for posts is the only major con I can draw on for this one. Good for calming the nerves after doomscrolling.
This is an over-a-decade follow and contains a whole lot of cool things buried within it (especially check out the reading lists and writing tips). The Something Interesting posts here take their cues from this site.
Both of these were recommended by co-workers at different jobs. 3 Quarks is a little more measured but focuses heavier on science. A&L, on the other hand, has a bit of a bent but also draws from a wider scope and checking it every day has remained a midnight ritual for over 12 years now.
This is a very recent find but out of all the Substacks I read, this one is the most enjoyable, the least self-important, and the breeziest. It's also the inspiration of how I'd like to present the Miscellanies that I post here every once and a while.
There's a whole number of other sites that are major influences but most of those have unfortunately disappeared over the years but that's for other posts down the road...