Continuing where I left off from May 2023, here’s more links, videos, and other things I’ve found that might be of interest to others. Also, reminders:
While much of what’s shown here was published during this period, there’s also a good number of old things. Everything linked is based on the fact I read/watched/listened to it during the past half-month.
These links are posted mostly without comment but if I have anything to note about it, there’ll be an end note referenced. Otherwise, all opinions found in these links are strictly those of their creators and definitely not my own.
Most of these links should be safe-for-work but always use your best judgement.
illustration by Magoz
Listicles and How-To Guides
"How to handle rejection" by Thomas Smithyman (Aeon)
"6 mistakes that sabotage great communication" by Sara Sabin (Fast Company)
“The 40 Best TV Finales of the 21st Century, Ranked” (The Ringer)
"40 mistakes you don't realize you're making that are damaging your home" by Rachel Bar-Gadda (Mic)
"Kitty confidential: 13 secret signals all cat owners need to know – from a quivering tail to aeroplane ears" by Lili Chin (The Guardian)
"Fantasy Books for People Who Don't Like Fantasy Books" by Steph Auteri (Book Riot)
“GPT best practices” (OpenAI API)
“13 Foods That Used To Be Popular But We Don't Eat Anymore” by Amadea Tanner (The Daily Meal)
“The 100 Outstanding Journalists in the United States in the Last 100 Years” (Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute / NYU)
"A Field Guide to North America’s Wild Crops" by Reina Gattuso (Atlas Obscura)
"445 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing" by The Learning Network (New York Times)
"The 30 Best Queer Music Movies" (Pitchfork)
"9 Ways to Combat Self-Criticism" by Angela Haupt (Time)
"The Easiest Way to Silence Your Inner Critic" by Daniel Oropeza (Lifehacker)
"The Secret to Being Witty, Revealed" by Ephrat Livni (Quartz)
Articles
"The Dad-Joke Doctrine" by Ashley Fetters (The Atlantic)
"We’re All Bad Neighbors Now" by Eleanor Cummins (The New Republic)
"The illusion of moral decline" by Adam Mastroianni (Experimental History)
"Don’t let them fool you" by Tess Wilkinson-Ryan (Aeon)
"Poetry has lost its violence" by Justin E.H. Smith (UnHerd)
"The Secret Sound of Stax" by Burkhard Bilger (The New Yorker)
“Is History Written by the Winners?” (History Today)
"The Uselessness of Useful Knowledge" by Robbert Dijkgraaf (Quanta)
"The Best Writing Tips from Electric Literature Interviews" by Mykala Cole (Electric Literature)
"Why is the thought of cooking so dreadful?" by Shon Faye (Vittles)
"Meet Giuliano Cecchinelli, Barre's last Italian stone carver" by Anna Van Dine (Vermont Public)
"Stop trying to make a "good" social media site" by Erik Hoel (The Intrinsic Perspective)
"The HR-ification of Marriage" by Jo Piazza (Bustle)
"The Secret History And Strange Future Of Charisma" by Joe Zadeh (Noema)
"The Return of Indie Sleaze Style" by Isobel Slone (Harper's Bazaar)
"What I Learned About Writing From Reviewing" by Bethanne Patrick (LitHub)
"The Longevity Skeptic" by Matt Fuchs (Nautilus)
"There Is No Such Thing as “Junk” Food" by Anne Helen Petersen (Bon Appétit)
"How to Investigate Your Next New York Apartment Like a Reporter" by Lisa Song (ProPublica)
"How to Create a Masterpiece" by Tomas Pueyo (Unchartered Territories)
"I'm Getting Rid of My Books" by Patricia Thang (Book Riot)
"What’s The Difference Between Polyamory & An Open Relationship?" by Kasandra Brabaw and Claire Fox (Refinery29)
"What Exactly Is the Flavor of Fire?" by Annalise Mantz (Eater)
"The Gross Spectacle of Murder Fandom" by McKay Coppins (The Atlantic)
"On the Hunt for National Treasures With America’s Archive Detective" by Nina Strochlic (Atlas Obscura)
"Why is there such a thing as ‘true love’ but not ‘true grump’?" by Shayla Love (Psyche)
"Ingenious librarians" by Monica Westlin (Aeon)
"I Grew Up A Devout Mormon. Then A Shocking Family Secret Came Out And Shook My Faith." by Diana Cannon Ragsdale (HuffPost)
(Taken from Classic FM Facebook page)
Videos
"How streaming caused the TV writers strike" (Vox) and "Hollywood On Strike: Who Cares?" (Wisecrack)
This writer's strike looks like it's a lot bigger than the one from 2007. The last one changed TV quite a bit, so I wonder how much will change after this...
More articles include breakdowns and primers from GQ, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, and a prediction of three possible end scenarios from Vanity Fair.
"How the Legend of Zelda defies traditional gender roles" (PBS NewsHour) and "How Nintendo Solved Zelda's Open World Problem" (Game Maker's Toolkit)
For more on The Legend of Zelda, check out “Zelda games were always religious, but Tears of the Kingdom pushes it even further” by Matt Margini (Polygon), this collection of articles on Pocket, and a detailed e-book about the entire series' development history from Ishaan Sahdev.
“Test yourself: Can you tell the difference between music and noise?” - Hanako Sawada (TED-Ed)
John Cage has always confused me - his work isn't really my thing - but knowing what his intentions were helps me understand it a little better and be open to trying again. I also posted a Spotify playlist below if you're interested in hearing his work.
"The Unkillable Cryptid" (Extra Mythology)
A fun origin story about America's favorite wild man. For more, check out "Why Do So Many People Still Want to Believe in Bigfoot?" by Ben Crair (Smithsonian)
“Your Body Killed Cancer 5 Seconds Ago” (Kurtzgesagt)
“Architect Breaks Down Why All American Diners Look Like That” (Architectural Digest)
"A Brief History of the Concept Album" (Polyphonic)
For more on the wonders of the concept album, check out Rolling Stone's list of the 50 greatest concept albums as a jumping off point. I also included a decent playlist that collects a number of most well-known concept albums of all time.
"Are Cyborgs Really Monsters?" (Monstrum/Storied)
I find cyborgs and cybernetics to be really cool, especially since there's a lot of tech out there that's going to help with better life expectancy with more on the way. Our meat-bags can only do so much, so I'm open to getting enhancements should I ever need them. Also posted below is one of the key texts about cybernetics through a philosophical lens (also mentioned in detail during the video): Donna J. Haraway's A Cyborg Manifesto. It's a quick heady read that's worth spending some time with, regardless of whether you agree with it or not.
"How A24 took over Hollywood" (Vox)
Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen an A24 movie but have always had them on my To-Watch List...
"How to Stop Being a People Pleaser" (The School of Life) and "Is it normal to talk to yourself?" (TED-Ed)
Despite having some qualms about Alain de Botton's School of Life project, they do come out with some decent advice videos once in a while. I've often had trouble being a people-pleaser myself, sometimes causing my good intentions to backfire due to not advocating for my own wants and needs when necessary.
I also included this TED-Ed video since it's both related to the anxiety described in the People Pleaser video and I've always had conversations with myself out loud. So much that my parents often asked who I was even talking to...
"The Weird History of Invented Languages" (Otherwords/Storied)
I always loved making up words and speaking my own language before I even learned how to read and speak English when I was a kid, so ConLangs are definitely of long-standing interest to me. Also included with this video is a 76-page primer on Esperanto and a copy of the International Phonetic Alphabet chart that haunted me throughout my linguistics classes in college.
Playlists
A document of interest from "The 15-Minute City Conspiracy" episode of Story of the Week with Joel Stein included references to the following paper, which is an interesting read unto itself: