Things I Like
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By consistently presenting nature as an untouched wilderness, many nature documentaries mislead viewers into thinking that there are lots of untouched wildernesses left. I certainly thought there were, before I became an environmental journalist. This misapprehension then prompts people to build their environmental ideas around preserving untouched places and to embrace profoundly antihuman “solutions” to environmental problems, such as kicking indigenous people out of their homeland. In truth, wilderness doesn’t really exist.
Really interesting perspective on how these really luscious looking documentaries are shaping the way people view nature. I'm still chewing on how by leaving people out of them we're telling a false narrative because people are intrinsically part of what's going on in the world.
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In an industry that is predicated on innovation, it seems absurd that young people are still encouraged to be frictionless. VC’s pride themselves on being contrarian, and yet the industry is still ruled by the same practices and principles that were established 40 years ago. And the lack of friction -- in our products, processes, and people -- has made it easier to cling to the status quo. If giving up my suite of no-code automation tools created more space to rethink and redesign the processes that define the venture industry, I would do it in a second. Maybe more friction -- more questions, slower processes, higher barriers to broadcasting every thought that comes to our minds -- is exactly what we need to break the status quo.
Interesting thoughts on how the way we make software has shaped the way in which companies operate and the way they're funded as well.
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I told her that I find myself craving role models my age who are not only righteous crusaders, but also humble and merciful, and that I’m not finding them where I live (online). Referring to the influencers who have filled the void religious faith has left for people like me, she said, “They might inspire you to live your best life but not make the best use of your life.”
So much in this piece that I'm thinking about, but I'm mostly struck by how much we look for meaning in life and we look to others to help us find it. But that line, living your best life instead of making the best use of it is rattling around in my head a lot.
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A really gorgeously created essay on one small painting that taught me so much. I'm loving these types of articles lately, even more now that I don't live near any museums, a way to experience art while I'm at home.
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...I subscribed to the idea that a particular number on a scale or dress size was required to feel good about myself, when actually the exact opposite turned out to be true. I decided to wear those things I was avoiding. As my confidence grew, I went brighter with the colors and bolder with the prints—Hello Polkadots! I found what clothes I liked to wear and slowly grew my wardrobe to suit my needs.
I'm really enjoying Philip's writing as I start to make more of my clothing, I love the way she talks about finding your style and what makes you happy.
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As difficult as it was to acknowledge the specter of death that loomed over us, it felt good to share it with my mother. Remaining silent and denying my own feelings wasn’t minimizing the harm I feared inflicting on her. The only way forward was to feel as much as we needed to, talking about it candidly over salted eggs. Perhaps that, too, could be a type of preservation.
An absolutely beautiful essay that brought me to tears. Thank you Nicole for writing it.
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Jessica admitted that Ravelry has struggled to pinpoint exactly what constitutes inappropriate content. “Some of this stuff is so nuanced,” she said. “Think about what tweet got Trump banned. It was not about attending the Inauguration.” She went on, “We went through some pretty crazy rabbit holes: ‘O.K., this is an eagle, but it isn’t really the Nazi eagle. Or is it?’ It’s just, like, ugh.”
There's a lot in this article, but it was super interesting to me as a Ravelry user. I'm on that site more than any other site these days, I track my projects, buy most of my patterns through it, and keep up with what my friends are making. But there's one part I don't really use much at all: the forums. And so much of what Ravelry is experiencing is happening in those communities and that's where the hard part of community management is. The other thing I was thinking about after this article is how much how Ravelry started (with the community buying things to raise the money) plays a huge part in how many of those same folks feel about the site, they feel a unique sense of ownership. Last thing: they lightly touched upon the topic of the new design and accessibility came up at the end and I agree with the developer they talked to, Ravelry isn't doing anything horrible in that department so the complaints have been really puzzling to me.
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That said, I suspect that intentional constraints on scope and scale allow for deeper, more satisfying, and ultimately more useful work. I suspect that a disciplined commitment to messy truths over smooth narratives would also breathe life into technology, journalism, and public health efforts that too frequently paper over the complex, many-voiced nature of the world. And I suspect that treating people like humans who are intrinsically motivated to do useful work in the world, and who deserve genuine care, allows far more people to do their best work without destroying themselves in the process.
Thank you Covid Tracking Project for all your work. I'm also sad that talking about caring for humans is a thing that needs to be said out loud, but it seems with capitalism constantly pushing, it is and I'm glad it was said so well here in so many ways.
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She thinks we’re too conditioned to see our lives as linear stories of constant progress. From that perspective, any setback or lull or loss in our personal or professional lives is an abject failure and a sign of doom. In reality, she sees our lives as cyclical, seasonal.
I really want to read this book, it's on my list, but so many are on my list! I've realized in the last few years that I very much live differently in different seasons, but the idea of my life as a whole being cyclical and seasonal is interesting and one I'll be thinking about for a while.
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Exactly that: at each turn, fresh problems to be solved, fresh insights and flourishes of invention. And all along, at every step, was Jane, recalling the first moment of inspiration to refresh a tired passage, or asking whether a given phrase really reflected the intent she knew was behind it. She was never dramatic; she was ubiquitous and persisting throughout the body of work.
A beautiful piece about an amazing collaboration and relationship. But when I read pieces like this, I can't help but wonder what would've happened if it had been a different time or era, so many of these types of stories of wives who do so much (and it was usually wives) make me wonder what would've happened if they'd gotten together 30 years later? Would she still have performed her invisibility trick? Would he have allowed it?
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Speaking of his comparatively small output, Ishiguro said: “I don’t have any regrets about it. In some ways, I suppose, I’m just not that dedicated to my vocation. I expect it’s because writing wasn’t my first choice of profession. It’s almost something I fell back on because I couldn’t make it as a singer-songwriter. It’s not something I’ve wanted to do every minute of my life. It’s what I was permitted to do. So, you know, I do it when I really want to do it, but otherwise I don’t.”
I've not read much of Ishiguro's work, but this profile made me want to read more, especially some of his later novels. It's also amazing to me when someone is so good at something but could take it or leave it as an activity.
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My family members don’t just sleep in those hills, they bled and made other people bleed there too. A story about a crate of oranges and a radio flyer adds texture to my experience but it isn’t my experience, and it isn’t the full story either.
A story about family history and what you can and can't find out when you go looking for it.
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It is hard being broken open. I am flailing in other ways lately, like so many others. It feels like living through an unresolved nervous breakdown. Is it the pandemic? Is it our awful Montana legislature and the daily hate we must fight back against? Is it feeling intensely at odds with the world at every turn? Is it the relentless tide of shootings and beatings and murders? Or is it merely the steady slog of hurt and angst and despair that I slowly drag behind myself to varying degree every moment of my life?
La Tray's newsletter has become a favorite lately, he writes with raw honesty about life in ways that even though my life is different, always makes me think about what's going on around me.
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This is long but worth taking some time to really scroll and look at the art, read the responses, there are some gems in there that made me laugh out loud and others that had me scribbling in my journal. So much about the last year has been difficult to talk about but so many of these folks found a way, many of them through images rather than words.
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The other possibility is one in which workers own their own platform. That might be set up as a platform cooperative. But we need to think about "platform" as something that can be as small as one worker's self-owned shop, and that can be used in ways that prevent value extraction and alienation.
Lots of good thinking in this about passion, work, platforms, and more. I especially like the way in which the emphasis was on worker ownership and a broadening definition of platform.