My friend Ami Baio made my favorite kind of game, the kind that makes for better conversations. It’s not in production yet, and I’ve already been hearing about it through the nerd grapevine.
Back the Kickstarter to secure a copy now, this has the vibe of a game that’s going to be hard to get, just as everyone around you can’t shut up about how fun it is.
Related, Pussy Riot, the band imprisoned for giving protest performances in Russia, gives advice for women to defy Putin and Trump: “To persevere, Nadya Tolokonnikova says, it’s important to think in dubious times ‘how I could improve the lives of people around me… it’s only then — when you start to find a solution — that you will feel good again. Even in the darkest times, helping others is power.’”
Oof. Guys. These last couple weeks have been so intense. This weekend we’re taking a brief break from grinding our teeth to do as little as possible. We’ll play with the baby Saturday, then maybe hit up the Alameda Flea Sunday and get some kettle corn for the big game. How are you holding up? Here’s some good stuff I’ve been seeing around.
This Missy Elliot video is beautiful. You can feel her brain all over it.
Jen Brea’s Unrest premiered at Sundance! BOOM. It’s a film about Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and the stigma surrounding the disease. If you’re attending SxSW, there will be a screening there as well. Please go see.
I waited to buy an electric tea kettle until I could find one that looked like a real kettle. This is the only other one I’ve seen in years, and it’s on sale.
An Open Letter From That One Guy Who Organized 3.5 Million Illegal Voters
“As Donald Trump has noted, we only wanted to have votes illegally cast in California and New York, because those were the states where a massive voting fraud scheme would matter the very least.”
A device that turns compostable items into fertilizer in 24 hours.
My friend Erin Loechner has a new book out called Chasing Slow. Congrats, Erin!
Also, I pinned a bunch of stuff. Mostly old stuff I found on Etsy and bathroom design ideas, because I need to gut two bathrooms in the new place. That’s a lotta tile.
This long weekend is a friend’s murder-mystery birthday party where I’m a trashy nogoodnik* and Brad is a trumpet player. Later, we’re attending a birthday where the host wants us to bring items to help compile care packages for people in need. Isn’t that nice? I think so too. Also a trip to the zoo, meeting a friend’s new beau in wine country, and so much laundry. So very much. Some nice links I saved for you:
The best podcast of all is My Favorite Murder. Do you listen to this? It’s not for everyone, but it’s probably for you, because you’re here reading this website so we sometimes like the same stuff. Bonus, the hosts are two ladies! Muuuuuuurdeeeeerr.
Did I ever make you listen to young Adele singing Sam Cooke? Do it! Or do it again! Gah. So good.
What are these flowers?! And when can I get them at Trader Joes? The world is ripe with crazy stuff that only rich people can access, until they figure out how to make the things more portable. Bring to me the monster mums, Economy.
Jerry Parr was the Secret Service agent who saved Ronald Regan’s life in an attempted assassination. He was inspired to become an agent because, as a child he saw Ronald Regan starring in a 1939 movie called Code of the Secret Service.
“It was such a strange thing,” Mr. Parr said, “seeing this image on film when I was 9 years old, and then I ended up helping save his life.” quote via NYT
I got Brad one of these Victorinox Digital Bags because friends on the Internet said thumbs up. I need to take a seam ripper to the logo tag on the front, but otherwise solid.
Cool Stuff My Friends Are Doing
Josh A. Cagan‘s movie The Duff is up for a People’s Choice Award! (Some of you may have met his awesome wife Kayla at Camp Mighty.) Voting takes about three seconds when you click this link, so throw some support his way. Good luck, mister!
This talk, What Really Matters at the End of Life, is lovely. What matters is sensory experiences — soft things, quiet, love, and the smell of baking cookies. Also, I’d bet, baby feathers on the top of newborns’ heads. There should be more newborns available in hospice wards.
Why I Ran for 26 Miles on my Period
Kiran Gandhi – M.I.A’s drummer — ran the London Marathon with no sanitary products. Because? Well, because she woke up the day of the race on her period. She’d been training for a year, and running for 26 miles with a tampon didn’t sound healthy or comfortable to her. I found that to be legit. Everyone is so freaked about periods, and it irritates me.
Not Funny Ha-Ha: A Handbook for Something Hard
Whoa. This is a graphic novel that follows two women through the abortion process. I haven’t read it, but it’s supposed to be a straightforward portrayal of what happens. I would have no idea where to go for that information if I needed it.
How’s that for a one-two punch of uncomfortable topics? Pow-pow.