Can you keep a secret?

Latitude Society Photo: Lydia Laurenson

I’ve been reading up on secret societies and came across the Latitude Society, a San Francisco group that apparently became defunct in 2015. Inductees were given an invitation by a friend or acquaintance, with an envelope request for “absolute discretion.”

The card had a code you could use to schedule an appointment online. Then you showed up at the appointed address, and entered a small room with a slide inside the fireplace.

Photo: Lydia Laurenson

The slide led to a library too small to stand, where inductees first heard this fable, which was reiterated a ritualistic start to group meetings:

Afterward, new members were sent on a sort of scavenger hunt through the city, and given access to invitations, and to online forums where they could arrange to meet with other members.

Magic. Jeff Hull, the society’s creator, is an artist living in Oakland. Costs eventually outstripped revenue and made the project unsustainable, but what a lovely thing while it lasted.

A few articles if you want to know more. Did any of you get to do this?
My Year in San Francisco’s $2 Million Secret Society Startup
I joined a secret society and loved it, but now it’s just another failed startup
Can a Secret Society Become a Business?

The Best Parent Hacks from the Book

My friend Asha Dornfest runs the site Parent Hacks, and just published the terrific Parent Hacks Book. It’s a quick read, but I learned so, so much, even as a second-time parent. Three of my favorite tips:

#25 After a diaper blowout, take the onesie off top to bottom.

#51 A dry washcloth keeps shampoo out of kids’ eyes.

#119 Use glowsticks as travel nightlights.

Super informative, and a great baby shower gift. Congrats, Asha!

The Techies Project

Helena Price launched the Techies Project today, and I’m among the narratives she collected over there. Some of you might remember Helena from her talk at Camp Mighty or the interview series she did for Go Mighty a while back.

This project explores the technology profession from the perspective of people from underrepresented groups. The interviews are dense, but Tech Insider did an overview that provides some good entry points. I suggest interviews with my friends Margaret Stewart and Michelle Morrison.

Great, great work Helena.

Taylor Swift on a Treadmill

Made me laugh.

Legion of Honor Visit

Resolved! See more art.

We visited the Legion of Honor this weekend with our museum buddy Michelle. It’s one of the most lovely museums in San Francisco, stunning views of the Golden Gate bridge, but it’s way out on the edge of town. I’ve only been maybe twice in 15 years. Some of my favorite pieces:

Love a good side-eye statue.

They had a Pierre Bonnard exhibition going on, and I found The Bath, one of my favorite paintings. I had a postcard of this pinned to the wall of my room through college.

Ozzy wants to walk very much, but is concerned about falling. So he yells to be set down, stands for a minute, then crawls back to you and yells until you pick him up again. We had a good time.

A Perfect Thing

Brad and I are getting married in July, and the wedding dress hunt is a bust so far, possibly because my brain is skipping on the cotton-candy-ripple-cha-cha pictured above.

Christian Siriano is the designer, remember him from Project Runway? I saw this image of it in Darcy Miller‘s Instagram feed and barely refrained from licking my phone screen.

It is impressively, and justifiably, out of my price range. But! The per-wearing cost would bring it well into budget. I could drape myself over a fainting couch every morning and eat breakfast bonbons in my own personal joy cloud.

Balanced App

Hi, this isn’t an ad.

Have you heard of Balanced App? If you’re trying to form a habit, or achieve a goal that requires repetition, try it. It’s simple, and lovely, and I want to kiss its little digital face.

Selling points:

• It does not pressure me to seek Facebook validation every time I floss my teeth.
• It’s easy to input daily, weekly, monthly, and annual habits.
• It does not suggest I meditate whenever I open it.
• It offers simple metrics for each habit, and the overall list.
• It does not auto-Tweet when I lose weight.
• The text does not remind me of someone on cocaine.

But perhaps most importantly, the interface does not make me recoil. Balanced is beautiful, straightforward, and intuitive. You will like it.

Today I Found Out

Do you read Today I Found Out?

I came across it when I was wondering why people can live in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombings there.

So much interesting stuff there. Like:

How astronauts used to secure “life insurance” before their missions.

The story of the Japanese soldier who fought WW-II for 29 years after Japan had surrendered, because he didn’t know.

The oldest bit of intact human feces is on display in England.

Having a nine-year-old boy in the family has intensified my enthusiasm for a good poop story.

Fridaaay! Links

I got this naked lady phone cover, by Leah Goren, and it pleases me.

Daaaamn Daniel, and the inevitable EDM remix.

Now that’s a classy monkey lamp.

North Korea is showering cigarette butts on South Korea. So points for novelty.

Spotted this incredible bundt pan on my friend Jason’s Instagram feed. Turns out it’s a Nordicware Commercial Heritage Bundt Pan. The bundt pan will be mine.

Ameego is Uber, but for renting friends! Yaaaaaaaaaay.

Quintessential San Francisco on Twitter.

Brad is allergic to eggs, so I’m trying flax seed as an egg substitute. Is this real, or some crazy hippy bullshit? Will keep you posted.

Exactly what I thought it would be like to be a mom on Instagram.

Cool Stuff My Friends are Doing

Camp Mighty speaker Lisa Congdon’s lovely book about swimming is available for pre-order, The Joy of Swimming, A celebration of our love for getting in the water. I have an advance copy, and it’s beautiful.

Mighty Summit attendee Asha Dornfest compiled all of the Parent Hacks best parenting tips into Parent Hacks: 134 Genius Shortcuts for Life with Kids. It’s also available for pre-order.

Guerneville is one of my favorite places, and Jessica Hische recently designed the amazing signage for The Guerneville Bank Club there. Talent!

Oscars Gift Bags

Here’s a complete list of everything in the 2016 Oscars Gift Bags.

I didn’t realize the gift bags aren’t actually affiliated with the Oscars. They’re distributed by a company called Distinctive Assets, and the Academy is suing them.

According to Vanity Fair, “The complaint said that media coverage of the 2016 gift bags has focused on ‘the less-than-wholesome nature of some of the products contained in the bags,’ citing a $5,500 certificate for plastic surgery, a $1,900 “vampire breast lift,” a $250 sex toy and a $250 marijuana vaporizer.”

The bags also contain a 10,000-meal donation made in the nominee’s name to an animal shelter or rescue of their choice ($6,300), a private walking tour of Japan for up to 15 days ($54,000), and a chapstick ($6).