- Thousands of free and open audiobooks created usingΒ neural text-to-speech technology. [π marhamilresearch4.blob.core.windows.net]
- The best stand-alone television episodes of all time. [π slate.com]
- Movies that began as short films. [β― deadline.com]
- Futility Closet has returned from hiatus. [π futilitycloset.com]
- Find the hidden words. [π wordsmithgames.com]
- Search real content by real people. [π searchmysite.net]
- The internet pinball database. [π ipdb.org]
Author: Johnny
π€ Embrace Boredom
“‘It is a theory of mine,’ I said, warming to my theme, ‘that we owe most of our great inventions and most of the achievements of genius to idlenessβeither enforced or voluntary. The human mind prefers to be spoon-fed with the thoughts of others, but deprived of such nourishment it will, reluctantly, begin to think for itselfβand such thinking, remember, is original thinking and may have valuable results.'”
The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie
Boredom can be a good thing. We are too quick to fill idle moments with the superficial gratification of social media and the 24-hour news cycle. The next time you find yourself reaching for your phone, pause and choose to spend that time bathing in boredom. Get lost in your daydreams. Contemplate life’s dilemmas. Good things might come from it.
How to embrace boredom:
- make no attempt at productivity
- avoid tasks that occupy the mind
- work on mindless physical activities like dishwashing and long walks
- let your thoughts wander
- when an idea comes, write it down
π Link Dump, 2023-09-19
- The fall foliage map. [π smokymountains.com]
- The lazy garbage nursery guide. [π taylor.town]
- Rotating bowls of ramen. [π ramen.haus]
- A free, open-source, non-profit search engine. [π mwmbl.org]
- Swipe to clean up your camera roll. [π swipewipe.app]
- The library that has every book ever published. [β― youtube.com]
- Charting working time lost to strikes. [π§΅ twitter.com]
π Link Dump, 2023-09-15
- A map of award-winning restaurants. [π mapofthebest.com]
- Offline hiking and biking maps. [π organicmaps.app]
- A guide to Japan’s small seasons. [π smallseasons.guide]
- How to stay reasonably anonymous online. [π tmp.bearblog.dev]
- A call to clean up the web. [π cleanuptheweb.org]
- How to capture your thoughts and ideas. [π dsebastien.net]
- The 50 greatest music videos of all time. [π avclub.com]
π My Blogroll
These are the blogs and newsletters whose RSS feeds I subscribe to. The sites are categorized by personal blogs, newsletters, mass-posting blogs, and blogs. Some definitions: Personal blogs are written by one person. Newsletters have a recurring format, like a list of links. Mass-posting blogs are blogs that publish multiple posts every day. Blogs generally have a niche topic or don’t fall into the categories of personal blogs or mass-posting blogs.
Link | Type | Other Notes |
---|---|---|
Austin Kleon | personal blog | a writer who draws |
Scott Young | personal blog | an expert on learning |
The Dish | personal blog | baseball writer, board game columnist, food and movie critic |
Julia Evans | personal blog | programming and blogging |
Alexey Guzey | personal blog | |
Tracy Durnell | personal blog | a storyteller from Seattle |
Roy Tang | personal blog | the diary of a software developer |
Taylor Town | personal blog | learning, time, design, software, ideas, and humor |
Dense Discovery | newslettter | curated links |
Recomendo | newslettter | personal recommendations of cool stuff |
Curious About Everything | newslettter | monthly writing from around the web |
Nomadico | newslettter | travel news |
The Land of Random | newslettter | fun links |
Fave Five | newslettter | five great links |
Boing Boing | mass-posting blog | zine, blog, and directory of mostly wonderful things |
Kottke | mass-posting blog | cool internet finds |
Lifehacker | mass-posting blog | tech and productivity |
Marginal Revolution | mass-posting blog | economics and more |
Colossal | mass-posting blog | art and visual expression |
Cup of Jo | mass-posting blog | lifestyle |
Pen Addict | blog | pens and stationery |
Stationery Pizza | blog | stationery |
Fangraphs | blog | baseball |
True Blue LA | blog | Dodger baseball |
Noted | blog | tips on notetaking |
The Flavor Files | blog | food science |
Planetizen | blog | urban planning news |
π Link Dump, 2023-09-13
- Calculate your relative strength. [π strengthlevel.com]
- Advice for trans travelers. [π travelwhiletrans.com]
- Jeff Varasano’s famous New York pizza recipe. [π varasanos.com]
- The building where Greta Gerwig, Casey Neistat, Lena Dunham, and the Safdie brothers learned filmmaking. [β― youtube.com]
- AI language learning. [π prettypolly.app]
- Easy-to-use online timers. [π timerone.com]
- Visualize your life. [π aaronbell.substack.com]
π How to Never Run Out of Books to Read
- When you visit the library, check out more books than you think you need.
- Keep a list of books you want to read. Add titles when you hear good suggestions.
- Use Gutenberg and Anna’s Archive liberally.
- Place holds on books that aren’t currently available for checkout.
- Load your shelves with books you haven’t read yet but want to eventually.
- Build a Little Free Library so others will share books with you.
- Visit your local bookstore regularly.
πΊ Notes on Dresden
I spent 6 weeks in the fall of 2022 in Dresden, Germany. Here are my thoughts:
- Neustadt is the hip place in Dresden. Alaunpark is always lively. There are food trucks in Alaunplatz almost every day. And there is a forest called Dresdner Heide for easy hiking.
- We were lucky enough to be in Dresden during the fall festival. It is lovely. I can only imagine how wonderful their annual Christmas market is.
- The symphony is excellent. We saw a performance of Schuman and Brahms.
- Drink the beer. Eat the currywurst and dΓΆner kebabs.
- Overall, the food in Dresden is excellent. Wide range of cuisines, all delicious.
- Bastei is a short train ride away if you are into hiking. They have a reaction ferry to take you across the Elbe.
- Dresden is a popular waypoint for those traveling between Berlin and Prague. Both are worth at least a day trip if you’re staying in Dresden. I recommend visiting the Mucha Museum in Prague if you like Art Nouveau.
π Link Dump, 2023-09-09
- All of the year’s dates on a single page. [π neatnik.net]
- The 49 modern wonders of the world. [π smh.com.au]
- How I eat. [π taylor.town]
- How to make a zine. [π thecreativeindependent.com]
- San Francisco and Bay Area history resources. [π sfmemory.org]
- How to chaos garden. [π annehelen.substack.com]
π Blog Finders
In the table below, I’ve linked to dozens of websites for discovering the best of the web. They are lists, random website generators, and directories that curate the best blogs, personal websites, and blog posts. I’ll add to the list as time goes on. Beware of what you might be clicking, web addresses can change ownership suddenly and without notice. I’ll delete links that go bad as soon as I discover them. For my favorite internet things, check out my Random Internet Button or my link dumps. The table below is sorted in no particular order.
Site | Format | What is it? |
---|---|---|
wiby.me | randomizer | simple, non-commercial sites |
hn.lindylearn.io | list | blog posts and articles posted on Hacker News |
readsomethinggreat.com | randomized list | blog posts and articles |
search.marginalia.nu/explore/random | randomized directory | blogs and websites |
sadgrl.online/cyberspace/surf-the-web.html | list | search engines and random site generators |
blogroll.org | list | blogs |
indieseek.xyz/links | directory | Indieweb blogs and websites |
personalsit.es | list | blogs and personal websites |
readsomethingwonderful.com | scroller | curated blog posts and articles |
hn-recommend.julienc.me | search engine | blog posts and articles shared on Hacker News |
explore2.marginalia.nu | search engine | blogs and websites |
metaphor.systems | search engine | blog posts and articles |
lace-difficult-trombone.glitch.me | randomizer | substacks |
brainbaking.com/links | list | blogs |
roytang.net/page/blogroll | list | blogs |
ooh.directory | directory | blogs and personal websites |
indieblog.page | randomizer | blog posts |
collection.mataroa.blog | list | blogs and personal websites |
curlie.org | directory | blogs and websites |
zerokspot.com/blogroll | list | blogs |
gossipsweb.net/personal-websites | directory | handmade personal websites |
ratcatcher.org/linkroll | list | blogs and personal websites |
weirdwidewebring.net | list | blogs and personal websites |
xn--sr8hvo.ws/directory | directory | blogs and personal websites |
biglist.terraaeon.com | list | blogs and personal websites |
sanlive.com/thinkylinks | list | blog posts and articles |
benkuhn.net/blogroll | list | blogs |
gyford.com/phil/blogroll | list | blogs and newsletters |
512kb.club | list | lightweight websites |
100daystooffload.com | list | blogs |
1mb.club | list | lightweight websites |
textonly.website | list | lightweight blogs and personal websites |
kagi.com/smallweb | randomizer | websites |