I'm thoroughly inspired by Ana Rodrigues' beautiful blog post here for this post format. (Though it also reminds me greatly of my 2019 blogging challenge!) I probably won't do this deep dive into my bookmark folder too often—I'm still trying not to put any additional pressure on my shoulders after the epic stress conga line that was 2023—but it will probably go up whenever I have a solid handful of bookmarks I want to share with a little commentary.

• For AUSKLEIDEN magazine, my sibling Morgane was interviewed about her whimsically gory painting process and how it relates to the storytelling of trying to capture those ineffable moments that are forever gone. The interview also covers how hairballs are absolutely essential to the creative process, how reclaiming the alienation that endometriosis creates from your body was essential, and she also dives into the terror that nuns wreaked on our childhood (...very mild editorial hyperbole on that last point...) Give it a listen, the interview is very well done, and the discussion doesn't just apply to painting or visual arts — all creative humans will find something precious here.

• I Used a Game Boy Camera for FaceTime Video Calls in iPadOS 17 and It Was Glorious: I love weird and (gloriously) useless hardware hacking like this. Will I ever do anything like this? Hells no. But I love reading about it:
  • "That’s when I truly lost it. There I was, performing gestures in front of a Game Boy Camera in 2023 to test video capture and FaceTime on an iPad Pro. None of this makes sense, and no regular person will ever need to use this. And yet, somehow, the fact that everything worked as it was supposed to filled me a strange sense of peace and nerd satisfaction."
• Canadian writer Mark Steyn ordered to pay climate scientist $1M US after defamation trial: A humble teaspoon of climate justice. And a reminder: it is always a terrible idea to represent yourself at trial. It's an even worse idea where there's a million USA buckaroos on the line.
• This blog post by Baldur Bjarnason, Media needs more than subscriptions and streaming, is very thought-provoking and covers several concerns that have been on my mind for a while, especially as someone who does produce "content":
  • "The Patreon and Substack economy isn’t sustainable and as long as those are the only options we have for supporting artists and writers, those fields will continue their decline."
• Furiosa's Cat Feeder: I saw this 8 year-old blog post shared while scrolling through my Mastodon feed and found this cat v. robot cat feeder saga very entertainingly written — I was rooting for the cat, Sprocket H.G. Shopcat, the whole time:
  • "With infinite time, you can escape anything, and (it turns out) break into almost any robot."
• Another podcast episode because I have hours of walking to and fro' the university campus and I focus much better on podcasts when my legs are in motion. Cognitive canine behaviourist Sarah Stremming interviews Dr Jessica Hekman in this very informative episode that I think is useful for dog people but also for humans who feel stress in medical settings, because it helps you think about how one could design a medical or veterinary experience that greatly lessens stress. Also, there's an anecdote about veterinary surgeons that reminded me quite a lot of an experience I had with one of my surgeons relatively recently. Human attitudes with regards to the science and practice of care really does permeate and create shocking parallels in both human and nonhuman medical spaces.

• Last but very certainly not least, Leif sent me this C.L. Polk short story for Valentines day, which you can read for free here: “St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid”. I've covered C.L. Polk's gaslight steampunk fantasy novel Witchmark on the blog a few years ago, which I really enjoyed. If you enjoy witchcraft, tea, and lonely oldest child narratives ("Who doesn't?" wonders a fellow oldest child), I recommend adding this short story to your reading list.

🔖 All posts tagged "Diving into the bookmarks" on the blog
🔖 Voir les billets comprenant le mot-clic «Plonger dans les marque-pages» — les liens sont différents !
📚 The Hypertext Library on Nemetona Electronica