What if...algorithm-free reco list, no. 1?
First in a series (maybe) of my obsessions, most of which cannot be bought!
Hello!
The other day, Buzzfeed ratcheted up the dystopia by announcing that they would be using ChatGPT to “enhance quizzes and content” shortly after yet another round of layoffs (this latest one affected 12% of their staff.) Naturally, their stock immediately rose more than 200%.
I’m going to skip writing a tirade on this. My official statement is “absolutely fucking bleak.” Not because the world needs Buzzfeed quizzes and lists but because this sets a garbage precedent in terms of the general devaluation of truth/rigor/creativity/human contributions to society. Speaking of lists, though, I have a confession. I fucking love them. Not necessarily Buzzfeed ones, but as a genre.
This is not a character defect. List love is hard-wired into our brains. In fact, you could argue that Buzzfeed Lists (at least the ones written by humans) aren’t that different from The 10 Commandments, both on a structural and taxonomic-brain-candy level. I didn’t come here to write that piece, though. I came here to write a list.
Maybe I’ll do this with some kind of frequency, maybe not. But I increasingly find myself gravitating toward lists full of mostly non-purchasable recommendations. Limited quantity, zero urgency. No affiliate links, no algorithm, just raw obsession. And I wanna make one (or maybe more). So here goes:
Plants as time
I read the upcoming Jenny Odell book, Saving Time, recently, and she goes deeeeep into the way nature marks and observes time, among other things. I don’t have the patience to use the shitty Kindle UI to try and find the quote in my advanced digital copy. But basically, Odell suggests that the notion of four mutually exclusive seasons of equal lengths is completely arbitrary and comes from a specific flavor of Western thinking that fully ignores how most people on Earth actually experience weather and seasons. This is big-time validating as someone who is constantly pushing back on the “but LA doesn’t have seasons” qualm. The little plant (see above) I’ve been visiting almost every evening to observe its growth and change begs to differ!
12ft ladder
Yes, this goes against everything I believe about the importance of supporting actual journalism (“now more than ever”). But also, I cannot afford $10/month for every single publication I want to read, plus all the individual newsletters I support. The New Yorker will be fine if I hop the paywall every once in a while. I used to use Pocket for this, and sometimes still do, but 12ft.io is more reliable as of late.
Triple-clicking your phone to black & white
Maybe you, too, want to de-casino your closest screen from time to time! If you have an iPhone: Settings → Accessibility → Accessibility Shortcuts → ✔️Color Filters.
Homemade pet toys
My partner and I, two people with zero sewing skills, spent a bunch of hours over the holidays, each making a stuffed and embroidered version of our cat’s favorite objects (a canister of whipped cream and a glass of water, respectively). Our only supplies were a tiny sewing kit, enthusiasm, and $10 or so worth of felt, stuffing, and catnip. I’m not sure I’ll buy another cat toy again, mostly because robbing my household of that joy would be a disservice to everyone involved.
Saying, “I’m fully committed”
Saw this in Oliver Burkeman’s newsletter, which I’m a big fan of. I love how it’s a hard no while also not suggesting that to be busy is to be morally superior. It’s free of excuses and remains expansive to a personal definition of what’s worth committing to. A reminder that oftentimes, saying no to someone else can mean simultaneously saying yes to yourself.
Texting someone the second you think of them
I will endorse this strategy until I am no longer on this planet. Truly the only way I have any friends!
This newsletter brought to you by:
All the stuff above!
Being tired and crampy and generally in a mood.
A Screen-Free Saturday, which I’ll probably write more about at a later date.
You telling me if you liked or hated this, please, so I can decide if I do it again, although it’s partially for my own archive anyway! 😈
Reading your writing out loud because you will not catch your own errors, ESPECIALLY if you are “tired and crampy and generally in a mood.”
Writing "I am fully committed" in my notes app for easy copying and pasting. Excellent all-purpose line; thank you for sharing!
I liked! Again, please. I have a feeling 12ft ladder is going to change my life.