Engaged Reading Time - Issue #63
Happy Sunday, good people.
Here's your digest of good reads from the interwebs, to while away the last few hours of the weekend. (Or possibly to skive a little first thing on Monday morning. I know how it is. I'm not here to judge.)
As always, thoughts, feedback or abuse can be dispatched by hitting reply and venting your spleen. (But you might want to read the second article linked below first…)
Read Me First
The Internet of Beefs
Oh, God, this is a brilliant read. This is a read that's so good that it makes me want to hang up my keyboard and never, ever write about the internet again, because nothing I ever write will be as good as this.
It's both deeply insightful about the nature of discourse on the net, and hugely entertaining, even as it unsettles you. Superb stuff.
Internet Culture
Angry People Think They’re Smarter Than They Are
We all suspected this, didn't we? Well, now it's science.
Generation X Is Sick of Your Bullshit
OK Boomer. Whatevs Millennials. We, the slacker generation, built the internet you know, and we've had enough of what you're doing on it.
Japan’s "Filthiest Underground Gaming Magazine" enters the Internet Archive
You're going to click this link. Just admit it to yourself, and move on. I won't tell anyone.
The strange case of Paul Zimmer, the influencer who came back as a different person
Just when you thought influencer culture couldn't get any more strange, this guy tries to uncancel himself by becoming someone else…
Offline Life
Dartmouth professor pinpoints the exact moment when your midlife misery will peak
This is probably the most depressing thing I've ever linked in this newsletter, but it perfectly sums up a lot of what I've been through over the past few years. Many of you will know exactly what I am talking about. And some of you have all this left to come…
Hagstones: the sea's beautiful gift
A hymn of praise to the simple joys of hunting hagstones on the beach. (And, yes, it's written by me. I've been longing to stretch my writing and photography muscles in different directions for months. I hope to do more like this.)
Man's 'lady drawer' stocked for 'frequent guests' has people shook
I'm generally not a fan of the "aggregation of stuff from the internet" genre. But this is really very funny. And a bit sinister. But mainly funny.
Tech Impact
Worried about 5G and Cancer? Here’s Why Wireless Networks Pose No Known Health Risk
I'm sure I don't need to tell you smart people this. But it's a useful bookmark to have for when you encounter those other people in online debates…
All the money in the world couldn’t make Kinect happen
A fascinating story of how a Big New Tech failed utterly. I wonder if we'll be reading piece like this about VR in a decade?
And finally…
Why you should read Machiavelli
Because then you'll understand why I included this link… 😈
