Post-solstice linkpost

[dolorosa_12]

Having lots of open tabs stresses me out, so that makes it high time for a new linkpost.

This is what I've been saving up for later these past few weeks:

The first two links are what I'd call digital housekeeping. One is instructions on how to archive-lock all your works on AO3 to registered users in a single go. The second is something I'm planning to do when I have a good stretch of free time: 'The 21-day Cyber-Cleanse: designed to remove toxic tech from your life.'

Then I've got an essay by fantasy author Robert Jackson Bennet, 'The 21st century seems replete with examples as to why autocracies are, to put it mildly, very stupid'.

This is followed by another essay, 'Close Reading is for Everyone' (Dan Sinykin).

For those of you who, like me, were completely blown away on every conceivable level by the film Sinners, Dee Holloway's got a reading list for anyone who wants to dive into everything explored in the film in more depth, from every conceivable angle.

I've been spending most of this afternoon watching Olia Hercules cook varenyky and ferment cabbage in real time, which is massively meditative and soothing. I've found myself in recent years feeling an immense sense of nurture and nourishment from demonstrations or descriptions of people doing everyday activities — cooking, gardening, writing, crafts, repairs — in an unhurried, calm, and compassionate manner, where it's clear that the work itself is a kind of love. This cooking demonstration definitely falls under that heading.

Comments

[windancer]

Ahh, thanks for the shout-out! There are so many great Sinners reading lists going around.

[chestnut_pod]

I will definitely check out the Sinykin piece!

[dolorosa_12]

You're welcome! It's a good list.

[dolorosa_12]

I hope you find things of interest in it!

[falena]

Thanks for the digital cleanse link. I'll do that in the next few days.

[dolorosa_12]

You're very welcome. I hope it's helpful!

[edwardianspinsteraunt]

Thank you for the digital cleanse list! I've spent my evening reading through the archives of the Opt Out Project blog - what an enormous breath of fresh air in today's digital world! I especially like the emphasis on autonomy and tangible solutions to taking your life (and data) back from large tech companies. A lot of the strategies on the digital cleanse list were things I was doing already, but I'm now contemplating switching to Signal as an alternative to WhatsApp for at least some of my chats: I've found the new MetaAI features on the WhatsApp app extremely unpleasant and intrusive (I simply want to have conversations with my family and friends, not talk to a bot!). I managed to work around them for a while by changing the language of my app to Ukrainian, but now the AI's been introduced there too. I was feeling enormously frustrated at how little control I had over it (since Meta very obligingly doesn't give you a way to turn AI features off) - but now I feel like I have actual options to properly curate my experience. Very refreshing!