Reading (Random Links)

Textile protest

Threads of Resistance: “Knitting and embroidery are laden with stereotypes of domestic femininity – and the subversive potential for protest.”

Wonderful essay by Gemma McKenzie showcasing ways textile art has been used as a tool of protest by women. I was especially blown away by the embroidered scrolls of Lorina Bulwer – WOW. The rage!

Pithy

This Guardian article on the prevalence of flaking out on plans includes a quote that really spoke to me:

“Increasingly with gen Z and millennials there is a fetishisation of introversion,” said Andrew, 23, from Brisbane who works in telecoms sales. “Web comics and memes make a moral comparison to extroverts, who are supposedly loud, obnoxious people. Introverts are [depicted as] moral people who own cats and crochet. But our generation is also experiencing record high loneliness, so I think we shouldn’t praise choosing loneliness or celebrate [extreme levels of] introversion.”

YES. As an ambivert, I’ve noticed this tendency online for a while now, and it annoys the crap out of me. Choosing to be at home alone is not more virtuous than enjoying the company of others. There’s nothing wrong with it, but introverts always seem to imply they’re better people for it. “Fetishisation” is a good word.

Sobbing at breakfast

I didn’t plan on starting 2025 with a cry, but it seems fitting. What a lovely piece by Jeannette Cooperman about her friend choosing how and when to die. (Via Metafilter.)

Slow Down

“[W]hy do boomer men refuse to slow down?” A really good piece from The Guardian about how difficult it can be for older men to accept that they can’t do everything they used to, or that they want to. Or as I put it to Rodd: “Oh look, someone wrote an entire article about our Dads.”

Don’t be a creep, Mr. Feynman.

After 10 days of tech conference, *of course* I was going to come home on Friday night and watch a 3hr documentary on why Richard Feynman’s legacy is mostly BS. Who wouldn’t?

(via Metafilter)

Everybody Hurts, but gospel

Al Green covering R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts.” I was a huge R.E.M. fan in high school and college, but this song was never one of my favourites. I really like this version though!

Textile exhibition

Queer quilts, rebellious knitting and political pants: the radical world of textiles – What a cool looking exhibition! I love those trade union flags… and the pink shorts. 😉 If you’re going to Adelaide in the next four months, I’d definitely check it out.

Weaving ‘Charlotte’s Web’

This is old but I only just discovered it: an NPR interview all about EB White and his famous book Charlotte’s Web. This is one of my all-time favourite books, and I can still remember exactly where I was (the babysitter’s house before school) when I read about Charlotte’s death. I sobbed my little heart out. Apparently, so did EB White. 🩷🕷️

Lethonomia

This word means the tendency to forget names. This is something I’ve struggled with a LOT in recent years. I’m not sure what the cause is: the fact that my jobs at YOW and AWS meant meeting so many people? Did I get long Covid? Or is it one of the many joys of perimenopause? Or maybe it’s just getting older… At any rate, it’s incredibly frustrating to be able to picture someone or something, to know you know the name, and just not be able to grasp it.

Nightly Puzzling

For the past month, I’ve been establishing a new nightly routine. First, at 10pm I have an automatic reminder to write a journal entry. I’ve been using the iOS Journal app for this, which allows me to easily incorporate photos and maps from the day. I haven’t been using any of their prompts, but rather just jotting down what I did. I like being able to look back at everything I’ve done.

And then come the puzzles! Nothing like a little brain exercise to close out the day.

Both Rodd and I do the NYT Connections. Maybe this is a humblebrag, but I’m always surprised when I see people complain that it’s hard! We’ve actually been challenging each other to find the purple category earlier rather than leave it to last.
We also both do the five different daily puzzles over at Word Nerd. I’ve only managed to get all 23 Words like twice, and most days I struggle to hit 10. Rodd’s much better than me at that one! Maybe I’d have better luck earlier in the day with some caffeine in me. We also compete to see who can do the shortest Word Chain.
I do the Daily Waffle and Waffle Royale (and every now and then the Deluxe Weekly Waffle). These are Scrabble-style letter tile switching games, with a fun mechanism that highlights when letters are correct or jumbled up.
Rodd likes the OEC’s Pick 5 and Tradle games. These are where you have to identify which countries export certain goods. He’s really good at them both, but he thinks the Pick 5 is more fun.

Have you got any fun puzzle recommendations for us?