Finished reading: Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki 📚

This book was really enjoyable—it shows how an extreme minimalist lifestyle actually works, and the writer maintains a pretty hard-line stance throughout. While I don’t want to go that minimal, I did enjoy it and half-envy the lifestyle. It’s a great read with some genuinely insightful ideas, and it offers a fascinating perspective. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in the topic, even if only as an example of how far too far can be

DevonTHINK is fantastic. If you own a Mac and are not using it, then you are actually missing out on something magical.

Scrivener is incredible, but I genuinely wish it had built-in language tooling, like Ulysses does. I don’t think I’d actually leave Scrivener; I’m too invested in it now. And, lets be real here, Ulysses lacks a real offline mode.

I watched ‘Ghosted’ on Apple TV+. It was a mediocre movie. It looked nice, but it didn’t really resonate with me.

Art: The before the last supper.

While i usually post my art on Niceferatu.net (see comic link in title bar) I had a random idea which I decided to draw last night. Please note, this is meant to be taken as a cute (hopefully) lovingly drawn little cartoon, not theology!

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I watched Boo, Bitch on Netflix. It was fun! The second half was a bit more predictable than it probably should have been, but overall, I really enjoyed it.

I’ve watched reviews, read reviews, and talked to people I know — and I still don’t care. Electric State was excellent, and I’m ready to die on this hill!

Caroline Forbes is the best character in The Vampire Diaries. I’m prepared to fight anyone who disagrees because this is important—perhaps the most important opinion of all.

Updates from the Creative Trenches.

I think I’ve said before that if asked, I wouldn’t describe myself as a creative person. Which is quite contrary to the truth when I look at the novels I’ve written, the badly drawn comic I work on almost weekly, and the years I spent making YouTube videos. I’ve never understood why I don’t feel like a creative type.

I think it’s because writing novels takes so long that sharing a finished product is infrequent — giving imposter syndrome a long time to settle in.

Despite all that, I thought I’d give my tens of followers a little update on what I’m working on. I’m hoping I can remember to make this a semi-regular thing — maybe every other month, depending on how the projects are going.

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Thanks to @MoonPope, I discovered today that Tyromancy is fortune-telling using cheese. This fact has now consumed my creative urges, I must introduce the ‘Cheese Witch’ to Niceferatu (Niceferatru.net)

Not to be dramatic or anything, but with Discord being a bit trash lately (and looking like it’s about to get worse,) I figured it’s time to have an exit plan. So, here’s a link to my Revolt server — everyone’s welcome!

rvlt.gg/qdv6X7k5

Today, I’ve been writing. Though the words I wrote will likely go through many iterations before you ever read them. When I look back at this post, I probably won’t even remember which words I wrote. How interesting.

I finally got around to watching Bodies on Netflix (2023), and it was excellent — brilliantly done and perfectly entertaining sci-fi nonsense.

Peanut M&Ms maybe the greatest thing ever created.

Lost in the Dark Forest of the Modern Internet

I recently stumbled across an interview with David Mitchell which opens with him declaring that the internet is as harmful to humans as nuclear weapons. Two things to note: first, this is a five-year-old video; second, he’s a comedian who often uses hyperbole to sharpen his point. But in this case, there was a sincerity to his tone that I found haunting.

We all know that at least some people want a change in the way the internet is presented and used — this is most evident in the emergence of the fediverse but the meteoric rise and sudden fall of the Gemini protocol a few years ago also exemplified the widespread desire for countercultural change. (I understand that some individuals will claim that Gemini remains popular, but those people, unfortunately, are delusional.)

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I watched WarGames again today with some friends. It’s aged surprisingly well, and John Wood’s performance is absolutely spot-on.

I just watched Electric State on Netflix and really enjoyed it. It was delightfully silly, visually striking, and fully embraced its simple story.

I haven’t been able to have a fulfilling writing session in a few weeks now, and I feel like my characters might be frustrated with me. When I’m finally ready to dive back into the depths of my writing, I know I’ll probably spend the first day editing. That’s just how it goes after taking a break.

As I get deeper into chess, I can’t shake the annoyance at my current skill level. There’s always the hope, that everything will click into place soon. Though In hindsight, learning chess seriously at 44 might not have been the most practical decision, but I’m determined to keep going.

From War Games to Web Gains

For many years, particularly during my teenage years, I secretly aspired to be like David Lightman. However, considering the pickle he found himself in, I can’t help but feel relieved that my efforts fell short. Besides, Cheyenne Mountain is quite far away. I suspect that WOPR has been replaced by a big ring now, which means I probably never stood a chance anyway. This focus on grand aspirations led me to believe that WordPress would serve as the permanent home for Dandelion-Utilitarian.

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