Five delightful things: October 2023
In no particular order, five especially relevant and slightly haunted delights.
Image: Visualized data pulled from the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft Database (1563 to 1736)
1: 🧹 Interactive witchcraft map #imnotcryingyourecrying
As someone who loves data and visualizations of data and visualizations: this checks boxes for me. Not to mention that it’s an interactive map about the deplorable treatment (and sometimes murder) of 3141 people accused of witchcraft in Scotland from 1563 to 1736*.
Beware: it’s depressing af. Happy Halloween!
*Deep dive into the development process here.
Image: A Witch Riding Backwards on a Goat, with Four Putti Carrying an Alchemist's Potion, engraving by Albrecht Dürer
British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
2: 🏛️ The Art History of Witches #preachartpodcastpreach
Since we are on the topic: let’s talk about art. As a human species, we have this cumbersome habit of making the same mistakes over and over again. I believe that decisions from the past can help us both understand the future and F it up less. Slightly less.
Which brings us to “witches”. Using art history as a visual representation of cultural ideals (albeit a generally accepted, likely white, ruling class/elite cultural ideals), dissolution, and corruption can be a helpful tool in understanding. If it were 1604, I would be considered a witch. I’ve come to terms with that.
Image: Figma, summarize AI tool
3: 👻 Ghosts in a Google meet #onwednesdayswetalkai
Now trending: ai. It’s funny when you are suuuuper into something and talking about it all the time and then everyone else starts talking about it. So, then because it’s so trendy, you start to hate it a little. Yup.
But anyway. This is old, but I still can’t get over it. Google’s Duet AI has been a busy bee. It can write emails for you, create project trackers, and actively take meeting minutes (do people even say that anymore?). Tomorrow, I’m going to deep dive into it’s ability to generate graphic-infused presentation decks. Cause HOLY SH!% that would change up some things. Watch out Canva, aka everyone’s current bestie, Duet AI is prowling on your girl.
This is related and also old news, but I have been playing in Figjam with the ai tools a lot. Yes, Figma, synthesize my ideas to reiterate how smart I am to myself. So, relevant and new to me.
Image: The Love List
4: ❤️ The Love List #covetandcollect
Many weeks post Fashion Week, let’s still keep it bougie. A substack + newsletter about the culture of shopping. Often irreverent, 100% tell-it-like-it-is honest, always mostly fancy-pants. Get your shop on.
Image: full screen Arc browser
5: 🍙 A sexy browser? Arc #povIjustmetmysoulmate
Do you ever judge someone by the browser they use? A Chrome person is the establishment, Firefox is alternative, Safari doesn’t think for themselves… But between all the various shaped widgets, nothing has really changed for ages. “Atrophy” is the word that comes to mind.
Then I met you. 💕Arc. Perfect. Perfect like an onigiri is perfect. All the yumminess you could ever want wrapped in a perfectly designed shape. Intuitive and thoughtful, you know I have many sides to me. You like that I like to link ideas spontaneously, at a rapid pace. You have good taste, like I do. You like that I like emojis. You tidy up after me. You like pretty things. I like you.