onfocus

Have I mentioned how much I like the Micro.blog layout? This is their discover page that shows recent updates. So clean. No like counts. No ‘share this’ button. No ads. No calls to add a comment or sign up or subscribe or download the app or turn on notifications. More like this please.

In this podcast episode screenwriter Craig Mazin of Chernobyl fame explains how he approaches writing scripts. His idea about having the main character push backwards on the theme until believing the truth of the theme is a great way to understand how character arcs work. You might expect high drama examples but Mazin uses Finding Nemo as the prime example throughout.

How many sorcerer spells overlap with wizard spells? Which spells are unique to rangers? These questions and more are answered in this nifty visualization.

"In other words, we have changed our relationship with photography and photographs. It used to be that, photos served as a portal to our past. Now, we are moving so fast as we try to keep up in the age of infinitesimal attention spans."

Nice thinking here about the future of cameras as our relationship with photography changes.

"Shockingly, they found a positive and statistically significant relationship between the amount of coverage dedicated to mass shootings and the number of shootings that occurred in the following week."

I wish more people knew about the media contagion problem—especially people in the media.

I’ve been having fun with this 3D animated dice-rolling app. Seems like it’ll be good for all of my RPG needs especially those rare times I need to roll a bunch like 10d6 or 12d8. (This is a picture of a roll with advantage—a nice built in feature.)

Cory Doctorow on the legacy of Internet pioneer John Perry Barlow: “...treat the internet with the gravitas that it is due, as a system that could be a force for great human flourishing, but only if we ensure that it isn’t used to snuff out human dignity and agency.”

20 years!? This is like when you find out your favorite album in college is 20 years old. And also you were in that band.

There's a lot to unpack here. First, catch up on all 11 years of Uses This if you haven't been reading it. Twice a week people describe the tools they use to get work done and it's always fascinating.

Here's how it usually works. Uses This proprietor, Daniel Bogan, sends an email interview with a few questions and interviewees can answer at their leisure. I know because I was happy to participate in 2014 when I worked at MetaFilter: Uses This: Paul Bausch. He sent me the interview in November, I responded in a couple days, and promptly forgot about it. Then I got a note from Bogan that my answers were on the site in January, hooray!

In this case, Bogan sent the interview questions to Ford in 2011 and I'm guessing they've been sitting in one of his Emacs to-do lists until yesterday: ...I finally finished my Uses This interview.... This is great because Ford is very thoughtful about how we all use technology and you can tell through this article that stems from his thoughtfulness about how he personally uses technology. Letting these questions marinate for nine years has also given this article the long view. (Unlike my short view of what was interesting to me at that time.) He talks about what hasn't changed in his toolbox and his relationship between personal and work technology.

I'm very curious about who else Bogan is waiting to hear from.

Captain America: The First Antifa. He is depicted in the first Captain America comic literally punching Hitler. Art Spiegelman of Maus fame talks about the history of comics and why Marvel Comics’ modern stance on staying “apolitical” might in fact be political. Spiegelman recently pulled an introduction he wrote for a golden age collection because Marvel didn't want to offend. Newsweek: 'Maus' Author Removed from Marvel Collection for Calling Trump 'Orange Skull'.

Like the Ogilvy company meeting a few weeks ago, this is an inside look at employees pushing back against management decisions. It's fascinating to get insight into debates around language at a major media outlet like this. Language defines how we interpret the world, so this conversation is like watching people determine what is real.

This is a nice collection of in-the-zone music. No mention of the Flow State newsletter?! Travesty! Flow State sends links to music like this to your inbox everyday.