WordCamp US 2023 has come and gone!

david wolfpaw

Issue # 🤷

4 Sep 2023

Reading time:

8 mins

What a couple of weeks! I didn’t write a newsletter while I was in DC for WordCamp US, so you get a lot of extra video shares this week.

Prior to WCUS I wrote a post for SiteGround about getting ready for WordCamp. I wrote some notes and posts during the event, which have been turned into a single wrap-up post about my time at the event and as an organizer. I also published this post with photos on my own site.

I’m thankful that I got to go, and got SiteGround’s support in affording the trip. I had a great time overall, minus a few notable negatives that I had to contend with. There were lots of new folks to meet, lots of old friends to catch up with, a Pride Party that was a lot of fun, and so much to do related to WordPress.

Now that I’m home there has been so much going on that it was hard to catch my breath and just rest. It feels so hard to relax when there are tasks to take care of, issues to handle, and the ever-present oppressive weight of capitalism reminding me that all moments need to be productive in some way.

I know that’s not true, but it sure feels that way, doesn’t it? 😅

One thing that I’ve been working on is making new Notion boards and updating my dashboard. It’s still cute even if trying to integrate things like Todoist are a pain. So yall get a screenshot.

A screenshot of a Notion dashboard showing david's working dashboard, titled "puppy dashboard bork bork bork 🐶" with a Todoist embed, several page links in two columns and four headers, some furry art, and a weather widget

See yall next week with more exciting updates!

📚

Disney World is hell – Mark Wilson, FastCompany

As someone who lives near Disney World and knows a lot of Disney fanatics, I still cannot understand the mindset myself. Pretty much everything about it seems terrible to me.

Apple lends support to California State Right to Repair bill – Brian Heater, TechCrunch

Why does this make me feel very suspicious…

GTA 6 Hacker Was A Teenager On Bail In A Hotel Room Using An Amazon Fire Stick – David Wolinsky, GameSpot

The title of this article is wild enough. Teenagers are regularly showing online how constraints breed creativity.

Why Mixed Emotions are OK – Michelle Frechette, Big Orange Heart

I’m glad to have spent some time with Michelle during WCUS this year. I absolutely feel mixed emotions during and after events, and this was no different.

WordPress Coding Standards Maintainer Warns Maintenance Will Be Halted Without Funding: “This Is an Unsustainable Situation.” – Sarah Gooding, WP Tavern

I’m glad that WPCS has been updated to v3.0.0, but I had no idea how things were going behind the scenes. I shouldn’t be surprised though, because that seems to be the story across the board for open source projects used by major corporations.

📽

Florida town, students resist letting state’s war on Black history be forgotten

There’s a lot of black history in Florida, and it’s not going to be forgotten because the racists want to pretend that they aren’t racist anymore.

What’s the Coolest Japanese Computer? 🎌 | Rare, Exotic, Popular and Odd Retro Tech

These types of digging into old hardware from folks who know a lot of technical and historical details that I’d never learn are entertaining to me.

The day women shut down Iceland

Hell yeah. General strikes ftw!

Nowhere to Go: The Loss of Third Places

This reminds me of the “kids never play outside these days” thing, where outside is increasingly unsafe in all of the ways that matter, including parents letting you even go out there for long.

EVIL brother’s DEADLY plan caught on camera

It took longer than it probably should have for me to realize what this story was. And I had no idea about this part of it, just the initial news coverage.

The Worst US Supreme Court Decision in History: Dred Scott v. Sanford | F****D UP JUSTICE

The twists and turns of this case are so stupid.

Digging Up Positivity: @gamepopper101 , animation, furries, charity and more

I’ve been meaning to cover this channel for a while. After so many furry channels devoted to covering drama, usually just about the same handful of negative people, having a channel that is devoted to positive and wonderful aspects of the community is an amazing change 💝

I promise, I can prove it

As someone who wants to start making scripted videos soon, it’s great for me to keep in mind a lot of the drawbacks of YouTube as a platform.

Why Is Everyone Starting A Podcast

Dang, I feel called out 🤣

Inside the Black & Latino Ballroom Resurgence

These dancers and performers are absolutely gorgeous

internalized ageism & why we NEED older influencers | Internet Analysis

Ageism is a thing online for sure, and even as a 35 year old I notice it a lot. I love older creators! People like me who have been online for a while still have things to offer

Everything Is Content Now

I hate how loaded a lot of the terminology has become with creating things online but yes, I agree that pretty much every bit of output, this newsletter included, is now just “content” to be “consumed”.

🎧

BLISS IN THE MIDST OF UNCERTAIN TIDES [FULL ALBUM] – GOJII

A wonderful album by a wonderful artist 🥰🐰🎶

Extremely Online w/ Taylor Lorenz – Digital Void Podcast

I did not know that Taylor Lorenz had a book coming out, but I am requesting it from my local library so I can give it a read. Taylor thinks about interactions in online space in a critical way and interprets and shares that in meaningful and impactful ways.

Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Hosts: The AI Future of 2G1P

This is uncanny in a bad way 🤯

Also announced this morning, 2G1P is going independent and they could use your support!

The Secret History of Theme Parks with Defunctland – Factually! – 225

Defunctland is one of those channels that does the great video essays and documentaries that dive deep into stories behind things that you maybe thought about a little bit but didn’t realize had such history to them.

If you made it this far, why not share this newsletter with a friend? Or share with me some of the things that you found that you liked this week. Either way, I’m thrilled!