November 2018

Hello, dear reader!

November is gone, but its links remain.

I published a couple of nerdy blog posts in November: one about how I’m using my Letterboxd data to address my cinematic blindspots, and one about a common convention of editorial design that’s currently incompatible with CSS Grid.

Lots of interesting stuff in the links this month; for what it’s worth, my favorites are Earworm’s series of videos about jazz.

As usual, you can get many… See more →

Three years at @propublica! twitter.com/robweychert/st…

I left Philly 10 years ago today. twitter.com/robweychert/st…

bless this mess twitter.com/jenmussari/sta…

This C train’s ad slots are all empty. The result is more sterile than tranquil and I don’t know how to feel about that.

im on ur squarespace site, hittin esc

Has its moments (including what is possibly the highest quality jump scare of this decade), but taken as a whole it’s overwritten, too long, too polished, and too corny.

If you are a heavily trafficked storefront with double doors and only one of the doors works, you suck.

“Punishing individual bad actors doesn’t change the incentives that brought them to the platform in the first place.” youtu.be/wZSRxfHMr5s

I’ve been making websites for 20 years. I read a bunch about how to set up webmentions and gave up before I started. 🤷🏻‍♂️ twitter.com/robweychert/st…

Good food for thought in this post from @paulrobertlloyd about barriers to entry that impede the web’s potential. paulrobertlloyd.com/2018/11/warp_a…

It was really nice to catch up with these dorks today. /cc @hoyboy @jasonsantamaria

Great read from @iamrumz investigating the prevalence of Choc, a French typeface from the 1950s, on NYC storefronts. nyti.ms/2zkVp47

“I’m gonna do a thing where I periodically have the dirt cup ingredients available at home so I can make dirt cups.”
—@robweychert, 2018

I love the Dieter Rams exhibit at @philamuseum, but presenting his work in a rarefied art context is disorienting. I wanna touch everything!

I never noticed before that Jack Nance is the dad in Suicidal Tendencies’ classic “Institutionalized” video! youtu.be/aYItTxqTc38

It’s been in my fridge long enough that I think it’s technically toddler arugula now

“[I]n 2011 the U.S. had fewer than 15 known Catholic exorcists.” Today, “there are well over 100.” theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

“[T]hese tiny insects [have] sculpted some 90,000 square miles of Brazil into a junkyard that’s visible from space.” theatlantic.com/science/archiv…

“Here’s the thing: in order for [airline] fees to work, there needs be something worth paying to avoid.” newyorker.com/business/curre…

I have not seen Swiss Army Man but are you ready for my review

Twee-kend at Bernie’s

If you hear an ecstatic cry, it’ll be me entering the higher consciousness presumably made available to me by this $12 bowl of soup.

When the oversized liquid gels you’re taking for your sore throat get stuck in your throat and make it sorer.

I voted. Then I did laundry.

I’ve worked with most of these folks and they’re really effing smart. twitter.com/themarkup/stat…

Congrats to @beep and @voxmediainc! twitter.com/beep/status/10…

Tonight I add another chapter to my very entertaining book of @BoltBus misadventures.

3. A giant mechanical minotaur and giant mechanical spider wandering around Toulouse, France, by @lamachinefr. thisiscolossal.com/2018/11/46-foo…

2. A Visual History of Computing 1945–1979, by @Docubyte (via @kottke) docubyte.com/works/guide-to…

1. Gorgeous, abstract impasto portraits by Joseph Lee (via @Colossal). josephleeart.com

Some delicious eye candy incoming for your Friday afternoon:

The amazing @rachelandrew wastes no time! This isn’t a viable solution yet, but hopefully will be sooner than later. twitter.com/rachelandrew/s…

I wrote a post about my sad discovery that a common convention of editorial design is incompatible with CSS Grid. v6.robweychert.com/blog/2018/11/c…

I’ve been getting my feet wet with CSS Grid this year. The new possibilities it introduces for page layout on the web are exciting, but before venturing too far into those waters, I wanted to see how it handles the kind of layouts I’m already designing. Most of the work I do on the web—at ProPublica and here on my site—is editorial design, so I was keen to learn how Grid accommodates the conventions of… See more →

Just when you thought there was no room for innovation in Norman doors

I like having a big beard, but I don’t really like how much people want to talk to me about it.

This has been another edition of Things You Almost Certainly Don’t Care About, with your host @robweychert. twitter.com/robweychert/st…

I woke up convinced Oliver Reed was one of the narrators on @blind_guardian’s Nightfall in Middle-Earth, but I was wrong.

the knee bone’s connected to the
something
the something’s connected to the
red thing
the red thing’s connected to my
wristwatch

uh oh

Can anyone explain the business model of repeatedly begging inconsequential bloggers via email to link to your thing?

“[@FilmStruck’s] impending demise makes for a terrible comment on the current state of our culture.” subtraction.com/2018/11/06/goo…

Here’s one of the ways I’m using @letterboxd data to address my cinematic blind spots. v6.robweychert.com/blog/2018/11/d…

Having just wrapped up another successful Robtober, I’m already thinking ahead to next year. Making a month-long schedule of horror movies is always more work than I think it will be, especially because I aim for most of the movies to be ones I haven’t seen before. As I’ve covered previously, my curation process is fairly involved, but I recently realized I’ve been ignoring a hugely valuable resource.

It’s Letterboxd, dummy

Anyone who’s paid any… See more →

Did a lot of wincing while reading this. theatlantic.com/health/archive…