What is this?
A non-exhaustive list of blogs I regularly read and resources I find useful, roughly organized by subject, all curated by hand, no algorithm involved. Inspired by this post by lori@hackers.town.
Initiated April 27, 2024, last updated April 30, 2024.
Comics
- Mousetrapped (RSS): R.K. Milholland’s (Something Positive, Popeye) take on public domain Mickey Mouse.
- Oglaf! (RSS): Frequently NSFW fantasy adventures.
- Something Positive (RSS): R.K. Milholland’s long-running webcomic following a group of friends through their lives.
- webcomic name (RSS): oh no
- xkcd (RSS): Randall Munroe’s webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.
Friends, Friendly Acquaintances, and/or People I Feel Like I Know in Some Way
- Cygnoir (RSS): Posts about writing, books, public libraries, community, games, analog delight, and food.
- Digital Manticore (RSS): Books, baking, and whatever else seems appropriate.
- Mellzah (RSS): An artist and horsewoman living in the drop dead gorgeous Pacific Northwest; writes about travel, outsider art, the culture, and her life & creations.
- Morgan Makes Stuff (RSS): Costuming, stickers, and other maker projects.
- Royce Bits (RSS): Chasing license plates and security weaknesses in the Last Frontier.
- Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected (RSS): Politics, LGBTQIA+ activism, and occasional nerdy interests (3D printing, Seattle-area biking, etc.).
Links
- kottke.org (RSS): Jason Kottke’s long-running blog; mostly interesting links, occasional long-form work and guest authors.
macOS
- Daring Fireball (RSS): Commentary by John Gruber (mostly Apple, occasional baseball and politics). I don’t always think he’s right, but generally find him worth reading and considering even when I disagree.
- MacRumors (RSS): Apple news.
- Michael Tsai (RSS): Apple news, commentary, and link aggregation.
- Six Colors (RSS): Apple news and commentary.
Software I Use and Recommend
- Affinity: Designer, Photo, and Publisher are high-quality, fairly priced alternatives to Adobe’s Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign, respectively.
- djay Pro: Excellent DJ software; use it on its own or with a large number of hardware controllers.
- BBEdit: The best macOS plain text editor for over three decades.
- Doug’s Applescripts (RSS): Lots of AppleScripts for Music (neé iTunes) to help with media metadata management.
- NetNewsWire (RSS): The best macOS RSS reader for over two decades.
- MarsEdit (RSS): Blog editor compatible with any MetaWeblog or AtomPub compatible blog (plus Mastodon).
Music
- Bandcamp: I prefer buying music to streaming, as it’s a much better way to support the artists, and Bandcamp is where I look first (iTunes is second). Here’s my Bandcamp profile.
- Bootie Mashup (RSS): Monthly (and annual) collections of the latest and best mashups.
- MixCloud: The only legal way I know of to share DJ mixes. Here’s my MixCloud profile.
News and Information
- The Digital Bits (RSS): Physical media (4K, Blu-ray, etc.) and home entertainment news.
- Letters from an American (RSS): Heather Cox Richardson looks at today’s political happenings through a historical lens.
- Snopes (RSS): Tracking urban legends, rumors, and “fake news”.
- Strong Language (RSS): All about curse words.
- Your Local Epidemiologist (RSS): Public health information and advocacy.
People I Don’t Know
- John Scalzi (RSS): Hugo-winning SF author.
- Wil Wheaton (RSS): Author, actor, and general geek celebrity.
Science Fiction and Fantasy
- File 770 (RSS): Mike Glyer’s long-running fanzine.
- io9 (RSS): Gizmodo’s SF/F blog.
- Norwescon (RSS): The Pacific Northwest’s premier science fiction and fantasy convention.
- Seattle in 2025 (RSS): The 2025 Worldcon is being held in Seattle!
- SMOF News (RSS): SF/F fancon news ‘zine by Petréa Mitchell.
- Trek Movie.com (RSS): News on the Star Trek media universe.
- Uncanny Magazine (RSS): The multiple Hugo-winning SFF magazine.
Technology
- AI Weirdness (RSS): Janelle Shane plays with the odd and often hilarious corners of AI systems.
- Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 (RSS): Prof. Emily M. Bender and sociologist Dr. Alex Hanna break down the AI hype, separate fact from fiction, and science from bloviation.