Been reading a lot more this week, and encountered a lot of interesting articles. And since I was able to write this blog post on my terrasse during the sunny days of June, it was a very pleasant feeling! Enjoying the sun, hearing the birds (we have a Cardinal couple in our backalley! soooooo cute to see them together), sipping my glass of wine as I write down my thoughts… Ahhhhhhhh the Joy of Summer in Montreal!
Keywords: friendship; Chinese philosophy on mental health; anti-woke rhetoric; again on Burnout; Nerd Culture has become toxic; The Age of Average; history of Indigenous relations in Canada; fuck AI (again); lots of interesting quotes and images; RRR; healthy recipes; Moshe Safdie; Passphrases & 2FA; WEb tool of the week; and reflections from a senior Developer on the field.
TO READ
- An ode to the friends we met in our 20s: My twenties were very formative years when I got to develop into whom I became in terms of person, values and ways of life. I also had the chance to meet amazing folks that became – and still are – close friends involved in my life. This article gives me a moment to appreciate and savour those important friendships. These people are so important to me that we gave it a nickname, the “Macaques” group. If you made it into the Macaque status, you know you’ve entered into the ‘important’ category in my life. “In the midst of it all, we meet wonderful people who inspire us to continue the journey, encourage us to keep seeking answers to all of the questions we have, show us that we are not alone, and walk beside us through some of the most challenging, beautiful, confusing years of our lives.“
- Chinese philosophy has long known that mental health is communal: the emphasis on self-care and individual ‘healing’ actions in our Western health system has been at the contrary of what Eastern health system have observed throughout their history. “the early Chinese philosophers knew that a healthy mind comes from a harmonious community, not a matter for individuals alone“. It may explain why we (the westerners) have a much harder time getting over our mental health issues, seeing as we don’t have a strong community base compared to other cultures’ communal mentality. I must say that ever since I started being more vocal and “public” about my mental health struggles, and slowly building my “community” (be it online or in person), it really helped me overcome my struggles, It’s not THE solution for everything, but maybe there is a basis of truth in having a community to rely on for overcoming hardship in life…?
- The Origin of Specious: The roots of “anti-woke” rhetoric, from Richard Hanania’s alt-right screeds to Charles Murray’s bigoted race science: There’s an intense “anti-woke” movement going on (especially in the USA, but it has started here too), led by alt-right groups and people whom have a hate for anything related to accepting other human beings as normal. The article discusses the manipulation and redefinition of critical race theory (CRT) by political figures, particularly those on the right and far right, to advance anti-democratic agendas. It explores how terms like CRT and “woke” have been distorted to create moral panics and justify restrictive policies, highlighting how this tactic is part of a broader strategy to frame progressive movements and policies in a negative light, drawing parallels to past eras of racial and social backlash. By doing so, conservative activists aim to maintain existing power structures and undermine efforts toward racial and social justice.
- This entire Twitter Thread on Burnout is interesting. It explains the different types of rest needed to overcome burnout in our lives, and give good tips on how to slowly beat burnout out.
- The age of average: The article explores the increasing trend towards uniformity in design, branding, and consumer products. Murrell writes that modern market pressures and consumer preferences have led to a convergence towards safe, predictable choices, resulting in a homogenized visual and experiential landscape. An interesting demonstration on how everything looks the same…
- Nerd Culture is murdering intellectuals: In his article, it is argued that the rise of nerd culture, while initially beneficial in popularizing science fiction and fantasy, has led to the decline of high culture, where the success of nerds in economic and cultural realms has created a totalitarian cultural dominance, where intellectual pursuits are overshadowed by mainstream nerdy interests. This prevents people from evolving into true intellectuals, leading to a culture steeped in nostalgia and shallow entertainment rather than profound artistic and intellectual endeavours.
- This article is from 5 years ago, but it’s still valid. 100 ways to support – not appropriate from – Native People. The trick to help stop racism is to educate yourself on other cultures and ethnicities different from your own roots, and to slowly change, one action at a time.
- A brief timeline of the history of Indigenous relations in Canada: June is the National Indigenous History month in our country, so I’m sharing you an article about the history of relations among our different nations.
- I’m not a fan of AI right now, and this article “AI and the End of the Human writer” is pretty much reinforcing my opinion of it. What we lose through LLMs and the next iteration of AI ends up being not so much the outputs, but the journey to get to the outputs, to the ideas. “If a computer can write like a person, what does that say about the nature of our own creativity?“
Quote
Always stop to pet the dog or the cat. You will never regret this choice.
TO SEE
- The movie RRR: an epic Telugu-language movie of a saga between two revolutionary figures in India’s history, filmed with tons of epic action-sequenced scenes and amazing dance moves. I’m a sucker for Indian movies (Bollywood style, but more and more just Indian style movies), and RRR gave me a thrill for the entire duration of the long film. You can find it on Netflix (or surely somewhere on the Internet… 😉 )
- A thousand suns, an original scifi anthology short movies, under the thematic of Humanity surviving in harsh places. Currently have 6 episodes, between 3 to 6 minutes each. Beautifully filmed, visually gorgeous, and fascinating short stories that makes me wish for more.
TO FOLLOW
- Instagram account to follow: Symbolic Magic. This image from their account makes you remember that being rich is not a matter of having money, but being grateful for abundance in Life.
- Threads account to follow (there are also on Instagram): Girls Messages
TO DO
Try having a “no spend” month. Note everything you have to spend down on paper (or Google Sheets/Excel), and see where you spend your money, and where you can make some cut on spending. I bet those subscriptions fees can be eliminated… (Fuck the subscription model, urgh! Everything now costs money to use, it’s stupid)
RECIPES
- I’m a fan of pasta, especially easy and fast to cook recipes. This recipe of Cream Mushroom and Asparagus pasta is perfect for a week night supper.
- I’m also a sucker for chickpeas, and this recipe of a Roasted salad with chickpeas is yummy!
- And for the smoothie lovers in my readers, a Healthy Shamrock shake
DESIGN
- My Steps and Gardens and Bees: Moshe Safdie recounts his childhood experiences in Haifa (Lebanon), highlighting how the city’s steps and terraces influenced his architectural vision. He describes his fascination with the geometric efficiency of beehives and the lush Bahá’í gardens, which combined to inspire his design philosophy of integrating buildings with nature. These early experiences led him to create structures that harmonize with their surroundings, embodying his belief in “buildings you could climb on, buildings that were gardens, gardens that were buildings.”
CYBERSECURITY
- Strengthening Your Online Security: The Power of Strong Passphrases and Two-Factor Authentication: We’ll never say it enough, but strong passwords/passkeys and 2FA authentication is the way to go in protecting all of your online assets. This article is a pretty good résumé about it. If you need recommendations, I use Proton Pass as a password manager, and Google Authenticator for my 2FA authentications.
WEB & TECH
- Useful tool of the week: Paywall Reader. Not everyone has deep pockets full of cash to give away to content creators, and it’s ok. This website will help you view the articles you want to read, and remove the paywall from its website. That being said, if you have a little $ to put on content, prioritize the indie creators.
- Reflections after 15 years of working as a software/web developer: the article discusses lessons and insights gained over a long career in software development, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, effective communication, and work-life balance, as well as learning to disconnect. After 25 years in tech for me, I kind of concur with this list.
