Links I’d share in private #27

Stubborn winter and tea room delights

Spring has finally arrived, yet winter stubbornly lingers: we’re still enduring cold weather; today we’re dealing with a bit of ice storm; and we had snow just a few days ago! I just can’t with this winter mood – I just want to feel the sun’s warmth on my skin, goddamnit! 🤣

On a brighter note, I’ve been cherishing the tea sessions I’ve been enjoying with one of my friends over the past month. Last weekend, we visited Lady Porcelaine on rue St-Denis. As I approached the building, I had a moment of déjà vu – this was the location of my old office from one of my first tech jobs 20 years ago! Talk about a flashback, eh? A true moment of nostalgia washed over me briefly, but once I stepped inside, the atmosphere completely transformed: the very British, porcelain-adorned tea room was absolutely marvelous! What a delightful experience. I couldn’t resist leaving with a small souvenir – a beautiful green tea cup for my own afternoon tea rituals at home! Weeeeeeeee! See how pretty it is 🙂

April is around the corner, and I am slowly getting out of my house: more social times is coming around, and I want to see people more. Let’s hope the good weather comes around and help me stay in a happy mood!

Welcome to another edition of Links I’d share in private, a (bi-)weekly blog post about all the things and content I come across the Internet during my intense web binging, worthy of being shared to you all (instead of in all of my private group chats 🤣).

Now on with the Links I’d share in private part!

Keywords: This week’s Links I’d share in private touches on various topics, including: winter weather, tea sessions, nostalgia, social outings, links collection, reading recommendations, AI critique, open access resources, photography, Scottish night sky, Chinese cinema, metallic sculptures, artwork, music playlists, scones recipe, design patterns, color theory, OSINT, digital safety, Meta Ad Library, streaming services, virtual travel, personal blogging

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TO READ

• We Live Like Royalty and Don’t Know It: the first part of “How the System Works,” a series on the hidden mechanisms that support modern life. The article argues that modern Americans enjoy unprecedented material comforts and conveniences that surpass those of historical royalty, yet fail to appreciate this extraordinary prosperity, instead feeling entitled to these luxuries and remaining perpetually dissatisfied despite our historically exceptional standard of living.
• 50 Years of Travel Tips: oh, how I love reading this one! I gave me tons of new ideas to explore next time I travel
• AI: The New Aesthetics of Fascism: The article is about AI technologies that are being developed with underlying fascist aesthetics, employing the glorification of power, erasure of human labor, and technological determinism to promote a vision where AI becomes a tool for societal control and reinforces existing power structures while disguising these intentions behind utopian promises. “It’s embarrassing, destructive, and looks like shit: AI-generated art is the perfect aesthetic form for the far right.”
• AI bots are destroying Open Access:The rise of AI bots intensively consuming all open access resources (like Internet Archive databases, Wikipedia, LibGen, etc.) is making it increasingly difficult for regular users to access these materials. These resources often become inaccessible for extended periods, while the hosting initiatives face mounting costs in hardware resources and financial burden to maintain their services.
• What in the Joseph Goebbels F*ck is Happening on Facebook? On the shitshow we are seeing on Facebook with the far right and authoritarian regime.
• And on a happier notes: 19 ways to improve your life, useful tips and advice for feeling a bit better about life these days (I know, a bit difficult to do amidst the rise of authoritarian and far right groups across the world)

TO SEE

• The World Nature Photography Awards Winners : another online contest with amazing photography

• Beautiful pictures of the Scottish night sky of the Island of Rum here: Take a Look: A Dark Scottish Isle Where Starlight Reigns Supreme

• Existential question: is it cannibalism if the human is already dead? Nice little webserie that is promising and funny about two girls trying to survive in a zombie apocalypse

TO FOLLOW

• Youtube Channel: Shaw Brothers Cinema. If you’re in the mood for old classical Chinese movies from the 1960s, this is your channel to follow 🙂

• Beautiful Instagram account to follow: Michel Torres Costa a sculptor that does incredible metallic sculptures

• I am just mesmerized by the beautiful artwork of EVAN M. COHEN

TO HEAR

• Sad Eagle presents The Hiding Narcisissist, a jazzy grouvy playlist perfect for a grey Sunday afternoon chilling in your house

• Another groovy playlist that has nice beats: Best Balearic Party Ever! (And I Was Not Invited)

RECIPES

• I’ve been having a scones craving ever since I went to this beautiful tea room (Lady Procelaine), and this recipe scratches an itch

DESIGN

• Ohhhh this is useful! Pattern Club, a website where you can find interesting patterns for your design templates
• Color Theory & Palette – Resources and Tools: I’ve been following Stephanie Walter’s newsletter for a couple of weeks now, and she always have the perfect links and tools to share about UX, design and accessibility in web projects, and I’m here for it! This week: every thing about colour theory and palettes!

CYBERSECURITY & INFOSEC

• I love a good, well written OSINT story: A Free OSINT Lesson: Search Indexes, Record Shops, and Flipping through Vinyl
• I love the Bellingcat group, and everything they release for public consumption on OSINT. Here’s a youtube video about Digital Safety – How to protect your online identity

WEB & TECH

• Meta Ad Library: very useful if you want to find interesting discounts across brands you like in their ads, or just for inspiration for your own ads for your clients. Also useful to look into your competitors’ ads for ideas what not to do 😉
• Oh this is useful: Streamin, a website that can let you know where to watch online the serie or movie you want to watch
• virtual vacation: oh this is a nice way to enjoy virtually traveling around the world from the comfort of your living room. We all don’t have a billionnaire’s wallet; or maybe traveling is difficult right now for you. This website is a nice alternative to see the world.