A Tiny Bell


Technology Social Media Westenberg There

Why Personal Websites Matter More Than Ever

Once again, Joan Westenberg hits it out of the park with Why Personal Websites Matter More Than Ever:

I don’t know why we talk about walled gardens. That seems to imply something beautiful, something worth defending. It conjures images of beautifully maintained flowerbeds protected from the outside world. But that’s not what Facebook built, what Instagram built, what Twitter built. They built paved, unshaded, barren hellscapes, trapped us in them, and surrounded us with guard towers and razor wire, intended to keep us in, not protect us from anyone else. There's no "garden" here.

You can read the whole thing on Westenberg, which, like A Tiny Bell, is powered by Ghost.


Apps Albums Music iOS Crucial Tracks There

Albums App

For many years, I was an Android user. I could not find a decent music app for the platform, though I tried many. In 2023, I switched to iPhone because i wanted to use an Apple Watch for tracking sleep and other health metrics and you need an iPhone to use an Apple Watch.

Though I think Android is unquestionably a better-designed platform, Apple does have one (and only one) great music app: Albums, which is one more than Android. It functions fine in the free version but at $25 per year for the Premium version, I think it's well worth supporting.

The other day, Crucial Tracks posted a how-to: Finding New Releases Using the Albums App which is worth checking out if you use Albums.


Journalism Evident Media Documentaries There

Documentary Journalism For People, Not Profit — This is Evident

Evident is a nonprofit news organization producing documentary journalism for the public good. They put crews on the ground and cover crucial issues through in-depth cinematic reporting. Their journalism is accessible and transparent, driven by their mission to inform the public, not by profit incentives.

They just launched a few days ago. Looks like they're made up of former producers from Scripps, Vice, PBS, Bellingcat, and other reputable outlets.

You can subscribe to their Youtube channel; here's their launch trailer:


Birds Animals New Zealand Conservation There

Takahē — Return to the Wild

I always love learning about new birds. The flightless Takahē is native to New Zealand and for many years was thought extinct. They were rediscovered in 1948 in a hidden value on the country's southern island and scientists are trying to boost the population. Gorgeous bird.

Here's a brief piece on them from TKSST:

When I was living in Vanuatu, I kept hearing a bird that made a sort of Woop-Woop noise. I never laid eyes on one and when I asked locals what they were called, I was told, "We just call them Woop Woop birds." Wish I'd had the Merlin bird ID app back then.


Music Playlists Members Only Here

You Can Do What You Want. I'm Goin' Home — A Playlist

A friend reached out that they'd heard I'd been looking for old mixed CDs I'd made, sending this one along: You Can Do What You Want. I'm Goin' Home.

Based on the victoryshag.com tag, I'd guess this is from 2002 - 2004 as that project ran 1999 to 2004, but the Polmo Polpo track didn't come out until 2002. The mix is mostly instrumental, but for some spoken dialogue over the opening and closing tracks. She also sent along photos of the front and back cover artwork. As an aside, the guy who made the cover (and some of the past covers I've posted) was my roommate at the time. The woman who sent along the mix is my ex girlfriend, who is now his wife. They've got two great kids.

If you're keen, you can listen to all the tracks by searching on Youtube. Or, if you're a member of A Tiny Bell, you can listen to the assembled playlist I've compiled below the fold.

Though I recall the title of the mix (it's a theft from somewhere I've forgotten) and I'm familiar with all the tracks, I do not remember making this mix or the occasion.

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Technology Westenberg There

Westenberg's Tired of Pretending Tech is Making the World Better

Here's Joan Westenberg on the onslaught of Tech where it's not needed:

I would have happily paid double for the experience of simply flipping through a menu and talking to another human being. ...

I can tell you right now that anyone working in a decent venue would rather have a line of people ordering at the counter than be juggling iPads and QR codes while barely interacting with human beings.

I won't say there's a ton in the article that I haven't thought myself, but mentioning the worker side of it is a nice touch. As a lifelong retail worker I can't help but agree with the points being made.

I'm somewhat privileged because I'm a hermit and couldn't give a damn about visiting the latest trendy places. I simply refuse to participate. "Oh, I can only order using Instagram? Thanks, but I'll eat elsewhere." Truly, there is not a meal on the planet that I'd download an app to eat.

Hell, a couple months ago I walked into what I thought was a CIBC (one of the largest banks in Canada), only to be told, "Oh no, you can't pay your credit card balance here. This is a cashless bank." What the actual fuck is the point of such a thing?!

Read the full article on Westenberg.


Photography Apps Foto

Foto — The Instagram Alternative

Foto is a relatively new app for iPhone and Android that works similar to how Instagram worked before it got plagued with ads, commercialism, and other things that complicated its simplicity. Some differences:

  • Foto claims it will always be ad-free
  • Foto does not crop your photos or force an aspect-ratio on you
  • No video
  • Not owned by a billionaire
  • Publishes a Roadmap of upcoming features
  • Has free and paid-tiers

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