7 things that helped me see the world differently this week
i hope they do the same for you
It’s a pretty insane time in America right now. I hope the seven things I’m sharing in this week’s issue of Filter Feeder bring you at least a little catharsis, curiosity, and joy.
1. Everything Can Be Scanned
This site makes me glad that digital gardening is having another resurgence. (I know the Tumblr girlies have been on it through the years, but you know what I mean.) The continued presence of ridiculously niche, interactive, playful websites that curate perspectives or artwork or scans of various 3D objects is a welcome alternative to social media.
2. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Everybody should read this book.
3. Tiny aquatic ecosystems in action
@tanks for nothin on YouTube makes some of the best aquarium videos I have ever seen (and I’ve watched a lot of them). He also has like, only four on his entire channel so I recommend you pace yourself. Or be like me and watch them all at least thrice each to really take them in. He shares more on his Patreon, too.
4. Nature inspired these color systems
A friend sent me this video drawing connections between the Pantone color system and “A nomenclature of colors for naturalists” by Robert Ridgeway. This wasn’t the first attempt to catalog color in an official, reference-able way, but it was a powerful example in a long line of future ones.
The Smithsonian library has a digitized copy of the handbook you can flip through in more detail. The handpainted swatches start after page 164.
5. “We Live in a Society”
“Sometimes asking for help or inconveniencing yourself for someone else’s sake (aka: friendship) strengthens bonds in your community.”
I thought this post had some really thoughtful insights into ways that community care has been overtaken by commercial services.
6. Pocket-sized watercolor paper
I like having limited space to observe the things right in front of me and create tiny timestamps of the world. Everything else on this list is digitally based, but this thing is decisively away from the screen. I can’t recommend it enough.
7. Sarah Thankam Mathews’ essays never miss
“There is something liberating to be found in asking, in succession: What is the actual nature of the situation I’m considering? and What power do I actually have, within it?”
If you’re anything like me and feel a little untethered right now, you should read this ASAP.
Thanks as always for reading and supporting Filter Feeder and my work in general. It’s been over six months since I started writing and creating here every week, and I’m so excited by and grateful for the community we’ve grown in the process. To celebrate this halfway point in the year, I’m taking a lil’ summer break from this newsletter! I’ll return here in the first week of August, and please stay in touch via Instagram in the meantime. (And maybe this’ll be a tradition. Only time can tell.)
I love this post--so many fun treats. Thank you and have a nice break!