Hello, hello. This is the Mythical Type newsletter, where I share projects I’m working on, things I’ve been reading, and sources of inspiration.
My newest zine
“Timers for travelers” is out in the world!
Twenty pages of sci-fi nerdiness: why timers are important, tips, and warnings for time traveling. (Always read the fine print.)
I made pages with a combination of hand-drawn illustrations, digital elements, and typed text.
I laid out pages in Canva, and I’m really happy with how the zine came out. I’m going to write a blog post about the process. Part documentation for me, part walk-through for anyone who is interested. So that will be on my blog…sometime…and in this newsletter after that.
The magazine rack on the internet
Robin Sloan (author and internet technology enthusiast) created a new internet protocol. The technical web development stuff is over my head, but I can grasp the idea: He wants to create a way to follow people online that isn’t a feed or timeline and is not tied to one social media network or type of outlet (like a blog or newsletter).
It would be a digital version of a magazine rack. Each person you follow (aka publisher) has a specific spot on the rack. When they make an update, their spot updates. Otherwise, you see whatever they last put in their spot. No feed. No timeline. Not siloed to content from one platform.
You can read more about it on his site if you like.
Then Maya.land, a blog I follow, responded to Robin’s idea. More technical stuff that’s beyond me, but there are cool examples to see. Like these:
Kinopio - This makes me think of Prezi, but if you used it to take notes and organize info.
Mmm.page - Modern website interactions (pinch, zoom, drag and drop) but the aesthetics of older web design.
From there, I started reading about the IndieWeb, which is a philosophy/community/effort to focus on people on the internet and not corporations. The main principles are:
The content you post is yours
Your articles and messages get syndicated to other services/platforms, so you can continue to engage with everyone
You are in control of what you post
Then I went down a rabbit hole. Here are a few more links about IndieWeb but not all the things I read, because yikes. I had so many tabs open.
IndieWeb talk - An excellent overview of what IndieWeb means in non-technical terms
Indiewebifying a WordPress Site - A rundown of how to add IndieWeb functionality to a WordPress site
Tumblr + IndieWeb - Cool ideas here about interoperability between Tumblr as a social media platform and stuff published on the rest of the internet. And the Tumblr team is working on steps to make Tumblr more compatible with IndieWeb.
I came across this meme from Analog Photography Memes on Instagram. And then I scrolled through a bunch of their posts and laughed and laughed…You’ll enjoy it if you’ve shot with a film camera in the last 20 years. Otherwise, it’s weird meme humor.
Inspiration or something like it
1000 logos - Exactly what it says. A whole website of logos. (via Joe Boyd)
Weeknotes - Writing about the work you do each week and posting it publicly. Kind of like how scientists keep logs of their lab work. That, but for any kind of work.
Alternate index of notes - A way to take notes when you’re reading by listing themes and relevant pages. I’m not sure if this method is useful to me, but maybe it is to you.
When I’m reading non-fiction, I underline sentences and write notes in the margins. With fiction, I might underline sentences I like, but I don’t really take notes.
How about you? Let me know your note-taking habits in the comments.
Thank you for reading!
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If you want to see more from me, you can follow me on Instagram, check out my blog, or browse my zines on Etsy.
This was a great issue! Your new zine looks awesome!
Thanks for sharing many interesting links. I want to do more reading about the magazine rack of the internet concept. Super cool.
And sometimes I take notes when I read! Usually just with non-fiction though. I love to copy down ideas that really stand out to me or write notes and ideas inspired by what I'm reading as I go.