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The Independent Variable

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⛰️ The Mountain, The Moon Cave and The Sad God by Gorillaz

YouTube

They knocked this little short film/music video out of the park. I haven’t listened to the whole album yet, but I’m hopeful this might reverse course from their more recent dance albums and return to the greatness that was Plastic Beach, which might be my favorite Gorillaz album.

What we really need is a Gorillaz movie. They’ve built up so much lore with the various locations they’ve set their albums at to the point where I’m dying for someone like Joe Bennett—who did Common Side Effects and Scavengers Reign—to get involved and build on everything Gorillaz has done over the past two decades.

🌁 mist

collaborative markdown editor

I’ve talked before about my desire for a Google Docs alternative—one where I could share docs with writers, suggest changes, etc.—and I even wrote up some requirements for it in the hopes that someone might magically decide to build it for me.

mist is 95% there. I couldn’t find a note about it being open-source, but I’m dying for someone to run with this and add file organization to it so I don't have to worry about the 99hr expiration.

🪐 Space & Time Magazine

Authortunities

Glad to see that “Space & Time” is sticking around.

It's a storied publication and well worth a trip to the archive. The switch to monthly keeps things fresh, though theme calls are only as interesting as the tenders who field them.

Luckily, Angela Yuriko Smith is a gem of an editor.

I've not been in this pub, but I've submitted a couple of times. No one likes a “close but no cigar” rejection. In fact, those replies are often more infuriating than form letters — think “silver medal paradox,” though the bronze winner part isn't as applicable — but Smith has, at least in my experience, offered encouragement and highlighted poems worth pitching elsewhere.

Anyway, keep an eye out for this newest incarnation of “Space & Time.”

🌐 Miniroll & Miniship

Miniroll + Miniship

These are two brand new webapps from Chris Hannah that I absolutely adore already. Miniroll is a simple and sleek way to make an embeddable blogroll and Miniship does the same, but for changelogs. They are both super simple, have a fun vibe and aesthetic, and are a joy to use.

I’ve started putting together a changelog for Foofaraw and a Friends of Foofaraw blogroll. I’m excited to continue building these out, creating more, and seeing where Chris takes his little “mini” empire.

🏳️‍⚧️ Kansas informs trans residents their driver’s licenses become invalid on Thursday

Kansas City

SB 244, which Republican supermajorities in the Kansas Legislature voted last week to enact into law over Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto, will go into effect on Thursday upon the publication of the Kansas Register. The legislation provides no funding to help people who need to replace their licenses. Kansas driver’s licenses typically cost around $30.

This is incredibly fucked up—it’s also why we need to pay more attention to local elections. The people of Kansas voted overwhelmingly against an abortion ban and I have to think (hope) those same people wouldn’t want their neighbors being arrested for merely existing and driving.

If you’re in Kansas and your representative voted for this, I urge you to do everything in your power to vote these bigots out this November.