Welcome to week 34 of Internet of Literal Things. The weird, wacky, wonderful, and wild of the world wide web seems to be several-too-many “w’s” and a perfect place for me to start. I’m Sara Nason, a fellow person on the internet, who happens to have many hours on hand to read random articles that are tucked into multiple crevices in my phone.
In high school, I spent a good amount of time moving between languages: German, French, English (and the occasional Spanish). There was always a glitch in the day when I’d think in French and needed to be speaking German; or I’d think in German and need English at that particular moment. I can mark the exact moment when I realized my linguistic capabilities had developed to the point of “losing” the natural abilities of my “mother-tongue” (as they say in German), English. But in translation, between spaces and people and feelings and ideas, I struggled for a good while about what it means to be “home:” in a language, in an apartment, in a city, etc.
Beyond cliché, since the struggle lasted through high school and college, I learned about the concept of building home. Creating spaces and relationships and rituals that allow me to be truly myself. There are numerous quotes out in the ether that talk about “home is where the heart is,” and I could go down that route in this spiel. In an attempt to not be the quote account you follow on Instagram, I’ll leave you with my favorite poem from college: “sorry” by Ntozake Shange.
So, strangers of the internet, here we go. for the Internet of Literal Things #34.
(While we’re at it, become a paying subscriber for $5 a month to support all of the links that bring this W-focused newsletter your way every Sunday.)
What I’m Reading
My obsession with the Bon Appétit cinematic universe (Jezebel)
Accidental or intentional design? (Tanner Christenson)
A study of pay at the Washington Post (PostGuild)
Macedonia has a plan to quit being known as ‘fake news land’ (Poynter)
Why Facebook can’t stop politicians from lying (The Verge)
The promise of Mr. Trash Wheel (The New Yorker)
My friend Mister Rogers (The Atlantic)
The happiness ruse (Aeon)
How more than 50 women walked out of a prison in Oklahoma (The Marshall Project)
Japan’s 2019 Laundromat of the Year Award (Spoon and Tamago)
Stories of people who are racing to save us (WIRED)
I was the fastest girl in America, until I joined Nike (NY Times)
Democrats’ baffling blind spot on cars (HuffPost)
NYC adopts ranked-choice voting, a major milestone for the reform (VOX)
How communities can build psychological resilience to disaster (CityLab)
The end of the country road (JSTOR Daily)
Why protests around the world often involve public transportation (VOX)
How Seattle’s city council race became the Amazon Election (CityLab)
How Helsinki built “book heaven” (CityLab)
What I’m Visually Experiencing
a horrible situation (YouTube)
Pastry chef attempts to make gourmet Takis (Bon Appétit)
What I’m Listening To
The Highwomen (Spotify)
🏆 A Photo of An #UglyDogs Related Thing On The Internet 🥇
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