Life slice #3: What an eventful month June has been
Android laptop, spacey updates, blogging meet, and more.
Latest
Linkteresting #1: Reading, writing, and web places
Click for curiosity.
Cool websites I’ve found through IndieWebClub BLR
I’ve been attending IndieWebClub community meets in Bangalore for about nine months now. In every session, there are several fascinating links mentioned. Here are some of them I didn’t know about: * aprilcools.club * painscience.com * web.badges.world * links.net, which was apparently the first blog on the
Life slice #2: Reading science fiction and talking rockets
* Inspired by NASA’s 404 page, and ESA’s 404 page too, I edited my space blog’s not found pages to show something nerdy and lunar themed: jatan.space/404/ 🕳️ * I watched Project Hail Mary this week, partly because of all the hype surrounding it. The movie was alright.
Never have I ever [and never will I have ever]
* Written clickbait articles. It’s harder to avoid than it may seem. * Cared for celebrity anything * Sent or engaged with WhatsApp university forwards * Believed in Astrology, Homeopathy or any Pseudoscience * Engaged in nationalism * Been a “fanboy” of any person, company, product, or brand ever since becoming a working adult. I’
I published 10 poems this month as part of a poetry challenge
April is Global Poetry Writing Month. Everyone participating from around the Web is encouraged to write a poem a day, optionally based on each day’s prompt. It was my first time participating in this challenge. My goal was not to pen a poem a day for the sake of
Ars poetica
Strip it down make no sound touch the truth feel its fruit Here brevity retorts on humanity with sobering clarity and bittersweet gravity Telling terse truths of our bare beings Here speaking skies and its lent hand and eyes make the Moon walk and its tides talk They preserve love
Poem: Muskān / मुस्कान / Smile
Original in Hindustani, as English transliteration and in देवनागरी, followed by an English translation (not as lyrical): Muskān Maa teri muskān Kaisi hain itni nādān? Ekdam saral si bacche jaisi Narm si behti huin nadiyon jaisi Chaandni si khilne vaalīn suraj ki kiranon jaisi Is muskurāhaṭ me naa
Poem: Resilience
Bent, not broken twisted, not turned upside down dragged down, not drowned Trembled, not tamed or tattered weathered, not withered hurt, but holding up Agonized, but alive traumatized, yet tender lingered on, yet loving Agitated, yet aspiring exhausted, but full of ember burnt, but blazing. Notes: This poem is for
Poem: Rare lights
They care not because they have to but because they want to They converse not to reply but to listen They mediate not to tighten their connections but to save and foster existing ones They employ leverage not to be blatant but to be subtly considerate They accept your shortcomings
Poem: For every child
For every child that dares to dream and every spark of curiosity within For their bold endeavors in jest and that one kid’s flying quest Persist your passion to build their nest for the world rumbles them in unrest Swivel their failings with your empathy and rivet their pursuits
Poem: So can you
The Moon still exists dear, Earth’s still blue as rivers cry while the avians still fly. Not a single day goes by when they don’t try, so can you. Notes: This poem was written for the Global Poetry Writing Month. The Day 1 prompt encouraged posting in the
Essays & Musings
Improve the RSS experience of your blog readers
1. Introduce people to RSS readers in an accessible way and link to such an explainer on your /feeds page. Both cases shouldn’t assume people know or understand the term. When introducing people you know to RSS readers, don’t assume how or what they read and consume on
Life slice #1: Space for inspiration
* This quarter I met an 👨🏽🚀, one whose flight I’ve previously written about. 🌏 * I also gave a talk about lunar exploration at a concert space in BLR for Pint of View because let’s be frank the Moon rocks. 🪨 * I picked up a paint brush after two decades, thanks to
Places I’ve published Moon Monday editions from
Most people who know me know that I write this blog & newsletter called Moon Monday every, well, Monday. Since the day is etched in the name, I plan every week around it. Here are places I’ve completed working on and publishing Moon Monday editions from, other than my
Essays & Musings
Bombay food, a location-agnostic procedural guide
🚉 🛺 🥔 ☕️ 🌊
Verses
Farther than the stars 🎸
Love listening to Khudi by The Local Train. They are like the Pink Floyd of India. The lyrics carry a distinct aspirational energy: Likh de ye fasana Dekhe jo zamana Taaron se aage ho Khwaabon ka thikana
The Museum of Possibilities
I visited the Museum of Possibilities in Chennai in 2024. I love that the museum is centered around accessibility, and what catering to it makes possible for people with certain disabilities our society is not built for. One of the display themes was tech tools which bridge accessibility gaps for
Essays & Musings
4/5 ⭐️ - Indie Microblogging by Manton Reece
Read for free at book.micro.blog or download the Epub (official link) This book is a good history of publishing and sharing on the Web, particularly through blogging, and how related web technologies evolved. It also places them in the context of social media. The author Manton, creator of
Essays & Musings
A list of good enough blogging platforms by price if you just want to write
Plus some blog recommendations as a nice side effect.
Essays & Musings
My writing goals and methods this year
February is a sane time to set new year resolutions and goals instead of January. During my year-end break in December, I’ve had a good opportunity to muse about where I want to steer my writing at large, and where I want writing to steer me. Here are
Verses
Poetry powerful and purposeful
Alt text: I will go on nurturing the tablet and the pen I’ll go on recording what the heart goes through I’ll go on providing wherewithal to love’s passion I’ll keep being kind to the desolation of the times No doubt, the harshness of the times
Essays & Musings
One sanitized and sandboxed Fediverse profile to rule them all
After musing over having my social web presence on my own domain thanks to the book Indie Microblogging, I’ve decided to try having such a profile on the Fediverse for a year. But Mastodon and the most of the Fediverse platforms are too noisy by default, having borrowed likes,
What are we doing in the name of progress?
The world is hard, and tech bros are here to make it easier, and there is a price for progress: loss of jobs, loss of friendships, loss of purpose, and loss of meaning. You either agree with this, or you are outdated; an old man rumbling about the good times
