Thanks to my week and a half off I’ve got a bit of a backlog and need to clear the decks. Here’s some things I’ve half-read and think might be of interest. Cravat emperor, or whatever.

• We used to be able to buy things in this country — The shoplifting panic in the US (which we had a taste of over here last year) has resulted in everyday items being locked in perspex. The picture of the tin of ham in its presentation box is just perfect.
• The voice of Google 🪜 — An extract from Claire Stapleton’s ‌Don’t Be Evil: Bad Bosses, Fake Promises, and My Escape from Big Tech.
• The Iran War threatened a food crisis. The next Gulf conflict could do the same. — This is one of those infuriating animated essay things where a small amount of useful information is buried under a load of visual bollocks but the issue of nitrogen-based fertiliser shortages, and its dependence on natural gas, is really interesting.
• He’s Just That Guy: Jeffrey Wright on “Basquiat” — Longtime fan of Wright ever since seeing him in Angels of America. Had no idea he started off playing Basquiat in the biopic, though if I’d seen that hilariously bad trailer I probably would have given it a miss.
• 95 reasons for having your own website — I wanted to spend some time with this and maybe come up with my own list.
• Futuring through discomfort — A report from a futurism conference which contains multitudes which I may or may not follow up on, but notable for a workshop titled Growing the Decomposition Economy which piqued my interest in the person running it, Jess Jorgensen of Sporesight. No idea if what she’s doing is relevant to my interests yet but keen to find out.
• When the world stopped moving — An account of being forced to stop by being imprisoned and what that does to you. “I didn’t find serenity. I found awareness. I learned what my anger feels like before I act on it. I learned how fear shows up in my body. I learned that between impulse and reaction, there is a small space, and, inside that space, I get to choose."
• What makes a woman a witch? Financial independence
• Being a Luddite is fun again — I saw this described as “Occupy Wall Street for theatre kids” which made me smile.
• Nostalgia is a terrible drug — Nothing to disagree with here.