Music

When I was young I listened to mainstream FM radio and a few CDs and cassettes around the house. I wasn’t able to shop for my own music so I listened to the stuff my parents did.

When I was a teenager I started listening to more current pop and hip hop music, then got into rock music. I had a keyboard and guitar and used to think of songs but I’ve never recorded or been in a band. Sometimes I still think of songs but I don’t have a keyboard or guitar anymore so they’ll remain in my head to sing to myself in the shower.

In college I used to explore music on YouTube and I had extensive playlists. I also got into online radio stations like Slacker and Pandora. Years later as an annoyed and jaded adult, I explored a bit of punk rock and found I really enjoy it. Oddly, I would not have liked it when I was young and uppity, but now that I am older and see how crappy people can be, I can actually appreciate it.

Tired of being chained to Spotify? Check out Freegal for a free way to stream music, explore genres, discover artists, and even legally download a few songs for free. You just need a library card with a participating library. (I don’t work for Freegal and they are not sponsoring me!)

And if for some reason you haven’t used Bandcamp before, you definitely want to check out https://bandcamp.com.

Reading

When I was young I read abridged versions of classic novels. I also enjoyed the unabridged Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass as well as the Chronicles of Narnia and a few other series.

I rarely read novels anymore or any other fiction. Mostly I read non-fiction especially biographies and historical books. Sometimes I get lost in Wikipedia articles about people and events in history. The progression of culture and civilization is interesting to me (spoiler alert: it’s rarely all positive).

The last novel I read was The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. It was mind-blowing. If it’s not at your local library they can probably find a copy with inter-library loan. Here’s the wikipedia page for the book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Left_Hand_of_Darkness.

I’m currently in the middle of multiple books, including a copy of The WikiLeaks Files: the World According to US Empire which was lovingly gifted to me. Check out more at this Internet Archive link to the book.

Eating

Being an ethical vegan I don’t consume foods that come from animals. It is shocking how much people are accustomed to animals being killed or abused for the petty enjoyment of a food or drink. There are tons of vegan bloggers and cookbooks nowadays as well as restaurants that increasingly cater to vegan diets.

Some plant-based dieters refuse to use oil for health reasons; I don’t care about using oil as long as it comes from plants and not animals, because I am vegan for the animals not for my health.

A fantastic cookbook author for vegans is Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Most of her recipes are easy and use simple ingredients. Look for her books in your local library! She also has a website: https://www.theppk.com.

Web stuff

Amazing page of gifs hosted by the Internet Archive: https://gifcities.org.

Dark Reader! "Dark mode for every website. Take care of your eyes, use dark theme for night and daily browsing." Check it out: https://darkreader.org

Email me at anoutsider AT mail DOT com :)