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.

Favorite foods for me? As far as "American food" I could eat a simple PBJ every day for life; I also like to make my own macaroni salad and potato salad as well as vegan cornbread and fried green tomatoes. I also really enjoy Middle Eastern food, especially tabbouleh, hummus, and falafel. I like soups and curries, and I enjoy visiting Indian restaurants and African restaurants as well. I am not that picky :) though for some reason I cannot stand to eat any kind of melon.

TV/Movies

Most TV and movies I enjoy tend to be from decades ago. I was already pretty jaded with both by the late 1990s.

A few of my favorite cartoons include Popeye, Garfield, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Woody Woodpecker, and Wacky Races. I also like a few other classics like Scooby Doo, Betty Boop, and some of the Looney Tunes (many have not aged well LOL).

There was an amazing movie (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_the_Cat:_The_Movie) which introduced me to Felix the Cat, having not grown up with the cartoons (neither the friendly ones from the 1950s and 1960s nor the less-friendly ones from the 1920s). I don't think most people remember it.

I'll update more TV shows and movies at a later date :)

Web stuff

I don't really enjoy the internet as much as most Neocities users seem to. You see I did not grow up using the internet from a young age (I actually don't think minors should use the internet at all).

Nowadays it feels like 99% of the web is just for tracking and gathering data while providing shallow "content". It shocks me that most people have played along with the commercialization of the web. Years ago it was normal to download and share music freely; now everyone willingly pays for iTunes or Spotify! Do they really think the artist is getting a fair cut just because they're paying a subscription? Meanwhile nowadays many people actively participate in the dystopian hell that the internet has become and even try to help profit off of it; they seem to think being an "influencer" or a "youtuber" is a legitimate job (news flash: it's toxic and normalizes/supports the system!)

I do enjoy the convenience of shopping on ebay, reading tons of interesting info on wikipedia, finding free music online, and looking for travel inspiration and planning.

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

Forget "google maps" and check out OpenStreetMap! "OpenStreetMap is a map of the whole world which can be used and improved by anyone": https://www.openstreetmap.org

Email me at anoutsider AT mail DOT com :)