On Baby Raindeer, writing and please stop recommending Wordpress

I was on a walk with a friend yesterday who thanked me for a recommendation I had given her. "I told my friend in California that she needs a Sanna in her life, who can recommend new things!" she told me. This obviously made my ego inflate into a middle-aged white male, but not quite enough to start a podcast, so I decided to pick my newsletter back up.

A few years ago I had a newsletter I called Tequila Friday, which was me, rambling as if I was three margaritas in, sharing links to interesting things on the internet. My tequila obsession has since calmed down, but I still consume things on and off the internet, so we could call this my consumption diary.

I'll keep this casual, will probably still be rambling, and hopefully that makes it possible for me to stay consistent here.

Let's go!

📺 Baby Raindeer
It has been brought to my attention that there are still a few people who have not yet seen this show, so despite All Of The Internet talking about this, I feel it's my duty to bring it up as well. It's dark, darker than I expected from the first episode, but, oh so good. The creator did an amazing job with the treating the characters with respect and nuance.
If you want to go deeper, I found this therapist analysis really interesting (YT). It's worth watching all three parts, especially if you suspect yourself or someone you know have experienced abuse.

🖋 The Writers' Hour with London Writing Salon
This has been a key in helping me write consistently again. Truly. Four times per day you can log into a Zoom meeting with hundreds of other writers and creatives, and you all work in silence for one hour together.
I prefer in-person writing events (Shut up & Write is great here in Lisbon, and they exists in other cities too), but to help get one hour of deep work in with a nudge of accountability, it does the trick.

📝 Like the flowers
Speaking of writing, this month I joined a writing course in personal essays and it's been filled with learnings. This is a flash essay we discussed and I find it exquisite, both in language and substance.

💻 Ghost ❤️ ActivityPub
I love Ghost. The product is a delight to use and the philosophy behind it resonates deeply with me. I can't wait to see what will unfold with their new investment in ActivityPub.

🎧 How to Master Storytelling | Shaan Puri on How I Write Podcast
Some podcast episodes are entertaining once, but every once in a while you listen to something that feels like a condensed masterclass and is worth returning to. This one contained lessons that has made a direct impact on my writing, like focusing on getting yourself into the right mental state before sitting dorn to write, just like an athlete would before their practice. And to create binge-bank of content!

📝 Why I (almost) never recommend WordPress to freelancers
After a conversation with a friend who got help creating a Wordpress site for her new business, only to realize it was not as easy to manage by herself, I decided to write down my opinions and it's my first post on my more work-related site (aka where I rant about PM stuff).
Fun fact: I asked Claude AI for feedback, and it told me "While humorous, dismissing those recommending WordPress as "cult members" and "hobby hackers" comes across as a bit harsh." Valid point, Claude.

That's it for this week. Can I make this consistent?! Who knows, but I'll do my best!