“I have no idea what another writer feels when they’re writing. I don’t know if, like me, they’re walking down the street thinking they’ve got all these yummy treats for dinner—a bag full of delicious antipasto and stuff—and just as you’re ready to eat you suddenly get this thing, this idea, and instead of eating you grab your iPad or your pencil and run away to another room while everyone else fills their plates. It is what is is. You recognize the message when you start to receive it and you drop what you’re doing.“
—Tori Amos on listening to your muses (via @thecreativeindependent)
Handpicked Happening: “It’s okay to have some help.”
Welcome to Handpicked Happening, where Kickstarter creators share their recommendations for things to read, watch, and listen to. Want to get Happening delivered right to your inbox? Sign up here.
Animation by Tin Kadoic
"It's okay to have some help," says Femsplain founder Amber Discko. That's why she created Aloe, an online community focused on self-care. She's launched a Kickstarter project to turn Aloe into an app that will send "gentle self-care reminders from yourself." Below, Amber recommends some soul-soothing books, videos, and Twitter bots, and shares her own self-care strategies.
What does "self-care" mean to you?
Self-care is taking steps to maintain physical, mental, and emotional health. For me, self-care is disconnecting from the internet and doing activities that don't stress me out — things that are soul-fulfilling or relaxing, like cooking soup or taking a bath in the morning.
What is the Aloe community? How does the app build on it?
The Aloe community exists on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. We share daily self-care reminders with our followers, things like remembering to have a sip of water or to have a snack around lunchtime. The Aloe app will do the same thing by sending these gentle reminders to your phone, making it easier for you to stay on top of your self-care tasks.
What is Internet Self-Care Day, and how can people get involved?
International Self-Care Day was on July 24, but we're proposing a separate holiday on August 21 that takes the spirit of self-care online. Join us in celebrating Internet Self-Care Day by sharing your self-care routines and tips using the hashtag #ISCD17.
You can also tune into Aloe's Internet Self-Care Day live stream on August 21 at 8 pm EDT for a lesson from a self-care specialist, a group meditation session, and more.
Five projects I’m into
Helloplant
Critical Chips, Volume 2
Since 1984: Modular Furniture System
Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction
Livesglass: Hourglass-Inspired Miniature Greenhouse
Page from Carta Monir's RIPMOM in Critical Chips, Volume 2
Three books I'm reading now
Hunger by Roxane Gay
As a fat woman, reading this book feels like self-care. Roxane's writing has always inspired me to keep learning about experiences beyond my own.
The Whole World Is Meditating by Mu-Tae Seo
I found this in a pile of books at my therapist's office. It has helped me find clarity and calm on so many occasions.
Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun
This book is adorable and relatable, and so many of the characters feel familiar. For example, there's a bee who doesn't actually want to sting anyone, he just loves his family and wants to protect them.
Four Twitter bots to brighten your timeline
Tiny Care Bot
Emoji Meadow
Emoji Aquarium
Tiny Star Fields
“Sometimes things really need to end. When Slowdive broke up, everyone went and did other things. It’s good to be able to recognize when it’s time to stop… or when it’s time to start again.”
—Neil Halstead of Slowdive on revisiting your creative past (via @thecreativeindependent)
“People are so afraid to make a mistake. I get that people want to do everything right, but you’ve got to be willing to take chances. Everyone makes mistakes. Entire albums are mistakes sometimes. Sometimes you have to make that mistake in order to get to the next thing. And you can’t be everybody’s favorite band, you can’t be everybody’s best friend. You just you can’t win all the time.”
—Beth Ditto on recognizing your own talents (via @thecreativeindependent​)
“I might not know through experience what it’s like creating in a repressive regime, but I’ve seen its effects—for a long time art was stripped of its voice and its power. Now, a sense of creative freedom is exploding.Â
There are so many bands, and bands being formed. There are brilliant bedroom producers with dope ideas, filmmakers getting their ideas out there. We’re making so many different sounds, incorporating sounds that we like from here, from Kenya, or traditional instruments but also being very in touch with what’s going on around the world.”
—Kenyan musician, producer, and DJ Bill “Blinky” Sellanga, on the music culture of Nairobi (via @thecreativeindependent)
Welcome to Handpicked Happening, where we talk to some of our favorite Kickstarter creators and get their recommendations for things to read, watch, and listen to. Want to get Happening delivered right to your inbox? Sign up here.
“Kill your darlings.” “Sweat the details.” And: “If playing [the game] feels like you're taking a math exam, it's probably too complicated.” These are the unwritten creative mantras of Sensible Object, the studio behind the hybrid digital-tabletop game Beasts of Balance. (You can back the new expansion right here.) Below, they share a few projects they love,  and some indie games you should be playing.
Four projects on Sensible Object's radar
Eggy
We love these weird little egg dudes — especially the fact that they have belly buttons.
RetroBall
Four-player Pong on a slick DIY console. What's not to like?
Spire RPG
Grant Howitt's games are always great. (Check out Honey Heist, a one-page RPG in which you play a criminal bear.)
CodeSpeak Books
This project is designed to teach kids the fundamentals of coding without having them sit in front of a glowing rectangle. Ingenious!
Beasts of Balance
Five predictions for the future of tabletop games
1. Games that change with time.
Legacy opened this particular Pandora’s box. Let’s see what else is inside.
2. Small-batch physical games using interesting materials.
We have enough boxes full of plastic zombies and orcs. Give us something different to hold in our hands.
3. Narrative maturity.
More games with the potential to make us feel. Give us a tabletop game that makes us cry and we’ll be happy (once we stop crying).
4. Games that explore and exploit the huge potential that integrated technologies bring.
And no, we don’t mean more companion apps. Think bigger!
5. Games designed to be enjoyed by multiple ages, and by casual players and hobbyists alike.
Tabletop gaming has the eye of the world right now; let's make sure everyone feels included.
Kentucky Route Zero
Five indie games you should be playing
Triple Agent! from Tasty Rook
A Werewolf-like game that you play by passing around a mobile phone. Beautiful aesthetics, intuitive UI, and concise ruleset.
Spirit Island from Greater Than Games
We love the way the narrative runs through every single element of this game. Every action taken and every movement made reinforces the feeling that you're an ancient god doing battle against pesky human invaders.
Diet & Friends from Adventure Planning Service
A cute little social deduction card game we picked up at the Essen Game Fair last year. If you can find it, you should buy it.
Kentucky Route Zero from Cardboard Computer
This episodic point-and-click adventure is a great example of the ability of games to create a truly exceptional narrative.
A Fake Artist Goes to New York from Oink Games
Japan-based Oink Games consistently puts out the most charming, stylish, well-considered games with great narratives.
“Give Up” by Parra x Case Studyo
Six things to read, watch, play with, and listen to
Experimental fiction by Jon Bois
Case Studyo's vinyl toys for grown-ups
FLEB's puzzle-themed YouTube channel
Magic: The Gathering's Mark Rosewater on game design
Odditorium, a fortnightly podcast exploring the fringes of culture
The late Satoru Iwata in conversation with the team behind the original Nintendo Game & Watch
We’ll take you on a journey from the cathedral altar deep into the vaults of the Kremlin itself. Hopefully, this is a journey that you’ll only have to make once in your life.
In 2012, members of the Russian punk collective Pussy Riot were sentenced to prison for staging a protest performance inside a Moscow cathedral. As of this week, you can support their project to share their experience in a visceral, immersive work of political theater.
Welcome to Handpicked Happening, where we talk to some of our favorite Kickstarter creators and get their recommendations for things to read, watch, and listen to.Â
Want to get Happening delivered right to your inbox? Sign up here.
Issue 6 cover design by Loveis WiseÂ
Got a Girl Crush is a blog and annual print magazine featuring interviews with women of all ages, races, and backgrounds. "We feature the badass accomplishments of women in the hopes of inspiring others to do the same," say editors Meg Wachter and Amanda Stosz. Now through July 30, they're funding their sixth print issue.Â
Here, Meg and Amanda share what's on their radar — but first, a quick Q&A.
What should everyone know about Got a Girl Crush?
We met working as photo retouchers and have both worked in the media industry for nearly a decade. After having constant moral issues with contributing to unrealistic body image standards for women, we've decided to leave behind what we don't believe in.
What creative tool or resource has been the most useful to Got a Girl Crush?
This year, our greatest inspiration has been a coalition of all-female independent publishers based here in Brooklyn, currently called Untitled Feminist Media Empire — a.k.a. The Mag Mob. All of us have different strengths to bring to the table, and collectively we have big plans for the future. Stay tuned!
Who would your dream collaboration be with?
Michelle Obama. Björk. Amy Goodman. Kathleen Hanna. Solange.
Give Mexican women artisans an opportunity to preserve their traditions and take their beautiful embroidery around the world.
Courage Has No Gender
Help bring this large-scale mural to ten cities across the U.S. The project aims to build community and demonstrate how supporting each other's courage makes us stronger together.
Hello Mr. Magazine Residency
Our brother-in-print, Hello Mr., is launching a magazine residency called "The Issues" that provides mentorship and resources to emerging talent in queer publishing.
Black and Blue: The Yvonne Bechet Story
A group of activists and theater artists are producing a play about the life of Yvonne Bechet, one of the first female officers in the New Orleans Police Department.
Punto Gozadera: Restaurant and Feminist Cultural Space
Two things we love: supporting other women and vegetarian food.
Little Paper Planes: Workshop and After-School Arts Program
The founder of this San Francisco staple is building a workshop in the back of her store to offer art classes for adults and children.
Other Music: The Story of an Iconic Independent Record Store
Record store culture was a huge influence on us growing up. Help fund this documentary chronicling the twenty-year history of Other Music and its influence on music in New York City.
Other Music
Five indie magazines you should be reading
MATH
A progressive and inclusive print quarterly for adults (NSFW).
Selfish
A digital and print platform featuring memoirs from the "radically evolving."
Tom Tom
The only magazine in the world dedicated to female drummers and beat-makers. It's a force looking to shake up the male-dominated music industry.
La Motocyclette
This biannual magazine features stories and images from the new wave of women motorcyclists around the world.
Bushwick Review
Like the Paris Review, BR showcases the work of writers, poets, photographers, graphic designers, and comic artists from New York City and beyond.
Selfish magazine
A couple links we recommend
2 Dope Queens
If you like listening to podcasts at work and maniacally laughing while wearing headphones, we highly recommend this for your listening pleasure.
The Tallest Woman I Know: An Interview with Aly Stosz
A recent Girl Crush interview between Amanda and her very tall sister, Aly.
“To truly feel alive on the planet — to grow and learn — you have to move outside of your comfort zone. You have to be experimental.“ —designers Peter Dunham and Linnea Gits
“I firmly believe in that John Cage quote: “Begin anywhere.” It seems so simple on the surface, but it’s the only mode of thinking that helps me get started and work through the blocks.” —graphic designer Safwat Saleem
Working On It: Cristy C. Road’s Next World Tarot
With The Next World Tarot, Cristy C. Road reimagines the ancient practice of tarot card reading as a vehicle for social justice. The illustrated cards tell stories about “smashing systematic oppression, owning our truth, and being accountable to the people and places that support us.”Â
Over 500 backers helped bring the project to life in 2015. Recently, Road shared some of the final designs for The Next World Tarot in a project update. Read on to learn more about her process and see some of the final designs.Â
Greetings from the secret offices of Cristy C. Road, where I live my life as a dinosaur and infrequently use social media. I’m here to share with you some card layouts and a contact sheet of 50 or so finished cards. Â
Some of these cards have been re-drawn multiple times — over years or days — as some of the original themes have become irrelevant to the deck's final voice. Despite that, the more I reach for the most complex stars, the longer it takes to create something I’m happy with.
It’s been a long haul and I’m so happy to be edging on the finish line.
“Don’t worry about it not being perfect. Perfectionism can easily turn into procrastination. I think it's better to get an idea out there, and then make improvements based on the needs and wants of the people using it.” —Kelly Angood, creator of the Videre DIY pinhole camera
“Our best mode of thinking is doing. When we're stuck, we try to do something physical — paddle, walk, or climb.” —Oru Kayak designer Anton Willis
