Volume 2, Resources 4: Texas Aid Resources, Buy It For Life, & Radio Garden
Hi friends! This past weekend we had a pink pineapple:
Technically, it’s a Pinkglow Pineapple™ from Del Monte. They bioengineered it so that it’s pink. It’s also supposed to taste more candy-like than a regular pineapple. It did not. It was fine. The pinkness makes it look like ham and that was off-putting. Behind the color, it was just an okay pineapple though to be fair Nicole and I are pineapple snobs. For the cost, I would not buy this again. But it was silly and fun to have and an excuse to use my pineapple gadget:
This week is resource week!
Resource #1: Texas Storm Resources
If you don’t know what is going on in Texas, please look here. They’re in an absolute crisis and the people affected the most are those who are most disenfranchised.
General Texas Mutual Aid and Resource Doc (available in English and Spanish) https://bit.ly/texas-resources
The above resource has both resources for folks in Texas affected by the storm as well as ways to help/donate for those of us not affected.
Resource #2: Buy It For Life Subreddit
I was raised in my grandparents’ home. My grandparents lived through the Great Depression so it was a home where we didn’t throw anything away if it could be fixed or cleaned and made usable again. We darned socks, we sewed on buttons, we washed “disposable” Ziplock bags and plastic cutlery and reused them. I am still like this, maybe not in all these ways, but in many ways. I wear something or use something until it is absolutely dead. Or I hold on to some things because I may be able to repurpose them later.
I was also raised to save my money to buy the best-made of a product so that I’d only have to buy it once and it would last forever, like my truck. Doing this when I am able is not only good for my finances in the long run but also good for the planet.
Enter the Buy It For Life Subreddit! It’s a message board/forum for recommendations on brands of various items to buy if you want to buy them only once and have them last forever. Sometimes the recommendation is “go to a thrift store or antique store and try to find one of these.” People can post questions about what they’re looking for and there’s a monthly “Steals & Deals” thread. I need a new pair of over-ear bluetooth headphones soon and there’s a post on that! But there are discussions and recommendations on so much here, from pens to popcorn poppers to jeans to resole-able shoes. I definitely plan on checking this subreddit in the future for certain purchases.
Resource #3: Radio Garden
Okay, so is this a “resource?” I don’t know. All I know is that it is fucking RAD and has brought me a lot of joy this week so I wanted to share it with you all. Radio Garden is an interactive world map that allows you to spin (or casually slide) around the globe and listen to thousands of radio stations from different parts of the world. I can get lost in this for hours. I want to share some of my favorites that I’ve found:
Radio Crik Crok from Pomezia, Italy
Pinoy Jutsu FM 99.6 from Pasig, Philippines
Hot FM 93.3 from Lagos, Nigeria
Nord FM Martinique from Le Lorrain, Martinique
Kwezi FM from Mamoudzou, Mayotte
Party FM from Copenhagen, Denmark (possibly my actual favorite)
M Radio French Touch from Paris, France
Nova FM Digital from Rio de Janeiro RJ, Brazil
Not only is Radio Garden available via computer, but there are also mobile apps for Android and iOS. One little note I want to make is that not all radio stations around the world are 24-hours. Be mindful of time zones as well. If I’m hopping through stations at my lunch time in California, it might be time to go clubbing in Berlin.
That’s it for this week! You can shop any books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at The Infophile’s Bookshop and support independent bookstores. If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
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That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
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