The clock is ticking down this Sunday. Some news: after twelve wonderful years at RPS, a journey that also encompasses eight years with the Gamer Network group, my time here will conclude on July 31st. This departure is absolute, unlike a previous shift in 2021 where I remained involved behind the scenes. This time, it’s a definite farewell. My thoughts on this are extensive, far exceeding what a single post could contain, so let’s get straight to the links.
I’ll sincerely miss crafting The Sunday Papers. Taking over this column from Jim sometime around 2014 (I think!), and returning to it for these past six months, has been a true joy. Though the column will continue, I’ll offer some insight below on how to create your own Graham-esque Sunday Papers experience without my involvement.
But first, let’s share some interesting finds. Paste Games has sadly closed, but there’s a silver lining! It has re-emerged as an independent website, now known as Endless Mode. In other news, SkillUp, a familiar voice on YouTube, has ventured into written content with the launch of his gaming site, This Week In Videogames.
Alec Meer, a former RPS colleague, has started a newsletter exploring his passion for Transformers and other robotic toys. Even as someone with only a casual interest, I’m finding it highly engaging. It’s distinctly Alec’s style.
I can pose them in all these grand ways, put them in exciting battle scenes and heroic stances. But there was a time when I didn’t need to. My Transformers were simple blocks, and I cherished them. Their stories, their poses, their endless conflicts all unfolded in my imagination – and were so much richer for it. Look at how much design goes into these toys now, and how much I have to spend, just to glimpse that old, happy feeling.
Hearing Things, supported by its readership and founded by former Pitchfork writers, has quickly become my go-to source for music coverage. They left Spotify this month, and maybe you should too.
Artists and reports show that they don’t pay enough per stream compared to others. Their playlists take away context from music and make it just background noise. Their sound isn’t great. They seem to do things that are like modern payola. And Joanna Newsom once said they were “cynical and musician-hating” and like a bad banana that you can smell something’s wrong with.
Did I share this already? Perhaps not. Back in May, Anil Dash wrote about the concept of consent on the internet, and its absence. The internet of creeps is real, though…
Consent is missing on the modern internet. You didn’t actually read the terms of service. You didn’t really agree to accept cookies. I didn’t consent to my website being used to train an AI that will sell my hard work for profit. I didn’t agree to be tracked across websites and have my preferences sold. Nobody asks; they just take. There’s not even an acknowledgement that it’s happening.
In my final Papers next week, I’m unsure what to feature: my favorite RPS content (edited or written by me?), or perhaps just a cathartic outburst! In the meantime, I’d like to share some of the resources I use to find links each week. I’ve cited or linked to them before, but they’re valuable and deserve more recognition.
Web Curios is a weekly newsletter filled with many links to interesting writing, videos, online projects and other online things. It uses AI tools more than some like, but there is always something to discover if you have the time to look.
One Thing is a newsletter that might suggest samba records, then comfortable summer shirts, and then the state of online criticism. No matter the topic, it is always smart and links to other great writing on the web.
Author Robin Sloan sends his Trespassers newsletter with the cycles of the moon, I think. Fitting, because it tends to come late in the UK, and I’m often up past 3am reading everything he’s linked to. The links cover many topics, with a literary focus, and I’m always inspired.
Have I ever linked to anything from Peter Miller’s newsletter? I don’t remember. But I read his short book Shopkeeping last year (recommended by One Thing!) and have bought copies for friends and family. Miller runs an architecture bookstore in Seattle, and his book about running it has good lessons for anyone doing creative or curatorial work. His newsletter focuses on architecture books (and whipped cream recipes) but it and the book together show that Miller has found a secret to living a good life. I also like books about architecture, so.
Caroline Crampton, a non-fiction writer with a great podcast about classic crime fiction, also sends a regular newsletter. The Thursday edition has 13 links. I find many interesting things to read there.
Crampton also edits The Browser, a daily email recommending five things to read (or two for free members).
I’ve been reading Molly White’s Citation Needed since crypto became popular in the game industry, and it is still important. Many links from it have been in the Sunday Papers. White also records each newsletter as a podcast, which is good to listen to while walking my dog.
I’ve stopped reading newsletters that are part of the “sensemaking industrial complex.” I mean, newsletters from journalists who just look at bad things and report on them, with guides on how to do the same. Garbage Day, for example, which used to be fun but is now sad. But I will make an exception for Today In Tabs, which is less frequent for the author’s mental health, and also for us. It still has Rusty Foster’s strengths: funny criticism of the media and political reporting from an outsider. (Or read Foster’s walking diary, Today On Trail, which is better.)
I also get newsletters from Japan-based writer and photographer Craig Mod, both the regular ones and the temporary ones. Roden and Ridgeline both link to interesting articles by Mod and others, about culture, hiking, photography, tech, Japan and more.
You might ask two things. First, is everything a newsletter now? Yes, but you can also read most of these on the web or through RSS. Second, don’t you read about video games for this roundup about writing about video games? Yes, but I don’t like most of it.
This is only some of what I read each week, but I’ve mostly included sources that often have links to articles in the Papers. The real secret is to explore. Read an article you like? See if the writer has a newsletter, where they’ll probably write more you’ll like and link to others, and so on, until your inbox is full. Then get Readwise to help manage it all, and Obsidian for notes and quotes.
Oh, I’m telling you how to look at bad things, aren’t I? Remember self-care! Drink tea! And so on.
Music this week is Tiberius b, who made the best album of the year that no one is listening to, so listen to Stay With Me. I also listened to Bloc Party’s first album for the first time in ten years, after their Tiny Desk performance. Did they ever get better than She’s Hearing Voices? Perfect fight music. So let’s fight.