August 2025
~ ~ ~ This edition originally ran on theworksofegan.net, and may reference events, posts, or functionality not present on this website. ~ ~ ~
Hello again, link fans! It's the final day of Blaugust! I hope you've been enjoying my many posts, and if you've been participating, then I hope it's gone the best it could for you! If you haven't been following, I just followed curiousquail's lead and set up a blaugust tag to collect all of this month's posts in one place for posterity!
Before we get started, I have a request: I'm starting to run low on anime GIFs of people using computers for my 'What Else Is On?' posts. I haven't gone out and searched for more on my own yet, but I thought it might be fun to solicit suggestions from the blogosphere if you have any! Throw your links down in the comments, or wherever you prefer to communicate with me!
Now then, what else is on?
Put This On
Disturbance At The Heron House - R.E.M.
Seeing as this was the month I got into R.E.M., it seemed fitting to use one of their tracks for this month's WEIO. This is one of my faves that I discovered this month, on what is probably my favorite album of theirs. A solid, mid-album sleeper hit.
Anyway, R.E.M. are great. Highly recommend checking out their lengthy discography.
Read This
A good bundle of assorted life tips from our friends at Defector!
Take My Hand - Jay Castello, Unwinnable
A lovely write-up of a journey to the top of Nobody Is Mad At You Mountain in Peak.
A collection of some good vegetarian recipes that I mostly want to save for myself, but also I love when people share their cooking discoveries/faves/triumphs!
Chicago is good - Megan Carnes
More from Megan here, and I'm definitely biased in my inclusion of this one, but I can confirm that Chicago owns.
Very busy today with traditions and rituals - Laura Michet
It feels very, very good to share a symbolic action with other people. It feels very good to share, and it feels great to teach people to participate.
Yeah! On this blog, we love and support silly little traditions and rituals.
The Media's Pivot to AI Is Not Real and Not Going to Work - Jason Koebler, 404 Media
Great, clear-eyed reporting from Jason Koebler on the devil's bargain some in the media are striking, either in the hopes of surviving Google Zero, or in a blind, investor-minded pursuit of Shiny Thing.
No, posting alone won't save Palestine but you should do it anyway - the Tangent Space
Don't give up before you start. And don't give in to false narratives and bad-faith arguments before you open your mouth.
A fun look back at some gaming-themed dial-up stories.
if you love it, download it - erysdren
And finally, a reminder and a guide from erysdren that the things you love won't be around forever. Download that shit.
Watch This
Defunctland After Dark: That Helicopter Thing at Chuck E. Cheese
We just recently watched this more casual video from Defunctland of Kevin Perjurer trying to find out more about that helicopter thing that used to be at Chuck E. Cheese, and it's a lot of fun to see his process, hear him get excited in real time, and watch him try not to get sidetracked by various details. I think he puts out more of this sort of thing on the Defunctland patreon, which is a compelling selling point!
Let's Figure Out Some Animal Crackers - Nicky Flowers
Just a great video from Nicky, showing off and trying to identify some pretty fucked up looking animal crackers.
Ice Cream Truck (ASMR Animation) - hayang
Had a few of these ASMR animations of a cat doing various activities, and they're nice to watch and very cute! Some of them get kinda weird because ASMR YouTube is kinda weird, but this one is nice.
Play This
Free, Browser
I don't fully understand this one, so I'll crib from Weird Fucking Games' description: "Interpret the meaning of three sets of objects in this contemplative experience with a retro yet mysterious feel."
Mysterious it is! And you get a little printable zine of your interpretations at the end! Takes about a minute to complete.
Free, Browser
Another by ill omens! This one, I understand. It's a puzzle platformer in which you need to touch the pink runes in the right order, connecting them with a magic thread as you do, and then loop back to the first one you touched without crossing over the thread in order to open the portal to the next level.
I'm making it sound more complex than it is, you'll get it as soon as you start playing, and it's quite fun!
Free, Browser
A powerful personal history and manifesto about the individualism inherent to early software, and the creation it enabled, in contrast to today's increasingly locked-down and user-hostile reality.
You really gotta walk through this thing. Takes about 20 minutes.
One Good Website
Draw a fish!
Thanks for reading! Til next time! 👋