Grace Ebert, Colossal:

Although her earlier images captured the fleshy fungi in spectacular detail, Pollack has spent the last two years getting even closer to her subjects—which are often less than a millimeter tall—by using a combination of a microscope and macro lens that magnify her findings up to 10 times their actual size. The resulting images document even the smallest features, like individual spores, the veiny web structure encasing them, and the distinct texture and color of each organism.

Her photos are incredible. I would love to see her work in real life to see how she does this.

A photo I couldn’t quite fit into last week’s journal entry. I’m itching to go back out there but the weather has been bleh lately.

Austen Goslin, Polygon:

Dragon Ball Super is getting its second ever movie sometime next year, Toei Animation announced on Saturday. The announcement of the new movie came on Goku Day — May 9 because the Japanese character for five and nine can be read similarly to the character’s name — which serves as a celebration day for the entire Dragon Ball universe.

Dragon Ball is the anime that got me into anime. A few years ago, I binged through every Dragon Ball series, so of course I’m stoked for this.

But what I didn’t know is that May 9th is Goku day. According to the official Dragon Ball website:

Goku Day is an official anniversary certified and registered by the Japanese Anniversary Association¹. Why May 9th? Well, since in Japan the date is written in the order 5/9, and because 5 and 9 can be read as “Go” and “Ku”, the numbers combine to make Goku’s Japanese kanji! Thus, May 9th became Goku Day!

I much prefer this holiday over May 4th, but that’s mostly because I didn’t grow up with Star Wars like many people around me did. And 五 (go) and 九 (ku) is just cool.

Funny story: I studied screenwriting at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, and we had most of our classes in a building named after George Lucas, and it wasn’t until my freshman year when I finally watched my first Star Wars movie. Yeah, that was awkward! I’m a fan now, though.

I finally found a reason to use Font Awesome on my site: for my link posts. I added a nice link icon that helps me spot them on my site quicker. I also went back and updated some of my older posts with the new layout, and I dunno, I like it!

Update 5/10/21: Just kidding! I didn’t like how it took half a second to load the icon, so I’m using a ★ instead. You know, because it’s the same thing as a bookmark, and definitely not like that other guy.

One more for the collection.

I finally got around to watching Tenet tonight, and… why does my head hurt so much? But also, why do I feel so invigorated?

I removed all of my reading posts from my site. I felt like they cluttered up my stream, and I didn’t feel like they added value. I still have my reading page, though, that I’ll keep updating as I continue to read books. I also removed Cloudflare’s analytics script and my webmentions endpoint. I also didn’t think they added value, and, in some ways, felt like a distraction more than anything. I prefer the quiet.

The album that reminded me it was Bandcamp Friday. I have not listened to this yet, but who doesn’t love Death Cab for Cutie?

Edit: Oops, I didn’t realize the album would only be available on Friday.

LIVE AT THE SHOWBOX is available NOW for today only until 11:59pm PT, exclusively on @Bandcamp. This 17-track live album was recorded over our three night stand at The Showbox in Seattle back in February 2020. A portion of proceeds go to @nivassoc. https://t.co/RB1lO0Xdq8 pic.twitter.com/4jNQ7rOy7C

— Death Cab for Cutie (@dcfc) May 7, 2021

I love the vibes of this album. Also, I’m completely in love with Light in the Attic Records. Their releases of Hiroshi Yoshimura’s GREEN and Music for Nine Post Cards changed my life. Highly Recommended.

I listened to this record for the first time earlier this week after reading through Pitchfork’s review of Patience by Mannequin Pussy, and oh my god did this album just punch me in the face with its ridiculous awesomeness. Such a good record.

I think I discovered haircuts for men by tag hopping through Bandcamp one lonely night, and I’m glad I did because I’m now a lifelong fan. His music is just cool, a soundtrack to a life I wish I lived.

I think I also discovered Doon Kanda by tag hopping through Bandcamp one night, and I’m forever grateful I did. Like one reviewer says about his music: “This is the music that comes on when you’re about to get stabbed in the back at an abandoned amusement park.” Couldn’t agree more.

I’m a big fan of synthwave, outerwave, and music that leans heavily on 80s nostalgia, so the Motion Epic was a no brain purchase for me. I was binging through their first two albums when I grew curious to see if they had anything new out. They’re selling this album of remixes for just a $1, so this was an obvious choice. So good.

I haven’t participated in every Bandcamp Friday since it first became a thing last year, but when I saw that today was Bandcamp Friday, I decided to pull the trigger on a few purchases I’ve had my eye on. All in all, I spent over $40, and I couldn’t be happier. According to Ethan Diamond:

If you’ve started to feel guilty about buying music on any day other than Bandcamp Friday, here’s something to keep in mind: on Bandcamp Fridays, an average of 93% of your money reaches the artist/label (after payment processor fees). When you make a purchase on any other day of the month (as 2.5 million of you have since March, buying an additional $152 million worth of music and merch) an average of 82% reaches the artist/label. Every day is a good day to directly support artists on Bandcamp!

I’m glad that regardless of when I want to buy music on Bandcamp, the artists get a majority of my money. That’s how it should be.

On a side note: Not a half hour after I purchased my music, my friend Jon texts me and asks me if I use iTunes. “Yes,” I said. “Great, because I have a $40 iTunes gift card that has literally been sitting in my dresser for years. Do you want it?” “Of course!” And sure enough, when I went to see him, he gave me the gift card with a copyright of 2017 on it. I added it to my account and blam!, $40. I won’t be spending it on Bandcamp, but now I have even more music to add to my collection, which is nice. I truly believe that buying music is better than renting it, so this makes me happy.