Mastodawn

BREAKING: I will be ignoring the internet, and specifically "the news", on Monday, Jan 20, 2025. Whatever stupid shit happens, I will learn about in *abbreviated* digest form on Tuesday, rather than following along with whatever mortifying nonsense happens in realtime elevated-heart-rate horror. If it is important, it will come back.

This is self-care and I strongly urge you to consider it.

https://jwz.org/b/ykgn

jwz Jan 21, 2025

Dear Diary,

Today I got takeout from a taqueria and sat on the grass in my local park listening to jazz singers celebrate MLK day. Then I read half of the (paper) book that I am currently enjoying. After that, our little clubhouse put on a Prince-themed burlesque show and we made it Purple Rain.

If something else happened today, I'm sure I don't need to know, or maybe eventually I'll hear about it later.

coldclimate Jan 21, 2025

@jwz good day

jwz Jan 21, 2025

New filter in progress

jwz Jan 21, 2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjNytMN4QL0

Metric - Doomscroller (Official Video)

YouTube

jcristovao Jan 21, 2025

@jwz great music!

Trit’Jan 21, 2025

@jwz As we all did too. 👍

Dr. David McBride (dwm)Jan 21, 2025

@jwz 14 (key)words is upsettingly apropos.

Jeff Jan 21, 2025

@jwz I piholed nyt on my home network. It's in the fake news/misinformation section of the block list after infowars, where it fucking belongs.

A mastodon filter would be a good addition. Great idea.

jwz Jan 21, 2025

@overeducatedredneck This filter is for catching all the people who can't stop impotently *complaining* about NYT.

Jeff Jan 21, 2025

@jwz Even. Better.

Nathan M Jan 21, 2025

@jwz I was so sad when twice now, I've lost my filters list due to servers shutting down.

Viss Jan 20, 2025

@jwz im in

Nfoonf Jan 20, 2025

@jwz I envy my cats even more today than any other day

Frenshape Jan 20, 2025

@jwz I'm going to play a game I'm calling "newsmageddon" where if i hear any news I have to do a shot. And I'd really rather spend the day jailbreaking a 3d printer and burning things with a laser.

Rachael Ava 💁🏻‍♀️Jan 20, 2025

@frenshape @jwz Or we could play a good ol' game of telephone and see how far we can screw up the actual news with something so hilarious and stupid that even The Onion would be envious.

blobfoxgooglymlem

Jairaj Devadiga Jan 20, 2025

@jwz I have been doing this for years and can confirm that it works wonders.

Auntie Mame Jan 20, 2025

@jwz I escaped to Paris yesterday. At 6pm CET I plan on feasting on escargot and steak frites, blissfully unaware for the next week.

Qob Jan 20, 2025

@jwz right there with you, choosing to have a great day.

Stone Bear (has moved)Jan 20, 2025

@jwz I'm staying engaged b/c a lot of my community are vulnerable; if I see something I'm damn well going to make sure they see it. This is called using the luck/privilege I have of being safely out of the blast zone 🇳🇱 for good... AND if you gotta tap out, *tap out*, self-care first.

the toad Jan 20, 2025

@jwz What's your preferred form for reading the news in digest? I currently have a curated RSS feed for tech news, used to use it for global news but things got a little overwhelming so for now its just tech

Rosey Jan 20, 2025

@jwz
It is what it is. Protesting does nothing. Ignore the squeaky wheel, ptotest with your spending habits and teach the young what democracy was.

Glenn Jan 20, 2025

@jwz I understand the sentiment, but I don't think ignore news for a day will help a lot. https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExZGMzMm40Z29xMWl2bjBkYXdzenB5ZzN4bGdjZzlnbG42cXV5ZnVuciZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/MrdaOsKoKxjm8/giphy.gif

not listening stephen colbert GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Discover & share this not listening stephen colbert GIF with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.

Glenn Jan 20, 2025

Having said that, I do think that cutting back on the number of news outlets you visit on a day makes sense. Try to avoid news provided by social media or, at the very least, take it with a pile of salt.

jwz Jan 20, 2025

@glennsills Your opinion was not solicited.

Ragon2 Jan 20, 2025

@jwz Next step is doing this everyday, you'll see you only hear about really important news 1 or 2 weeks later from someone you know talking about it. And you don't miss anything really important

Christmas Tree Jan 20, 2025

@jwz I wish I had your willpower

Maarten Pelgrim Jan 20, 2025

@jwz Ok, so what will you do for the other 1459 days?

Maarten Pelgrim Jan 20, 2025

@jwz Totally understand the sentiment btw.

GBlishen Jan 20, 2025

@maartenpelgrim @jwz So that is the number we can use as a countdown. We need an app for that with daily notifications.

Maarten Pelgrim Jan 20, 2025

@tinfoiling @jwz Or better yet, a Mastodon bot.....

Pass the Dutchie Jan 20, 2025

@jwz
I'm going to keep repeating "it's my birthday week" over and over to try to think of something else.
I started having panic attacks when I opened the app. I should probably stay off any media today.

DžuroQ Jan 20, 2025

@jwz sem hotel vprašat zakaj samo danes😅
Pol sem se spomnil
Ma taktika velja kar za vse dni
Preverjano skoz

Marvin Jan 20, 2025

@jwz I’ll stick to the hourly news on the radio: short and to the point. And even then I expect I’ll still wince at the mention of certain events today.

Tony Novak Jan 20, 2025

@jwz I’ve taken this approach for the past two and a half months.

JoeJoeTom 🏳️‍🌈🎶🪨💛🤍💜🖤Jan 20, 2025

@jwz Fortunately, today I am having lunch with friends, followed by #mahjong 🀄 ... and music to record before and after! 🎵

GFIdk Jan 20, 2025

@jwz I will be playing on-line sudoku all day to feed my brain, not dissolve it 😁

🪐✨ ꉣꑀꁲꏳꑀꊯꌈ꒒ ✨🪐Jan 20, 2025

@jwz I spent pretty much all of the last administration ignoring politics after being inundated by the first 45 run. I think I can ignore it for at least four more years.

Network == Abstraction Layer Jan 20, 2025

@jwz yep, 100% recommended.
no American news for me at all since April 2020. "If it bleeds, it leads" content is just too anxiety-inducing.
I allow myself one exception:
https://electoral-vote.com/

Electoral-vote.com

Track the 2026 Senate election with a red/blue map of the US updated daily using the latest state polls.

Krinn DNZ Jan 20, 2025

@jwz please enjoy this photo of a nice fluffy cat I saw not too long ago

Eric Brombaugh Jan 21, 2025

@jwz Wife and I went on a hike up a mountain. There were a lot of other people out hiking too. Afterwards we went shopping and bought some nice yarn, gasoline and groceries. Then we spent the afternoon working in the garden and the evening watching some DVDs we'd bought a while ago. Perfectly normal day.