Maps Appreciation Post
and some last minute gift guides that are NOT owned by billionaires :)
Maps!
There’s an inside joke between me and my friends in Clubhouse that whenever we meet up/hang out in person or on a video call, we always inevitably end up looking at some kind of map together. Maybe it’s because we all grew up and have lived in different parts of the world so it’s fun to show each other our homes and the locales we’ve frequented. Or we’re just data nerds who were way into maps before Rainbolt came into pop culture. We literally have a channel/thread just for posting maps in our Discord server.
Maps are endlessly fascinating and magical, and I have just so many little stories and memories tied to them. I remember visiting my high school friends who went to Berkeley and lived in a house together, and had a wall in their living room just decorated with a bunch of different maps. I love seeing pins on a map of the world in escape room lobbies to see where past escapees are visiting from. I’ve gushed with friends about the way we like to organize our saved places lists on Google Maps. As someone who drives everywhere in Los Angeles, I had a friend in NYC just this summer tell me that Google Maps can show me the different MTA lines (duh)! One of my favorite drinking games in college (and little bit beyond) was called Pangea that was basically “draw a map! but there’s also there’s drinking!”1
Anyways, sorry, I just love maps and those stories may not be interesting to you but here are some links to maps that may be of interest to you!
Little Free Library - Most if not all of you already know what these are. Mini public bookshelves for neighbors to share books with each other. Take a book, leave a book. This is the official website with an interactive map to find one near you.
Freedge - Same idea as the Little Free Libraries, but for community fridges! Take what you need, leave what you can. This is a global project so check out if there is one near you, in case you ever have extra food/ingredients to donate. Be sure to check out the Community Fridge Database to find more important details. LA local friends: Here is a link to the Los Angeles Community Fridges, specifically. They have a check-in feature so people can help update the status of the fridges re: stock levels and cleanliness! Note: For safety, they no longer accept homemade meals at the fridges. Also may be helpful: FAQ here!
OpenStreetMap - Basically Google Maps, but completely crowdsourced and community contributed, like Wikipedia. Like the Wikipedia of maps? I dunno, just a cool project that I want to support.
Falling Fruit - “a massive, collaborative map of the urban harvest. By uniting the efforts of foragers, freegans, and foresters everywhere, the map already points to over a half million food sources around the world (from plants and fungi to water wells and dumpsters).”
Melbourne Urban Forest - I’m pretty sure I’ve linked this in a previous newsletter. An interactive map of every tree in the city of Melbourne. I love this because you can email the trees! Befriend them! How lovely.
Animal Crossing Happy Island Designer - for those still playing ACNH. This became useful for me last year for secret santa when I made my friend a physical interactive ACNH map with compartments and gifts from villagers that were also character sheets with a whole narrative that led to a coupon for a TTRPG one-shot - it was a whole thing and it was really fucking cool if you don’t mind me bragging.
How many U.S. cities can you name? - A pretty fun lil game if you have a few friends over and everyone can help shout some names to try typing and entering. Pretty sure I’ve posted this in a previous newsletter as well.
Terrible Maps - and of course, one of my favorite social media meme accounts. Follow on Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, or Facebook if you’re still on there?? Not on Twitter though, you should probably delete that.
Holiday Gift Guides
The holidays are upon us and every day I struggle between hating capitalism and consumerism and profit-driven corporations but simultaneously… liking things sometimes. I still swear by never spending another dollar towards a billionaire (okay I spent some money at a Walmart because without breaking NDA, I’ve been constantly at their stores the past several weeks and needed to get some xmas shopping done and saw the perfect item! sue me!)
I try to be intentional with where I spend my money and my attention and that is only possible by knowing what my options are. I’d rather support a small local business, but it can understandably be less convienient than ordering from Amazon. So here are some ethical Holiday Gift Guides I want to share that support small businesses. So you too have options other than ones owned by greedy billionaires.
Golden Gift Guide 2024 - 70+ gift ideas from asian and asian american brands, makers + businesses
Bookshop.org Holiday Gift Guide 2024 - An alternative to buying books off Amazon or Barnes & Nobles. Support your local independent bookstores!
Parks Project - Homegoods, clothing, and outdoor gear. I find their products and designs are SO cute + proceeds go towards preserving and bettering our Parklands! “Leave It Better Than You Found It™. Our goal is to protect and preserve parklands for generations to come by educating, advocating, volunteering, and activating park supporters to get involved in conservation. To date, Parks Project has contributed over $2,700,000 to help fund vital projects in parks around the US”.
Kotn - an ethical fashion brand! Soft organic cotton staples made ethically in Egypt (like legit they are soo soft and comfy! I can confirm!). They are well connected with and are heavily invested in supporting their farmers and schools in the local community that grows their cotton, we love to see it!
Good Store - Of course I’m gonna recommend the Green Brothers’ online store that decreases world-suck!2 They partner with small communities and with independent artists for their products, and aim to stop medical injustices at the root. 100% of profit goes to charity - to date they’ve raised more than $8 million in donations to Partners in Health for things like decreasing maternal mortality rates in Sierra Leone. I’ve been subscribing to their Awesome coffee for years now and it’s really fucking good! And they have some pretty good gift bundles for the holiday season.
Besides shopping local and shopping small, I’m lastly just going to suggest that holiday gifts don’t have to be objects! You can also gift local experiences like a pottery or cooking class, which often supports local makers. Or you can gift a month of a subscription to something! To subscription boxes like The Curiosity Box, or a month of relaxation via meditation app like Headspace. Maybe an annual membership to a local art museum, or a year of Discord Nitro, or AMC Stubs?
Love you all, happy holidays, take good care of yourselves and your neighbors, and I hope something good happens to you today <33
One particular game of Pangea I believe circa 2016/2017 is the reason I have a permanent scar on my left knee. Drunk foot racing games are permanently banned in my house. Still a fun game though.
I realized the other day that I’ve been watching Vlogbrothers and have been following their projects for over 15 years now… that’s half of my life dedicated to these brothers who truly have never really done anything problematic? And that is so fucking rare for creators in the online space!!! We have to stan!!
