{"id":46237,"date":"2026-06-07T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=46237"},"modified":"2026-06-05T08:55:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:55:03","slug":"at%e2%80%91home-writing-retreat-surprising-podcasts-tiny-camera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/at%e2%80%91home-writing-retreat-surprising-podcasts-tiny-camera\/","title":{"rendered":"At\u2011home writing retreat \/ Surprising podcasts \/ Tiny camera"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At\u2011home writing retreat<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I copied this essay\u2019s<\/a> idea of an at\u2011home writing retreat by creating a loose schedule of deep\u2011work, time\u2011blocked writing between breaks for reading, meditating, walking my dog, lunch, and body care. What would have been a regular, aimless Saturday of half\u2011finished chores and movies turned into a day that felt both relaxing and genuinely productive at the same time. It surprised me how intentionally breaking my normal rhythm, even inside my own house, could leave me feeling like I\u2019d been somewhere new mentally and physically. \u2014 CD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tiny retro keychain camera<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Kodak Charmera<\/a> is a thumb-sized digital camera that clips onto your keychain and shoots gloriously lo-fi 1.6-megapixel photos and video. My daughter has been taking amazing shots with it \u2014 the grainy, slightly washed-out images have a nostalgic, early-2000s digicam vibe that mocks the clinical perfection of phone cameras. One catch: without a microSD card<\/a>, it only stores two photos, so buy a cheap card to make it truly useful. Young people are embracing these tiny cameras, maybe out of childhood nostalgia. Check out the r\/toycameras<\/a> subreddit for inspiring photos from the Charmera and other little cameras. \u2014 MF<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprising podcasts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Two of my favorite new podcasts are produced by co-authors of one of the most notable books of last year, Abundance<\/a>. The book argues for dynamic governance and a liberalism that builds stuff. Each author now has their own podcast. The Ezra Klein Show<\/a> is in your standard interview format, but with an unexpected range of subjects, all cast through Klein\u2019s sharp mind and extensive background. The conversations are reliably good. Derek Thompson\u2019s Plain English<\/a> show is a scripted narrative that researches interesting questions. His episodes are more like an audible magazine with more than one interviewee. I rate my podcasts on how often they surprise me, and Plain English is usually surprising. \u2014 KK<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disposable baby bibs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A common parenting challenge when traveling or visiting with small children: a bib is too bulky to carry around, but meals without it are a mess. First world solution: disposable bibs<\/a>. Light, cheap, does the job, toss when done. $7 for 20. \u2014 KK<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private visual universe<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cosmos<\/a> is a visual search engine like Pinterest, except it\u2019s ad\u2011free (right now), which makes it a quieter, calmer place to gather and collect thematic images. There are no likes or comments, so it feels less like social media and more like a private gallery for drafting up mood boards and visual worlds. \u2014 CD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A rollicking Viking saga<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My father kept recommending Frans G. Bengtsson\u2019s novel The Long Ships<\/a><\/em> to me, but I kept putting it off. As soon as I started reading it, I was enthralled. This 1941 Swedish classic follows Red Orm, a Danish boy abducted by Vikings, through galley slavery, Moorish Spain, battles in England, and treasure hunts along Russian rivers. It\u2019s funny, exciting, and endlessly inventive. If you liked Game of Thrones<\/em>, Edgar Rice Burroughs, or Jack Vance, you\u2019ll probably love it too. Novelist Michael Chabon, who wrote the introduction, says he\u2019s only ever met three other people who knew the book \u2014 and all of them, like him, \u201cloved it immoderately.\u201d \u2014 MF<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Recomendo – issue #517<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47588,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[2323],"tags":[2324],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46237"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46237"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46238,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46237\/revisions\/46238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}