I'm cross posting this week's Birch Bark newsletter here as a reminder that you can get some fun links and videos in your inbox every Friday! I even do a music issue at the end of every month. If you're at all interested, I'd love it if you subscribed (it's totally free).

Hello and happy Friday! I think this is a banger week for links and some looooong videos if you’ve got some time this weekend. Hope you’re all splendid 🙌

Links

Microsoft has long had the worse emoji set in my opinion, but this upcoming redesign looks so good!

As expected, the calls that everyone was fleeing California never to return were overblown.

Saying the word “socialism” produced a Pavlovian response in some (many) people, and this lengthy article explains the relative insanity of that response, and delves into the details of what we mean when we say we love “freedom”.

Safari 15 (coming this fall) will style the browser chrome based on the website you’re on, and web developers can help make sure Safari makes the right choice. Check this article out if you are a developer and want to get it right.

This was a fascinating look at how industry insiders feel about 7 of the major streaming platforms. Netflix was #1, HBO Max right behind it, Apple TV+ was at #5 (but on the rise), for example. Discovery+ was too new to be considered for this, but I’d love to see how it fares too, as it seems to be quite the unexpected powerhouse.

Mad Men. Furious Women:

When we raise our voices, we are not crying wolf.

We are crying for help.

I don’t know what it’s like to be a woman, but these experiences are completely foreign to me, yet so many women have stories like these. Sigh.

“Don’t Americans know how good they have it?” I wonder what people from 100 years ago would think if they heard we had an infectious disease that ravaged the world, shut down everything for a year, and that despite 3.5 billion examples of miracle vaccines being safe and effective, millions of people wouldn’t get it to protect themselves and others.

Finally, Hideo Kojima saying he would not consider his own game, Death Stranding: Director’s Cut, a “director’s cut” is everything I love about him, and why I totally get why he drives some people insane.

Videos

Danny Gonzalez tries to give away a Tesla in a way that doesn’t devastate the “winner.” Long, but worth it.

Another long one, this new Vice series kicks off by looking at the dark side of 90s trash TV.

Chris Hau on the changes happening to Instagram since it’s square photo days.

And finally, why you’re not a visual learner.