> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://birchtree.me/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Birch Bark Issue 34 - URL: https://birchtree.me/blog/birch-bark-issue-34/ - Published: 2020-10-02T10:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2020-10-02T10:00:00.000Z - Author: Matt Birchler - Tags: meta, #Import 2023-06-01 22:41, #Import 2025-03-29 19:29 In case you didn't know, I have a weekly newsletter where I share the most interesting art, music, videos, and links of the week. This is the 34th week in a row with an issue, and while I'm biased, I have it on good auithority that it's a nice way to go into the weekend. If you enjoy this, [feel free to subscribe and get it every week!](https://mailchi.mp/b8af9f573f61/birchbark?ref=birchtree.me) *P.S. I'll [reitterate](https://birchtree.me/blog/birch-bark-privacy-and-plans-for-the-future/) here that this newsletter has no long term plan. I'm not building a list of people to sell a self-help class or anything like that, I just want to share some of the best stuff I find online. I don't even use analytics in my emails. No, really, read the email in an email app that yells about tracking pixels and you shouldn't see anything (and if you do, [let me know](https://twitter.com/mattbirchler?ref=birchtree.me)!).* Art Did you know: you can tap on any piece of art below to see the source. [![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/london.jpg)](https://twitter.com/liamwong/status/1307020437038260224?ref=birchtree.me) [![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/trees.jpg)](https://www.reddit.com/r/itookapicture/comments/j26ngb/itap%5Fof%5Fthe%5Fdark%5Fhedges%5Fnorthern%5Fireland/?ref=birchtree.me) [![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/carwash.jpg)](https://www.reddit.com/r/itookapicture/comments/j1ypts/itap%5Fof%5Fcar%5Fwash%5Fvacuums%5Fat%5Fnight/?ref=birchtree.me) [![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/fire.jpg)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/ivw8up/indian%5Fsummer%5Falexey%5Fegorov%5Fdigital%5F2020/?ref=birchtree.me) [![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/whiskey.jpg)](https://www.reddit.com/r/itookapicture/comments/iuhvpt/itap%5Fof%5Fmy%5Fwhiskey/?ref=birchtree.me) [![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/plains.jpg)](https://twitter.com/xmasteve/status/1310731727422226432?ref=birchtree.me) Videos ![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/sara.jpg) [Your Laptop Webcam SUCKS. Do This Instead](https://youtu.be/DV0TmQs98wo?ref=birchtree.me) ![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/covid.jpg) [How America Bungled the Plague](https://youtu.be/GBGShUmEAFA?ref=birchtree.me) ![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/esso.jpg) [Sylvan Esso - Ferris Wheel (Animal Crossing Music Video)](https://youtu.be/7A2r4fI2gSs?ref=birchtree.me) ![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/stuntmen.jpg) [Stuntmen React To Bad & Great Hollywood Driving](https://youtu.be/%5F%5FFKB92e%5FSw?ref=birchtree.me) ![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/ori.jpg) [Ori And The Will of the Wisps Switch Analysis: Inside An 'Impossible' Port](https://youtu.be/kH6wTpIObxE?ref=birchtree.me) Music Did you know you can subscribe to these music picks on Apple Music? [Add the playlist here](https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/birch-bark-essentials/pl.u-r0EW2CPJjPNk?ref=birchtree.me) and get new songs every Thursday before this email even goes out :) ![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/jonsi.jpg) Shiver by Jonsi In his first proper solo album since his 2010 debut, the Sigur Ros frontman is back with a new record that is just as beautiful and hopeful as I remember his first record being. This is a good 'listen in the dark' sort of record. [Listen now](https://album.link/i/1518015266?ref=birchtree.me) ![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/freelove.jpg) Free Love by Sylvan Esso I really don't know what to say about this one other than the fact that Sylvan Esso has an immense ability to deliver consistently great, quiet pop music. [Listen now](https://album.link/i/1521720336?ref=birchtree.me) Links [Long-Concealed Records Show Trump's Chronic Losses And Years Of Tax Avoidance](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html?ref=birchtree.me) The New York Times with a bombshell report with more Trump tax information than we've ever seen before (and that he has worked very hard to hide from the public). I'm no tax expert, so I highly suggest reading this and then seeking out commentary from the experts. [Microsoft had a secret Windows XP theme that made it look like a Mac](https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/25/21456525/microsoft-windows-xp-theme-mac-aqua?ref=birchtree.me) Oh man, it looks bad. ![](https://birchtree.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/birchbark/2020-10-02/aqua.jpg) [Best Shortcut Tools Out Now](https://tablethabit.substack.com/p/best-shortcut-tools-out-now?r=7w8ud) My buddy, Jeff Perry has a great selection of the best resources out there for Shortcuts right now. [A Pilot's Review of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020](https://gizmodo.com/a-pilot-s-review-of-microsoft-flight-simulator-2020-1845224897?ref=birchtree.me) I love this game so much, and it's great to see the perspective from someone who actually flies planes and can speak with authority on the authenticity of the game/simulator/training program. [Apple Watch Momentum Is Building](https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2020/9/30/apple-watch-momentum-is-building?ref=birchtree.me) In a few months, the number of people wearing an Apple Watch will surpass 100 million. While the tech press spent years infatuated with stationary smart speakers and the idea of voice-only interfaces, it was the Apple Watch and utility on the wrist that ushered in a new paradigm shift in computing. We are now seeing Apple leverage the growing number of Apple Watch wearers to build a formidable health platform. The Apple Watch is a runaway train with no company in a position to slow it down. ["That's Their Problem": How Jared Kushner Let the Markets Decide America's COVID-19 Fate](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/09/jared-kushner-let-the-markets-decide-covid-19-fate?ref=birchtree.me) First-person accounts of a tense meeting at the White House in late March suggest that President Trump's son-in-law resisted taking federal action to alleviate shortages and help Democratic-led New York. Instead, he enlisted a former roommate to lead a Consultant State to take on the Deep State, with results ranging from the Eastman Kodak fiasco to a mysterious deal to send ventilators to Russia. [Free, High Quality Studio Ghibli Artwork](http://www.ghibli.jp/info/013344/?ref=birchtree.me) Feel free to use it within the bounds of common sense. Amazing resource here. [A Deep Dive Into the 'Gentrification Font'](https://www.vice.com/en/article/ep499w/gentrification-font-meme-neutraface?ref=birchtree.me) He described it as part of an aesthetic he called "generic authentic," which attempts to convey a sense of "authenticity" through "classic typefaces, raw materials like wood and cement, and these nostalgic nods to older artisanal craft." [They Watched the Debate...on Twitch](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/business/media/twitch-trump-biden-debate.html?ref=birchtree.me) On the "Chapo Trap House" Twitch channel, which has nearly 63,000 followers, one host commented that following the debate "is like trying to watch a subtitled movie when you're drunk."