The lost art of listening
I’ve been thinking about how rare good listening has become. Here’s why being a listener matters to me, and why I think it’s something we could all use a bit more of.
Re: Starting without a plan
Thoughts on why I love seeing new blogs pop up, and how blogging can be both a creative outlet and a way to connect with others.
Dancing with ghosts
A dreamy dive into Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights — ghostly vocals, red dresses, and a story that’s kind of like Baby Reindeer on steroids. Music, obsession, and a little bit of awkward dancing.
The present
A notebook I got for present. I heard someone say that we need to understand our past in order to create our future. But is that really true? Do we have to “understand” our history? Isn’t it enough that we’ve learned from it — that we’ve used it to shape better conditions moving forward? How can we even claim to understand the choices we made back then, when we’re no longer the same person?
Can AI make my blog easier on the eyes?
AI-generated image, for fun and context. I’m using the lovely mnml theme for my blog and decided to try letting AI improve it from a readability perspective. I used Gemini for the task, since I have a free Pro trial. Here’s the prompt I started off with: Edit these styles with good readability in mind, giving it a pleasant relaxed feeling while also being beautiful. I kept the suggested color scheme as it was, but I did ask for a slightly darker background for dark mode.
A lifetime of lessons
Elderly man in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I recently overheard a conversation where someone proudly shared a photo of their grandchildren. The lighthearted response was a joke about the grandchildren doing the same in reverse: “Look, this is my grandmother. Isn’t she cute? Guess what she said today?” At first, it made me smile — but the thought lingered and slowly turned into a rather sad reflection. In some cultures, this scenario wouldn’t be far-fetched at all.
Making Micro.blog more colorful
Street painter outside The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. I’ve put together a Micro.blog Color Palettes page to go along with the Micro.blog Styles collection. You don’t have to use Micro.blog to enjoy the palettes, of course. Just rename the variables to match your own theme (you might need to do that even if you’re on Micro.blog). I’m currently using the mnml theme with the Swedish Sunshine palette. Each palette comes with styles for both light and dark mode.
Clarity over chaos
Sign outside a house I once visited. This day started out with a bit of a challenge… The first client I visited had a (false) preconception about why I was there. I tried to explain, but she wouldn’t have it. Luckily, I’ve learned the value of a firm no. So I told her — it’s either my way or no way at all. I wouldn’t say we got into an argument, but we came pretty close.
Setbacks with a purpose
My car with a flat tire. I was recently listening to a thoughtful interview with the wonderful Finnish singer Arja Saijonmaa. The conversation touched on something we can all relate to — life’s inevitable setbacks. She said something that really stayed with me. That every difficulty, no matter how overwhelming it might feel in the moment, often turns out to have a hidden purpose when we look back. What seems like a dead end can, with time, reveal itself to be a necessary detour — something that led us somewhere we never would have gone otherwise.
A place that feels like elsewhere
Right now, I’m sitting at The International Bar. It’s just around the corner from where I live. Every now and then, I drop by for a beer or two. I like the atmosphere. The staff is super friendly, and I often bump into some regulars. Like one guy — an aspiring author from Germany. We usually chat a bit about reading, writing, and whatever’s going on in the world. Always a good vibe!
The perfection myth
I just finished reading Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull. I loved it! So interesting and inspiring. One thing Ed said that really stuck with me (among many others) was when he talked about sharing your work with others. He said: Don’t wait for things to be perfect before you share them with others. Show early and show often. It’ll be pretty when we get there, but it won’t be pretty along the way — and that’s as it should be.
Micro.blog blogroll styles
Micro.blog has a neat built-in feature for creating a blogroll. It seems like quite a few people have missed this little gem — maybe because it’s kind of “hidden” under Design → Edit Recommendations. If you’re using Micro.blog, I highly recommend giving it a go. The recommendations can then be accessed by anyone through a Recommends [number of] blogs link on your profile (here’s mine). There’s also a Blogroll shortcode plug-in that lets you embed the list on any page you like.
Finding your voice — and keeping it
My nephew, Sigge There’s one challenge most bloggers face: discovering their unique voice. And honestly, the only real way to find it is to just keep blogging. With a bit of luck (and a lot of writing), we’ll get there eventually. But keeping that voice alive? That can be just as tricky. It’s easy to get distracted by the glow of upvote buttons and traffic stats. That’s one of the reasons I really like the no likes, no stats approach.
No likes, no stats, no problem
Sign at a café in Chiang Mai, Thailand I really appreciate the new features available on this fresh little blog home of mine. I like how easy it is to create photo albums and track books. And I love that I can publish blog posts straight from my favorite text editor (iA Writer). I also appreciate not having some of the usual features. For instance, there’s no built-in analytics by default.
CSSunday
I’ve spent this Sunday styling my blog. Considering the Zen of CSS, I’d say that counts as a pretty impressive meditation session. As most bloggers know, it’s always a work in progress. A never-ending cycle of tweaking and playing around, but also a genuinely fun way to be creative while learning new things along the way. Recent changes Updated unique looks for the Books, Movies, Music, and Notes categories. Photos now appear without text on the main view.
Blogs have birthdays too
I just read the post Thank you for being you by Ruben Verweij. He writes that his blog has just celebrated its one-year anniversary. Happy blogbirthday! 🥳 I think many bloggers can relate to that kind of joy. I know I can. A blog isn’t just a digital platform. It’s more like an entity — a close friend, a family member, even our better half. A blog is a buddy.
I’d rather be a fake millionaire
I heard on the Swedish news that our dear neighbors in Norway had a bit of a bummer the other day. About 40,000 Norwegians received an official message from Eurojackpot (a big lottery game across Europe) saying they were millionaires. Turns out, there was a sliiight miscalculation. The winnings had been calculated 10,000 times too high. Some people posted their million-dollar smiles on social media, only to be told later that they’d actually won just $11.
Re: IndieWeb is Punk
Yay, I got my ”IndieWeb is Punk” T-shirt today! 😎 This awesome creation is a perfect example of what the indie punk DIY spirit can lead to. It all started with Jamie Thingelstad publishing the blog post IndieWeb is Punk. I commented that the title would make an awesome t-shirt. Jim Mitchell picked up the idea, and within hours, it was a reality. Now, just a couple of weeks later, I’m wearing it here in Sweden.
After the blogging honeymoon
With this new home for my blog, I’m still on the limited Micro.one $1/month plan. It’s a surprisingly generous setup, with neat features like book tracking and photo collections. Coming from Bear Blog — a wonderful platform in its own minimalistic “bear necessities” kind of way — this feels like a whole new world. Honestly, it’s a bit overwhelming, and very easy to get carried away. That’s exactly what I think has happened to me lately.
JulyReply 2025 is here
Junited 2025 is over, which means it’s time for JulyReply 2025! If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might remember I did this last year too. Can we get even more participants this time? Let’s make it happen! 🤩 The idea is simple — and no, it’s not a contest or anything too demanding. It’s all about encouraging bloggers to interact by replying to each other’s posts.