From My Inbox - 14 June, 2024
Dermorexia, a dedicated comic artist, a missing CIA agent, the oldest prison newspaper, and the Opt-Out Family movement.
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This week in From My Inbox…
Dermorexia, a dedicated comic artist, a missing CIA agent, the oldest prison newspaper, and the Opt-Out Family movement.
When Obsession With Skincare Becomes Dermorexia
An interview with Jessica DeFino about “dermorexia,” a term used to describe some obsessive behaviors the skincare industry is encouraging today.
The current trend that considers skincare part of a self-care routine is doing more bad than good. According to DeFino, data shows higher instances of appearance-related anxiety, depression, facial dysmorphia, body dysmorphia, obsessive thoughts, obsessive behaviors, self-harm, and even suicide.
We are sacrificing our skin's ability to protect us to meet a standard of beauty unrealistic to humans. Trends like “dolphin skin” or “glass skin” lead people to pursue poreless, ageless, smooth skin that resembles more plastic than flesh.
Q&A: Comic Book Artist Colleen Doran Did It Her Way
Comic fan or not, Colleen Doran's commitment to her craft and her success in a medium dominated by men doing things her way makes for an inspiring read.
I remember some dirty old man editor coming on to me and saying, “I’m going to make you famous.” I said, “I don’t want to be famous - I want to be good.”
I was in comics for one thing, and that was to do my work. I absolutely loved comics. I loved drawing the human figure, and the idealized human figure was just glorious to draw to me. Storytelling, spending long hours at home in peace carefully crafting my work, that was what I wanted.
The unsolved vanishing of CIA agent Jim Thompson
This is the story of Jim Thompson, known as the Silk King.
In 1941, he joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), later the CIA, and was sent to Thailand on a mission. He remained there after the war.
Thai silk amazed him so much that he packed several suitcases full of it and flew to New York. After a successful meeting with Edna Woolman Chase, the editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine, Jim Thompson‘s Thai Silk Company took off and became the largest silk manufacturer in the world.
On Easter Sunday, March 26, 1967, Thompson walked out of his mansion in Bangkok at 3 pm to never be seen again.
What happened to the Silk King?
This prison newspaper has been publishing for more than a century
The Prison Mirror is a newspaper made by and for the people held at the Minnesota Correctional Facility – Stillwater. It’s one of the oldest prison newspapers in the country, running since 1887.
The Stillwater prisoners write book reviews, legal explainers, and summaries of local, national, and international events for the monthly newspaper.
For them, it isn’t just about journalism. It’s about getting to a turning point.
Turning the Algorithm Upside Down: The Opt-Out Family
Erin Loechner, former social media influencer, moves toward an “opt-out” lifestyle. She no longer believes there’s a “healthy” way to be on social media and those platforms do more harm than good. With that in mind, she has created the Opt-Out Family movement.
The fact is that Silicon Valley has given our kids a playground that is unfit for use, and we can no longer accept a bit of yellow caution tape upon entry. It’s time to find a new playground altogether.
A real photo just won an AI photo contest
This is it for today.
Have a nice weekend,
Olga