Whims — Zolmes

The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America

Queer Reading ProjectZ HolmesMarch 30, 20221950s - 1980s, gossipy, activism, DC

I imagine nearly everything there is to be said about Samuel Delany's Times Square Red, Times Square Blue has probably been said. It manages to be a beautiful and also filthy portrayal of a city and a culture in shift. Times Square Red, Times Square Blue is about the decimation of a certain type of queer life, mirrored in the way a city changes. It seamlessly an era of New York City to the type of queer sex that was available, forcing the reader to connect the construct of a city to the people that actually inhabit it.

Queer Reading ProjectZ HolmesFebruary 10, 2022queer geographies, 1970s - 1990s, NYC, memoir, gossipyComment

Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town

Although I was interested in the history of the island, I wasn’t sure if the book would scratch my itch and was very pleasantly surprised. The 2014 edition starts off with a new preface where the author hints at some lesbian drama in her own life. This energy is carried forward into the introduction which, unexpectedly and delightedly, includes lengthy descriptions of the flirtation between the author and the then 80-something "Kay" (undoubtedly Kay Guinness).

Queer Reading ProjectZ HolmesJanuary 16, 20221930s - 1990s, gossipy, queer geographies, NYCComment

The Queer Reading Project

I tend to read non-fiction and because I'm a gay history nerd, I have a lot of queer-related histories (although not my only area of interest). Over the last few months I've been going through my (large) collection of unread queer books and trying to get them all read. I wanted to keep track of them somehow and I hate the UI of Good Reads, so I decided to make a master post of what I've read and what's unread and also do a quick log of each book here for future reference.

QRP MasterZ HolmesDecember 29, 2021

Give Me a Vacation Mode From Streaks

There’s a fine needle to thread between actions that help your business and actions that help your users, but it feels like offering understanding to users would improve the gamification experience.

UX DesignZ HolmesNovember 29, 2021

Medical Onboarding: The Problem

We need better ways to let patients talk about their knowledge and fears and offer the time and space for doctors to prepare for that.

Medical OnboardingZ HolmesNovember 4, 2021

To Do System Update

Since writing my last post I’ve had a few months of using Things to manage my to do system and for my own reference I wanted to think about what’s been working, what hasn’t been working, and how I could try and tweak it.

To Do SystemZ HolmesOctober 13, 2021Comment

I Need a To Do System

Like a lot of people with executive function quirks I’ve tried and failed at a lot of tasks management systems. The initial excitement of a new thing eventually leads to forgetting to use it. There are some methods that have consistently worked for me (Inbox Zero, visible reminders, SMART goals) but a lot that hasn’t.

To Do SystemZ HolmesMay 14, 2021Comment