📞Talk to Old Friends, Clone a Social Media App, and Super Nintendo World
You are Mario Now
Greetings friends! How are you doing this week?
Last week my baby turned one year old! She turned one year old. It’s hard to believe that a year has flown by so quickly . . .
And here we are one month out from having our next baby!
Exciting times.
Have you watched the Snyder cut yet? We’re planning to get around to it soon.
Well, if you need some cyberpunk vibes to start your week, I made a little album for fun. Check it out. It was loosely inspired by the playlist on night.fm
Well, without any further ado, let’s hop on into this week’s topics, shall we?
📞Talk To Old Friends
In our modern age, we’re more connected than ever - but we often feel more and more distant from old friends.
For example, when was the last time you talked to that old friend from College or High School?
No - I don’t mean liking their Instagram picture of that lake they visited on Saturday or sharing a meme on Snapchat.
I often look at my contact list and think to myself - “I should really reach out to some of my old friends and see how they are doing.”
Then I start looking at the long list of contacts and go ehhhhhhh I’d rather go watch TikTok becauseee it’s めんどくさい 1
I discovered this fun little app the other week that will choose someone for you to message or call at random.
It’s called Out of The Blue, and is created by Brett Bejeck.
It’s a really neat minimalist-style app that gives you an easy way to randomly connect with old friends.
No confusing lists or menus.
Shuffle - then text or call that contact. Easy peasy!
Message an old friend today.
AND - It’s Android and IPhone!
Check It Out.
📱Clone A Social Media App
Do you ever say to yourself - I wish I could just create my own version of that app.
Not because you want to take on a multi-billion dollar company - but you want to create some product like it.
Maybe a shopping website that is literally just TikTok style videos of products uploaded by purchasers - not influencers. OOOOH.
Or your own version of Zapier because you’re sick of all those monthly fees.
Or a fun version of Hacker News centered around indie video games.
Well, here’s a list of Open Source app clones for your discovery. I got really excited when I discovered this list because it puts all of the big ones in one concise place. Before - I’ve spent hours wandering the net to find a few of the ones on this list.
I think there’s a lot of room for innovation on top of existing products. For example - Vine led to TikTok - or Myspace led to Facebook.
Check out this list at the link! Quite a few of these are alternative existing products that you can start using right away, like Plausible.io or Ghost.org
🍄Super Nintendo World
Did you grow up playing any of the dozens of the Super Mario games?
Ever dream it was the real world?
Well - now it is kinda.
I read an excellent article in The Verge detailing the absolute madness of Super Nintendo World.
The experience of stepping through the pipe and into Super Nintendo World is honestly amazing. The architecture is so complete, and your view of it so well-directed, that it really does feel like you stepped into another world. I love that the designers went for a blocky, 2D-esque style for much of the environment — it would have been easy to go with something more conventional given that there are now a lot of 3D Mario games, but this approach is much more evocative. Rather than attempt to replicate a particular Mario game, the mashed-up style just screams “Nintendo.” (Source)
Then I had to go on the hunt and see the main website. I’m serious - this thing hurts my eyes.
Like HOW is this real. HOW does this exist.
Watch this tour below or this long blog tour for a deeper dive
It’s absolutely amazing to me that this exists. There’s so much color that it boggles my mind. After seeing this scenery in all the Mario games, trying to comprehend it in real life is insane.
And look - just look at the food. This is the real Tiramisu that they serve.
If I ever go to Japan, I definitely want to visit this amazing place.
I didn’t even mention the wrist bracelet that connects to the Universal app where you can do dozens of tasks around the Park. That’s pretty cool too!
The Land of Random
A list of random things to brighten your day and mind.
Creativerly Newsletter
Phillip and I have been Newsletter pals for almost a year now, and I love chatting with him about different cool creative tools that we’ve discovered. Both of us are a tad obsessed with finding cool stuff on the net, haha - like the Zoom alternative Around or whiteboard tool Miro. Phillip shares creative tools, entrepreneurial resources, and mental wealth articles every week. Subscribe at the link!
Anti Zombie Car
I have NEVER seen a car as intense as this Rezvani Tactical Vehicle. The “Military” edition even has EMP protection, smokescreens, and thermal imaging. Wild! It costs lots and lots of money, of course. $295K and up!
Cassette Lamp
This epic lamp is made of 6 cassette tapes AND YOU CAN CHANGEEEE THE COLORS WITH A PENCIL winding the tape. Check it out
Play Synths in 3D or AR
This little Google Experiment lets you play Synthesizers. It’s pretty darn cool, and has quite a bit of detail if you’re willing to spend the time!
The Cheapest Michelin Star Food
So apparently the cheapest Michelin rated food in the world is in Singapore and is like 2 bucks and change and I want it. Read about it at the link!
Create a Website like a Powerpoint
This neat new website builder lets you build your next website Powerpoint style. It feels like a mashup of Webflow and Carrd honestly. Check it out!
Train To Atlantis
It’s been like a decade (ooooof. Hurts to say that) since I watched Lego Stop Motion on Youtube BUT This is really cool.
NFT MADNESSSSSSS
Charmin made NFTS - Yes. It’s quite wild
Some words to chew on by the OG Seth Godin
Angry words about NFTS - more to chew on
TikToks You Can’t Miss
Don’t make the robot mad by turning on the lights
This cat is beautiful. I want more.
And this cat knows how to hit the beat.2
Live off the grid in comfort
IT’s the OG Cyberpunk dancer meme
It’s the Streetcleaner Samurai!
Well, that’s all for this week. See you next time!
Mendokusai - a excellent Japanese word for describing something that’s troublesome or you don’t feel like doing. I don’t know Japanese, but I love this word because it literally describes so many feelings.
Somehow I am now on Cattok