An open thread, in which to share links and bicker. But first, a little incongruity:

Wave by d’strict, Seoul, South Korea. Via Design You Trust.

Attention, woke citizens. During the current lockdown, do you feel a need to “challenge microaggressions” – those “verbal, behavioural or environmental indignities that communicate hostile, derogatory or negative racial slights”? Specifically, those committed during video conferencing?

According to Michigan State University’s Amy Bonomi, director of the university’s Children and Youth Institute, and Neila Viveiros, associate vice chancellor for academic operations at the University of Colorado Denver, the expanded use of virtual meeting platforms such as Zoom and Skype has created “a ripe setting for unconscious bias.”

But of course. The frontier of indignation must forever expand.

“Unconscious bias includes using language, symbolism and nonverbal cues that reinforce normative social identities with respect to gender, race, sexual preference and socioeconomic status,” Bonomi said. “For example, when the virtual background of a Zoom meeting attendee has pictures of his or her wedding, it unintentionally reinforces the idea that marriage is most fitting between opposite sexes.”

It turns out that the reckless visibility of a wedding photo may be crushing the self-esteem out of the touchily unwed. You see, the mere sight of a photo of someone’s happy day can “crowd out the experiences of people with minoritized social identities,” albeit in ways never quite explained. Other taboos include references to “simple activities like family dance parties,” which are apparently a thing, and “gardening with a spouse.”

Curiously, given the stated importance of “sensitivity” and being mindful of what things might mean, we aren’t invited to ponder the kind of person who would resent someone else’s wedding photo. And then complain about it. Or whether such neurotic affectations, these unhappy mental habits, are something to be actively encouraged. In the name of progress. At a university.

Update, via the comments:

In a shocking plot twist, I’m taking a long weekend and leaving you heathens to devise your own entertainment. To soften the blow, here are some photos of woodland; a suboptimal ceiling fan; the retro pleasures of Poolside FM; a chap who made poor choices; and a documentary about the quest to reach absolute zero.

Oh, and via Damian, a possible caption competition.

Play nicely. Use coasters.

An open thread, in which to share links and bicker.

I’ll set the ball rolling with a clarification of note; some feline curiosity; an augmented cat; via Julia, some contemporary scenes; and via Damian, a wondrous feat involving carrier bags. 

Oh, and as some of you may be shopping from home a little more than usual, please bear in mind that any Amazon UK shopping done via this link or the search widget top right, or for Amazon US via this link, results in a small fee for your host at no extra cost to you.

It helps to keep this place here.

For those in need of further diversion, the Reheated series is there to be poked at. 

Shower music. || Backyard scenes. || Easy on the yeast. || You want one and you know it. || The new order. || It’s not quite what I’d imagined. || Bad news and good news in close proximity. || Stuck good. || You may gasp when ready. || Drive-in rave, Germany. || Smoking is hard. || Today’s word is hankering. || Continue the research. || Creamy filling. || A four-hour discussion of the film Aliens. || Interspecies sports. (h/t, Damian) || Pigeon in UV. || Just like tiny puppies. || The pleasures of rubber. || He brings leaves. || And finally, the sights, and the sounds, of quality time.