Note from the Touch Grass editor: since we’re quite heads down, the furthest we’ll be traveling in the next weeks is to our desks, but our Guest Editor Dayana (dee_centralized) has been roaming around the world so we invited her again to share her travel diaries!
GM and welcome to my LA diaries! 🌴 I’m spending the next 2 weeks in the land of Erewhon, Barry’s Bootcamp, and Baywatch. I’m in town for work, diving into all things crypto PR, but to be honest, I’m driving around creating content in my Lens socks as if that was my full-time job (manifesting!).
It’s been 10 years since I lived in the United States and 5 since I last visited. The more things have changed, the more they’ve stayed the same.
Passing joggers on the Redondo Beach boardwalk at the crack of dawn 🏃🏼♀️, the sense of wanting to do, be, and have more is palpable. To me, California has always represented the finest of American ambition and striving for excellence.
Everything here is BIGGER. Cheery waiters serve me tacos 🌮the size of my head, monster trucks roar by , and baby pink-colored Stanley Cups grace the shelves of Ace Hardware.
Every morning, after my run, I head over to The Boy and the Bear - a dark, moody, and cozy coffee shop☕ that doubles as a roastery. I posted a GM from there earlier this week and to my shock and delight, a friend of a friend from the Ethereum writing world commented that she lives just down the street so I invited her for a cuppa.
Here, I feel free to get my freak on - waking up at 5am , finishing work by noon-ish and driving around in a roofless red Audi taking photos for my friends on Orb. I feel like I tap into the ethos pretty well too - I’m always happy to strike up a conversation with a stranger 🙋🏼♀️ and rock a Billabong cap. But would I live in California? Maybe. Perhaps one day when my morning coffee order isn’t $26.
Next week I’ll be taking off to the Palm Springs desert to celebrate my birthday so stay tuned 🌵. Until then - keep sharing your own diaries, you beautiful Lens-plorers!
And now, the digest:
Culture:
We’re not biased, she keeps posting incredible stuff. Nadezdha’s queen of hearts
Sergeant Sl8termelon and pfeffeunit kill it again - i blacked out and minted a few. Amazing.
Read/ Watch
Benoit on shitposting - again, i might be biased, because I love shitposting, but this is some of his best work.
Cecilia reconnects with her creativity (in Spanish)
Billy on the new score mechanics of the new Trifle game, anybody.gg
Yordis on creating web3 content (in Spanish)
Blake in conversation with Shavonne, Sarah Phillips and Afrochicks
Big Orb Energy - a killer update now live!
Orb has just now shipped a really big update with exciting features: Orb Jams, essentially group chats in your clubs (can’t wait to talk to you all day about /butter). Orb Jams includes WITA - that allows you to peep into message previews, and reactions and stickers inside and outside of Jams . It shipped yesterday when I was at the movies watching The Apprentice (don't ask, it's bad) and I got to fully immerse on it this morning - it's electric. It's fun. It leverages a stack of tech (ZKsync, Lens, Story Protocol, Bonsai) and it's just really, really good. We're so excited.
To celebrate, they’ll be shipping a new sticker pack every 2 hours for 28 - so I guess nobody is doing any sleeping this weekend.
Don’t forget to update your Orb app to enjoy the latest build with us :)
HOT NEW LENS USERS
(not new but needs some visibility because she’s a fantastic builder!) Tere from Handlefinder!
And give a follow and use Handlefinder - we’re big fans!
That's it for this week! see you next time :)
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Traveling around LA, @mariapaula dives into a vibrant mix of crypto PR and personal memoirs, relishing tacos the size of a head and nostalgic California vibes. After ten years abroad, discovering the comforts of early morning runs and coffee, the exploration continues to Palm Springs to celebrate a birthday.