Note: this may be the last Friday Faves until December. I’ve signed on to do NaNoWriMo this year, which means my writing energies will be occupied with laying down a 50.000-word novel between November 1-30! Through the magic of pre-scheduled posting there WILL continue to be a weekly article each Wednesday.

New Music: my friends Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys recently composed and played live a soundtrack to the classic silent film Metropolis. Fortunately it was recorded, and you may now download it for pay-what-you-will on Bandcamp – I’m thinking it will make a great NaNoWriMo soundtrack too!

Kickstarter Trends

Besides the ubiquitous band-making-an-album, I’ve noticed a few trends lately in Kickstarter projects:

• Playing cards – huh? I can sort of see new types of decks for new games, but at one point a few weeks ago there were at least four projects for printing variations of the standard Bicycle type 52-card deck. But more to my interest is
• Wallet variations – whose is thinnest? Whose block RFID scanners? Leather, steel, plastic???

I haven’t seen “the One” to solve all my needs (which probably includes an extra-dimensional portal so that I can carry 20 cards in the density of 5), but her are some interesting current wallet projects:
This is the closest to something I’d like, since I now use metal cigarette cases when I want to go minimal. RFID blocking with a place to put your card that you WANT to read, e.g., a bus pass:

This one is really small, and can be used with your smartphone to hold cards and phone in one bundle (no RFID shield):

This is 2 aluminum plates (RFID-shielding) and an elastic, in colors:

If you prefer full leather, this is a card pocket plus outside strap for quick cash access (no RFID shielding):

Dernier fabric with movable elastic sides, designed to slide down to access the cards more easily (no RFID shielding):