(cover art by Guruguruhyena)

Hi again, it’s been a while since I last wrote here. The last time Touch Grass came out, I was on a plane to Singapore with 95% crypto people as passengers. In contrast with what was seen on social media, Singapore week was extremely wholesome for our team. We have been experiencing the most amazing momentum on the Aave front, after years of building no matter what. While I joined the company just 6 months ago, I have been using Aave since day 1, and been close to the team since the ETHLend times. While I am sure my excitement and pride cannot match that of the team that has been in it for longer, it’s still incredibly exhilarating. And it’s not because we’re on the “winning side”. It just feels good to know that DeFi is winning, because DeFi is indeed the better finance, it’s fairer and it’s accessible to more people, and it does democratize opportunities. 

A few weeks ago, I heard a friend tell me he also used Aave to take out a loan for a house down payment. It obviously takes a lot of work and time to save enough crypto for this, but the fact that you can do this is just incredible. DeFi changes lives, period. And it’s also a force growing in reach - big financial institutions use DeFi now. Stablecoins are crucial to stay afloat in emerging economies. There is no going back from crypto to fiat. Everything has changed. 

This great success did not come overnight - building blockchain-based financial products and infrastructure took about a decade to consolidate, become as robust as it is, and to reach the institutions. You might now be wondering - why is she writing all this about DeFI when she’s supposed to tell us about what creative pursuits are popping on Lens? Because one thing leads to another, anon. Lens would not be here without DeFi, I would also not be here without it. And none of that would be possible without cypherpunks, either. 

So, in the spirit of one thing leading to another - if you’re reading this and are still skeptical of Lens because you haven’t found your niche, or your friends are not there, take a moment, give it time. It’s okay to feel all those things, and still keep going, and keep betting for better technology. We still have a very long way to go. Aave wasn’t built on hype, and look at it now. 

We’ve been heads down because we’re building for you, and for everyone. While we want to keep Touch Grass going on a weekly basis, there might be times like this that we’ll be a bit silent, but not because we are not paying attention to the community or creators, but because it’s crunch time - building a better internet is paramount. Discord just got banned in Turkey anon, another platform falling prey to the whims of governments, a lifeline for many being cut just like that. 

Anyways, without further ado, here’s what I’ve been curating in the past weeks - and a note: whenever Touch Grass takes a pause, remember that something’s cooking. And if you are bored, if I may dare to suggest something: take some time to learn about DeFi, and manifest growing Lens together to be even bigger than it.

Culture 

• Melanie goes to an album listening party in NYC

• Benjamin and Rae’s new album

• Tabassom’s AI emojis get me on a good mood, see for yourself

• Leo Pastel, Jamee Cornelia and GRLKRSH started a pod from their awesome Spaces (I wrote about it here) - live on Tape, first episode here.

• Yoshiro x NENX WIP 

• Happy 3 years of Foofees, Aoife!

• KarmaVioletta’s late night studio

• Been really into Tinysoulgame

• Yeche Lange’s Staking Your Life on a Prank with Mifella is a really good show, and an even better vibe. If you’re in NYC just GO!

• Nessy’s homage to us, the Bonsai Girls

• Nadezha killing it, again. Nothing shocking of course, but SHE IS SO GOOD

• Asami’s new shoot. Spot her favorite things :)

• Chloe is back on Lens <3 we missed you!

Read

• The Beauty in Ugly Feelings by Camille

• Simon de la Rouviere’s Scaling your Blockchain with Lessons from Urbanism

• Gabriela joined Metamask and is THRIVING

• Is Ethereum experiencing an existential crisis? Asks Ahoura.

• PostPolar finally recognizes consumer crypto - however he shamed me for watching Selling Sunset so I am not sure if he is fully ready for what consumer means.

• Tinyrainboot takes a stance on the free mint meta - must read article for all creators

• Yuri delivering truths: the opposite of taste

• The mother of Gals, Ayaka, in conversation with Katie

• Benoit on the allure of polaroids and mochicam
  

⭐️HOT NEW LENS USERS⭐️

• Melanie (she is not really new, but she just got her account unlocked so give her some love!)

• Cecilia jess

• Felps Miera

• Glitchresidency

• Cryptochic56

• Stevii

• Osirene

• Depatchedmode’s comeback

• Kolin

And before I forget, as we start planning devcon, please DO NOT DO THIS: 

See you soon, 

MP