This is the Mac SE.
“This is America”… illustrated on an oldskool Macintosh. Because why not?
(And more on the process.)
TEXXXXTREEEEEEME!
When a normal text editor is insufficiently epic for your needs…
*ominous harmonica solo*
Follow me so I can guide you
So follow me so join me in sin
You gotta stay to hell with the devil
And me I reached into my crystal cupThe hand of the devil reached out and touched my cheek
And I learned today that I was right and left aloneDust devil devil devil devil devil
Dust devil devil devil devil devil devil
Sinking in, with the devil in the hallway
Come to me and I will heal your always hurting soul
These lyrics do not exist.
AIrt.
Was there ever an art movement more well-suited to being automatically generated than Cubism?
(Though as an Art Purist you could probably argue the output images from this are more, like, abstract-expressionism-with-Cubist-color-palettes but… whatever.)
RSSTube
Hey did you know YouTube channels have RSS feeds? Because they totally do.
Iconified.
From this post I learnt that Apple Watch’s workout app has a specific category for “Fitness Gaming” and DDR has never been the same…
Choice.
You choose the web you want. But you have to do the work.
A lot of people are doing the work. You could keep telling them, discouragingly, that what they’re doing is dead. Or you could join in the fun.
Brent Simmons on the web you want.
I’ll note here that “work” might be as simple as “move to an independently run platform” or as complex as “rent a VPS and build a website from the server up”. But the point is the only person who’s going to make the web you want to see is you.
Nonplace.
Places exist for purposes, and when those purposes emigrate to new locations they also bring along the specters of their former homes. The bathroom is a place to shower or to cast out human waste. Bring your phone in there, and it’s also an office where you can complete procurement requests in enterprise-resource-management software such as Workday, and a theater where you can watch The Crown on Netflix, and a classroom where you can practice Latvian on Duolingo, and a travel agency where you can book a flight on Delta. And your office isn’t just at home, either: It’s anywhere. At the gym, on the train platform, in the gastropub, behind the wheel.
[…]
It’s easy but disorienting, and it makes the home into a very strange space. Until the 20th century, one had to leave the house for almost anything: to work, to eat or shop, to entertain yourself, to see other people. For decades, a family might have a single radio, then a few radios and a single television set. The possibilities available outside the home were far greater than those within its walls. But now, it’s not merely possible to do almost anything from home—it’s also the easiest option. Our forebears’ problem has been inverted: Now home is a prison of convenience that we need special help to escape.
Ian Bogost is unintentionally prescient.
So I added this to my drafts folder months ago, which means it’s kind of surreal to encounter it again now, in late March, right after I’ve spent my first week in serious social distancing/work-from-home mode due to the coronavirus pandemic. And by the time this pops off my scheduled posts queue, sometime in July… where will we be? After spending weeks or months locked into our homes, relying on Xoom and Slack and Citrix and Deliveroo and Amazon? Will our enforced reliance on the non-place have changed our relationship to Outside? And if so, how?
See you in the future, I guess…