I am still extremely in social distancing, even though things here (and in the US) are starting to open up again. I’m lucky to work from home, and have a decent-ish amount of space to work and relax and do metal yoga on Zoom, so I’ve been trying to content myself with my confined state by going through the list of movies I was excited to see this year that are now getting VOD releases. my recent fav is The Vast of Night, maybe the best new sci fi movie I’ve seen in a long while:
it’s so exciting to see a sci fi movie that is, essentially, a period piece about technology. so much of the film is essentially device porn, giving the viewer a close look at the technologies that preceded all the things that shape our lives today (including, of course, a long, speculative talk about the ideas that would ultimately become smart phones). I love the mechanical quality of the devices that are featured – there’s a drama in watching the heroine snap in and out of phone lines on a switchboard that would be a challenge to recreate in a digital era.
it’s also spooky, dialogue-driven, and tightly paced. maybe it’s just me, but sometimes a movie about alien abduction can also be a real feel-good way to spend a Friday night. it’s a great example of how a story can be small and specific, and still be incredibly effective. check it out!
resource roundup!
Sema is a live coding environment for performing and composing music in real time. you can also use it as a playground for designing and training machine learning networks and creating your own languages. rad! there’s even a 4-part tutorial to get you started. check it out here.
here’s a lil Python script for searching and downloading piles of images from Google images to your local hard disk. use at your own risk for, say, training a neural net!
Codepen is a rly easy way to code online, but it’s a pain in the butt when you want to drop in a local image. here’s a hacky way to make Github host the images so that you can tinker away.
do u want to upgrade ur 1337 setup with a mechanical keyboard? Keyboard University has all you could ever care to know about mechanical keyboards, at ur fingertips (pun intended). if ur aiming to really up the cybertwee in your life, I recommend this interview with Mintlodica, designer of the Magic Girl keyset.
open calls & residencies!
Contemporary Arts Alliance Berlin is awarding an art prize for virtual reality in the field of visual arts with an institutional exhibition in Germany. this open call is open to visual artists based in Germany and runs til TODAY, so apply ASAP (applications will be accepted in English and in German. learn more here.
WINGS invests in indie games made by women and diverse teams. their selection committee meets every 2 weeks to review pitches, and they primarily fund PC and console games with up to $500k in investment. learn more here!
A MAZE./Berlin has an open call for their “Open Screens Digital” as a part of their online program this July for gameplay trailers and online presentations. you can learn more and apply here.
education opportunities
the Code Liberation Foundation has released a free course on creating expressive video games, taught by Phoenix Perry and Charlie Ann Page:
This course is perfect for anyone looking to create games to express themselves and their experiences. It’s also for anyone who understands the important role games play in today’s society, and wants a critical framework for their cultural context. It acts as a starting point for someone wanting to make larger independent games – regardless of how much programming ability they have to begin with.
learn more and sign up here!
? upcoming events!
Weds, July 1! 5 PM GMT -7: author Wendy Liu will be in conversation with Owen Thomas on the subject of inequality in Silicon Valley:
Going beyond the idiosyncrasies of the individual founders and companies that characterize the industry today, Wendy Liu delves into the structural factors of the economy that gave rise to Silicon Valley as we know it. Ultimately, she proposes a more radical way of developing technology, where innovation is conducted for the benefit of society at large, and not just to enrich a select few.
learn more and register for this free event here.
Thurs, July 2! 2 PM GMT -4: Center of Attention is an interactive virtual learning program for adults dedicated to a single work of art by Isamu Noguchi. you’ll get to learn about the creation of Strange Bird, not a bad way to spend a late lunch! you can learn more and register here.
July 3 – 5! Centro de Cultura Digital is hosting an Internet Yami-Ichi this weekend! que bonito! the schedule features a number of presentations that sound weird and good and perfect for a yami-ichi (incluyendo memes de gatitos por supuesto!!!!). check it out here (text in Spanish)!
just for lulz!
*~housekeeping~*
if you have anything in the works that you are excited about (an event, a workshop, a new project), please send me all the details.
also the Facebook group is officially DEAD! NO MORE! it has CEASED TO BE! if you wanna share links or chat, there is now a Discord server that you can use here.
