ok ok I took a week off!
I saw half as many people as I meant to in NYC, and did half as many things as I’d hoped (thx, mostly, to the unbearable heatwave). I’m now happily nesting back in Mexico City in pleasantly cool weather with a bunch of new art and hardware supplies, with 1000 things to read and work on. as this email goes out I’m beginning Materia Abierta, and feeling v excite to meet new people and make new things.
anyway, since I took a week off, here’s a super-sized email with a bunch of fresh events and opportunities:
resource roundup!
I really like this essay from Tech Learning Collective, the first on their new blog, on the problem of job pipeline bootcamps. there’s a lot of wonder and comprehension lost in some of these programs that are really just tailored to cranking out sample projects in desirable languages. I 100% believe that everyone should have access to technology education, and that understanding the tools that are shaping our world is a must! but u should definitely think critically about these programs before diving in. what do you want to learn and why? is a bootcamp really the right place for those goals?
Blender 2.80 is out! I haven’t farted around with Blender in years, but I’m looking forward to playing with this release. I already hear good things! you can download it and start tinkering here.
flexbox! it’s super super useful for front-end, and also easy to misunderstand. this article is a nice breakdown of the logic behind flexbox. plus cats! def worth a read if you want to feel more intuitive with your CSS!
wizard zines has a new newsletter! sign up here to receive a comic from the archives every Saturday, along with a little added commentary from Julia Evans. this past Saturday’s issue was all bash tips and tricks, but she also linked back to her original tweet about the comic, which has a whole thread of even more tips.
have u played with Glitch? it is a pretty chill platform for remixing code (think if Github was way cuter and more beginner-friendly), and they have a whole slew of framework starters, platform starters, and integrations with other tools (including Github lol) which are worth checking out here.
in this post-Maker Media era (RIP), Sean Hodgins has compiled his 3-part series on making an Arduino neural network robot for Youtube:
opportunities!
hey! did you know that Tech Learning Collective has rolling admissions? did you miss their deadline for one of their recent courses or events? pre-enroll for the next session on their site!
the call for the 2019 Hackaday Prize is open until August 25! this is a worldwide hardware design contest focused on product development. so what makes a good entry?
Put simply, you need an idea, an image, and documentation. To start, talk about a technology problem facing people today and your idea of what a solution might be. Then start building something and documenting the process. From your documentation, others should be able to build what you’re working on, and incorporate the best ideas into their own projects.
you can learn more and submit your project here.
House of Electronic Arts Basel and the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology of the Zurich University of the Arts have an open call for artists for a residency and production program. they’re looking for a European artist or artists who are interested in learning how to work with their Immersive Lab, a unique sound and video space, and produce a new work for it. submissions are due by September 22, and you can learn more here.
? upcoming events!
Fri, Aug 16! Herbert Art Gallery & Museum! Coventry, UK: Culture Coventry is hosting an algorave as part of Wonder, an immersive exhibition at the Herbert! and it’s only £5! feat. Heavy Lifting, Hellocatfood, Rosa Francesca, Imagemover, Innocent, and Maria Witek. get your tix on Eventbrite!
Weds, Aug 21! CENTRO diseño! Mexico City, Mexico: this free event will dig in on the idea of data as a curatorial tool, with Mexico as a case study. is there a place for data visualization to serve as an alternative for low-budget educational exhibitions? I’m gonna try to check this one out personally, so if u see me say hi! RSVP on Eventbrite.
if you’re at JSConf this looks rad:
Weds, Sept 11! Covent Garden! London, UK: LDC and INTERLACED are teaming up for a panel discussion on the crossovers between fashion and gaming for London Fashion Week.
With consumers now accustomed to curating their online selves to reflect their real-world personas, how can designers help them do this in a digital-only environment? What are the opportunities for fashion and retail brands to create products for avatars and within games? How does this impact the real world? How can creating digital-only products change the way we think about fashion production and sustainability? And why are professional gamers the new fashion & lifestyle influencers?
early bird tix are already sold out! but you can get regular admission on Eventbrite.
Sept 16-21! Berlin, Germany: Citizens of Evidence: Independent Investigations for Change is a conference of the Disruption Network Lab this September in Berlin. the conference itself is the 20-21, in conjunction with a workshop presented by School of Machines, Making & Make-Believe on using technology to investigate injustice. this looks really good, and I’m secretly trying to come up with excuses to attend. you can learn more here.
just for lulz!
idk I have been playing a lot of minecraft lately while also feel like I would be fine w/ just jettisoning into the ceiling
*~housekeeping~*
as always, submit to the open artist call if you have anything in the works that you are excited about! I swear I’m actually going to read through them and start pinging people (lol). and if you have an event or opportunity to promote (anywhere), please send me all the details. the next newsletter will cover the week of August 12 to August 18, but I’m happy to promote events further in the future as well and keep them on the calendar.
