yesterday was Star Trek day, in honor of the first episode, which aired on September 8, 1966! I have been reading and digging Trekonomics, by economist Manu Saadia- a book about, well, the economics of Star Trek. amidst a sea of hasty hot takes on climate change & political unrest, it’s nice to read something long-form that attempts to puzzle out an optimism around reverse-engineering the things that make Star Trek an exciting future. I’m not finished yet but I recommend it, particularly if the news cycle is getting you down. I definitely feel way more energized and excited about trying to make new & good things after reading a few minutes of Trekonomics, vs. just feeling totally hopeless after a few minutes skimming Twitter.
if u want a lite introduction before shelling out for the book, I came across it myself via this interview with the author on The Greatest Discovery podcast.
ok, now to boldly go….
resource roundup!
being able to ask the right questions is a top 10 life skill in general, and being able to search online for what you need is a top 10 dev skill. I like this list of tips by Gift Egwenu for making the most of Google as an engineer, especially because it shares the author’s own Google history to give some actual examples of the kind of things that totally competent experienced engineers have to search for daily! no one knows everything!
tooltips are a pain in the ass! sorry not sorry! here’s a good rundown of some of the UX problems that tooltips cause, with suggestions for alternate solutions.
do any of y’all remember when Firefox had that 3D view that you could use to see how all ur divs were layered in a website? this CSS hack is maybe the next best thing for keeping all ur elements straight when working on a complicated layout.
and, here’s some nice CSS hacking by Ana Tudor around expanding a box while preserving border radius. this is the kind of wiggly stuff I feel like I always end up needing to do when I work on a frontend project, especially when a designer has really gone to town with a layout.
regex crossword! do you love/hate regex? do you need more puzzle challenges in your life? this little browser based game is a nice way to reinforce all those symbols & rules that you know you have to google every time you need to filter something….
I’m bookmarking this one for later – hand tracking interactions in the browser with tensorflow.js and handtrack.js. I’m always excited about anything that can be done with js in a web app, since it’s just so much easier to prototype for a wide audience, even with the limitations of browser-based work.
Julia Evans recently shared this very straightforward post about what it actually takes to get a simple HTML page live on the internet. if u never have, just give it a try!
opportunities!
KLAXON KLAXON! Factory Berlin + Sónar+D have an open call for international artists for the 2019 Artist Residency in the Creators Lab in Berlin.
The Residency supports artists exploring new lines of inquiry intersecting technology & society.
The aim of this program is to facilitate dialog, partnership, and collaboration at the intersection of technology and exploratory arts. By focusing on this synthesis, the program aims to empower resident artists to create work which inspires shifts in perspective and cross-collaboration.
applications close TOMORROW, SEPT 10, so hustle! I sent in one myself and it was a pretty quick form to crank out if you already have your portfolio handy- no excuses! you can learn more and apply here.
applications for Meow Wolf’s DIY Fund 2019 are open until September 30! this fund is for established community spaces in the US that have specific budgetary needs that could be supported by additional funding from Meow Wolf. you can learn more and apply here.
Eyebeam is seeking a development intern to work with their Director of Operations on grant writing and research. you can apply via Facebook or via the rolling internship application here.
the European Media Art Platform has an open call for media artists in the fields of digital media including Internet and computer-based artists, filmmakers, and those working in media based performance, sound or video as well as robotics or bio-art. artists with an EU passport or who are based in an EU member state can apply for a two-month residency for 2020 & 2021, with applications due by December 2. you can learn more here.
Rhizome has a rolling open call for their 2019-2020 microgrants! for the first open call for their new research-driven program, the topic is Info-Wars, on political radicalization and the internet. you can learn more & apply here!
Pioneer Works is holding their first-ever open call from September 2-30 for residencies for 2020-2021 for artists working in Visual Arts, Music, Technology, and/or Narrative Arts. you can check out the application portal here.
School of Machines, Making & Make-Believe is at it again with a 4-week course on designing spatial experiences for waiting and escape rooms. you can learn more and apply here.
Artengine is hosting a Digital Economies Lab, as a year-long exploration of “the wonders and anguish of making art and culture in the 21st century.” you can learn more and apply here.
POWRPLNT has an open call for volunteer teaching artists. check it out and consider applying 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. submissions are due by September 22, and you can learn more here.
the Sundance Institute has an open call for their 2020 New Frontier Story Lab. the deadline is Oct 1, so get going! more info here.
📅 upcoming events!
Tues, Sept 10! ur inbox! the internet: subscribe on www.curatedbylolita.com asap to receive this show directly in your inbox tomorrow! curated by Doreen Rios of the consistently great ANTImateria, this work by Diego Ortega sounds wild:
CLEAR SAGA is a recollection of the body of work that Diego Ortega has been developing for the past years. This virtual entity, who identifies themselves as CLEAR, was born from a Final Fantasy’s 3D model which the artist reworked and fused with a strong vibe that draws from Catholic imagery. CLEAR started out as a genderless superhero who, through a series of shortstories, gradually encountered themselves with questions of a distant future such as: if future beings don’t reproduce themselves through sexual intercourse, how will sexual desire be activated? and what if the question isn’t about how to inhabit safe spaces but how can we embody safe avatars? In this saga we can find diverse levels of evolution where CLEAR makes themselves visible through 2D images, gifs, video and 3D scenarios in which they immerse the viewer in questions far beyond the current obsolete binaries.
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. get ur tix on Eventbrite.
Thurs, Sept 12! Datadog offices! Boston, MA USA: Out in Tech Boston is hosting a night on AI & Machine Learning. you can RSVP for this free event here on Eventbrite.
Sept 13-15! SSHH! New York, NY USA: Trumpcare IUD is an art installation where 500 IUD birth control devices shaped like Trump himself will be on view at SSHH, with a launch Friday night from 6-9pm, and gallery hours from 2-7pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Weds, Sept 14! Governors Island! NYC, NY, USA: Expanding Art, a group show of artists who use technology as a medium, opens to the public next week!
The exhibition will include an audience participatory work by Irene Mamiye, VR and data visualization by Margaret Schedel / Melissa F. Clarke, multi-channel sound installation by Richard Garet, works about the environment by Swiss artists StudioZ1 and Lillian Ball, a major work by the ground-breaking smell artist Josely Carvalho and other works by artists in our community..
you can learn more here.
Sept 16-21! Berlin, Germany: Citizens of Evidence: Independent Investigations for Change is a conference of the Disruption Network Lab this September in Berlin. you can learn more here.
Sat, Sept 21! Triangle Arts Association! Brooklyn, NY USA: the Tech Learning Collective will be debuting a new workshop to teach you how to run your own server! tix are $150, with a discounted rate of $99 for queer and femme folks. you can learn more here.
just for lulz!
LUIGI’S MANSION 3 IS AN UNACCEPTABLE TITLE.
personally I’m team The Best Exotic (but Also Terrifying) Luigi Hotel.
*~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. the next newsletter will cover the week of September 16 – 22, but I’m happy to promote events further in the future as well and keep them on the calendar.
also, I am basically discontinuing the Facebook group! I just don’t have time/energy/any kind of desire to be on Facebook for the amount of time it takes to keep it active. so if you want to stay up to date, please subscribe & share the newsletter with friends & colleagues.
