ok so I am not actually a cat person (sorry, I’m allergic! it’s nothing personal!), but I do love jingle cats enormously. Christmas just isn’t Christmas if it isn’t tacky and kind of grating, imo. the original jingle cats exist in a space and time where most people weren’t actually extremely online but stuff like this that is extremely web 1.0 could more or less be mainstream. remember the quiznos rats? what was that about??
jingle cats is extremely internet and extremely net art in a way that even a grandma could love. be real, if you saw this exhibited at SPRING/BREAK, you would be like, tbh this was the best thing I saw all art fair weekend:
why is there an elephant? who cares, he has a santa hat! it’s post modern!
there was a time on the internet where I would personally be like, wow nothing to do at work right now, let me pull up icanhascheezburger.com and just scroll for an hour. the site still exists, inexplicably, but these days no one even gets their actual news direct from a single-purpose source and not from the aggregator hellscapes of social media, let alone their cat videos.
this year has blown so my intention with the newsletter today was just to dump a bunch of jingle cat vids in to keep you sane, but then I was genuinely fascinated this morning by a moment on a stream of a trucking simulator when a viewer perfectly timed trading in some bits for an angelic choir. rest in peace, keyboard cat.
resources!
speaking of web 1.0, Flash is sunsetting at the end of this year! this is a big deal, and not just for my grandmother who plays a lot of online games from 2004. Rhizome is hauling butt on upgrading their Emulation as a Service infrastructure in order to preserve Flash works as culturally significant software. if you’ve made works in the past in Flash that you are worried about preserving, they’ve shared some preservations tools. they’re also holding a special end-of-year fundraiser with the hopes of raising enough funds to present a special online exhibition of selected Flash works in March, followed by a wider rollout of access. you can donate here! think of the grandmas!
Vlad Alex, aka Merzmench in the Discord, has been curating a list of creative artificial intelligence resources on Medium. bookmark this link! it’s a treasure trove of tools that are categorized by use-case and shared along side examples and additional articles on his explorations with each resource. if you’re looking for some interesting inspiration to keep you occupied and exploring this winter, this is an amazing place to start.
why not start the new year by taking a little time to take control of your digital privacy, security, and wellbeing? the Data Detox Kit has a bunch of everyday steps you can take to be more in control of your digital experiences. instead of making your new year’s resolution about how you’re going to get really into pickling, make some space for some real practical habits!
lol I have literally never heard the term “glassmorphism,” but sure, ok, I guess it’s a thing. I am kind of anti-web trends because they are mostly a great way to make sure your project looks like everyone else’s on Dribble, but I’m sure you can think of some more creative things to do with this tutorial on using the backdrop-filter CSS property.
the difference between var, let, and const in javascript is something that comes up like literally every time I have been in a classroom/workshop/demo setting in our post-ES6 world. this extremely bookmarkable link makes the distinctions clear and easy.
arduinoflake! this little project using an Arduino Nano to make an interactive snowflake looks cute as hell. looks like a great way to clear out that drawer of LEDs!
open calls!
on-the-fly has an open call to award 8 grants to develop artistic productions involving live coding practices. if you’re interested in doing literally anything related to live coding, check this one out! the residency includes an artist fee, subsistence and travel costs, production costs, access to facilities and equipment, and more. learn more and apply by January 14 here!
The Rules Do Not Apply is an open call for digital artists and creatives to explore, play with, and disrupt traditional ideas of art, in this collaboration between Audience Labs at the Royal Opera House and National Gallery X. they’re offering micro-commissions of £4,000 for three individual artists or teams who will work with technology to create something special in response to a piece of choreography and a visual artwork. neat! this is open to all artists anywhere in the world who are working in any digital medium. learn more and apply by January 10 here! (thanks to friend-of-the-newsletter Jas for sharing this on in the Discord!)
China Residencies is hosting an open call for the 7th Crystal Ruth Bell Residency, this year around the theme “Mediated.” they’re inviting people who work with all kinds of media to apply for a fully-funded, 6 month remote residency in 2021, and are welcoming proposals of media arts and mediated projects:
for documentaries, videos, films, journalism, AR/VR/mixed reality, games, websites, interactive installations and projects connected to mainland China, Hong Kong, Chinatowns, and the greater Chinese diaspora worldwide in some way.
this residency includes a monthly stipend, a budget for production expenses, access to Adobe software, online gatherings, project support, and more, so it’s worth considering and applying if you feel like your practice is relevant! learn more and apply by February 9 here.
? upcoming events!
TOMORROW, Dec 23! 10:30AM UTC-5! The Coding Train will be hosting the Processing Foundation Holiday Telethon tomorrow, starting bright and early! tune in and donate to support their software products, Fellowship program, Community Day, and other education initiatives. check it out on Youtube!
Sat, Dec 26! 4:00PM UTC-5! a lot of workshops seem to focus on cute things to do with data once you have it, and very few dig in on how digital data actually works. this workshop from the Tech Learning Collective will introduce you to the concepts and techniques you need to know to collect, generate, and manipulate digital information regardless of the specific application or problem domain you’re working in. as always, TLC is offering reduced price admission for queer-identified, femme, and BIPOC people. check it out and get tix here!
Dec 27-30! NYCResistor are launching their virtual clubhouse in conjunction with this years Chaos Computing Congress, starting this Sunday! they’re having 3 free events- a Femme Hackers Meetup, a Hacker Dance Party, and an Avatar Fashion Show. you can join via the browser or VR! learn more and RSVP here!
Thurs, Dec 31! 6:00PM UTC-5! starting at 6pm on New Year’s Eve, Babycastles will be hosting an all-night stream on Twitch, featuring a live interactive robot camera (???), a live RPG experience, and much more. definitely a better option than whatever dystopian version of New Year’s Rockin’ Eve will be on ABC this year. learn more here.
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. if you wanna share links or chat, there is now a Discord server that you can use here.
