simondlr #33 - The Signature

Hi friends!

On the 29th of November, I published a new NFT conceptual art project, called “The Signature”. All NFTs have access to features that allow people to track its provenance: both in terms of ownership, but also, time. This facet of an NFT is relatively unexplored, and so I wanted to create an NFT project that emphasises this.

Anyone can mint one. It’s the same picture, and it only differs in terms of when it was minted, and by whom. It’s all about ‘the signature’.

Read more here: https://blog.simondlr.com/posts/the-signature-exploring-time-amp-provenance-in-nft-art

Since it launched, 184 signatures have been minted by 148 addresses. Thank you!

I also attempted Nanowrimo: trying to write a novel in a month. I didn’t get to 50,000 words in a month (topped out at 25,200). Started out well, but then ran into snags in the story, and other life admin getting in the way. But. It still helped a lot, writing in a different style, flexing and training my writer’s muscle! I also used Scrivener this time over a Google Doc and thoroughly enjoyed it. Will likely use this as my primary novel writing tool in the future!

Bonding Curves AMA

I also  recently participated with Sean Conway, Jeff Emmet, Griff Green, and Jessica Zartler in an AMA about bonding curves. I really enjoy this crowd of people who’ve focused a lot of time and effort in researching and using bonding curves in pro-social, public goods contexts.

Links!

Why New York’s Billionaires’ Row Is Half Empty

I really enjoy Central Park in NYC, partly also because in the last 5 years, new supertall skinny residential apartments have risen alongside it. It truly feels surreal. That being said, I always wondered whether it really makes sense. If it primarily is used to park wealth without a reasonable part of that going to uplifting a broader part of NYC, is it worth it? Besides that… Would you want to live that high in a skinny supertall anyway? This video from B1M goes into nice detail about these new supertalls: along with the positive and negatives about it. Still, it’s damn pretty and incredible.

Ectogames

While mainstream gaming companies are trying out NFTs (in somewhat awkward ways), I think there’s a new genre of game that fits the blockchain as a medium better: one that fosters play as its primary purpose with less defined forms and participation. Kevin Buist calls it: Ectogames. Great read!

Magic Beans

Speaking of the fantastical. Venkatesh Rao, also seeing the world in new and interesting ways, describes NFTs as magic beans. I feel it re-affirms my long-held belief in the value of anything driven by a blockchain: it’s value in building new social layers with readily accessible and programmable APIs.

Niran Babalola Interview

Niran is one of my favourite thinkers and writers in the token economics space, spearheading the Panvala project. I enjoyed this interview with him!

On Fan Fiction & Culture

NFT projects doing storytelling can learn a lot from fan-fiction. This interview with Elizabeth Minkel sheds great light on this community.

That’s all for this edition folks. It’s been a hectic few weeks for me, dealing with moving (for the 3rd time this year!), first time in northern hemisphere winter for extended periods, and holiday plans being put in jeopardy due omicron.

I hope everyone stays safe. To those in the northern hemisphere, I hope a fire keeps you warm. And those in the south, I hope the sun keeps you warm! Enjoy the holidays.

Enjoy the final sunsets of 2021!

Simon