simondlr #36 - Time As Platform

Hi friends!

I wrote a new blog that tries to wrestle with how we view time in a blockchain system, the longer it stays running. We can both interact with our past, but also, increasingly, our future.

Time-As-Platform: Ether’s Phoenix & The Memorial Monument — simondlr.com

Due to the ever-growing immutable history of blockchains, the longer they exist, the more possible it becomes to interact (and transact) with the future and the past. It brings about strange, emergent outcomes that include: hyperstructures (free, yet valuable infrastructure), abundant retroactive fu

simondlr.comSimon de la Rouviere

And then, as part of my work with Untitled Frontier, I wrote a post detailing how I created the patterns on the latest NFT collection: Little Martians.

Crafting the On-chain SVG Little Martians — Untitled Frontier

When Vanessa Rosa first showed me the real-world ceramics that helped inspire the story of “Little Martians & The Human Memorial Monument”, I knew this would be a fun challenge to create on-chain SVG versions of them. This article goes delves into how the on-chain Little Martians are crafted

Untitled FrontierSimon de la Rouviere

PS: They are still available to be minted for another week (until 16th of May 2022)! https://littlemartians.untitledfrontier.studio

If you want to read the story, do also check in here:

Logged Universe #3 - Little Martians & The Human Memorial Monument — Untitled Frontier

Happy to announce the third story in the Logged Universe! Little Martians & The Human Memorial Monument by Vanessa Rosa with art & NFT collaborations with Vanessa Rosa & Gene Kogan. In the very far future, Diana comes to terms with her new reality after an adventure through h

Untitled FrontierSimon de la Rouviere

Then, as part of the second semester of Crypto, Culture, & Society, I gave a talk on web3 + storytelling, titled "Stories In The Machine". I really enjoyed and the response was very positive. Thank you!

The Stories in the Machine

Pioneering web3 technologist, writer, and artist Simon de la Rouviere, founder of Untitled Frontier, came to CCS for a mind-expanding talk on the new frontier for narratives and storytelling.

I also sat down with Sina Habibian on his podcast. It was great to catch up with Sina!

Simon de la Rouviere: cc0, derivatives, and bottom-up storytelling

Simon de la Rouviere’s contributions to crypto range from seeding the idea of bonding curves and curation markets, to now working on bottom-up storytelli…

Into the Bytecode

Links Time!

Wind Up Worlds

When I feel like I got a handle on what's happening in the broader web, I just read any of Jay Springett's blog posts and realise there's entire web subcultures with huge cult followings that I've entirely missed. Like, Blaseball. He wrote a great post on what wind up games and how web3 is a very good fit for them. Hope to see more wind up web3 games. Also, bonus content. He also wrote a great a post on the difference between governance + coordination (words bandied about a lot in web3). I enjoy the framing.

Infinite Images & The Latent Camera

Mat & Holly's explorations with AI is always incredibly interesting and fascinating. The recent post on DALL-E 2 strikes at the fundamental chord for me: it being a tool of augmentation.

"The same debates will rage about whether or not prompt based AI imagery can be considered Art, and will just as inevitably be relegated to history once everyone makes use of these tools to better share what is on their mind."

NFTs & The Rebirth of the Reader

There's a burgeoning movement of authors, poets, and literary folk engaging and playing with NFTs. Judy Mam, a long-time pioneer of the NFT space, discusses all the interesting projects and explorations.

The Essence of Place

If you're like me, you sometimes just get lost in Google Maps, roaming the world. If you're very like me, you would've also wondered when/why they choose to display what labels when. At what zoom level do they choose to surface what information? This article by Jameson Orvis explores that, but also delves into hyperpop and music genres. The very act of drawing a map a "referring" is a non-neutral activity that destroys some context.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

It's only been showing in the US (soon, the UK), but I implore everyone to watch this film when you can.

It's decidedly metamodern: through its absurdity and post-modern self-awareness, it pulls through into a deeply sincere and emotionally resonant story. It's definitely left me with a lot of thoughts about current stories and where it's headed. A blog post for a future time. It's been hugely inspirational.

Till next time! Enjoy the sunsets.

Simon