simondlr #38 - Trails, Andor, & SVG Capsules
Hi friends. It's been a while!
Recently, I've taken a lot to hiking/walking and spending more time in nature. It's been particularly nice to do this in a region of the world (American North East) where seasons are more pronounced. From the long-distance views in winter, the budding spring, the lush and humid summer, to now, appreciating the beautiful autumn colours.
Earlier this year, spending time in Wales, I got lost one day, in part due to mistaking rain-swept pathways for the trail. In the confusion, I took the wrong path until it was too late. Instead of turning back, I kept going and eventually made it out alive (with a scar from a bramble bush to show for it).
When I walk, I often think about stories, and storytelling. So, it's not a surprise at seeing them overlap. Getting lost on a trail due to confusion exists in stories as well.
After watching the recent, new, Star Wars series: Andor, I noticed the writers did quite a smart trick to ensure that the viewer stays on the story's trail. Writing good stories is also about the meticulous process of making sure that the reader is not confused.
So, enjoy (Andor is excellent btw)!
Staying On The Story's Trail: The Hats in Andor's Reckoning.
Simon de la Rouviere
I've been spending most of my time producing, writing, and coding NFTs over at Untitled Frontier. The latest iteration involves a story of a simulated mind going through the simulation's first school of unlearning. I coded the generative art SVG capsules for it. I enjoy the process and learning SVG, so I shared again how they are designed, generated, and crafted. Enjoy!
Behind the Scenes: Crafting the On-Chain SVG Capsules
Simon de la Rouviere
btw, if you want to support the art, the story, and the writer, you can still buy capsules until 31 Oct!
Podcasts
I've also had the privilege to appear on two podcasts recently: on NewForum & Rehash. Both really fun conversations running the gamut of storytelling to web3.
This Artwork Is Always On Sale
I'm also super happy to announce that TAIAOS recently got longlisted for this year's inaugural NFT award for the Lumen Prize. Unfortunately, it didn't get shortlisted, but still happy to see it being acknowledged. This is particularly meaningful considering that there's been a lot of discussion recently creator royalties in the NFT space. Harberger taxed NFTs is one such solution. So, happy to see it still continuing to be supported. Thank you!
Unhuman Compositions
Links!
Timekeeper's Symphony
I've always been a big fan of Ken Liu's stories, especially his short stories. His latest one is no different, dealing with how humans related to time as we expand into the cosmos:
Complexity & Noise
The louder the noise, the less complex the songs. Mimicing the loudness war in music (where songs lose fidelity in order to boost the volume), birds sung complex songs again during COVID quietness. I love this. It's also one of those examples, where once you read about information theory, you see its patterns pop up everywhere. The noisier the channel, the less you can say. It's also why car-centric cities are the future. ;)
Atoms, Institutions, Blockchains
I enjoyed this article from Josh Stark, detailing the concept of the "hardness" of a system. My take on this is, is that lower entropy communications (oh hey, information theory again), allows you to build stronger high entropy communications on top of it (complexity).
Dall-E & Copyright
By far, one of my favourite experts on the intersection of new technology and copyright is Andres. When Dall-E went commercial he wrote a great blog on it. I think AI art still asks a lot of interesting questions surrounding IP & ownership that I don't think we have answers for atm.
Backrooms
I had totally missed this recent addition to the zeitgeist of the internet. The liminality of other spaces. Backrooms is such a unique feeling: it's like falling forever, but into the feeling of a place.
Thank you for reading!
And as always. Hope you enjoy the sunset!
Simon