You are undoubtedly familiar with the anti-piracy campaign, You Wouldn't Steal a Car. It was a public awareness campaign to let folks know that downloading and theft can be synonmous. After all, you wouldn't steal a car, so why would you steal a download? (many reasons)
Anyway, you know the campaign. You know the Meme spinoffs. What you might not know is the following:
That distinctive font is called FF Confidential and was designed by Just van Rossum, the brother of the creator of the Python language! Just a little fun fact. Source.
A little sleuthing reveals that the font actually used in the ad is XBand Rough, a pirated knockoff of the original.
That's right, the anti-piracy ad uses pirated software. Couldn't be a more perfect situation.
I've been a fan of Datamoshing from the moment I heard the term but haven't really ever tried it much myself. This tutorial is a very insightful walkthrough of the concepts and an actual step-by-step software walkthrough. It's also got a bit of rambling and pontification mixed in but, hey, it's YouTube! Takes all kinds. Jump to 2:16 for the goods if you're impatient.
AI-assisted code tools of the now - nice little writeup from Jamie Wilkinson about what tools he is currently using. As he is co-CEO of Glif, it's insight I trust. I also love his sign off... "Lastly, everything in this post will be out-of-date as soon as I press publish. generative AI is nuts rn".
Will a CT scan give you cancer? - Turns out, it can! This article is not all doom-and-gloom tho, it's actually a level-headed bit of insight about the risks of ionizing radiation. What I found the most interesting was the lack of standards for the levels of different kinds of scans. I'm a fan of the recent trend of self-advocacy and this kind of intelligent research is good to have at hand should you need it.
Algorithmic Underground. - James Dennis waxes on about AI, art and a Baudrillard quote worth contemplating. Also, helluva header gif I just had to nab.
Fun fact, this week I was selected for jury duty and considered for this trial of US Govt vs (Allegedy) Corrupt Politician. I did not make the cut. While I will never know exactly why I was not selected, I like to believe that the Prosecution really pulled for me. I'm going to go ahead and let you in a little secret: the defendants are guilty! Maybe that's why I wasn't picked!
Anyway, lets have some distractions, why don't we?
It's Claritin Time - this has been making the rounds on social media. If you were raised in the 90s it may not raise an eyebrow but looking at it objectively, the whole is madness.
Switch 2 with Paul Rudd - this is nostalgia bait taken to its extremes but I won't deny that I enjoyed it. Good to see Joe Lo Truglio pop up in there too.
AIRBOARDERS trailer - as part of my deep dive into all things Game Changer, I'm partaking in Jacob Wysocki's comedy troupe Bath Boys. This is peak Internet here - originally posted in 2013.
The Most Injured Man in America - Director Seth Pomeroy just announced his new documentary and it reminded me that I need to revisit this incredible montage of clips where he played an injured person receiving settlements. Still absolutely brilliant.
I had the great fortune of working with producer Roger Moutenot to release his first solo album back in 2024. He's been producing music for decades but never released anything under his own name until Microcosm. Through working with Roger I got to meet his son Malcolm.. who just so happened to release his own first track here in April of 2025.
"Things" is a helluva first single. It's 9 and a half minutes long but never feels like it is overstaying its welcome. It's breezy and atmospheric but it's also engaging and storybound. It's introspective and cut with a dash of melancholy. It's fantastic, start to finish.
Ahh, you gotta love it when someone invents a very practical thing that instantly becomes nightmare fuel. For instance, in 1894 Oswald Fergus pioneered the "Dental Phantom" - a practical device that enabled dental students to get some real world experience without having to work on a human being. Truth be told, the original version was much less menacing but as the concept evolved over time, it's become an absolute terror.
Artist Brian Kubasco takes that horrific vibe and pushes it even further, making the Dental Phantoms into proper horror oddities. The Agent Gallery Chicago has their ownnightmares to share.
Ready for these things to get their own franchise already.
For awhile I was very into the highly satisfying rug cleaning genre of videos. Not much to them but they soothe for whatever reason.
I recently stumbled across PosterFix, a YouTube channel from Chris Cloutier documenting the work he's and his staff are doing in Brooklyn to restore vintage posters. This Mickey Mouse poster from 1935 is a nice place to start but, all things considered, actually in pretty good shape to start off. They get pieces in much, much worse condition.
The skill involved with these restorations is nuts - truly incomprehensibly impressive at times. And quite soothing to watch.
Spotify is a Microcosm of Billionaire BS - just another reminder for you and for me that we should all get off of Spotify. I struggle so hard with this because of the convenience but, ugh, it's just so transparently bad!
You're Not Crazy. America Has Gone Mad - I dunno if this gets filed under "Feel Good Affirmative" Reads or "Oh God, It's Really Awful" Reads. But whenever you're feeling like logic, empathy and rational thought has become extinct - know you're not alone!
You may recall I have mentioned various "AI poison-pill" concepts in the past. HarmonyCloak buries imperceptible noise into a track that makes it unusable by AI. Nightshade is a similar theory for images.
Benn Jordan's latest video - The Art of Poison-Pilling Music Files - takes those theories into practical application. He walks through the theory and then shows multiple examples of how to obfuscate the actual material of a song when being interpreted by a machine. It's truly fascinating.
It's also quite sad that we're in such early days of AI and already have the need to create tools to "combat" the machines. When Jordan shows his Mute Attack Method - in which Alexa simply does not hear him b/c of a device he has activated - it feels like a prototype scene from Snow Crash. The hackers have come up with their little tools to fight the machines, however small.
I look forward to Jordan distributing his next album with this pill baked in and, hopefully, the technology can become accessible enough for others to do it as well.
Fantastic interview with director Tony Gilroy over on Letterboxd covering all sorts of topics but, largely, how Michael Clayton came to be and what it means to folks. If you've never seen that film, put it at the top of your queue - it's one of those highly overlooked gems. From the sounds of the interview, it seems that Duplicity is another one for the queue (myself included).
It's rare to have a director be so forthcoming and open about their experiences. Gilroy is very refreshing with their insights start to finish.
This is incredibly inefficient but I find myself taking notes in meetings and conversations in whatever window just happens to be available. Google Docs open? Start typing. Zed hanging out in the dock? Start a new scratch doc! Sometimes I'll even use the native Notes app but rarely (not sure why - I think it's the interface).
Enter Antinote - a simple note taking app that is highly configurable, very out of the way and cheap as hell. Just $5!
I'm just getting it into my routine now but I am looking forward to having all my notes in one place, rather than strewn across my ecosystem willy nilly.
Longtime friend of the blog Jeremy Okai Davis released a hip-hop album in July of 2024 called Dinosaurs. Now, he and his emcee partner are releasing it on vinyl. It's a fantastic looking package with surreal
artwork by Eatcho and loads of features from the likes of DJ Steezo, Zai Outlaw, AMK, Mike Fish and more.
If that all sounds like gibberish - fine! Just know that J-Magic and Big Papa Warrior made a hip-hop record that nods to the golden era of the genre and infuses loads of modernity into it. It's worth a listen and certainly worth backing the Kickstarter.
Remember when Apple supported the iTunes LP? It was a "format for interactive album artwork" way back in 2009 that attempted to find a way to not let the immersive enjoyability of physical artwork be lost in digital translation. It never really took off and was fully deprecated in 2018.
But that doesn't make it a bad idea! Just a huge hill to climb. Enter Sleevenote, a combination music player and interactive artwork format. The website is really slick, beautiful and professional but I think that actually undermines the project a little bit! There are some UI Update videos that show the interface and device being worked on - seeing it as a slick-but-DIY project feels more appealing to me. Look at this latest prototype! That's a thicc boi! But it's a prototype, so that's okay.
Worth noting: this undertaking is from the musician Tom Vek, which I think does lend it some nice credibility for simply existing to appeal music lovers.
I applied for beta access and got it! I made a Talking with Hands Sleevenote and can see a lot of fun potential with it.
This Yoshinao Satoh short film, PAPERS, is mesmerizing to say the very least. Created in 1991, the nearly 3 minute animation was created from an unbelievable amount of newspaper clippings. Just wrapping your brain around the practical aspect of creating this is enough to make it explode but Satoh amplifies the entire piece but threading together a variety of concepts. Seeing the portraits rotating 360 degrees is... phenomenal.
There's also a shorter, somewhat more frantic, 1 minute version that served as a commercial for Mainichi Shimbun; a Japanese newspaper. I prefer the longer version but both are spellbinding.
Welp, it finally happened! The COVID caught me. It's been five years and I've managed to avoid it this whole time but I started feeling real brain foggy the other day and decided to take a test just as a precaution.. positive results! In a bad way! No clue where I got it but I'll blame the Deftones show I went to. Had to be that, right?
If you haven't watched this yet, please do. It'll mean a lot to me. Otherwise, here's some distractions for you and for me!
Treadmill Fruit Race - the ultimate fruit and vegetable race on a treadmill. Make sure you watch the more recent rematch.
Fully Flared Intro - this Spike Jonze skate video intro is insane. Watch it and then watch....
Fully Flared Making Of - great behind the scenes footage and insight on how that video was made. Those skaters were in some legit danger!
John Mulaney, Bone-Thugs Intro - if you have not heard the tale of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony appearing on Mulaney's Netflix show, enjoy this treat.
Bob Mortimer's Magnificently Unhinged Magic Show -there's a British "reality competition show" called Last One Laughing in which a bunch of comedians hang out in a room trying not to laugh at one another's attempts. Apparently the show has been around for a decade but Amazon recently picked it up? Not sure on the whole history but Mortimer is a great entry point. There's loads more clips on YouTube. Here's one vs Richard Ayoade.
Over the last few months I've been slowly chipping away at a music video for the Talking with Hands song, "Unprofessional Artist." It's the first song I heard from his album Organic Machine and it's a song that consistently speaks to me. It's an atmospheric piece musing about the creative process, finding connection and the haunting thoughts that invade our minds. It's also got a killer robo-bridge to it.
The video is out today. I jokingly told people this was my magnum opus - but I'll be vulnerable and admit that it actually is! This was a ton of work and I'm very proud of the end result. I took a lifetime of influences of computer art, videogames, ANSI art, glitch and AI and was able to swirl it all together into something that I think is rather compelling. I don't toot my horn on most projects but this one feels toot worthy.
The album this track is part of is on Bandcamp, on Ampwall and streaming too. I think it's a great album and this song is the midway point, worthy of a little pause and contemplation.
Hope you enjoy it! And, if so, show it to a friend.
First Venus bounce with the Dwingeloo telescope - did you know that you can bounce radio signals off the surface of Venus? This Earth-Venus-Earth (EVE) bounce was done frequently in the 60's and 70's but only done by a amateur in 2009. They've done it again and documented it extensively. Again, do I comprehend this? Not exactly. But I love to see it.
HAM Weekly - keeping on theme, do I know anything about HAM radio? No, not a thing. Do I highly enjoy this weekly blast of Amateur HAM Radio insights? Enthusiastically, yes!
Looks like Friendster is coming back? Is the answer to social networks a full circle return to the first social network? I will admit I'm intrigued but, mostly, can't imagine needing this in my life. Nostalgia is a helluva drug but is it this powerful?
The Austin Kleon newsletter always provides a litany of delightful treats (every week!). One recent bit of manna is Erik Winkowski's Zinemail - "An email zine filled with collages, photos, animated gifs, paintings, and a soundtrack."
Go look at the first issue and then subscribe. No brainer.
Really fascinating looking film here - Secret Mall Apartment captures the story of a group of artists and friends that get displaced from their home because a giant mall complex is going to be built and then decide to build themselves a new home.. inside the walls of the mall. Not streaming anywhere yet but I'm keeping an eye on the official site for when it drops.
Side note: this is executive produced by Jesse Eisenberg, who also EP'ed on The World Before Your Feet that I previously mentioned. I suppose I should make it a goal to see all the things he's involved with.
