Well, it's been a while since this happened last, but this month I failed to produce something for here and then gone. There was just a bit too much happening. I tried to do something small but the code wasn't working, and I was getting frustrated and feeling like everything was piling up (Glitch shutting down, Creative Dundee (and therefore Biome!) losing access to the Hapworks space in Dundee). And decided I was better off just dropping anything that didn't urgently need attention.
So hope you enjoy the picture I took in my garden this morning. I walked out there 30 mins back and there was just this constant background hum of bees going about their business (mostly carder bees I think, plus some white-tailed bumbles).
Further Reading
Good article on musicians who are turning their back on spotify and commercial success in favour of super small scale, handmade artefacts. This kind of thing is definitely where my heart lies these days.
Related, see also everest pipkin's address to Parson's Design and Tech BFA graduates.
"that’s not the way the math works" (Content note: miscarriage)
I liked Robert Yang arguing against an over-reliance on architectural concerns in level design.
A beautiful long read about bees and loss and grief by Emily Polk
"One day you will be called on to break a big law in the name of justice and rationality. Everything will depend on it. You have to be ready. How are you going to prepare for that day when it really matters? You have to stay ‘in shape’ so that when the big day comes you will be ready. What you need is anarchist calisthenics. Every day or so break some trivial law that makes no sense, even if it’s only jaywalking. Use your own head to judge whether a law is just or reasonable. That way, you’ll keep trim—and when the big day comes, you’ll be ready."
(need to practice this myself!)
I love Jeff Minter's take on the old I, Robot arcade game.
What the f do you do at an office job?
TIL: Researchers have studied the impact of managers with MBAs vs managers without, and concluded that the only impact MBA managers have is that they reduce their employees' wages. Zero impact on profits or sales.
I love it when someone expresses something that feels like a largely unarticulated truth in the barest, most ruthless fashion:
"Children are inherently self-centered, because they are vulnerable and in need. The love between parents and children is one-way love -- you didn't ask to be born, they dragged you helpless into this terrible world, and having made that decision without your consent they owe you unconditional love for the rest of your life and you owe them nothing."
Well, I hope the bees are doing well with you. I've got a blackbird nesting right outside my kitchen window, and I keep seeing her partner sunbathing at the other end of the garden, but he stops every time I enter the kitchen; he's clearly keeping a close eye on the nest.
I'll write again next month. Not sure if it'll be another hiatus month; it does feel like I'm maybe due a bit of a break, but we'll see. Take care!