Two master illustrators meet for an interview — Luis Mendo chats with Satoshi Hashimoto. I’ve loved Hashimoto’s work ever since perusing the pages of Monocle over 15 years ago, and just recently starting recognizing more of Mendo’s work. This was a delight to read.
Something mystical and timely about the subject of this read — a series of now-removed pixelated videos on YouTube, with the premier one backed by a tune from Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES), that operated as the “internet checkpoint” for many people during its ephemeral couple of years of existence.
The Disney and OpenAI licensing partnership seems like a terrible idea, insofar as controlling IP representation and the risk of diluting branding — unless, of course, there are critical limitations for usage and context.
Brian Eno:
I remember an early review of one of my ambient records saying something like “No song, no beat, no melody, no movement”—and they weren’t being complimentary. But I think they were accurate, because this is a music of texture and sonic sensuality more than it is any of those things they were alluding to. I’m sure when the first abstract paintings appeared, people said, “No figure, no structure,” etc.… The point about melody and beat and lyric is that they exist to engage you in a very particular way.
Just discovered this post-war architectural collective of “buildings inspired by pyramids and mastabas that rise above the sandy, green expanse of a former farm” just outside the French Mediterranean coastline.
Allegedly architect Jean Balladur’s work (officially titled La Grande Motte) was disparaged as architectural pollution, but this looks anything but. It’s got that dreamy mid century flavor of futurism, and stark contrast with the surrounding green landscapes is catnip for aesthetics.
I may be late to the party on this, but Robin Sloan’s Moonbound is a terrific read. It’s like he took several shelves of adventurous genres at a bookstore and whisked them into a cauldron to brew a remixed elixir of everything we love about high-spirited, whimsical, fantastical fiction.
False spring came early to the midwest. Had to dig quite a trench out of this heavy, semi-wet hazard in the morning. Also nice to see Noah Kolina, photographer up in Lumberland, NY, saw a similar “ice storm”.
Buckling up for some relaxation and reading this holiday week. (Creation Lake / Julia) 📚
Louie Mantia has been on a tear lately releasing (or re-releasing?) new icon packs, the latest of which reflects on the controller button styles of the Sony PlayStation.
One of those unexpected, sudden rising to fame stories that happens every so often in the literature wold: this time with Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series. I’ve only watched the Apple TV series so far (which is stellar and on its 4th season), but I’ve got my eye on the books next…
Looking up at the St Paul Cathedral after dinner around the corner on Selby Ave. The architecture is a major landmark of the neighborhood, and the reverse view from its summit perch oversees Saint Paul’s downtown.
Not sure if this actually counts as urban sketching or simply watercoloring, but I made an attempt at capturing the vibe of a truly escapist pull-tab we ripped through a few weeks ago (Bank Roll). And yeah… that $50 win simply subsidized the investment it took to get to it.
Reworked the fence gates with very direct instructions.
(If you’re interested in these, you can get the Pull on here, and Push one here.)