No. 84 — La Rentrée ⫶ NGEs ⫶ Aleatory AI art

You're not made for human eyes

My name is Linda. I write a bi-weekly newsletter about computer science, childhood, and culture.

La Rentrée!

Summer had no shape. By the second week of August, our neighborhood felt like an empty western town. But now, the Parisians have returned, schools are starting, and so begins my fourth year living in Paris.

Despite this time, I still find myself feeling like an outsider in the city. A combination of the pandemic, caring for a small child, and work that isn’t tied to a specific place has left me still figuring out how I fit into Parisian life. I miss the social density of Helsinki—the sense of belonging to the right chat groups, knowing about new restaurants, city projects, and upcoming running events. Paris remains a mystery to me.

❤️ A few favourites from last year: Le Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, the season of mirabelle plums, Bokbar, 0.25L beer in a glass bottle, NGEs or nearest generic establishment (coined by Seb Emina), Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik, asking the primeur to pick a perfectly ripe mango for the evening, Swimming in Paris by Colombe Schneck, Parc Monceau’s giant ginko tree in all seasons, grainotheques, les oeufs coquettes, apricot jam with blackcurrant pepper from Tour d’Argent.

📌 Things on my radar for the fall: Festival America, Musee Alberth Kahn, ménagerie in the Jardin des Plante, Café Pli (a letter coffee!),  la Parcelle, Villa Borghese at the newly renovated Jacquemart Andre, l’Orangerie on Heinz Bergrruen.

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Linked List

In computer science, a linked list is a linear collection of data elements whose order is not given by their physical placement in memory. But here it is a selection of things I’ve been reading lately.

• On Thursday, September 12, the first phase submissions for the New Museum of Architecture and Design will be unveiled—there will be a small event you're welcome to attend! ‍

  Time: Thursday, September 12, 2024, from 4 PM to 8 PM

  Location: Helsinki Design Week Main Stage

  Address: Paasivuorenkatu 3, Helsinki

  (I'll share a little on placemaking and computers and playgrounds)

• Aleatory AI art - Celine Nguyen's essay, "Good artists copy, ai artists ____," is the art and AI essay I was waiting for. In the same breath, I will link to Ted Chiang's Why A.I. Isn't Going to Make Art.

• This particular aesthetic of early Tumblr and Livejournal combines gifs, photos, and words into a montage, a many-medium essay. I miss it and how much those carefully crafted narratives meant to me. You're not made for human eyes. Also, La Chimera by Alice Rohrwacher was mesmerizing.

Classroom

I’m hoping to surface and share stories from all of you and I’d love to see your creations! Here are a few teachers using Ruby in creative, fun and inspiring ways.

STEAMLab Taiwan had children creating secret codes. (Here’s the key!)