Through Lines 277

Metaphor is a constant in many of my favorite pieces of writing, whether in literary, poetry, or song form. Rings, a deep cut from Toad the Wet Sprocket is built entirely around a clever metaphor, and this new arrangement gives it an entirely different flavor than the original recording.

Art & Design

Type of Note

  • Bite from Leinster Type makes no apologies for it’s blocky, almost stackable forms — and nor should it.
  • Featuring sharp outlines and expressive contrast, Hasior draws on the cultural aesthetics and visual idioms of Pod­hale and Za­kopane in Poland, resulting in a typeface tailored especially for posters and editorial uses.
  • There’s something about Curve Display, an experimental Didone that immediately made me think of the late Margo Chase whose typography was everywhere in the 90s.

Technology

  • Atlas is a browser that actively fights against the web, and in doing so, it’s fighting against the very idea that you should have control over what you see, where you go, and what watches you while you’re there. I don’t know anyone using Atlas yet, but you will not find me using it now or ever — and Anil Dash nails why.
  • A deeper appreciation and intimacy grows as you hold onto something longer and longer. There’s a point at which it evolves from the shiny new thing into a tool you love. My most important tools are the ones that show their age: my Risograph, my SX-70 camera, and even my iPhone 14. Million-Mile Tech.

Humanities

Music & Film

  • Finally, a full trailer for Pluribus which is about two weeks away from debuting on Apple TV. I suspect this will be a must watch.
  • In Any Tongue is a favorite from David Gilmour’s last solo album and sounds even stronger in this energetic live performance from the Circus Maximum in Rome.
  • A previously unseen performance of Flamenco by The Tragically Hip (RIP Gord) from 2 Meter Sessions in the Netherlands.

One More Thing

  • The problem with AI “art” is that it was not the expression of a mortal being choosing to spend its one wild and precious life clawing its way through mediocrity to try and imperfectly communicate a feeling with other mortal beings who, by definition, can never fully comprehend it, and therefore it is fundamentally uninteresting to me. Amen. Choosing Friction.

The last couple issues were maybe a little too jam packed with links. I’m a big reader so this generally checks out, but maybe it’s been a bit too much. So I decided to be more fussy about what to include this week as a wee experiment. For me the side benefit is more time to dedicate to other efforts such as the extras that will be included with Context Window when it ships sometime in November.