People make amazing things. That’s probably why I spend so much time online—I often go down the rabbit hole of reading about people’s cool projects. Speaking of, here are some I’ve heard about recently:
- “This Book Is A Planetarium” on Hyperallergic: “Defying every expectation of what a book can be, this pop-up extravaganza transforms into six fully functional tools: a real working planetarium projecting the constellations, a musical instrument complete with strings for strumming, a geometric drawing generator, an infinite calendar, a message decoder, and even a speaker that amplifies sound.”
- Alantrotter.com: A cool, interactive personal website.
- Deep Art: Turn photos into the style of your favorite artist.
- “Building Joyful WordPress Experiences that “Just Work” – Introducing Genesis 2.8” on StudioPress: One click demo install websites.
- Tools for exploring fractals / generative art (you can take an introductory course on generative art on Kadenze):
- “This algorithm browses Wikipedia to auto-generate textbooks” on Technology Review: “It is a Wikibook, a textbook that anyone can access or edit, made up from articles on Wikipedia, the vast online encyclopedia.”
- Google Science Fair: “An online science competition, open to students between the ages of 13 and 18 from around the world.”
- “Building houses that grow with us” on Curbed: “Traditionally, houses have been built to satisfy the basic needs of a family, with the understanding that if those needs expand beyond what is provided, the house can be added on to or remodeled. However, post-Levittown, houses were (and are) increasingly overbuilt—built for what if instead of what is. What if we have a party and our house gets too crowded? What if we buy another car? What if we run out of room for craft supplies? Instead of building houses that can be adapted to changes in our lives, making them flexible, we attempt to build our houses to satisfy any number of possible futures that may come along.”
- “Are Tiny Books a Sign of the Twee-ification of Literary Culture?” on The New Yorker: “As if to corroborate Spitz’s thesis about our Great Twee-ification, Dutton Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House, is releasing a series of tiny books that give the act of reading a studied whimsy. Dwarsliggers, the Dutch name for these palm-sized, horizontal codexes, are already popular overseas; they are flirtatious, cocktail-party packagings of novels by authors from Ian McEwan to Agatha Christie—pigs in a blanket to the usual hot dog. “The tiny editions are the size of a cellphone and no thicker than your thumb, with paper as thin as onion skin,” the Times’ Alexandra Alter explains.”
- “How Writers Map Their Imaginary Worlds” on Atlas Obscura: “A new book, The Writer’s Map, contains dozens of the magical maps writers have drawn or that have been made by others to illustrate the places they’ve created.”
- Empty Faces: A monthly paranormal investigation delivered to your doorstep. “‘It’s like a real-world escape room.’ Are you ready to put your detective skills to the test in one of the most immersive, fun games of your life?”
Are you working on anything cool? Please share in the comments!
