Blockchain, NFTs and the Arts: Q&A with Nathan
There was lots of response to the discussion in the last newsletter on NFT-based art. Inspired by that, I asked list member Nathan Cameron, who is also our in-house crypto guru at Only Connect, to provide a more detailed overview of the topic. Click here to check out my Q and A session with Nate.
Inspirations: Ichika Nito
I have always been a fan of short, tight works of art, whether in the form of a song, film, novella, poem, etc. Recently I've been noticing a trend towards compression and density in many genres - no doubt under the influence of sharing platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Here's a favourite recent example from Instagram guitarist Ichika Nito. This kid packs more music into 30 seconds than most old-school artists do in an entire album. Frightening.
Ichika Nito: When you've got the extra 30 seconds to flex on your ex
Life pattern: gardening
A pattern language is a method of describing a lifestyle in terms of an overlapping series of repeating patterns. The term was coined by the architect Christopher Alexander and popularized by his 1977 book A Pattern Language (a personal favourite).
I've recently been working on a pattern language of my own that attempts to describe the slow, simple and “light” style of living I've felt myself gravitating towards during these strange times. Would love to hear any thoughts/suggestions you may have re this idea. Example pattern (~250 words long):
Life pattern #5: Gardening as practice and metaphor
Quote I’ve been pondering
"The growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs."
-George Eliot, Middlemarch
(Confession: Over the years I have tried to read Middlemarch several times with no success, so I feel like a bit of a fraud quoting it here. But it's such a good line and has been on my mind lately, so there.)
That’s all, folks. Thanks for reading, and let me know with updates from your end, questions, thoughts, story ideas, hot tips, etc., at nicholascarldinka@gmail.com.