tag: culture
2026-06-04
Magnifica Humanitas
Encyclical letter by Pope Leo XIV (May 15, 2026) on safeguarding human dignity in the age of AI — draws on the Tower of Babel and Nehemiah's walls as two visions of technological civilization, warns against the "Babel syndrome" of profit idolatry and digital uniformity, calls for shared responsibility and the "way of Nehemiah."Average Database
A satirical database platform — "the only data platform built from the ground up to meet the needs of the average developer" — with jokes like "Free tier rugpull delayed", "0 bugs guaranteed", and "Average Storage Service (ASS)".Addio Carola
Guerre di Rete reports the passing of Carola Frediani on June 3, 2026, soul and driving force of the publication, leaving an immeasurable void among all who knew her.2026-05-28
Richard Gabriel — Dreamsongs
Collection of poems and essays by Richard Gabriel, author of "Worse Is Better" and other influential CS writings.2026-05-19
Peter Salus — Author of "Quarter Century of Unix"
Computing historian and Unix chronicler who died May 15, 2026. Author of "Quarter Century of Unix" (1995), considered required reading for Unix history students. Also wrote "Death, Life, and Computers in the 20th Century" and "The UNIX Operating System: A Comprehensive Guide". Remembered for documenting the people and culture behind Unix's development2b2t 1m² World Download — 24 TB of Minecraft History
Largest Minecraft world download ever — 1,024,000² Overworld (512k² + 1m²), 256k² End, 100k² Nether. ~24 TB total. Custom zvcr file format, PlaceProxy, BMProxy bots, elytra autopilot. Took 1.5 years development, $3000+ in priority queue costs. CC0 licensed, 121 stars. No AI used. Includes 2b2t Wayback Machine and map viewer at 2b2t.place2026-05-18
A Good Lemma is Worth a Thousand Theorems — Doron Zeilberger
Doron Zeilberger's 82nd Opinion on the outsized value of lemmas over theorems in mathematics. Highlights Szemeredi's Regularity Lemma (led to 2+ Fields medals, Green-Tao theorem), quotes Paul Taylor: "Lemmas do the work in mathematics: Theorems, like management, just take the credit."WakeUp 16b — 16-Byte x86 Assembly Sierpinski Fractal + Audio
Demoscene entry from Outline Demoparty May 2026. 16 bytes of real-mode DOS assembly that draws an infinite Sierpinski fractal via XOR prefix sums on VGA memory while simultaneously generating audio through port 61h. Rule 60 cellular automata, Lucas's Theorem, diagonal shear renderingThe Gorgeous Letters Jim Henson Wrote to His Children and Friends Before He Died
In 1986, Jim Henson wrote two letters to be opened after his death — one to his five children, one to friends and family. The letters reveal his "ridiculous optimism": "Life is meant to be fun, joyous, and fulfilling... Please watch out for each other and love and forgive everybody. It's a good life, enjoy it." Henson died May 16, 1990 at 53 from streptococcal toxic shock syndromeEuropean Digital Sovereignty — A Test of Courage
Wired Italia analysis of EU digital sovereignty strategy: US Cloud Act pressure, AWS/Azure/GCP control 70-80% of European cloud, Italy's Polo Strategico Nazionale hybrid model, FSF's "public money = public code" stance, CSI Piemonte's Nivola OpenStack cloud serving 400+ entities, Scaleway winning EU sovereign cloud tender. Open source as prerequisite for true sovereigntyDOGMA 25 — Filmmaking Movement Founded in Copenhagen 2025
Collective preserving originality of cinema, standing against algorithmic films and ultra-processed consumer goods. "The Vow of Chastity" — 10 rules: handwritten scripts, 50% no dialogue, internet off limits in creative process, max 10 people behind camera, no make-up, everything rented/borrowed/used, one production year, shot where narrative takes place, fund with no content altering conditions, make film as if it were your lastCroce — Storicismo e Antistoricismo
Treccani encyclopedia essay by Fulvio Tessitore tracing Benedetto Croce's philosophical evolution from anti-Hegelian through his 1909 Logica to 1939's "storicismo assoluto." Covers Croce's identity of history/philosophy, opposition to Heidegger and Spengler, the "religion of freedom," and late turn to "vitalità" as foundation of his philosophy — his historicism as precise opposite of Hegelian historicism2026-05-15
ASCII — Jason Scott's Blog on Computer History and Archiving
Jason Scott's weblog covering the rescue of 13,000 manuals, vintage computing, computer museums, BBSes, and digital preservation. Home of the ASCII project — a living archive of computer culture historyGeography Is Four-Dimensional — Derek Sivers
Essay on how you can't know a place without knowing when — an Indian family's beliefs from 1980 seemed factual but were outdated, LA and China have transformed since visitors last saw them. "Where is bound to when."2026-05-14
Scorched Earth 2000 HTML Port
Scorched Earth 2000 — classic artillery game HTML/JavaScript port by KAOS Software Team. Wind-based artillery combat, multiplayer, inventory shop, tank customization, AI opponentsComputer Hobby Movement in Canada — York University Museum Exhibit
Comprehensive digital exhibit chronicling the decade-long Canadian computer hobby movement (1976-1985), focusing on TRACE — the Toronto Region Association of Computer Enthusiasts. Covers homebrew computers, APL, MOD-8, Computerfest, and the transition from hobby clubs to commercial computing2026-05-11
taken. — Since You Arrived Vol. IV
"taken." — the page that knows your location, browser APIs, font fingerprinting, screen size, GPU, language, timezone, OS, browser, color depth. Created by Matt at sinceyouarrived.world. Vol. IV in the series, zooming in from global to city to coordinates to youBeatrix Potter
English writer and illustrator (1866-1943), best known for her children's books featuring animals like Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, The Tale of Tom Kitten. Sold 250M+ copies, pioneer of character merchandising, naturalist, mycologist, conservationist, National Trust donor2026-05-07
Ribs — Soviet Music on Bone
Illicit gramophone discs made from discarded X-ray films in the USSR (1950s–60s), a black market method of distributing banned music — Elvis, Beatles, Rolling Stones pressed at 78rpm on medical X-rays, playable only 5-10 times2026-05-05
The Story of Mel — A Real Programmer
The legendary hacker folklore tale by Ed Nather (1983) about Mel, a programmer who wrote machine code for drum-memory computers — self-modifying code, the 'most pessimum', and a loop with no testReal Programmers Don't Use PASCAL
The classic Ed Post satire from DATAMATION July 1983 — Real Programmers use FORTRAN and OS/370, write self-modifying code, patch object binaries with SUPERZAP, and despise structured programming, PASCAL, and anything with semicolons2026-04-27
Quo datis del 21/04/2026 (pt.3)
Terza parte della puntata di Quo datis su RaiPlay Sound.La Fenice licenzia Beatrice Venezi — gravi e reiterate dichiarazioni lesive per la fondazione
Il Teatro La Fenice annulla tutte le collaborazioni con Beatrice Venezi dopo le sue dichiarazioni su "posti di padre in figlio" nell'orchestra, ritenute lesive per la Fondazione.Il ritorno in Terrasanta
Il racconto dell'attentato all'aeroporto di Lod del 1972 e della morte di Aaron Katchalsky-Katzir, biofisico israeliano e pioniere dell'auto-organizzazione dei sistemi chimici.2026-04-16
The Paleblood Hunt
A Bloodborne lore analysis by Redgrave about mystery, interpretation, and the limits of singular explanations in the game’s story.Algoritmo Doomsday
Wikipedia article in Italian about John Conway’s Doomsday algorithm for calculating the day of the week for any date, with mnemonic shortcuts and worked examples.2026-04-13
The Whispering Earring
A short piece of fiction about an earring that always gives better advice than its wearer can come up with, and the unsettling consequences of following it.From Early Nirvana To Phish, A Chicago Fan’s Secret Recordings Of 10,000 Shows Are Now Online
Block Club Chicago profiles Aadam Jacobs and the volunteer effort digitizing and publishing his massive archive of Chicago concert recordings.Agatha Christie, surfista
Il Post racconta una ricerca che suggerisce che Agatha Christie fu tra i primi europei a imparare a fare surf in piedi sulla tavola.2026-04-10
Generative art over the years
Veit Heller reflects on a decade of generative art, from algorithmic sketches and greyscale textures to color, materials, and a personal visual vocabulary.2026-04-09
e-privacy
Website for the e-privacy conference and community, focused on privacy, surveillance, and digital rights.2026-04-08
Chandra photo gallery
NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory photo gallery with astronomical images, discoveries, and featured observations.17776
Wikipedia article about the science-fiction web series 17776 (also known as “What Football Will Look Like in the Future”), blending speculative fiction, sports, and digital storytelling.2026-04-07
Project Apollo Archive on Flickr
Flickr archive of NASA's Apollo mission photography and related historical imagery.Journey to the Moon
NASA gallery showcasing Apollo-era imagery and artifacts from the Moon program.Artemis II will use laser beams to live-stream 4K Moon footage
Tom's Hardware article about NASA's Artemis II mission using laser communications to transmit live 4K footage from the Moon, advancing beyond Apollo-era S-band radio.2026-04-03
Crayola brings back Dandelion after seven years
Crayola formally reintroduced the Dandelion crayon color during National Crayon Day after discontinuing it in 2017, including its return to 64-count and 24-count boxes.2026-03-30
MyRetroTVs
MyRetroTVs — a nostalgic hub for classic television: program guides, archived clips, scans and community-curated retrospectives. The site is a modern, JavaScript‑heavy web app (enable JS to view).2026-03-11
"Dum spiro spero"
In memoria di Luca Conti.2026-03-10