PodQueue

Is a generated aesthetic the look of our times?

Podcasts, reviews, interviews, essays, and more at the Ancillary Review of Books.Please consider supporting ARB’s Patreon!Guest: Ursula WhitcherTitle: Burning Bright by Melissa ScottHost: Jake Case…

Rising Up and Rising Down (McSweeney's; abridged, Harper Collins)

William Vollmann's mammoth inquiry is a study of the history of violence, which fills seven large volumes...

Title: How Rust won: the quest for performant, reliable software

Abstract: For a long time, high performance has been in tension with reliability. In particular, languages designed for high performance were not memory safe, with real implications for unexpected crashes and security vulnerabilities. Rust is the first practical language to address this tension, building on affine types and other principles programming language theory, synthesized with an attention to low level systems programming. Rust’s success emerged not just from a clever idea, but consistently excellent execution and the formation of a strong community around the language. This talk will discuss several aspects of what Rust got right, as well as the rocky journey of ideas from academic theory to real world impact.

Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SoDsm_m_pb_gS6Y98HghhzBviYZxp3F2XawhIppJQQo/edit?usp=sharing

https://topos.institute/events/berkeley-seminar/

Ali Ghodsi, CEO and co-founder of Databricks, shares lessons he’s learned from being one of seven co-founders at Databricks and leading a company that began with open-source software.

The technology industry promised us connection, convenience, and creativity. Has it delivered, or offered false promises that may never be fully realized? Scott Hanselman offers a candid look at what’s really happening beneath the surface of AI and innovation and how we must make conscious, informed decisions about the tools shaping our future.

We could not do this without community support. With special thanks to the University of Oregon for their presenting partnership. The world-class stage production by For Good & Co. The incredible legacy bound Event Book provided by Premier Press. Lastly, the brand identity and creative digital craft provided by our Agency of Record - Thesis. All of our Partners and event history can be found at TEDxPortland.com. Scott Hanselman is the VP of Developer Community at Microsoft and has spent over 30 years as a teacher, programmer, and prolific blogger. In addition to writing numerous technical books, Scott has produced nearly 2,000 episodes of his popular Hanselman Minutes and Azure Friday podcasts. A passionate technologist, he focuses on empowering developers and fostering inclusivity in tech. Scott frequently speaks at conferences worldwide, sharing insights on software development, productivity, and diversity in technology. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

This past August 12th Devine gave this light-hearted talk for Critical Signals 2025, taking place in New Zealand. This talk introduces some old, some new and some eccentric ideas for keeping computers and their software running for as long as we can. It was meant to try and teach tricks to fight planned obsolescence and also build new things that might survive the onslaught of corporate capture.

This talk was streamed from aboard a little sailboat adrift somewhere in the Pacific. No prior knowledge of computing required.

Thank you to the organizers of Critical Signals for inviting us.

Rek & Dev

Critical Signals: https://criticalsignals.nz/

Image Credit:

Some of the images were produced by Devine, others by Rek (https://kokorobot.ca/), the other half of HundredRabbits. The credited images below belong to their authors.

01:41 "And actually, I surf with images off". The Computer Chronicles - The Internet (1993)

03:41 [redacted genie]. c2oh

05:49 Unknown. Sourced from https://wiki.collapsible.systems/

08:30 Shark with legs. Junji Ito, Gyo(manga)

09:14 System for converting television commercials into interactive networked video games https://patents.google.com/patent/US8246454B2/en

11:02 Sufficiently advanced technology. Towards a more Elvish vision for Technology. George Strakhov https://essays.georgestrakhov.com/elvish

12:06 "I've eliminated the friction". Cat & Girl, The Genius https://catandgirl.com/ CC BY-NC-SA 2.5

14:39 Super Chair. Ken Isaacs, Living Structures

19:20 Google Chrome RAM Hog. Author unknown. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/google-chrome-ram-hog#fn2

26:37 Space Jam. https://www.spacejam.com/1996

33:18 MingMing II. Roger Taylor. https://thesimplesailor.com/

36:03 GIF, RAW, DOC, TAR. Jenny Mitcham(Head of Good Practice and Standards for the Digital Preservation Coalition)

38:15 There Will Come Soft Rains. Wood, Weird Fantasy #17

Summer Series BOB - Dream Askew

On April 13, 2018, renowned English art historian spoke at the John Adams Institute about his book, Rembrandt’s Eyes. In this book, Schama explores Rembrant’s obsession with and admiration of the Flemish painter, Peter Paul Rubens. It was only after the death of the legendary Rubens that Rembrant discovered his own style, enabling him to breathe new life into historical painting, portraits, nudes, and the art of etching. Rembrandt’s Eyes shows us why Rembrandt is such a thrilling painter and so revolutionary in his art. Schama’s understanding of Rembrant’s mind and lifestyle allows him to recreate Rembrant’s world on the page. Through a unique combination of schoalrship and literary skill, Schama shows us to see life through Rembrandt’s eyes. Schama is currently a professor of History and Art History at Columbia University in New York.

Moderator: Dr. Cynthia D. Schneider

Modernity is dying within and around us, and we need to face that death with courage and compassion. Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti, Brazilian educator, Indigenous and land rights activist, and author of Hospicing Modernity , joins us.