Monorepo for Aesthetic.Computer
aesthetic.computer
grants: scaffold May open-call drafts + macOS mail bootstrap report
Adds RESEARCH + DRAFT v0 narratives for Error 406 [Netstalgia] (May 4),
NYABF Project Space (May 8), Oracle Egg BROILER (May 15), and a pre-essay
PITCH for Smarthistory; Francis Gallery parked pending source URL. Top-
level grants/SCORE.md tracks active deadlines and points to the (private)
vault honeydo for the inbox itself. Each draft mirrors the lacma-2026
narrative pattern.
Also adds reports/2026-04-24-mail-bootstrap-on-mac.md documenting the
Homebrew + vault-decrypt steps to make mbsync/mu/msmtp work on a fresh
macOS host: CRLF→LF, AuthMechs LOGIN, Linux→macOS path remap.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
+1381
+66
grants/SCORE.md
+66
grants/SCORE.md
···
1
+
# Grants Score
2
+
3
+
Active applications, deadlines, and status. Newest deadlines first.
4
+
5
+
## Open / In Flight
6
+
7
+
| Application | Deadline | Amount | Status | Folder |
8
+
|---|---|---|---|---|
9
+
| Error 406 [Netstalgia] Not Acceptable | 2026-05-04 (23:59 CEST) | €1,500–7,000 (asking €5.5k) | DRAFT v0 ready | `error-406-netstalgia/` |
10
+
| NY Art Book Fair — Project Space | 2026-05-08 | $3,500 stipend | DRAFT v0 ready | `printed-matter-project-space-2026/` |
11
+
| Oracle Egg — BROILER Residency (Fall 2026) | 2026-05-15 (23:59 PST) | TBD | DRAFT v0 ready | `oracle-egg-broiler-2026/` |
12
+
| ~~Francis Gallery solo painting exhibition~~ | parked | — | parked — different call than the public Summer Exhibition; awaiting source URL | `francis-gallery-2026/` |
13
+
| Smart History — Contributor essay | rolling | unpaid | PITCH.md drafted (send first; PhD-or-equiv clause) | `smarthistory-essay/` |
14
+
15
+
### Drafted vs. submitted
16
+
17
+
Every "DRAFT v0 ready" above means there is a `DRAFT.md` in the folder
18
+
that's filled out top to bottom but **not yet trimmed against the
19
+
actual application form's word counts**. The last step before each
20
+
deadline: open the form, capture the exact field structure, trim the
21
+
draft to fit, fill in unanswered questions, and submit.
22
+
23
+
## Submitted / Decided
24
+
25
+
(none yet — see `grants/lacma-2026/` for prior reference.)
26
+
27
+
## Personal Logistics (not grants but tracked here)
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+
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+
| Item | By | Status | Notes |
30
+
|---|---|---|---|
31
+
| Renew passport (Assonet trip) | before travel | todo | *vault: `personal/2026-assonet/`* |
32
+
| File 2024 + 2025 federal/state tax | late | todo | *vault: `personal/2026-assonet/`* |
33
+
| Covered CA vs MassHealth (residency) | open question | todo | *vault: `personal/2026-assonet/`* |
34
+
| Meeting with SFPC | TBD | schedule | `personal/2026-sfpc/` |
35
+
36
+
## Soft / Maybe Later
37
+
38
+
- Architecture (sales venue for artbooks) — research contact
39
+
- Nina Atwater (sales venue for artbooks) — research contact
40
+
- closefriends.email signup — Trevor McFedries weekly digest
41
+
42
+
## Inbox
43
+
44
+
New opportunities (Fia forwards, me@jas.life mail, in-person asks) land
45
+
in the **private vault honeydo** —
46
+
`aesthetic-computer-vault/personal/honeydo.md.gpg`. Promote ones with
47
+
real public-OK fit into a folder under `grants/` here with a
48
+
`RESEARCH.md`, and link back from the vault honeydo.
49
+
50
+
The honeydo lives in the vault (not in this public repo) because the
51
+
inbox itself often contains forwarded contacts and source-mail context
52
+
that's closed-source.
53
+
54
+
## Pattern for new applications
55
+
56
+
Each application folder should contain:
57
+
58
+
```
59
+
<name>/
60
+
RESEARCH.md # what we found about the call: deadline, ask, jury, fit
61
+
DRAFT.md # the canonical narrative source (form fields)
62
+
budget.md (or .tex) # if applicable
63
+
attachments/ # CV, work samples, references
64
+
```
65
+
66
+
Mirror the structure of `grants/lacma-2026/` (esp. `LACMA-2026-APPLICATION-DRAFT.md`) for narrative-heavy submissions.
+191
grants/error-406-netstalgia/DRAFT.md
+191
grants/error-406-netstalgia/DRAFT.md
···
1
+
# Error 406 [Netstalgia] Not Acceptable — Application Draft
2
+
3
+
> **Deadline:** 2026-05-04, 23:59 CEST
4
+
> **Deliverable:** browser-runnable online exhibition piece + terms of use, due 2026-10-30
5
+
> **Ask:** **€5,500** (middle-upper of the €1.5–7k range — see budget)
6
+
> **Submit:** https://error417.expectation.fail/406/netstalgia-not-acceptable/open-call
7
+
>
8
+
> *This draft is amount-flexible and section-flexible until we have the
9
+
> actual form fields in hand. Word counts below are first-cut targets.*
10
+
11
+
---
12
+
13
+
## Project Title
14
+
15
+
**The URL Tradition** — a browser-runnable counter-platform piece
16
+
17
+
(Working title. Optional alternates: "Personal Computers Are Not Done Yet,"
18
+
"What An Address Was Supposed To Be," "Permanent Forks.")
19
+
20
+
## One-Sentence Description
21
+
22
+
A live web piece where every keystroke makes a new URL — a working
23
+
demonstration that the address bar can still be a creative interface, not
24
+
a tracking surface, written into Aesthetic Computer's existing public
25
+
hosting layer of 17,000+ user programs.
26
+
27
+
---
28
+
29
+
## Project Description (~400 words target)
30
+
31
+
The web's original promise was that every program, every painting, every
32
+
in-progress thought could have a permanent address that anyone could
33
+
visit, fork, and continue. Forty years of platform consolidation turned
34
+
the URL into a tracking primitive. **Netstalgia is the wrong response.**
35
+
Wishing for the early web — the personal homepage, the GeoCities ring —
36
+
fixes nothing, because the missing infrastructure was never the
37
+
aesthetic. It was the *contract*: every artifact addressable, every
38
+
artifact remixable, no platform between artist and audience.
39
+
40
+
**Aesthetic Computer** has been quietly rebuilding that contract since
41
+
2021. KidLisp.com hosts 17,000+ user-written generative-art programs,
42
+
each at a permanent URL of the form `kidlisp.com/$xxx`. Anyone can fork
43
+
any program by appending it to any other URL. There is no app store, no
44
+
moderation queue, no algorithm. The hosting layer is free and the source
45
+
is on GitHub.
46
+
47
+
**The proposed piece — *The URL Tradition* — makes that contract visible.**
48
+
A single browser-runnable artwork where:
49
+
50
+
1. **Every keystroke is publishable.** As the visitor writes a KidLisp
51
+
program live in the page, every state of the program is auto-minted as
52
+
a permanent URL. No save button. No login. The URL bar is the
53
+
manuscript.
54
+
2. **The address bar is the studio.** The piece lets visitors visit any
55
+
prior visitor's URL, fork it, mix it with any other prior URL by
56
+
concatenation, and watch the result run live.
57
+
3. **Inherited memory is a visible substrate, not a frame.** The piece
58
+
surfaces the URL graph itself — what fed into this state, what comes
59
+
after — so that "remix" stops being a metaphor and becomes the
60
+
mechanic.
61
+
62
+
The piece will run for the duration of the Error 406 online exhibition
63
+
(end of 2026 onward) at a dedicated URL, with all visitor-generated state
64
+
preserved as part of the work. After the exhibition, the piece continues
65
+
at the same URL — as a permanent counter-platform demonstration, not an
66
+
expiring artifact.
67
+
68
+
**Why this fits Netstalgia Not Acceptable.** This is not a recreation of
69
+
the early web. It's a working argument that the protocols, the
70
+
addressing scheme, and the hosting layer the web actually offered — if
71
+
you decline the platform — already deliver what we wish nostalgia could.
72
+
The piece proposes (and implements) the URL as the unit of artistic
73
+
authorship: not a citation, not a share, but the work itself.
74
+
75
+
---
76
+
77
+
## Artist Statement (~150 words target)
78
+
79
+
I make instruments and tools for other artists to use. Aesthetic Computer
80
+
is the central project — a creative computing system, a custom
81
+
programming language (KidLisp), a social network, and a lending fleet of
82
+
laptops flashed with a custom kernel. I have been arguing for years
83
+
that the personal computer is not finished, that the web's original
84
+
contract was real, and that the way to defend it is to keep building
85
+
it. The URL Tradition piece is the most concentrated expression of
86
+
that argument I can fit into a browser. It exists because every other
87
+
form of the argument — the operating system, the laptop fleet, the
88
+
hardware — is harder to ship to a global online exhibition than a
89
+
single URL. That, itself, is the point.
90
+
91
+
---
92
+
93
+
## Fit With the Call's Themes
94
+
95
+
| Call theme | How the piece engages it |
96
+
|---|---|
97
+
| **Protocols, networks, shared infrastructures** | The piece IS a working protocol stack — KidLisp + the AC hosting layer + permanent URLs. Source on GitHub. |
98
+
| **Governance, moderation, sustainability within decentralization** | No moderation queue; every program is its own permanent URL; hosting paid by open-source sponsorship + studio funds, not VC. |
99
+
| **Expanding user agency on restrictive platforms** | The piece is itself the alternative platform; visitors leave with permanent URLs they own. |
100
+
| **Migration toward existing alternatives** | Built atop infrastructure that already exists and works (17,000+ programs, 2,800+ handles, 5 years of uptime). |
101
+
| **Critical interrogation of inherited memories and power structures** | The piece argues against nostalgia explicitly — its companion essay (see deliverables) frames the URL Tradition as a contract, not a memory. |
102
+
103
+
---
104
+
105
+
## Deliverables
106
+
107
+
1. **The piece itself** — a browser-runnable URL (`error406.aesthetic.computer`
108
+
or similar), live for the duration of the exhibition and after.
109
+
2. **Companion essay (~1,500 words)** — published as both a permanent URL
110
+
and a printable single-sheet KidLisp card, expanding "The URL
111
+
Tradition" argument for the exhibition catalog.
112
+
3. **Terms of use** — short, readable, in plain English. No tracking, no
113
+
accounts, all visitor-generated content preserved at permanent URLs
114
+
under a permissive license.
115
+
4. **Source code** — on GitHub (already public for the full AC stack).
116
+
5. **Documentation reel** — short video of the piece in use, for the
117
+
exhibition front-matter.
118
+
119
+
---
120
+
121
+
## Risk and Process (Selection criterion #5)
122
+
123
+
This piece is **deliberately under-finished at the moment of submission**
124
+
and will be co-developed with the visitor traffic during the exhibition
125
+
window. The risk is that visitors don't make anything interesting; the
126
+
process commitment is that the piece will publish a periodic "URL of the
127
+
week" curated edit *during* the exhibition, with the artist
128
+
acknowledging that some weeks will be empty. Failure becomes part of the
129
+
work. This is consistent with the call's stated welcome of "high-risk,
130
+
process-oriented projects."
131
+
132
+
---
133
+
134
+
## Budget (€5,500 ask)
135
+
136
+
| Item | € |
137
+
|---|---|
138
+
| Artist time: development + curation through exhibition window (≈12 weeks) | 3,000 |
139
+
| Hosting + bandwidth + URL preservation infrastructure (Cloudflare, MongoDB, Digital Ocean Spaces) | 600 |
140
+
| Companion essay writing + design + print run (100 cards, distributed in EU + LA) | 500 |
141
+
| Documentation reel (production + editing) | 400 |
142
+
| Translations of the piece UI + essay into ES, DA, ZH | 600 |
143
+
| Contingency (8%) | 400 |
144
+
| **Total** | **5,500** |
145
+
146
+
---
147
+
148
+
## Short Bio (~100 words)
149
+
150
+
Jeffrey Alan Scudder is an artist, educator, and technologist based in
151
+
Los Angeles. He builds instruments and tools for other artists, and
152
+
keeps a live practice across performance painting, software writing, and
153
+
teaching. Yale MFA (2013), Ringling BFA (2011). Author in Residence at
154
+
UCLA Social Software with Casey Reas and Lauren Lee McCarthy. Creator of
155
+
Aesthetic Computer, Whistlegraph, and No Paint. His open-source tools
156
+
*No Paint* and *notepat* each reached the front page of Hacker News.
157
+
Work in the collections of KADIST (San Francisco) and SMK (Copenhagen).
158
+
Hosts biweekly NELA Computer Club demos at Plot.Place in Chinatown, LA.
159
+
160
+
## Long Bio / CV
161
+
162
+
See `papers/cv/cv.pdf` (canonical AC CV).
163
+
164
+
---
165
+
166
+
## Source Materials Repurposed Here
167
+
168
+
- `papers/arxiv-url-tradition/url-tradition.tex` — primary intellectual
169
+
source for "The URL Tradition" framing
170
+
- `papers/arxiv-sustainability/sustainability.tex` — "Who Pays for
171
+
Creative Tools?" — funding-model argument
172
+
- `papers/arxiv-network-audit/network-audit.tex` — current state of the
173
+
17,000-program hosting layer
174
+
- `system/public/kidlisp.com/` — the existing hosting platform the
175
+
piece extends
176
+
- `papers/arxiv-kidlisp-cards/` — card format for companion essay print
177
+
178
+
---
179
+
180
+
## Submission Checklist
181
+
182
+
- [ ] Open the actual application form, capture exact fields + word caps
183
+
- [ ] Trim each section to the form's actual word count
184
+
- [ ] Decide on final title (currently "The URL Tradition")
185
+
- [ ] Confirm €5,500 ask vs. higher (€7k) or lower (€4k) based on form
186
+
questions about scope vs. honorarium
187
+
- [ ] Pull 3–5 work-sample images (existing KidLisp pieces as preview)
188
+
- [ ] Record + upload short documentation video
189
+
- [ ] Confirm exhibition URL slug (`error406.aesthetic.computer`?)
190
+
- [ ] Final review for word counts, typos, and ES/DA/ZH translation note
191
+
- [ ] Submit before 2026-05-04, 23:59 CEST
+83
grants/error-406-netstalgia/RESEARCH.md
+83
grants/error-406-netstalgia/RESEARCH.md
···
1
+
# Error 406 [Netstalgia] Not Acceptable — Research
2
+
3
+
> **Deadline:** 2026-05-04, 23:59 CEST
4
+
> **Grant:** €1,500 – €7,000 (sliding scale)
5
+
> **Submit:** https://error417.expectation.fail/406/netstalgia-not-acceptable/open-call
6
+
> **Org:** Error 417 (organized in part by dyne.org foundation; second call after Error 417)
7
+
> **Jury:** meets early June 2026; recipients informed mid-June
8
+
> **Online exhibition:** end of 2026 (work delivery deadline 2026-10-30)
9
+
10
+
## What they're calling for
11
+
12
+
Internet-art projects that take a clear-eyed look at the past while exploring how
13
+
internet histories can open paths to more equitable futures. Not "old internet"
14
+
nostalgia — but interrogation of platform power, data extraction, and the
15
+
infrastructures we've inherited. Asking what protocols, networks, archives, and
16
+
shared conditions are needed to build the internet we actually want.
17
+
18
+
## Eligibility
19
+
20
+
Open worldwide to:
21
+
- artists
22
+
- collectives
23
+
- curators
24
+
- arts initiatives
25
+
- exhibition spaces
26
+
- online platforms
27
+
- developers (software and hardware)
28
+
29
+
## Format of award
30
+
31
+
- Grant (sliding €1.5k–€7k)
32
+
- Mentoring sessions with members of the jury
33
+
- Inclusion in online exhibition (end of 2026)
34
+
35
+
## Why AC fits
36
+
37
+
- Aesthetic.Computer *is* a critique of platform-era computing through making.
38
+
- The URL Tradition paper (`papers/arxiv-url-tradition/`) is the clearest single
39
+
artifact framing AC's stance on protocols and shared conditions for the web.
40
+
- The Library + AC Native OS '26 reframes "old hardware" as a site of cultural
41
+
reuse rather than nostalgia — anti-Windows-10-EOL e-waste, against platform
42
+
capture, in favor of artist-run infrastructure.
43
+
- KidLisp + the social network are the "protocols, networks, archives" the call
44
+
asks about, made tangible.
45
+
46
+
## Suggested angle
47
+
48
+
**"Personal Computers Are Not Done Yet" → reframed for Netstalgia:**
49
+
We are not nostalgic for the early web. We are arguing the second personal
50
+
computing scene is just starting, and it has to be built on the lessons of why
51
+
the first one was captured. The AC Library and AC Native OS are the
52
+
demonstration: 240M stranded laptops, an artist-run lending fleet, a custom
53
+
kernel that boots straight into a creative instrument, no app store. Online
54
+
exhibition piece could be a browser-runnable demonstration of AC's URL tradition
55
+
+ a documentation reel from a Flash Day.
56
+
57
+
## Source materials in repo to repurpose
58
+
59
+
- `papers/arxiv-url-tradition/url-tradition.tex` — main intellectual frame
60
+
- `papers/arxiv-os/os.tex` — AC Native OS '26 paper
61
+
- `papers/arxiv-sustainability/sustainability.tex` — "Who Pays for Creative Tools?"
62
+
- `papers/arxiv-network-audit/network-audit.tex` — what the network looks like today
63
+
- `grants/lacma-2026/LACMA-2026-APPLICATION-DRAFT.md` — recent narrative we can adapt
64
+
65
+
## Sources
66
+
67
+
- [Open Call (canonical)](https://error417.expectation.fail/406/netstalgia-not-acceptable/open-call)
68
+
- [Netstalgia Essay (frame)](https://error417.expectation.fail/406/netstalgia-not-acceptable/netstalgia-not-acceptable-essay)
69
+
- [ArtRabbit listing](https://www.artrabbit.com/artist-opportunities/2026/may/error-406-netstalgia-not-acceptable)
70
+
- [ArtsHub UK listing](https://www.artshub.co.uk/opportunity/error-406-netstalgia-not-acceptable-2632679/)
71
+
- [dyne.org / LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dyne-org_open-call-error-406-netstalgia-not-acceptable-activity-7444745380614795264-Dz6f)
72
+
73
+
## Next steps
74
+
75
+
1. Read the Netstalgia essay carefully (linked above) and pull 2–3 quotes to
76
+
anchor the narrative against.
77
+
2. Draft `DRAFT.md` from the LACMA narrative, retargeted for an online
78
+
exhibition deliverable rather than a public lab.
79
+
3. Decide grant ask: probably top of range (€7k) given the scope of the AC
80
+
stack; or middle (€4k) if framed as a single Library Flash Day documentation +
81
+
browser demo.
82
+
4. Pick the deliverable: online piece, video documentation, or a written essay
83
+
companion. Cross-reference what the jury expects in the application form.
+56
grants/francis-gallery-2026/RESEARCH.md
+56
grants/francis-gallery-2026/RESEARCH.md
···
1
+
# Francis Gallery (LA) — Painting Exhibition — Research
2
+
3
+
> **User note:** "apply for Francis Gallery solo painting exhibition by May 30"
4
+
> **What I found does not match.** The publicly listed Francis Gallery LA open
5
+
> call is a **group Summer Exhibition**, not a solo show, with a deadline that
6
+
> already closed:
7
+
>
8
+
> - Original deadline: 2026-04-02 (extended to 2026-04-30)
9
+
> - Results announced: 2026-05-08
10
+
> - Two prizes: $15,000 Francis Award (abstract), $15,000 Clara Award (figurative)
11
+
> - $30 application fee per artwork (max 2 works)
12
+
> - Artist must be LA-area, 18+
13
+
> - Works: original paintings, 8×10" min to 48×60" max, completed within last 3 years
14
+
15
+
## Possibilities
16
+
17
+
1. **Different opportunity:** the user may be tracking a separate solo-show
18
+
call — maybe direct outreach to Francis Gallery, an invited proposal, or
19
+
another gallery with "Francis" in the name. Worth confirming before
20
+
drafting anything.
21
+
2. **Same call, misremembered as solo:** if it's the Summer Exhibition, the
22
+
May 30 date doesn't line up either (results were May 8); the call closed
23
+
April 30. **This one is past deadline.**
24
+
3. **Future-dated solo call:** Francis Gallery may have a separate solo
25
+
exhibition call we haven't surfaced. Their site lists exhibitions but the
26
+
public open-call page is the Summer Exhibition.
27
+
28
+
## What you can paint with right now
29
+
30
+
If the user *does* want to do a paint-focused submission somewhere, the AC
31
+
universe has strong painting threads to pull on:
32
+
33
+
- The Holden paper (`papers/arxiv-holden/holden.tex`) — "The Potter and the
34
+
Prompt" is about generative painting practice.
35
+
- *No Paint* — the open-source paint tool that hit HN front page.
36
+
- The Whistlegraph paintings / paintings-as-source-code thread.
37
+
- `paintings/` directory in the monorepo (browse for current series).
38
+
39
+
## Sources
40
+
41
+
- [Open Call — Summer Exhibition](https://francisgallery.com/news/summer-exhibition-application-2026)
42
+
- [California Arts Council listing](https://arts.ca.gov/collective/francis-gallery-236-4-open-call-for-artists-summer-exhibition-2026/)
43
+
- [Francis Gallery homepage](https://francisgallery.com/)
44
+
45
+
## Next step (needs you)
46
+
47
+
**Please confirm one of:**
48
+
49
+
- **(a)** This is the Summer Exhibition (group call, deadline already passed) —
50
+
**action: drop from list or contact gallery to ask if late submission is
51
+
possible.**
52
+
- **(b)** It's a different solo opportunity — **action: send the URL or
53
+
context (e.g., who told you, where you saw it) and I'll re-research.**
54
+
- **(c)** It's an unsolicited proposal you want to send the gallery directly —
55
+
**action: I'll draft the proposal and a cover letter against your painting
56
+
practice, and you set your own May 30 internal deadline.**
+170
grants/oracle-egg-broiler-2026/DRAFT.md
+170
grants/oracle-egg-broiler-2026/DRAFT.md
···
1
+
# Oracle Egg — BROILER Residency (Fall 2026) — Application Draft
2
+
3
+
> **Deadline:** 2026-05-15, 23:59 PST
4
+
> **Length:** 3–7 days, full facility access
5
+
> **Window:** September – December 2026
6
+
> **Submit:** Google Form linked from https://www.oracleegg.com/broiler
7
+
>
8
+
> *This draft is a starting frame; trim and re-shape once we have the
9
+
> exact form fields. Length targets below are guesses pending the form.*
10
+
11
+
---
12
+
13
+
## Project Title
14
+
15
+
**Library Orchestra — *notepat* on twelve flashed laptops**
16
+
17
+
(Working title; alternate: *"What a room of personal computers sounds like."*)
18
+
19
+
---
20
+
21
+
## One-paragraph Description (~120 words)
22
+
23
+
Twelve refurbished laptops, each booted directly into Aesthetic Computer
24
+
from USB on the first day of the residency, become a network instrument
25
+
for a single 30–45 minute room-scale piece. Each laptop runs **notepat**
26
+
— an 8,466-line polyphonic instrument the artist built from scratch over
27
+
two years, a sample-level audio engine running at 192 kHz with 32 voices
28
+
of polyphony — and the twelve are linked over a local WebSocket relay so
29
+
that what one player hears propagates to the others. The piece develops
30
+
the *PLORK* (planetary laptop orchestra) thesis: cheap commodity laptops,
31
+
flashed with a creative kernel, become an instrument library. The room
32
+
becomes the instrument the room itself can play.
33
+
34
+
---
35
+
36
+
## What I Want To Develop During The Residency
37
+
38
+
I have built the instrument (notepat). I have written the paper proposing
39
+
this exact form (`papers/arxiv-plork/plork.pdf`, 8 pages). What I have
40
+
*not* done is play twelve of these in one room. The residency is exactly
41
+
the right length and shape to:
42
+
43
+
1. **Day 1 — Flash Day.** Twelve refurbished ThinkPad 11e Yogas (already
44
+
stripped of their consumer OS, $128 per seat per `papers/arxiv-os/`)
45
+
boot into Aesthetic Computer. Performers — local LA musicians — each
46
+
take a laptop. The room becomes the instrument library.
47
+
2. **Days 2–4 — Open rehearsal.** Develop a 30–45 minute score for
48
+
twelve networked notepats, voice, room mics, and the PA. The piece
49
+
uses AC's existing WebSocket relay (the same code that powers
50
+
real-time multiplayer in `system/public/aesthetic.computer/disks/`)
51
+
so all twelve laptops can phase, sync, cross-modulate, listen to each
52
+
other, and respond.
53
+
3. **Day 5 (or 6 / 7) — Public ticketed performance.** The score in
54
+
front of an audience. Documentation reel for online release.
55
+
56
+
The risk is real and acknowledged: I have never run twelve simultaneous
57
+
laptops on one local network running a shared synth state. Days 2–4 are
58
+
budgeted to fail openly, and the final-day performance is shaped by
59
+
whatever the room actually does, not what was planned.
60
+
61
+
---
62
+
63
+
## Why Oracle Egg
64
+
65
+
BROILER is for ambitious sound and performance work in early stages or
66
+
active development. This piece is in active development on every
67
+
component (notepat, the AC kernel, the WebSocket relay, the PLORK
68
+
argument) — what's missing is the room. Oracle Egg's 3,000 sf loft in
69
+
the Fashion District is exactly the kind of space the piece needs: enough
70
+
floor for twelve laptop stations and an audience, run by musicians who
71
+
understand the rehearsal-into-performance arc, with a culminating public
72
+
moment that turns a residency into something an audience comes to.
73
+
74
+
The residency is also the right cohort question: which LA musicians want
75
+
to play this? I would invite a mix from the **NELA Computer Club**
76
+
(biweekly demos at Plot.Place in Chinatown) and Oracle Egg's own active
77
+
circles. Twelve players, mixed practices, one room, one piece.
78
+
79
+
---
80
+
81
+
## Logistics
82
+
83
+
| Need | Who provides |
84
+
|---|---|
85
+
| Twelve refurbished ThinkPad 11e Yoga laptops | Artist (AC Library / shipped from LA studio) |
86
+
| Twelve USB drives, pre-flashed with AC Native OS | Artist |
87
+
| Twelve sets of headphones | Artist |
88
+
| Local WebSocket relay (laptop or RPi) | Artist |
89
+
| Eight to twelve cheap powered speakers + mixer + mic stands | Oracle Egg / artist (rider TBD) |
90
+
| Local network (ethernet or 5GHz wifi without internet exit) | Oracle Egg / artist |
91
+
| Performance space + door + ticketing | Oracle Egg |
92
+
| Performers (≈8 invited) | Artist (LA-based, mix of NELA Computer Club + invited) |
93
+
94
+
---
95
+
96
+
## Honorarium / Cost
97
+
98
+
The form will state Oracle Egg's policy. **My ask:** a per-day artist
99
+
fee for performers (eight performers × $200/day × 4 days =
100
+
$6,400 across the cohort), a $1,500 production budget for travel of
101
+
shipped equipment + speaker rental + mixer rental, and an artist fee for
102
+
the residency lead at Oracle Egg's standard rate. If Oracle Egg's
103
+
policy is artist-fee-only with no production budget, I will adapt the
104
+
piece to fewer performers (six instead of twelve) and use existing
105
+
equipment.
106
+
107
+
---
108
+
109
+
## Performance Date Window
110
+
111
+
September – December 2026. Strong preference for **early-to-mid
112
+
October 2026** (lines up with the fall semester at UCLA Social Software
113
+
where the AC cards are circulating, and with my own LA calendar). Will
114
+
adapt as Oracle Egg needs.
115
+
116
+
---
117
+
118
+
## Short Bio (~100 words)
119
+
120
+
Jeffrey Alan Scudder is an artist, educator, and technologist based in
121
+
Los Angeles. He builds instruments and tools for other artists, with a
122
+
live and active practice across performance painting, software writing,
123
+
and teaching. Yale MFA (2013), Ringling BFA (2011). Author in Residence
124
+
at UCLA Social Software with Casey Reas and Lauren Lee McCarthy. Creator
125
+
of Aesthetic Computer, Whistlegraph, and No Paint. His open-source tools
126
+
*No Paint* and *notepat* each reached the front page of Hacker News.
127
+
Work in the collections of KADIST (San Francisco) and SMK (Copenhagen).
128
+
Hosts biweekly NELA Computer Club demos at Plot.Place, Chinatown LA.
129
+
130
+
---
131
+
132
+
## Media Samples (to include)
133
+
134
+
1. **notepat performance reel** — 3 min, solo or duo on browser; pull
135
+
from existing AC documentation.
136
+
2. **AC Native OS boot reel** — 60 sec showing a ThinkPad cold-booting
137
+
into notepat from USB (kernel prototype landed Feb 2026).
138
+
3. **PLORK paper** — `papers/arxiv-plork/plork.pdf` (8 pp.) as written
139
+
thesis.
140
+
4. **One previous live-performance still** (NELA Computer Club, 47th
141
+
Venice Family Clinic Art Exhibition 2026, or a UCLA classroom).
142
+
143
+
---
144
+
145
+
## Source Materials Repurposed Here
146
+
147
+
- `papers/arxiv-plork/plork.tex` — the PLORK / planetary laptop
148
+
orchestra argument (primary intellectual frame)
149
+
- `papers/arxiv-notepat/notepat.tex` — the instrument paper
150
+
- `papers/arxiv-os/os.tex` — AC Native OS '26, the kernel that boots
151
+
notepat as PID 1
152
+
- `papers/arxiv-folk-songs/folk-songs.tex` — repertoire / score thinking
153
+
- `papers/arxiv-whistlegraph/whistlegraph.tex` — graphic-score thinking
154
+
- `system/public/aesthetic.computer/disks/notepat.mjs` — the instrument
155
+
source
156
+
- `gigs/dis-order-pamphlet-8.5x11-folded/` — example of how AC ideas
157
+
travel into print form for an audience handout
158
+
159
+
---
160
+
161
+
## Submission Checklist
162
+
163
+
- [ ] Open the actual Google Form, capture exact fields + word caps
164
+
- [ ] Trim each section to fit the form
165
+
- [ ] Decide ensemble framing (solo / "Jeffrey + AC Library Orchestra")
166
+
- [ ] Confirm equipment count (12 vs. 8 vs. 6 laptops based on Oracle
167
+
Egg's space + budget)
168
+
- [ ] Pull the performance reel
169
+
- [ ] Confirm performance date preference window
170
+
- [ ] Submit before 2026-05-15, 23:59 PST
+77
grants/oracle-egg-broiler-2026/RESEARCH.md
+77
grants/oracle-egg-broiler-2026/RESEARCH.md
···
1
+
# Oracle Egg — BROILER Residency (Fall 2026) — Research
2
+
3
+
> **Deadline:** 2026-05-15, 23:59 PST
4
+
> **Submit:** Google Form linked from https://www.oracleegg.com/broiler ("Apply Now")
5
+
> **Length:** 3 to 7 days, full facility access
6
+
> **Window:** September – December 2026
7
+
> **Honorarium:** not disclosed publicly; ask in the form
8
+
> **Location:** 939 Maple Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90015 (Fashion District; 3,000 sf loft)
9
+
> **Run by:** two active musicians; artist-run incubator for experimental music & performance
10
+
11
+
## What BROILER supports
12
+
13
+
Ambitious new work in **sound and performance**: projects that challenge form,
14
+
expand sonic language, take risks. Projects should be in **early stages or
15
+
active development** — BROILER is not for finished work touring through.
16
+
Culminates in a public performance.
17
+
18
+
## Why AC fits
19
+
20
+
- **notepat.com** is an 8,466-line polyphonic instrument that runs in any
21
+
browser and on AC Native OS at 192 kHz / 32 voices. It is *exactly* a
22
+
laptop-orchestra instrument waiting for a room.
23
+
- The **PLORK paper** (`papers/arxiv-plork/`) literally argues for a planetary
24
+
laptop orchestra. BROILER is a perfect-scale demo of that thesis.
25
+
- The **AC Library** lending fleet means we can bring 8–12 AC Blank ThinkPads,
26
+
flash them on day 1, rehearse for 2–3 days, perform on day 5 — a full
27
+
workshop-to-performance arc inside the residency window.
28
+
- Oracle Egg's audience is exactly the right one for *Whistlegraph* and the
29
+
*Sucking on the Complex* paper — performance + score + open instrument.
30
+
31
+
## Suggested angle
32
+
33
+
**"Library Orchestra: notepat.com on twelve flashed laptops."** Pitch:
34
+
- Day 1: Flash 12 AC Blank ThinkPads (donated/used, $128/seat) — the room
35
+
becomes an instrument library.
36
+
- Days 2–4: Open rehearsal with LA musicians and any Oracle Egg residents
37
+
available; develop a 30–45 minute score for 12 networked notepats + voice
38
+
+ room mics. Use AC's WebSocket relay so all 12 laptops can phase, sync, and
39
+
cross-modulate.
40
+
- Day 5 (or 6/7): Public ticketed performance. Documentation reel for online
41
+
release.
42
+
43
+
This frames AC not as software but as a **room-scale performance instrument**,
44
+
which is BROILER's exact lane.
45
+
46
+
## Source materials in repo
47
+
48
+
- `papers/arxiv-plork/plork.tex` — planetary laptop orchestra argument
49
+
- `papers/arxiv-notepat/notepat.tex` — instrument paper
50
+
- `papers/arxiv-folk-songs/folk-songs.tex` — repertoire frame
51
+
- `papers/arxiv-whistlegraph/whistlegraph.tex` — graphic score thinking
52
+
- `system/public/aesthetic.computer/disks/notepat.mjs` — the instrument itself
53
+
54
+
## Open questions for the user
55
+
56
+
- Do you want to apply solo or with a named ensemble? (Could be "Jeffrey + AC
57
+
Library Orchestra" with TBD performers.)
58
+
- Would NELA Computer Club members be performers, or is this a separate
59
+
Downtown LA cohort?
60
+
- Equipment: ship laptops, or have local LA artists bring their own and flash
61
+
on site?
62
+
63
+
## Sources
64
+
65
+
- [BROILER program page](https://www.oracleegg.com/broiler)
66
+
- [Oracle Egg main site](https://www.oracleegg.com/)
67
+
- [Calendar / past residencies](https://www.oracleegg.com/calendar)
68
+
- [Support / pledge page](https://charity.pledgeit.org/oracleegg)
69
+
70
+
## Next steps
71
+
72
+
1. Open the Google Form and capture exact required fields (statement of intent,
73
+
media samples, technical rider, dates preferred).
74
+
2. Confirm performance date window — September through December gives you
75
+
flexibility; you'll want to align with other LA dates.
76
+
3. Decide ensemble framing.
77
+
4. Pull a 3-min notepat performance reel as the media sample.
+196
grants/printed-matter-project-space-2026/DRAFT.md
+196
grants/printed-matter-project-space-2026/DRAFT.md
···
1
+
# NY Art Book Fair — Project Space — Application Draft
2
+
3
+
> **Deadline:** 2026-05-08
4
+
> **Stipend:** $3,500 (per JS — confirm in form)
5
+
> **Submit:** Project Space proposal Google Form (link in NYABF FAQ)
6
+
>
7
+
> *This draft assumes the Project Space format gives 1 booth-or-installation
8
+
> footprint + a presentation slot during the fair. Trim once the actual
9
+
> form is open.*
10
+
11
+
---
12
+
13
+
## Project Title
14
+
15
+
**The AC Papermill, Live**
16
+
17
+
(Working title; alternates: "Programs As Cards," "The URL As Edition,"
18
+
"Aesthetic Computer Press.")
19
+
20
+
---
21
+
22
+
## One-Sentence Description
23
+
24
+
A live publishing booth at the NY Art Book Fair where visitors write
25
+
KidLisp programs that print themselves as single-sheet cards in real
26
+
time, demonstrating the live tie between code, web hosting, and the
27
+
printed page that sits at the center of the Aesthetic Computer
28
+
publishing practice.
29
+
30
+
---
31
+
32
+
## What The Project Space Will Be (~200 words)
33
+
34
+
A small footprint inside the fair: one table, one wall, one networked
35
+
printer, two laptops. The setup runs continuously through the fair
36
+
hours.
37
+
38
+
- **Laptop A** boots into Aesthetic Computer's KidLisp environment.
39
+
Visitors are invited to write a short program at the keyboard. Every
40
+
state of every program gets a permanent URL. (KidLisp.com hosts
41
+
17,000+ existing user-written programs at this address scheme.)
42
+
- **Laptop B** is a print-on-demand station. As soon as a visitor
43
+
finishes a piece they like, it's rendered as a single-sheet
44
+
index-card composition (screenshot + source + permanent QR-coded URL,
45
+
monochrome, 2.75″ × 4.75″) and printed on the spot. The visitor
46
+
takes their card.
47
+
- **Wall display** of the existing AC papers: the AC Reader, twelve
48
+
arxiv-format papers, the dis-order pamphlet, a stack of pre-printed
49
+
KidLisp reference cards from the UCLA Social Software course.
50
+
Everything free to take, restocked from a small inventory.
51
+
- **Periodic "press runs"** — at scheduled times each day, the
52
+
artist will compile that day's KidLisp programs into a small
53
+
newsprint zine (16 pp.), printed in a short edition (50–100), free
54
+
to take.
55
+
56
+
The booth runs **continuously and unattended-friendly**. The artist
57
+
will be present for the press-run moments and for visitor
58
+
conversations; otherwise visitors operate the publishing themselves.
59
+
60
+
---
61
+
62
+
## Why It Belongs At NYABF
63
+
64
+
The fair celebrates the printed thing. The Project Space format exists
65
+
for presentations that frame a publication or printed-matter practice
66
+
rather than just selling it from a table. Aesthetic Computer's
67
+
publishing practice is unusual: the printed cards and the live software
68
+
are the same artifact, the URL is the citation, the QR code is the
69
+
delivery. The booth makes that visible by *running* the press at the
70
+
fair.
71
+
72
+
The piece also extends a five-year publishing arc that has produced:
73
+
74
+
- **The AC Reader** (`papers/reader.pdf`) — a single-volume bound
75
+
collection of all current AC papers
76
+
- **The arxiv series** — 28 individual papers across `papers/arxiv-*/`
77
+
- **The cards** — single-sheet KidLisp pieces, designed to fit the
78
+
hand and the wall (`papers/arxiv-kidlisp-cards/`)
79
+
- **The dis-order pamphlet** — recent printed pamphlet, 8.5×11 bifold
80
+
(`gigs/dis-order-pamphlet-8.5x11-folded/`)
81
+
82
+
The booth is the live edge of that practice — the part where the
83
+
publishing happens in front of the reader.
84
+
85
+
---
86
+
87
+
## What Visitors Take Home
88
+
89
+
- Their own KidLisp card (printed during their visit)
90
+
- A permanent URL that runs their program forever
91
+
- An AC Reader copy (one per visitor while supply lasts)
92
+
- A dis-order pamphlet
93
+
- Optional: stack of curated KidLisp reference cards (from the UCLA
94
+
Social Software course set)
95
+
96
+
---
97
+
98
+
## Budget Sketch (against the $3,500 stipend)
99
+
100
+
| Item | $ |
101
+
|---|---|
102
+
| Travel (LA ↔ NYC, four days) | 700 |
103
+
| Lodging (four nights, modest) | 600 |
104
+
| Equipment shipping (laptops + printer + cards) | 350 |
105
+
| Print supplies (cardstock, newsprint zine paper, ink) for daily press runs across the fair | 800 |
106
+
| Pre-printed inventory (AC Readers, dis-order pamphlets, KidLisp reference cards) | 600 |
107
+
| Per diem / meals (four days) | 250 |
108
+
| Contingency (≈6%) | 200 |
109
+
| **Total** | **3,500** |
110
+
111
+
If the stipend is confirmed at a different amount, the inventory and
112
+
press-run line items scale up or down first.
113
+
114
+
---
115
+
116
+
## Logistics
117
+
118
+
| Need | Provided by |
119
+
|---|---|
120
+
| Booth footprint inside the fair | Printed Matter |
121
+
| Networked thermal or laser printer | Artist (ships from LA studio) |
122
+
| Two laptops + USB drives + cables | Artist |
123
+
| Wall display strips / clips for cards | Artist |
124
+
| Pre-printed inventory for the wall + giveaway | Artist |
125
+
| Power + wifi at the booth | Printed Matter |
126
+
| Optional: small audio for the periodic press-run announcements | Artist |
127
+
128
+
**Staffing:** Artist runs the booth solo for the duration of the fair.
129
+
If selected and budget permits, may bring one helper for the busiest
130
+
two days.
131
+
132
+
---
133
+
134
+
## Identity / Imprint
135
+
136
+
**Apply as:** "Aesthetic Computer (Jeffrey Alan Scudder)"
137
+
138
+
The booth functions as an imprint, not a solo-artist showcase. The
139
+
imprint identity makes the social network and the open-source layer
140
+
legible to the fair audience.
141
+
142
+
(This is one of the open questions — discuss with Fia / collaborators
143
+
before submitting.)
144
+
145
+
---
146
+
147
+
## Short Bio (~100 words)
148
+
149
+
Jeffrey Alan Scudder is an artist, educator, and technologist based in
150
+
Los Angeles. He builds instruments and tools for other artists, and
151
+
keeps a live practice across performance painting, software writing,
152
+
and teaching. Yale MFA (2013), Ringling BFA (2011). Author in
153
+
Residence at UCLA Social Software with Casey Reas and Lauren Lee
154
+
McCarthy. Creator of Aesthetic Computer, Whistlegraph, and No Paint.
155
+
His open-source tools *No Paint* and *notepat* each reached the front
156
+
page of Hacker News. Work in the collections of KADIST (San Francisco)
157
+
and SMK (Copenhagen). Hosts biweekly NELA Computer Club demos at
158
+
Plot.Place, Chinatown LA.
159
+
160
+
---
161
+
162
+
## Media Samples
163
+
164
+
1. Photo of the existing AC Reader (PDF cover)
165
+
2. Photo of the existing KidLisp cards in use at UCLA Social Software
166
+
3. Photo of the dis-order pamphlet
167
+
4. Short video of a visitor writing a KidLisp program → seeing it
168
+
become a permanent URL → printing the card
169
+
5. Inventory shot of the four publication formats side-by-side
170
+
171
+
---
172
+
173
+
## Source Materials Repurposed Here
174
+
175
+
- `papers/SCORE.md` — the papermill-as-mission frame
176
+
- `papers/cards-convert.mjs` — the actual code that turns arxiv
177
+
source into single-sheet card layout
178
+
- `papers/arxiv-kidlisp-cards/` — example cards
179
+
- `papers/reader.pdf`, `papers/reader.tex` — the AC Reader
180
+
- `gigs/dis-order-pamphlet-8.5x11-folded/` — recent printed pamphlet
181
+
- `system/public/kidlisp.com/` — the hosting layer that already runs
182
+
the URL side of this
183
+
184
+
---
185
+
186
+
## Submission Checklist
187
+
188
+
- [ ] Open the Google Form, capture exact fields + word caps + stipend
189
+
amount
190
+
- [ ] Decide imprint vs. solo-artist application identity
191
+
- [ ] Source a thermal or laser printer suitable for booth use
192
+
- [ ] Pre-print enough Reader / pamphlet / card inventory before fair
193
+
- [ ] Confirm fair travel dates against other LA / NYC commitments
194
+
(SFPC visit, Oracle Egg residency window if accepted)
195
+
- [ ] Pull the visitor-flow video
196
+
- [ ] Submit before 2026-05-08
+76
grants/printed-matter-project-space-2026/RESEARCH.md
+76
grants/printed-matter-project-space-2026/RESEARCH.md
···
1
+
# NY Art Book Fair — Project Space — Research
2
+
3
+
> **Deadline:** 2026-05-08
4
+
> **Submit:** Project Space proposal form linked from the 2026 NYABF FAQ
5
+
> - Form (Google Forms): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdgkY1vM_7eIBYN58OfjptF8HQlPwIioX6Zvst-Mccg1RWBVw/viewform?usp=dialog
6
+
> - FAQ: https://printedmatterartbookfairs.org/faq
7
+
> - Financial support page: https://printedmatterartbookfairs.org/are-there-opportunities-for-financial-support
8
+
> **Amount:** $3,500 stipend (per JS — confirmed source). The publicly-listed
9
+
> awards in the financial-support FAQ are separate tracks (Shannon Cane,
10
+
> Volume Grant, Jason Polan); the Project Space stipend is documented in the
11
+
> proposal form itself.
12
+
13
+
## What is a Project Space?
14
+
15
+
From the FAQ: Project Spaces are "expanded presentations of books, prints, and
16
+
ephemera" that go beyond the standard exhibitor table format. They are
17
+
programmed presentations within the fair — installations, performances,
18
+
demonstrations — that frame a publication or printed-matter practice rather
19
+
than just selling it from a table.
20
+
21
+
## Why AC fits
22
+
23
+
- AC has a real artbook-adjacent practice: **the AC Reader**
24
+
(`papers/reader.pdf`), **the Cards** (`papers/arxiv-kidlisp-cards/`), the
25
+
printed pamphlet at `gigs/dis-order-pamphlet-8.5x11-folded/`, and the body of
26
+
arxiv papers across `papers/arxiv-*/`. The papermill literally exists to
27
+
press AC ideas into printable form.
28
+
- A Project Space lets us show the **printing pipeline as a living instrument**
29
+
rather than a stack of finished products: visitors interact with KidLisp,
30
+
the system prints a card, the card goes home with them.
31
+
- This connects the "papermill" metaphor in `papers/SCORE.md` to a public
32
+
performance of publishing.
33
+
34
+
## Suggested angle
35
+
36
+
**"The AC Papermill, Live."** A Project Space where:
37
+
1. A laptop runs a KidLisp performance (the live source of the cards).
38
+
2. A networked print station produces single-sheet KidLisp cards on demand,
39
+
one per visitor.
40
+
3. A small library of arxiv-AC papers is displayed and free to take.
41
+
4. Optional Flash Day mini-segment: visitors can flash a USB with AC Native OS.
42
+
43
+
The Project Space proposal should foreground the **publication artifact** (the
44
+
cards, the reader) as the cultural object, not the software. Printed Matter is
45
+
about the printed thing.
46
+
47
+
## Open questions for the user
48
+
49
+
- Do you want to apply as **Aesthetic Computer** (org) or **Jeffrey Alan
50
+
Scudder** (artist)? Project Space framing usually favors a project/imprint
51
+
identity.
52
+
- Travel/logistics: NYABF is in NYC. If selected, who travels, who runs the
53
+
print station, what equipment ships?
54
+
55
+
## Source materials in repo
56
+
57
+
- `papers/SCORE.md` — papermill mission frame
58
+
- `papers/cards-convert.mjs` — actual card builder
59
+
- `papers/arxiv-kidlisp-cards/` — example cards already produced
60
+
- `papers/reader.pdf`, `papers/reader.tex` — the AC Reader
61
+
- `gigs/dis-order-pamphlet-8.5x11-folded/` — recent printed pamphlet
62
+
63
+
## Sources
64
+
65
+
- [NYABF FAQ](https://printedmatterartbookfairs.org/faq)
66
+
- [Financial support page](https://printedmatterartbookfairs.org/are-there-opportunities-for-financial-support)
67
+
- [Submission Manager](https://printedmatterinc.submittable.com/submit)
68
+
- [Project Space proposal form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdgkY1vM_7eIBYN58OfjptF8HQlPwIioX6Zvst-Mccg1RWBVw/viewform?usp=dialog)
69
+
70
+
## Next steps
71
+
72
+
1. Open the Google Form and screenshot/save the actual fields, including the
73
+
stipend amount.
74
+
2. Decide: apply as imprint or artist.
75
+
3. Draft a 1-page Project Space pitch focused on the *printed* output (cards +
76
+
reader), not the software underneath.
+89
grants/smarthistory-essay/PITCH.md
+89
grants/smarthistory-essay/PITCH.md
···
1
+
# Smarthistory — Contributor Pitch (Draft)
2
+
3
+
> **Goal:** a short pitch + bio email to send to the Smarthistory
4
+
> contributors team. Confirms eligibility under the "appropriate
5
+
> qualifications" clause before drafting the full 800–1500 word essay.
6
+
>
7
+
> **Send to:** the contact form at https://smarthistory.org/contribute-an-essay/
8
+
> **Format:** plain prose, ~250 words total (pitch + bio).
9
+
10
+
---
11
+
12
+
## Subject Line
13
+
14
+
Pitch: A practitioner-historian essay on Lillian Schwartz's
15
+
*Pixillation* (1970)
16
+
17
+
*[The object is a placeholder until JS confirms the work he wants to write
18
+
about. Other strong candidates listed at the bottom of this file.]*
19
+
20
+
---
21
+
22
+
## Email Body
23
+
24
+
Dear Smarthistory editors,
25
+
26
+
I'd like to propose an 800–1500 word object-based essay on Lillian
27
+
Schwartz's *Pixillation* (1970, 4 min, 16mm), a film-as-program made
28
+
at Bell Labs that I think still doesn't get a fair reading in
29
+
contemporary art history. I'd write it as a practitioner-historian — I
30
+
make programs that are themselves artworks, and I can walk a beginning
31
+
art-history reader through *Pixillation* as both an image and an
32
+
algorithm, with the goal of leaving them able to look at any
33
+
computer-generated artwork and ask better questions about it.
34
+
35
+
I notice your contributor guidelines lead with the PhD requirement and
36
+
make space for "appropriate qualifications outside traditional academic
37
+
disciplines." I'm an artist, programmer, and educator: MFA from Yale
38
+
School of Art (2013); currently Author in Residence at UCLA Social
39
+
Software with Casey Reas and Lauren Lee McCarthy; have taught at UCLA,
40
+
Parsons School of Design, and Southern Oregon University; my work is
41
+
in the collections of KADIST (San Francisco) and the SMK National
42
+
Gallery of Denmark; I gave the keynote at Korea HCI 2020 and India HCI
43
+
2019, and lectured at the New Museum in 2022 and at Chaos
44
+
Communication Congress in 2018. I've spent fifteen years writing,
45
+
teaching about, and making computer-generated art, and I'd be glad
46
+
to send writing samples on request.
47
+
48
+
If the editorial fit is right, happy to share a 500-word outline and a
49
+
draft for review. Thanks for considering it.
50
+
51
+
Jeffrey Alan Scudder
52
+
mail@aesthetic.computer
53
+
https://aesthetic.computer / https://kidlisp.com
54
+
55
+
---
56
+
57
+
## Object Candidates (pick one before sending)
58
+
59
+
1. **Lillian Schwartz, *Pixillation* (1970)** — algorithmic film at
60
+
Bell Labs. Strong fit; under-discussed; lets the essay walk through
61
+
image AND algorithm; situates Jeffrey's KidLisp lineage.
62
+
2. **John Whitney, *Catalog* (1961)** — analog computer animation; the
63
+
foundational object for "computer-generated art." Bigger, more
64
+
crowded, but the "what does the program do" walk-through is rich.
65
+
3. **Casey Reas, one of the *Process* series, e.g., *Process 7* (2005)**
66
+
— contemporary, very accessible, but Reas is Jeffrey's current
67
+
collaborator (UCLA Social Software), so there's a conflict-of-interest
68
+
note to disclose.
69
+
4. **A specific KidLisp piece minted on Tezos** — most contemporary,
70
+
most about JS's own lineage, but harder to sell as a "single object
71
+
with art-historical weight" to a beginner audience.
72
+
5. **A Whistlegraph drawing** — same risk as #4, plus Smarthistory
73
+
doesn't have a strong precedent for sound-image hybrids on a
74
+
single page.
75
+
76
+
**Recommendation:** lead with **#1 (Schwartz, *Pixillation*)** — best
77
+
balance of art-historical heft, beginner-readability, and Jeffrey's
78
+
qualifications-equivalent angle. Hold #3 in reserve if the editor
79
+
suggests something contemporary.
80
+
81
+
---
82
+
83
+
## Next Step
84
+
85
+
If JS confirms the object, send the email above with the right object
86
+
filled in. **No full essay drafted until Smarthistory editors confirm
87
+
the pitch is welcome** — the PhD-or-equivalent clause means a cold
88
+
1,500-word submission is more likely to be auto-rejected than a
89
+
short, qualifications-aware pitch.
+64
grants/smarthistory-essay/RESEARCH.md
+64
grants/smarthistory-essay/RESEARCH.md
···
1
+
# Smarthistory — Contribute an Essay — Research
2
+
3
+
> **URL:** https://smarthistory.org/contribute-an-essay/
4
+
> **Style checklist:** https://smarthistory.org/contribute-an-essay/essay-checklist/
5
+
> **Deadline:** rolling
6
+
> **Compensation:** none (educational nonprofit)
7
+
8
+
## Eligibility — flag
9
+
10
+
Smarthistory's stated qualification:
11
+
12
+
> "Contributors have earned a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline and have
13
+
> significant teaching experience, or in instances outside traditional
14
+
> academic disciplines, hold other appropriate qualifications."
15
+
16
+
Jeffrey holds an **MFA (Yale, 2013)** — not a PhD. The "appropriate
17
+
qualifications outside traditional academic disciplines" clause is the open
18
+
door, but it's not automatic. Practical implication: a Smarthistory submission
19
+
should be **pitched first** before drafting, with a 1-paragraph proposal +
20
+
brief CV that argues the qualifications-equivalent angle (UCLA Author in
21
+
Residence with Casey Reas, taught at UCLA / Parsons / SOU, work in KADIST
22
+
and SMK collections, two HN-front-page open-source tools).
23
+
24
+
## Format if accepted
25
+
26
+
- 800–1500 words
27
+
- Engaging, conversational, sometimes experiential tone
28
+
- Opens with a "hook"
29
+
- Targets beginning art history students
30
+
- Object-based: focused on a **single work of art or monument**; biography and
31
+
context flow from the object
32
+
- Includes visual analysis that walks the reader through the work
33
+
- Includes definitions for specialized terms (assume curious reader knows
34
+
nothing)
35
+
- Resources list at the bottom; first link is the institution where the object
36
+
lives
37
+
38
+
## Suggested angle (only worth drafting once they confirm interest)
39
+
40
+
**Object candidates inside Jeffrey's wheelhouse:**
41
+
42
+
1. A specific Whistlegraph drawing as a graphic score (object: the drawing;
43
+
visual analysis: the graphic score as a document of singing and time).
44
+
2. A KidLisp piece minted on Tezos as a contemporary "object" — argues for
45
+
the program-as-artwork in art-history terms.
46
+
3. A historical computer-art piece (e.g., one of the Whitney/Vasulka/Cohen
47
+
works) framed against AC's continuation of that tradition. Most "art-
48
+
historical" framing per Smarthistory's house style.
49
+
50
+
Option (3) is the safest pitch — it places Jeffrey as a *practitioner-historian*
51
+
writing about a precedent he extends, which is exactly the angle that lets the
52
+
"appropriate qualifications" clause work in his favor.
53
+
54
+
## Sources
55
+
56
+
- [Contribute an essay](https://smarthistory.org/contribute-an-essay/)
57
+
- [Style checklist](https://smarthistory.org/contribute-an-essay/essay-checklist/)
58
+
59
+
## Next steps
60
+
61
+
1. Decide the single object you'd write about.
62
+
2. Draft a **1-paragraph pitch** + 4-line bio (not the essay itself) and email
63
+
the Smarthistory contributor team.
64
+
3. Only draft the full 800–1500 words if they say yes.
+313
reports/2026-04-24-mail-bootstrap-on-mac.md
+313
reports/2026-04-24-mail-bootstrap-on-mac.md
···
1
+
# Mail Bootstrap on This Mac — 2026-04-24
2
+
3
+
## Status check
4
+
5
+
The repo has a fully designed mail stack (`ants/mail-mcp/server.mjs`,
6
+
`toolchain/email/style-guide.md`, vault GPG entries for `mail@aesthetic.computer`
7
+
and `me@jas.life`, `mu4e` config in `dotfiles/dot_config/emacs.el`). It runs
8
+
in the AC devcontainer / Linux side. **It is not bootstrapped on this macOS
9
+
host.** Specifically:
10
+
11
+
- `mbsync`, `mu`, `notmuch`, `msmtp` — none installed (`/opt/homebrew/bin/`
12
+
empty for all four; no `/usr/local/bin/` versions either).
13
+
- `~/.mbsyncrc`, `~/.msmtprc`, `~/.authinfo.gpg` — none present.
14
+
- `~/.mail-all/` (the Maildir the MCP expects) — does not exist.
15
+
- `~/.cache/mu/xapian/` (the mu index path) — does not exist.
16
+
17
+
The Slab menubar (`slab/menubar-swift/Sources/SlabMenubar/`) **does** have the
18
+
Mail menu items the user remembered:
19
+
20
+
- "Mail: <unread count>" parent
21
+
- "Sync both" → `mbsync -a && mu index --quiet`
22
+
- "Sync ac-mail" → `mbsync ac-mail && mu index --quiet`
23
+
- "Sync jas-mail" → `mbsync jas-mail && mu index --quiet`
24
+
- "Open sync log" (opens `~/.mail-all/sync.log`)
25
+
26
+
The slab daemon and menubar are **installed and loaded** on this Mac
27
+
(`~/Library/LaunchAgents/computer.slab.{daemon,menubar}.plist` are both
28
+
loaded; `~/.local/share/slab/` is populated). So the menu items show up —
29
+
but clicking "Sync both" right now is a no-op because the underlying
30
+
`mbsync` / `mu` binaries don't exist on this Mac. That's the gap to close.
31
+
32
+
## What the mail-mcp expects
33
+
34
+
From `ants/mail-mcp/server.mjs`:
35
+
36
+
```js
37
+
const MU = .../opt/homebrew/bin/mu (or /usr/bin/mu)
38
+
const MBSYNC = .../opt/homebrew/bin/mbsync
39
+
const MSMTP = .../opt/homebrew/bin/msmtp
40
+
const MAILDIR = $HOME/.mail-all
41
+
const MU_DB = $HOME/.cache/mu/xapian
42
+
const ACCOUNTS = {
43
+
"ac-mail": "mail@aesthetic.computer",
44
+
"jas-mail": "me@jas.life",
45
+
}
46
+
const DEFAULT_ACCOUNT = "ac-mail"
47
+
```
48
+
49
+
So the missing piece on this Mac is exactly:
50
+
51
+
1. **Binaries** (Homebrew): `isync`, `mu`, `notmuch`, `msmtp`, `gnupg`,
52
+
`pinentry-mac`.
53
+
2. **`~/.mbsyncrc`** with two channels (`ac-mail` → Gmail IMAP for
54
+
`mail@aesthetic.computer`, `jas-mail` → Gmail IMAP for `me@jas.life`),
55
+
syncing into `~/.mail-all/{ac-mail,jas-mail}/`.
56
+
3. **`~/.msmtprc`** with two SMTP accounts mirroring those.
57
+
4. **`~/.authinfo.gpg`** holding the Gmail app passwords (encrypted to
58
+
`mail@aesthetic.computer`'s GPG key — same recipient the vault uses).
59
+
5. **First-time `mu init` + `mu index`** to build the search DB.
60
+
6. **(Optional)** a launchd LaunchAgent that runs `mbsync -a && mu index`
61
+
every 5 minutes so the mailboxes stay current without manual sync.
62
+
63
+
## Credentials — already exist
64
+
65
+
Per `reports/2026-02-27-mail-inbox-emacs-mcp-secrets-report.md`:
66
+
67
+
- `aesthetic-computer-vault/at/deploy.env` has
68
+
`SMTP_USER=mail@aesthetic.computer` and `SMTP_PASS=<app password>`.
69
+
- The Gmail app password tested working against `imap.gmail.com` from another
70
+
environment (verified in that report).
71
+
- Same recipient (`mail@aesthetic.computer`) is the GPG key for the vault.
72
+
73
+
The `me@jas.life` Gmail app password — I don't see it surfaced in the report.
74
+
Probably needs to be generated fresh in Google Account → Security → App
75
+
Passwords if not already in the vault.
76
+
77
+
## Update 2026-04-24 — bootstrap actually run
78
+
79
+
**Finished:** binaries installed, configs in place, first sync running.
80
+
81
+
The vault already had `home/.mbsyncrc.gpg` and `home/.msmtprc.gpg` —
82
+
**no need to write fresh config**, just decrypt those. But two macOS-side
83
+
gotchas:
84
+
85
+
1. **Line endings.** Both vault configs are CRLF. macOS `mbsync` 1.5.1
86
+
parses CRLF lines fine *except* that the `$` regex anchor in BSD
87
+
`sed`/`awk` matches before `\n`, so any in-place edit using `^FOO$`
88
+
silently no-ops. **Fix:** `tr -d '\r' < ~/.mbsyncrc > /tmp/x && mv /tmp/x ~/.mbsyncrc`
89
+
before any sed/awk passes.
90
+
91
+
2. **Missing `AuthMechs LOGIN`.** The vault config doesn't declare an
92
+
auth mechanism. macOS Cyrus SASL then errors with:
93
+
94
+
```
95
+
Error performing SASL authentication step: SASL(-7): invalid parameter
96
+
supplied: ... near plain_clienttoken.c:195
97
+
```
98
+
99
+
**Fix:** insert `AuthMechs LOGIN` after every `TLSType IMAPS` line.
100
+
101
+
3. **Linux paths.** The vault config points at `/home/me/.mail{,-jas}/`.
102
+
On macOS, rewrite to `/Users/jas/.mail-all/{ac-mail,jas-mail}/` —
103
+
that's also where the Slab menubar's `mu` query expects to find them
104
+
(`maildir:/ac-mail/INBOX OR maildir:/jas-mail/INBOX`).
105
+
106
+
**One-shot bootstrap that handles all three:**
107
+
108
+
```bash
109
+
brew install isync mu notmuch msmtp gnupg pinentry-mac
110
+
111
+
mkdir -p ~/.mail-all/ac-mail ~/.mail-all/jas-mail ~/.cache/mu
112
+
113
+
# mbsyncrc: decrypt → strip CR → remap paths → write 0600
114
+
gpg --decrypt ~/aesthetic-computer/aesthetic-computer-vault/home/.mbsyncrc.gpg \
115
+
| tr -d '\r' \
116
+
| sed 's|/home/me/.mail/|'"$HOME"'/.mail-all/ac-mail/|g; s|/home/me/.mail-jas/|'"$HOME"'/.mail-all/jas-mail/|g' \
117
+
| awk '{print} /^TLSType IMAPS$/{print "AuthMechs LOGIN"}' \
118
+
> ~/.mbsyncrc
119
+
chmod 600 ~/.mbsyncrc
120
+
121
+
# msmtprc: decrypt → strip CR → write 0600
122
+
gpg --decrypt ~/aesthetic-computer/aesthetic-computer-vault/home/.msmtprc.gpg \
123
+
| tr -d '\r' \
124
+
> ~/.msmtprc
125
+
chmod 600 ~/.msmtprc
126
+
127
+
# first sync + first index
128
+
mbsync -a
129
+
mu init --my-address=mail@aesthetic.computer --my-address=me@jas.life --maildir=$HOME/.mail-all
130
+
mu index
131
+
```
132
+
133
+
The Slab menubar (`computer.slab.menubar` LaunchAgent — already loaded)
134
+
will start showing the unread count after `mu index` completes, and
135
+
its "Sync both / ac-mail / jas-mail" menu items become functional.
136
+
137
+
---
138
+
139
+
## Bootstrap script (proposed, not yet run)
140
+
141
+
A first-cut script. Needs your review before running — it installs binaries
142
+
and writes config to your home directory.
143
+
144
+
```bash
145
+
# 1. install binaries
146
+
brew install isync mu notmuch msmtp gnupg pinentry-mac
147
+
148
+
# 2. create maildir tree
149
+
mkdir -p ~/.mail-all/ac-mail ~/.mail-all/jas-mail
150
+
mkdir -p ~/.cache/mu
151
+
152
+
# 3. write ~/.mbsyncrc (dual-account, full Gmail folders)
153
+
cat > ~/.mbsyncrc <<'EOF'
154
+
# --- ac-mail (mail@aesthetic.computer) ---
155
+
IMAPAccount ac-mail
156
+
Host imap.gmail.com
157
+
User mail@aesthetic.computer
158
+
PassCmd "security find-generic-password -a mail@aesthetic.computer -s ac-mail-app-password -w"
159
+
SSLType IMAPS
160
+
AuthMechs LOGIN
161
+
162
+
IMAPStore ac-mail-remote
163
+
Account ac-mail
164
+
165
+
MaildirStore ac-mail-local
166
+
Path ~/.mail-all/ac-mail/
167
+
Inbox ~/.mail-all/ac-mail/INBOX
168
+
SubFolders Verbatim
169
+
170
+
Channel ac-mail
171
+
Far :ac-mail-remote:
172
+
Near :ac-mail-local:
173
+
Patterns * !"[Gmail]/All Mail" !"[Gmail]/Important"
174
+
Create Both
175
+
Expunge Both
176
+
SyncState *
177
+
178
+
# --- jas-mail (me@jas.life) ---
179
+
IMAPAccount jas-mail
180
+
Host imap.gmail.com
181
+
User me@jas.life
182
+
PassCmd "security find-generic-password -a me@jas.life -s jas-mail-app-password -w"
183
+
SSLType IMAPS
184
+
AuthMechs LOGIN
185
+
186
+
IMAPStore jas-mail-remote
187
+
Account jas-mail
188
+
189
+
MaildirStore jas-mail-local
190
+
Path ~/.mail-all/jas-mail/
191
+
Inbox ~/.mail-all/jas-mail/INBOX
192
+
SubFolders Verbatim
193
+
194
+
Channel jas-mail
195
+
Far :jas-mail-remote:
196
+
Near :jas-mail-local:
197
+
Patterns * !"[Gmail]/All Mail" !"[Gmail]/Important"
198
+
Create Both
199
+
Expunge Both
200
+
SyncState *
201
+
EOF
202
+
203
+
# 4. store app passwords in macOS Keychain (no plaintext on disk):
204
+
# you run these by hand so we never echo the password to Bash history
205
+
#
206
+
# security add-generic-password -a mail@aesthetic.computer -s ac-mail-app-password -w
207
+
# security add-generic-password -a me@jas.life -s jas-mail-app-password -w
208
+
#
209
+
# (each prompts for the password)
210
+
211
+
# 5. write ~/.msmtprc
212
+
cat > ~/.msmtprc <<'EOF'
213
+
defaults
214
+
auth on
215
+
tls on
216
+
tls_starttls on
217
+
tls_trust_file /opt/homebrew/etc/ca-certificates/cert.pem
218
+
logfile ~/.msmtp.log
219
+
220
+
account ac-mail
221
+
host smtp.gmail.com
222
+
port 587
223
+
from mail@aesthetic.computer
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user mail@aesthetic.computer
225
+
passwordeval security find-generic-password -a mail@aesthetic.computer -s ac-mail-app-password -w
226
+
227
+
account jas-mail
228
+
host smtp.gmail.com
229
+
port 587
230
+
from me@jas.life
231
+
user me@jas.life
232
+
passwordeval security find-generic-password -a me@jas.life -s jas-mail-app-password -w
233
+
234
+
account default : ac-mail
235
+
EOF
236
+
chmod 600 ~/.msmtprc
237
+
238
+
# 6. first sync + first index
239
+
mbsync -a
240
+
mu init --my-address=mail@aesthetic.computer --my-address=me@jas.life
241
+
mu index
242
+
```
243
+
244
+
Then to keep it fresh:
245
+
246
+
```bash
247
+
# every 5 min via launchd agent at ~/Library/LaunchAgents/computer.aesthetic.mailsync.plist
248
+
# (separate task — write the plist after the first manual sync succeeds)
249
+
```
250
+
251
+
## Why I didn't run this yet
252
+
253
+
1. **App passwords**: the `mail@aesthetic.computer` app password is in the
254
+
vault but I shouldn't pull it out and write it to your Keychain without
255
+
you confirming you want me to. The `me@jas.life` password I haven't
256
+
found in vault — you may need to generate a fresh one.
257
+
2. **brew installs are slow + rewrite PATH**: worth a single confirmation.
258
+
3. **Vault unlock**: pulling the password requires unlocking the GPG vault
259
+
(`vault-tool.fish` from the vault), which is your call.
260
+
261
+
## Decision the user needs to make
262
+
263
+
- **(a) "Run the bootstrap, you have my permission to use the AC mail
264
+
password from the vault and to prompt me for the jas.life one."** I'll
265
+
do steps 1–6 and verify a sync.
266
+
- **(b) "Just install the binaries; I'll handle the passwords."** I'll do
267
+
1–3 + 5 (config files), then stop. You add Keychain entries.
268
+
- **(c) "Write a launchd plist too so it auto-syncs."** Add the LaunchAgent
269
+
step after first manual sync succeeds.
270
+
271
+
## Wiring summary
272
+
273
+
Once steps 1–6 succeed:
274
+
275
+
- `slab/menubar-swift/` → "Mail: N unread" appears in the menubar with
276
+
working "Sync both / ac-mail / jas-mail / Open sync log" items (already
277
+
installed and loaded; just needs the binaries below it to function).
278
+
- `ants/mail-mcp/server.mjs` → MCP server can read/write mail through Claude
279
+
via the same Maildir.
280
+
- `dotfiles/dot_config/emacs.el` → `mu4e` keys (`C-c m` open, `C-c M-m` sync)
281
+
start working in Emacs.
282
+
283
+
That's the whole stack the user was describing — present and wired, just
284
+
missing the four Homebrew binaries and the two config files at home.
285
+
286
+
## Auto-sync — note
287
+
288
+
Slab menubar **refreshes the unread count every 30 s** (`mu find`) but
289
+
does **not** auto-trigger `mbsync`. Sync is on-demand via the menu items.
290
+
If you want continuous background sync, install a launchd `StartInterval`
291
+
agent that runs `mbsync -a && mu index --quiet` every N minutes. **Not
292
+
installed by this bootstrap** — left as an explicit choice. Suggested
293
+
plist if you want it:
294
+
295
+
```xml
296
+
<!-- ~/Library/LaunchAgents/computer.aesthetic.mailsync.plist -->
297
+
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
298
+
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN"
299
+
"http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
300
+
<plist version="1.0"><dict>
301
+
<key>Label</key><string>computer.aesthetic.mailsync</string>
302
+
<key>ProgramArguments</key><array>
303
+
<string>/bin/sh</string><string>-c</string>
304
+
<string>/opt/homebrew/bin/mbsync -a >> "$HOME/.mail-all/sync.log" 2>&1 && /opt/homebrew/bin/mu index --quiet >> "$HOME/.mail-all/sync.log" 2>&1</string>
305
+
</array>
306
+
<key>StartInterval</key><integer>300</integer> <!-- every 5 min -->
307
+
<key>RunAtLoad</key><true/>
308
+
<key>StandardOutPath</key><string>/tmp/computer.aesthetic.mailsync.out</string>
309
+
<key>StandardErrorPath</key><string>/tmp/computer.aesthetic.mailsync.err</string>
310
+
</dict></plist>
311
+
```
312
+
313
+
Load with `launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/computer.aesthetic.mailsync.plist`.