My Brain Is About to Explode

Oh my! Here's what I'm obsessed with right now:

• SuperCollider is the latest toy I've been playing with. Max/MSP/Jitter is a bit on the back burner right now. Here is my very basic first SuperCollider GUI code, a simple sequencer based on example code from the help files. And I haven't even gotten to the interesting sounds yet!
• Processing is up on the list. I'm excited by code-based artist tools lately, I guess--while the graphical programming environment provided by Max/MSP/Jitter is great for fast-prototyping, I feel that it imposes limitations on architecture over time, and can also impose speed hits on the application itself--the fact is, added a user-interface overhead to every object becomes expensive after a while!
• The wonders of science. I just finished the book Art & Physics by Dr. Leonard Shlain. No, he's a medical doctor, not a Ph.D., and unfortunately it shows; there are some real limitations to this book. However, I can say that it was worth reading for me because it really made me consider the connections between art and science, how science and math can provide (and has provided) a vocabulary for artists. I feel a new excitement for stuff like Dan Shiffman's The Nature of Code course at ITP. I wish we had something like that at Parsons. As soon as I finished Dr. Shlain's book I picked up QED by Richard Feynman--now THAT is a mind-blowing book. I'm getting towards the end of chapter two (there are four chapters, one for each lecture that he gave in the series, each one builds on the last). Even though he used language in the lectures aimed at the layman rather than a theoretical physicist, some sections still require that I go back over them a few times to really absorb concepts. But, nevertheless, a fascinating read, highly recommended, so far.
• My trip to Argentina. I don't know what to expect, or rather, I have no expectations. I've barely planned for it--I just wrote up a TODO list for the trip just now, and only purchased a guidebook and simple Spanish text a few hours ago. I'll be there from July 2nd to July 12th, and I'll be joining my parents who got there a few days ago in Buenos Aires, and then the three of us will head to Mendoza (or thereabouts) to meet up with my sister, who has been there since last fall. While I can't say I'm very excited yet--this is just how I am--I will be once I get into the airport, I'm sure. I expect it to be a blast, full of good food and drink, sightseeing, exploration, relaxation, all that good stuff.

More to come...