Issue 0: Jumping The Shark


An SVG of a notepad and pencil.

Corrections and Updates

Since publishing this article, a few URLs have been updated, most noticeably changing Bruno's link from gamerboypee.neocities.org to yourdevilfriends.art. The URL to NeoZones has also been updated from the old Neocities version to the current one (the page contents are still the same).


This update was published on 2023-09-25.

We did it. We jumped the shark. Issue 0 and we have all gone too far - well, goodnight, everybody!

[Theme music plays]

Okay, well sadly we can't just not have a blank first issue... or zeroth issue... 0th... 0st? Uh, a pilot... I don't know, anyway, read this newsletter please and I will forever be in your debt. Thank you uwu.

This issue, we will be looking at a lot of art, like, a lot of it, a few Web links that you will really enjoy, as well as a few videos that you should watch with your eyes - you got that, kid?

Check Out This Art, Yo

As of late, Owly made the error of checking out her old Twitter page and by doing so, she saw a bunch of old artwork that they stared and because over on at NeoZones we're all art nerds, we thought that you - our very nice reader - might enjoy some of the art that at this point is a bit old, but whatever, we can link old art - and Hell, what are you going to do about it, huh? Call the police like some kind of rat, ay, that's what I thought.

Uh, anyway, enjoy some of the art here.

Dog in The Rain by 3eyedog

https://twitter.com/3eyedog/status/1278260415743627265 [Nitter]

I, Cass, currently have two dogs that I love very much, but from what I can guess from other people, the term «wet dog smell» seems to be a thing that people really do not like. I don't know if this is just me or not, but whenever my dogs get wet, they don't really smell all that much, and trust me, they just love to run around in boggy pools - regardless, the dog in this artwork made the right decision of putting on a raincoat, plus they also have an umbrella (very cute - I love it!).

the most annoying person at the barbecue by dani

https://twitter.com/comfygoblin/status/1557407012916535298 [Nitter]

Bat OCs: they look cool, but there are very few puns that you can make for them, I guess you could say that they suck, if it your OC is a fruit bat, then you can say that you're a bit fruity, but that's really it when it comes to bat puns. Regardless. This fella looks very cute and I don't know why someone would not want to invite her to a barbecue, might be because all she talks about is pre-historic animals?

Who knows.

In what looks like inside of a swamp, a hooded figure has on a large backpack that is bigger than life and is seemly full of things that they either wish to sell or are hoarding. They have a walking cane that has a candle on and has one red eye.

"Salmon-Eye" the Bog Haggler is one of this issue's featured artwork.

Artwork by Jordan Speer and is used here under fair use.

"Salmon-Eye" the Bog Haggler by Jordan Speer

https://twitter.com/Beefstrong/status/1539048181194948608 [Nitter]

How, oh, how did we not find out about this artist before now? Looking at their art online, Jordan Speer of @Beefstrong has been going strong for a long time now - their art is... weird? Fun and very unique to see, this is mostly down to, what I think, is the ability to somehow look like they used a 3D art program and oil paints at the same time, but I guess at the end of the day, this doesn't matter as their art speaks a whole lot more.

Jordan Speer, who is the creature of this work, has been commissioned in the past by names like Bloomberg Businessweek and The New York Times. The artwork of Speer can be seen as almost a 3D artist version of Felix Colgrave, who is known for such videos like Double King.

Stolas by AcidFangs

https://twitter.com/Acid_Fangs/status/1556134807800647681 [Nitter]

Stolas...? An edit of the Mutant Standard Emoji set of the 😳 emoji (embarrassed.svg). S-S...S..Stolas? Uh, sorry Stolas, I mean, Stolas, sorry Stolas, S-.... Stolas. An edit of the Mutant Standard Emoji set of the 💜 emoji (purple_heart.svg).

As from the amazing Web show, Helluva Boss here is some digital artwork of Prince Stolas, who is behind a moon background while he is dressed in a cape and a fancy dress. God, I wish that was me.

freezin my tits off out here by catboots

https://twitter.com/catboots/status/1446492411795025922 [Nitter]

catboots, oh catboots.

people who have been following my online activity will be aware that I have been aware of this artist for some time - making a color edit to one of their older comics, Kent & Deniel's Plain Ol' Sunday in 2018. So I feel like it should be fitting to feature one of their works in the first issue of nb21.

Our Cool Links

Hey kid... yeah... you... come here... so, you like web links, do ya? Well, let me help ya out, here are five of our finest of Web URLs for you viewing plessure, enjoy.

Blank and white photo of a cabin that is standing on a pile of large boulders. A person is looking outside of it to see if there are any fires or anything of note to see. There is an American flag flying by it.

Fire lookouts, such as this one taken in 1905 Wyoming, are becoming more and more rare thanks to growth in technology, namely satellites, that are able to detect heat and flames on the Earth's surface. Drones and aircraft can also fly around and try and find any smoke.

Image credit: Department of Agriculture, color by ImageColorizer. Click for full image.

Anime Girls Holding Programming Books

https://github.com/cat-milk/Anime-Girls-Holding-Programming-Books [mirror]

I mean, it kind of says what it is on the tin, doesn't it? With over 250 people contributing, this is a massive collection of anime girls holding... programming... books... I guess the title kind of says it all.

Want an edit of an anime girl holding up a PHP book? bam, here you go. Want an anime girl holding up an SQL book? here you go, kitten. What's that? You want to see HolyC? Uh, here you go...

Minecraft Book Collection

https://github.com/DynTylluan/mcbooks [mirror]

Over the past however long, Cass Python (wait, that's me) has been going around on Minecraft servers, trying to hunt down signed books and archive the text for them, not to honk my own horn, but there are some interesting books here, such as these three: Ghostbusters 69, Unsigned, and another unsigned book.

There are a lot more books in the git and it will grow even larger with time as more books are found and achieved, so keep an eye on it.

Fire lookouts: The US Forest Service lookouts watching for fires

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57626403

Kind of an old article at this point but still very much worth reading. But what is it? Well, as technology grows more and more, it means that we are going to see many jobs go away or change in ways that we cannot imagine, one field of work that will change for the better will be fire lookouts, so public servants who are physically inside of a tower to make sure that the area that they are meant to guard - a lot of the time a wood or natural area, is safe - mostly from fires. This work is becoming more and more rare thanks to things like drones, satellites, and aircraft.

The article follows a number of these lookouts; their day-to-day life. It's a good read overall. Here is a small segment from it that talks about the growth in technology;

"We are being replaced, for sure," [Reza Fakhrai, lookout] says. Satellites can detect heat and flames on the earth's surface, while drones and aircraft can fly around and grid a certain area or look for smoke from the sky. "So there are a lot of replacements for lookouts," he said.

States across the US are closing fire lookout towers as new technology comes in, transforming some into accommodation. In New Mexico, the forest service has in recent years deployed drones to monitor blazes. And while there were once thousands of lookouts and towers across the US, now there are far fewer - the state of Wisconsin closed its last 72 lookout towers in 2016, for example.

But there remains a place for people on the ground looking out for fires. Lookouts know the terrain; they can help direct firefighting resources from their towers by radio. And by the time satellites detect fires they sometimes have grown too large, leaving authorities with fewer options to control them.

Join the Fediverse Wiki

https://joinfediverse.wiki

A rather new wiki that can be a very good starting place for people who might not know much about what the Fediverse is and how to use it, plus the mascot is an owl, and you know that I already like it just because of that.

Related, but there is also An Increasingly Less-Brief Guide to Mastodon that can be a good overview of what Masto is and how you can use it.

Shock Treatment: Rocky Horror's Underrated (s)Equal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu8WO854xms

Hey kid, you remember Rocky Horror? What's that? Y-You don't? Uh, well, it's a movie that you should ask your parents about.

Regardless, this video, with currently less than 5,500 views, is all about Shock Treatment - the movie with the tagline of «It's not a sequel... it's not a prequel... it's an equal» (script writter Richard O'Brien later called it «an abortion»). The film was hated at the time, something I would say would be down to it's confusing plot. A lot of the time when watching a movie, having the whole plot told to you before watching it would make watching it less fun, but Shock Treatment is somehow better when the plot is explaned to you.

Uh, I feel like the music is worth playing, at least. Fellas, is it a bit fruity to like Rocky Horror and Shock Treatment?

Future Issues

Hey, uh, hi it's Owly here saying that, yes, this is only a pilot for a possible biweekly newsletter, much like the old AcidMail, we are trying this out to see what people would think of the idea of not only a newsletter that but also a newsletter/zine that people would help edit and add content to.

Bascally, we want to have three factors as to if more issues will be made:

One: More than two people care about this idea

If no-one would have no interest in reading it, I fail to see why I would want to put in the time to carry on making it, ya know?

Two: People are willing to help write it.

AcidJaw was 90% written by myself and it took a lot of time and effort out of me, so it would be good to have other people make content for this newsletter, such as art, web links, or even their own text.

Three: If people are willing to make original content for this newsletter, it must be Creative Commons

Simply so others can share it around - also, I feel like if it is not using an open licence, then the issue of who owns what will come into play, this is why I have always aimed at trying to always use an open licence when making anything.

Currently, this project is using CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, so this means that a person can freely:

Share the work

This just means that they can copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.

Adapt the work

So a person can take the work and edit it to their liking and publish that

But a person has to follow the three rules:

Give us credit

In short, a person must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.

Not make money off the work

Simple. A person can't sell nb21 as-is.

Use the same license

If a person publishes an edited version of the work, then they must use the same license.

This is just an overview of CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, so reading the original page for the license will be good, but the long and short is using an open license will be good, but if others want, using another license would be still okay.

Thanks and Credits

This issue of nb21 was solely written by Cass Python, but thanks also wish to be given to you, the reader, for taking the time in looking at what was written.

Thank you to Bruno A. for spell checking this issue.

In memory of the Pendragon: 1996 - 2021.


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Copyright 2021 - by NeoZones, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Please see humans.html for full credit and thanks. Peace and love.

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