This is the first of my restored, updated entries from my old Aisling blog… the post-GeoCities one, that is.  The date on each entry will be the same as when it was first posted.

I’ve added more recent notes throughout this post.  I’m not sure how I want to handle the updates, so this may be a trial-and-error page that changes as I test different ideas.

And, with that introduction, welcome to my thoughts from 2006…

I regularly look for interesting links. Some of them are clearly art-related, but others aren’t. They all get mixed in my brain during the coming days & weeks, and I never know what will emerge as art.

Here’s what I found intriguing this morning. (Remember, I said intriguing. I don’t necessarily like these sites, but they give me something to think about and may later influence my art.)

Many of these sites use Flash: [<-- 2012 note: Can you believe that I thought that had to be mentioned, back in 2006...? Wow. Time warp!]

Banksy‘s sketches and installments are somewhat quirky. I like how the website is organised; it’s very simple, but still interesting.

2012 update – Here’s the YouTube trailer for his movie, Exit Through the Gift Shop.  I thought it was an interesting, slightly cynical movie, but worth seeing.  Some of the art in it is extraordinary.

Conclave Obscurum (was at cmart.design.ru – now at conclave.ru) is creepy but features an innovative–almost compelling–website design. I’ll be looking at this website often. I don’t know that I’d have much of this art on my walls, but… gosh, this is fascinating!

(2012 opinion: Creepier than I remembered. I’m not sure how often I’ll return to that site.  Looking at it now, I think once is plenty.  Maybe too much.)

2012 additions, found while searching for that site’s new link:

Acrobots are cute, cool, and endless fun.  I swear, I could play with these all day long.  Move one around.  Wait.  When they get bored, drop another one from the top, using the plus sign.  Wait.  Add a few more. Take one a way (minus sign).  Click on the light bulb to turn on the lights.  And so on.  Yes, it has no point at all.  Must. Stop. Playing.

Then there’s Neonlight.  I think that’s what it’s called.  I can’t read it, but… wow… this is one of the prettiest online toys!  The sparkles, the sounds… it’s like happiness in a URL.

It requires Adobe Shockwave to work.  As it’s loading, you can control some of the pretty lights with your mouse.  Once the whole thing is there, just click on the screen with the text.  (It’s more text I can’t read.)

After that, the lights will follow the movement of your mouse, gradually.  If you get tired of one design or just want to see what’s next, click anywhere on the screen.  Then, start moving your mouse around again.  Sparkly lights, sparkly sounds… bliss!

Rainbox is a trip back to the 60s or early 70s.  Once it loads, just start drawing with your cursor.  You don’t even have to do that much.  It’s probably best if you tap into some Ravi Shankar music or something.  Munchies are a definite risk if you linger very long at this hypnotic website.

Equally trippy, Sky is… odd.  I sort of got the idea of how the mouse/cursor controls it, but not quite.  My best advice:  If you’re enjoying the flight, don’t touch your mouse.  If you do, you can swing around, turn the cloud “horizon” sideways, start speeding backwards, and all kinds of crazy stuff.  If you get motion sickness, it’s a good idea to skip this site.  (Then again, you might love it.  The clouds are pretty.)

Me? I may have to go back to Neonlight to recover from Sky.

These were a small sampling from a strange, purple-haze-ish site called Trippy Apps.  I could probably play there for a long, long time.  Most of the links take you to apps (some of them really old) for Windows, some for Mac, and some for both… with a few Linux apps thrown in. However, the ones I linked to (above) are my favorite online playsites in the group.

And now, returning to the 2006 links…

gallery.artofgregmartin.com isn’t especially easy to navigate, but the photography shows an intriguing approach and use of Photoshop. I may try more b&w photography, to see where this leads me. And, I may also try some different angles & treatments of my existing photos, especially my cemetery pictures.

2012 update: Greg Martin’s gallery has different navigation now, but I still found it challenging, a little disorienting, and… okay, I may still be suffering from motion sickness after the Sky link, above.

That said, it’s still a lovely site.

In addition, you can see one of his photos as the still (and only) image for a YouTube video.

Back to 2006:

I have no idea what to think of NobodyHere, but… it’s quirky in a very weird way. I’ll go back and study it more, later. For example, try some of the ecards; see what happens when you type your own message into the shell one.

2012 update: It’s still a strange site, with even more toys to play with.  Yes, the site is interactive.  You’ll hover your cursor over the words on the right, or click on one of the images over the man’s head.  Or both.  You’ll find myriad other things to click on, and they’ll lead you down even more odd little rabbit holes.

The whole thing is kind of weird and baffling… and cool.

And now, back to 2006:

It’s not exactly art, but it made me smile: Animal, vegetable or mineral quiz.  (2012 update: That one’s gone now, and the link took me to a triple-X movie download site. Ick.)

explodingdog 2006 is an innovative approach to illustration. I hope that he does very, very well with this idea. Mostly, I like the childlike simplicity of his work, and the apparent spontaneity of it. This is definitely going to be an influence in some of my upcoming art.  (2012 update: He’s still there and it looks like he’s doing well with his art!)

The Blipfestival sounds amazing. From their webpage: “…a four-day celebration of over 30 international artists exploring the untapped potential of low-bit videogame consoles and home computers used as creative tools…”   (2012 update:  It’s still promoted, but I’m not quite sure what it is.)

All in all, there’s something comforting about finding so many five-year-old links still working, and some are even more creative than they were when I first linked to them.