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A collection of references, recommendations, friends, important or less important stuff.

Since every online search for good stuff results in AI-generated slop or sponsored links or a combination of both, it takes such a long time looking for and finding useful software, fun & non-fascist online spaces, information etc. I’ll go a head and share my favorite links in a very web 1.0 way.

Some friends

Charlotte Dumortier
Sander VDV
Loïc Guyon
J. Krisis
Wide Vercnocke

Shamisa Debroey
Hannah Verbeke
Vincent Kings
Helene Lespagnard

Aline Magazine
Oogachtend
Même Pas Mal
Vonk & Zonen

Software

Step #1:

Get Firefox and the uBlock Origin add-on to remove the cancer of advertising from your internet experience. It’s easy. Chrome has disabled ad-blockers, so avoid it at all costs.

Step #2:

Get the NoScript add-on to remove the thousands of javascripts creepily stalking you on every website. You can manually allow scripts of trusted websites or to make some sites work without all the stupid tracking. It’s kinda more advanced and it sometimes takes a while to figure out which two or three out of the thousand scripts running on a website are actually needed to make it work. But you get used to it.

Resist AI: Some easy steps to minimize the AI-bubble’s influence on you.

Mastodon: I’m going to post sketchbook stuff and short comics there. Mastodon feels like a nice online space. Join up! I also made a Bluesky account, but changing from one tech idiot’s playground to another tech idiot’s seems kinda pointless. Whatever. For now I’m also keeping my Instagram online, but I’ve always hated that site. Some great comic book artists have figured out how to get the best out of it, but it just never was my deal.

Blender: Excellent Open Source 3D-program. My hobby project is building a rainy night scene set in a desolate Ardennes town, but I frequently get lost Geometry Noding asbestos roof coverings for an empty garage somewhere in the background of the scene. It’s a lot of fun. Youtube has a huge database of tutorials, so go there after you’ve installed uBlock origin.

Affinity: Cheap alternatives for Adobe programs. See also: Krita, Gimp.
Back when I graduated I bought Photoshop CS4, but when my pc died a couple of years ago Adobe removed to option to download it again so fuck them. Wouldn’t trust them training their AI on everything you make in their software either. But what do I know?

PIA VPN: €70 for three year membership seemed like a good deal and I guess I feel better browsing anonymously?

OpenOffice: Opensource alternative for MS Office.

Opentoonz: Free animation program developed and used by Studio Ghibli. Haven’t used it yet, but making animations is somewhere on my long to-do-list.

AntennaPod: Open Source podcast app for Android.

The Coding Train: Amazing channel filled with tutorials to learn (creative) coding. It’s a lot of fun.
Related: p5.js & Processing

Music

Radio Centraal: Free radio in Antwerp. Crazy sounds. Together with J. Krissis I host Atelier Central, wednesday night 21h30-22h30 pm CET on 106.7FM Megahertz STEREO

NTS, Kiosk, Radio Panik...: more great and unique radio.

Mixxx: Opensource DJ- program. Works great.

Bandcamp: Great place for discovering new music, browsing through labels’ catalogues and supporting independent music. My account shows I’m really into trashy French post-punk.

Foobar: Open Source music player.

Soulseek: Old school music sharing program, still active after all these years. Nicotine+ is a more modern skin.

yt-dlp: A way to download videos from Youtube.

TyfusTyd: Dennis Tyfus’ fantastiesch programma op Radio Centraal. Zijn luistersoap De Poepslinger, over het reilen en zeilen van de winkel van fopartikelen van Frank Prank & Frank Mangelschots in de Antwerpse binnenstad is écht verslavend.

More stuff

Letterboxd account.
Current favourite film: La Commune by Peter Watkins: A truly unique film about the Paris Commune of 1871 in documentary style. Highly recommended director. Culloden is a great introduction to his work.

A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry: A blog by historian Dr. Bret Deveraux, with a lot of focus on daily life in the classical age Mediterranean. A lot of comparing what different sources say and how to interpret them.

Donoteat01’s Franklin & Power, Politics, Planning series: The history of a fictional North American city from pre-historic to modern times, with a focus on urban planning, development and social issues, recreated in City: Skylines. Informative, funny. Highly recommended.
Not Just Bikes: Solid information about good urban planning and road safety. Something I like to nerd about.

The Field Guides Podcast: Two guys go walking in the field while talking about the science behind a natural history topic. Very informative and easily digestible. They constantly talk about the uncertainty of scientific studies, which is a good indicator.

Art & Fear: If you’re ever down about your art and making it read this book.

Frederik Van den Stock