Welcome to summer. It’s a rare warm day here in Rotterdam. This is Elliott. I'm here at the studio early, writing this newsletter to you. The fan is going full blast and a tune is playing. For a quick recap... last season on the XP Newsletter, Emma reflected on the 4 Openings and how things are expanding (like the universe) and that means we need to trust ourselves and each other even more.

The other day we were sitting by the Rotte (the river of Rotterdam) and Ben commented on how the green algae that had covered the river the day before had disappeared over night. As the summer days blur together, it feels like we are connecting with the river more than ever. Most days we take lunches on the dock near the river. Sometimes we lie around in the sun near the water. It has become a consistent part of our daily xp-istance. To give you a sense of our experience, here it is represented in clock form...

Yesterday, during our studio swim, Léa let us borrow her brat-portal. As I disappeared through the portal, I thought, I might never be the same once I go through this (in a dramatic tone). When I emerged, everything felt a little different. Were the greens just a little greener? It was hard to tell. Wait... have we all aged? As we sat on the dijk near the river, we talked about getting older. What if we don't accomplish our goals? What if we are still dealing with the same setbacks? Would we be okay with that reality, or would we want to go back through the portal? How do you trust in a process when you don't know the outcome? These questions felt big and serious and I asked if anyone wanted to take another swim.

...... XP hosts a simultaneous football and tennis watching party. Jack is a fan of Jack. Domitille and Quentin join us. It’s nice to see them (and a little surreal after we watched a livestream of them coding their website during construction week).

...... Ben hosts a gaming night (#dorkday) where we play Death Stranding. Colin wonders why every character is introduced with the voice actor’s name. What beautiful rocks and moss they have in this world. It brings us back to our Vlieland holiday (sans-truffles). There must be some climbing here, right? Colin finds several ladders through the mountains. Is this a shortcut? Is this a metaphor? Kirsten says the baby looks a little like her when she was a baby. The main character looks at the baby and it smiles back at him. Does our inner-child smile back like this baby?

...We take more lunches outside on the dock (beach). One day, a sailing boat arrives and docks. Two weeks pass, and it doesn't set sail again. One afternoon, two cops come to inspect and board the boat. For a moment, they look like they could be lovers and might set sail.

...... After several weeks of garden updates from Elliott, Gijs.garden returns from his summer holiday. Gijs begins his daily post-holiday-post-lunch-vibe-shift reading hour near the Rotte.

..... We cycle to the windmill to swim. We observe a swimmer and her dog. The swimmer swims up the river, and the dog runs along the riverbank to meet her. Is this the perfect companion/partner?

....... A painting atelier forms in the front window. Emma brings in dozens of canvases, and like true artists, we rebel against our medium. The only things that get painted are the easels and the hangboard.

...... Emma’s birthday! Happy birthday, Captain Emma. XP gifts Emma a miniature boat . Did you hear that we are now a miniature boat rental company? Watch out, neighbors. We contemplate creating a raft from the hundreds of cans our neighbors have accumulated in the backyard. When will they take it away and let e-island rest in peace?

... Dewi brings a bubble wand to Emma’s birthday party. It’s beautiful how the wand brings a sense of lightness and play to any conversation. It casts a spell. The bubbles it creates are beautiful. We try to blow them as big as we can and keep them afloat with frantic hand waves and our breath. Elliott contemplates writing the entire newsletter about bubbles. On a train to Amsterdam for JB's crepe dinner (merci JB), Gijs, Emma, and Elliott talk about bubbles in relation to Extra Practice, love, and more.

......... Ben and Elliott orchestrate an HTML Energy freewrite for HTML Day (July 13). Hunter (merci) brought a screen to make bootleg shirts. It's a beautiful analogue to the digital. The graphic designers nerd out on the screen printing, and the programmers nerd out on placing iframes inside iframes. We take turns sailing up the Rotte in a rented boat. It all feels like a movie .

..... Emma organizes another tax day work session for Q2. This ThemeWork sesh is toddler-core themed and we work on the floor and eat candy and play with lego. We also screen Pingu, Thunderbirds, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and other shows from our inner-childhoods.

..... Elliott proposes the newsletter prompt, “What have you learned from love?” but the prompt is too xp-ansive. What does he mean? Is this about romance, platonic love, family, or something else entirely? He seems a bit distracted by his phone book of the internet project he is working on with Kristoffer. Emma says her comic strip just has a bunch of heart shapes.

..... Henk visits! He is loving life and embracing his age. Did you know our studio wifi password is Henk213!

........ Jack returns from the UK. He took a swim in the Thames (it's uncertain if he aligned his swim time to the XP river clock schedule). While in the UK, he went on a research trip with his lad(s) to look into manufacturing for a furniture project (to be announced). He also cooked up a feast for his mother's birthday, featuring lettuce and other dishes. Now that he's back. He is looking forward to working with Nick on the pizza oven again. Lastly, Jack feels like he is cheating on his two cities, Rotterdam and London, in relation to the old newsletter prompt on love.

.... and to go through yet another portal ..... The last time I wrote this newsletter, I talked about motion. Rivers are always moving .....

I’m on a Journey: Emma’s Self-Helpful Solo Sketchibition
On August 30th, Extra Practice is transforming back into Gallery Mode… 🚪 This time for a solo show of Emma’s most therapeutic media works of the past decade! 🪞 She will fill our space with some of her larger installations such as the Escape Here Now self-improving-escape room 🔑 and the United Mental States island + film 🗺️ , as well as smaller more personal studies and media sketches 📹, old and new ✈️, that have never seen the light of day before...🧜🏻♀️ A unique opportunity to look inside Emma’s self-centered mind. 🧠

Save the date for a festive opening on Friday August 30, 6PM 🥂 And keep an eye on E’s feed for more info and some sneak peeks, maybe 🧩

A lowkey social hangout for those who like to write computer programs in the company of other people. If you're curious about coding, are looking for some inspiration, just wanna put your headphones on and hack, or otherwise, you are welcome to come by and hang out. Ben will be hanging out there during these evenings with some of the other Varia crew.

Internet Phone Book 📒
Elliott has been busy working with Kristoffer on a physical directory for exploring the vast poetic web. He welcomes you to submit your personal website.