I wake up later than usual. The cold has mostly passed, but my mind feels slow.

I play Wind by Gigi Masin. I’ve been trying to only play music locally for the last week. My library is rather limited, and songs loop and loop, but I kind of enjoy this self-imposed restraint.

Rotterdam gets a surprise gift (a snow day) followed by even more in the days after.

The beauty of running an email newsletter with friends is that promoting each other becomes a form of gift giving.

With that and the new year in mind, I’ve asked us all to become “ad people” for one another.

You’ll find the ads we made for each other scattered throughout this email.

What if XP was a multi-sided D&D dice that advertised our services?

Since joining Extra Practice (1 year and 10 months ago), I’ve found myself thinking more and more about my immediate surroundings.

This has likely been influenced by the practices around me: Kirsten and Ben coding in situ, Jack and Gijs driving an entire mini radio infrastructure to Robida last summer, Emma regenerating both farm and table, and the multitude of physical events that happen at XP each year.



Jack's advertisement for Emma. Hire Emma at emmaverhoeven.nl

Influence is a funny word. What does it mean to be influenced? It seems like being an artist these days is often about influencing. Maybe it always has been this way. It feels off to call the members of XP influencers. Maybe we are quiet influencers, or maybe what we all excel at is observing. Being a good observer is probably a much needed quality these days.

Ben's advertisement for Kirsten. Hire Kirsten at: kirstenspruit.com

One inevitable outcome of being observers is that self-promotion often feels icky. I know when I post (pots) on social media, I often feel embarrassed. Here I go again, asking ________  from everyone.



Gijs' advertisement for Jack. Hire Jack at jackbardwell.com

I still feel a bit between worlds, stretched across countries with friends and websites on both sides. This year, I’d like to see this more as a bridge than something that brings anxiety.

Kirsten's advertisement for Gijs. Hire Gijs at: supergijs.com

As the internet becomes more overwhelming and we grow a little older, there’s less searching outside and more looking inward. It's strange to think that the internet is literally growing up with us. I feel grateful for being here, for these friends, and for XP as a container for playing locally.

XP a site for localplay:8000



Last year, I was set on moving. I even told everyone I was, and in some ways I think I needed to do this to make it real. It gave some clarity: I realized I had been living in a future me scenario, not really grounding myself in my immediate surroundings. I’m still unsure about many things, but this subtle shift in my thinking is somehow helpful.

Emma's advertisement for Elliott. Hire Elliott at: elliott.computer

Between songs, my eyes wander from the screen to the bare trees outside. Almost the same color as the brick building. There’s little definition in the flat lighting. I sort of like this lighting; it's ordinary, nothing begs for attention.

Elliott's advertisement for Ben. Hire Ben at bnjmnearl.eu

  Latest on XP community TV...

Are.na Annual vol.7: Pool Launch Event

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Website Therapy

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  Upcoming events

• February 26 - evening (details tbc): public event to conclude Gijs’ self-model-making research group. With a zine, some radio and maybe more. Info via Gijs' mailinglist.

In 2036 Jack was quoted in a popular British tabloid saying...

"Extra Practice will never be over. It will always live in our minds and hearts. Something like this, that was this big, and this important, and this great, will never die. Oh, for a few years - maybe many years - it'll be considered passé and ridiculous. It will be misrepresented and caricatured and sneered at, or - worse - completely ignored. People will laugh about Jack Bardwell, Emma Verhoeven, Elliott Cost, Kirsten Spruit, Benjamin Earl, Gijs de Boer's polyester suits and platform shoes, and people going like *this*" [strikes disco pose]



from,

xp family