Processing is a programming language “for people who want to program images, animation, and interactions.”

On Tuesday March 2, this processing-focused meet-up will meet at sprout (339R Summer St. Somerville MA) to talk over the possibility of a joint processing project with IxDABoston. The tentative plan is to use processing to create a visualization of government data.

Send any questions to Mary Murray.

Our friend, Paul Dworkin, has put in a lot of time and work over the past couple weeks setting up computers at our space. So far, we have 8 refurbished and totally functional computer towers and, as pictured above, a new 2 PC workstation that allows you to switch between two computers on one screen, which is great when you are trying to fix a computer but need a functional computer either for downloading software or searching the internet.

Thanks, Paul!

We brought paper, scissors, glue, exacto knives, cutting mats, pens, pencils, and pastels. Then, we spread our materials out on the back table and got to work. Megan brought a bunch of her own art supplies to share, including paints and home-made rubber stamps.

She made this pop-up card.

Kyle worked diligently on an artistic rendering of a Diesel Mug for a super-secret Valentine’s day exchange.

I’d say it turned out pretty well! After we’d been working for a little while, a bunch of Diesel customers also decided to join us!

I especially liked this little little number…

It’s a koala in a box! We also had people make hand-drawn cards

sculptural birthday cards

and cards inspired by Tetris.

A couple of the Diesel drop-ins wanted to see the event happen again, so keep an eye on the blog or ask to join our mailing list to hear about more paper-craft events in the future.

sprout spaghetti dinners is a dinner theater series seeking to bring
people from the Somerville and Cambridge communities together around
good food, good music, and good performance. Each month, we’ll find an
eclectic group of performers to explore the month’s theme through
different lenses. In the tradition of dinners hosted by NYC-based
theater company Great Small Works, we want to cast new light on common
ideas from artistic, musical, and scientific perspectives. You can
find information about past dinners at our blog.

The theme for this month’s dinner is Money! Money! Money! It will be
happening just outside of Davis Square at sprout (339R Summer St.)
on Wednesday February 17 with dinner at 7:30pm and performances
beginning at 8. $10 suggested donation. The spaghetti will be prepared
by Food not Bombs, and our performers will include ::

- Local musicians Jon Hersh and Kathy Fletcher playing a set of
old-time tunes on banjo, fiddle, and voice.

- Frank Ackerman, a research scientist at Tufts, speaks about the
economics of global climate change, addressing the question, “Does
it make economic sense for us to try to fight global warming?”

- Shauna Gordon-McKeon, a researcher in the field of moral
psychology, will perform and discuss experiments in social psychology
and behavioral economics looking at how money affects our
decision-making processes.

- Liz Hall and Casey Engels of Artists in Context will present The
Fundred Dollar Bill Project, a nation-wide drawing project started by
artist Mel Chin. Audience members will contribute to the project by
designing their own “fundred” dollar bills to help raise money and
awareness to begin clean-up efforts of lead-contaminated soil in New
Orleans.

- Community members will also share personal monologues responding
to the prompt “Literally, money represents gold or silver; socially, it is
a status symbol; personally, it might mean everything from success to
security to selling-out. What has money meant for you?”

Please send any questions to spaghetti@thesprouts.org or call
617.575.9219.

Our friends Alex and Ines dropped off a whole bunch of dumpstered produce and Trader Joe’s baked brie. It’s delicious, but way more than we can eat so if you want some, it could be yours too!

First, The Aaatack, a local band founded at MassArt, performed a set of electronic music.

They were followed by a shadow performance by John Hulsey and Ila Paluello. First, John and Ila performed a series of statistics illustrating the rising price of housing in the Boston area before the mortgage crisis.

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We then saw footage of ordinary people they had created for projecting into the windows of foreclosed houses as vigils in memory of former occupants.

Finally, Nell Breyer demo-ed a series of interactive, projection software she has been developing in order to visualize motion rather than the body or object which is itself moving. She used live video of audience members’ movements in her demos and also shared a short excerpt of a dance performance at the ICA which used variations of these projections.

Nell Breyer is an artist who combines projections and choreography. She will demonstrate an interactive projection program.

John Hulsey and Ilaria Minio Paluello worked to install a series of shadow projections in foreclosed houses throughout Roxbury and Jamaica Plains. They will be discussing and sharing the role of light in addressing the complicated situation around the mortgage crisis.

The Aaatack is a local ambient/electronic/techno band who will performing a set of original songs.

John Bell and Shaunalynn Duffy will present a series of toy theater tableaux looking at the social history of light accompanied by Mike Romanyshyn on clarinet.

Please, send any questions to spaghetti@thesprouts.org. We hope to see you Wednesday with an empty stomach!

The Royal Frog Ballet performed a puppet show using shadow projections, scrolls, and music.

Meredith Holch was our last performer. She showed a 12 minute animated film she developed called Neighbors.

This film takes a look into the use of illegal migrant labor in Northern Vermont agriculture, asking questions about how this practice affects the farmers, immigrants, and local communities.

Nagle and Kunle were trying to fix an old record player.

Alexander Fairley was building an Atari Punk Console, which is a miniature homemade synthesizer (called that because the circuit that makes it work is based on the the same circuit they used for the music in the old Atari video games).

Gideon, Jackie, and Nate were looking at an old gauge cluster–which is just the gauges from the dashboard of a car.

Project nights are going to be held every Thursday night from 7-11 (Though you should check our calendar to be sure), and anyone is welcome. If you have any questions, let us know.

Next week, some people will be building a metal detector. Feel free to drop by and join in. We hope to see you there!

This month, The Grind: Out of the Office will take a look at some issues around work and labor. Performers will include ::

- The Boston Typewriter Orchestra is a local conceptual and musical performance group who explore the nature of office culture.

- The Royal Frog Ballet is a puppet group on tour throughout the NE performing a beautiful shadow show about the Winter Solstice and a trip through hell.

- Meredith Holch is a filmmaker from northern VT. We will be screening her most recent film about the situation of Mexican migrant workers in Northern VT agriculture.

- There will also be a spattering of short, personal monologues throughout the event exploring the work our parents’ did, and the whole event will be followed by a work+union song sing-a-long.

Our poster is here.

Please let us know if you have any questions. We hope to see you next Wednesday!