Yule Log broadcasts are a bit of an American tradition, though similar content has also been broadcast around the world. They consist of a video of a log burning in a fireplace, ideally merrily so, and often feature Christmas carols or other holiday songs to help create a festive mood. [Joshua Gross] wanted to bring that tradition up to date, and thus built a Yule Log website with the help of some creative technologists.
WebYuleLog.com, as the project is known, features several web-based recreations of the Yule Log concept. They are charming little creations built with different techniques, from the AI-generated to those hewn from simple, pure HTML and CSS. They range from cute 8-bit-esque tributes to burning firewood, to the ethereal and unrecognizable thought bubbles of an image-generating neural network. We’re pretty sure one of them is a oblique reference to an old Excel 97 Easter Egg, too.
It’s funny how much can be achieved within a modern browser window. Once upon a time, you were lucky to get a few GIFs and an obnoxious looping MIDI soundtrack.
In the future, people with Neuralink will be able to imagine a virtual scene in which they use a simulated laptop to view a simulated CRT television displaying a simulated fireplace which simulates an ancient pagan tradition from Europe
I remember the original WPIX Yule Log. a 16 minute loop of 35mm film that was filed at Gracie Mansion in New York. Well , it sort of got old, and was re-shot in California with a fireplace with similar andiorns.
That is the version seen today.