You’ll notice something of a theme in some of this week’s links and articles. Let’s just say the subject kept coming up in different settings and contexts. It’s clearly on a lot of people’s minds at the moment. It would be very easy for me to drop into a long-winded rant, but I like to think you know my views on the subject at hand.
I offer a pledge—Excuses And Half Truths and The Swipe remain forever hand-crafted and built with pride and care. By humans, for humans.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
Salt by Adam Roberts. The esteemed SF writer’s first novel, a tale of colonisation, conflict and the simple ugly truth that you can never solve the problems you bring along with you. The tone is a little uneven and I’m still unconvinced about how he chose to end it, but Salt is still a thoughtful and provocative drama.
Rob is watching…
The Celebrity Traitors. I have never changed my mind more quickly about a show from the first to the second episode. The setup, intro of the huge and starry cast, and the first murder were all done with verve and propulsive energy. C and I, who had been enticed along by the interminable promos about the show, were having a great time.
Then we watched the second episode and it fell apart. All the energy vanished. What had been campy and fun boiled down into an over-cooked mess of gothic tropes and all the worst aspects of reality shows. It all suddenly felt scripted, lumpen. And there was so much talking. The second episode ended with the group still round the table voting on their first exclusion. Bored, miserable, C and I switched off. We didn’t even care who was up for the chop. What a huge disappointment. What a wasted opportunity.
Rob is listening…
If I’m honest, to Tommy James And The Shondells, but this fantastic version of Crimson And Clover snagged my attention. Look, if Prince thinks a song is worth covering, who am I to disagree?
Rob is eating…
These red peppers. From Rachel Roddy, who is putting out great recipes quietly, reliably every week in the Graun. Baked peppers with a filling which wouldn’t be out of place in a tuna melt. In fact, I’d throw some cheese on top to bubble away for the last ten minutes of cook time.
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
I watched a lot of guitar restoration vids, but the quiet, patient precision with which this lovely old RCA Victor was brought back to life charmed and fascinated me. It’s forty minutes long, but totally worth the time if you want some crafty ASMR yumminess.
I would love to find a job where I get paid to be funny on a Slack chat. This doubling and tripling-down on a half-remembered tourist experience just keeps getting funnier. Personally, I’m surprised ham trucks aren’t a thing. Who knows, given how food trends rapidly evolve, by this time next year they may be.
The un-named people behind the credits on Cheers finally get some recognition—some of them, at least. A great bit of archival detective work, undertaken as far as I can see for the sheer joy of having a question answered.
A marvellous example of how you can corral short fiction into social media formats. I’ll give nothing away—go in cold and enjoy the ride. Like me, you may end up a little misty at the end.
This long strip from Matt Inman at The Oatmeal has been everywhere this week, and with good reason. It sums up a lot of my personal feelings about AI in the creative realm, and does it with humour and heart. Also, there’s a butt-rat in there.
Meanwhile, over at The Rumpus, Sean Cho A looks into how AI is impacting education. This worries me more than anything. Without the skills of critical thinking and inquiry we learn at school, how to we become anything other than compliant drones, unable to see good from bad, fake from real? Perhaps that’s the point. Don’t think, just consume.
Last one, I promise. The mighty Ted Chiang enters the chat. This is dense but really, really smart—as you’d expect from one of the greatest writers of modern times.
Life Is More Than An Engineering Problem
Enough of that foolishness. Let’s knit. I suspect some members of the Readership will find the following useful. Of course, working with dots to create text and image predates the computer age by centuries. I refer you to the Bayeaux Tapestry for example.
I am a naturally quite nervous person who has a lot of trouble calming my fast-spinning brain. Guess how relatable I found this next bit. Guess how much I laughed all the way through.
A portrait of Charles Portis, written just after he died in 2010. I love True Grit. I clearly need to read more of his novels.
One last thought.
We Outro with the Climax Blues Band, for no better reason than Couldn’t Get It Right has been in my head since Monday when it cropped up on The Feed. To be fair, it’s been that sort of a week. Anyway, it’s a bop. Play loud, do a shimmy.
See you in seven, fellow travellers.
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 
The thing for me with AI (apart from the heinous stealing of people’s work – though having worked for a university I should be used to that) is that any kind of cultural communication – art, music, writing – is a transaction between me as listener and someone else as creator. Our brains are in direct connection to synthesise something new. That something new can take on its own life as inspiration for something else.
There’s no such connection with AI, it’s all one-way and dead-end.
Totally agree. I always think of it like this: if you couldn’t be bothered to write it, why should I be bothered to read it?