Great news for all readers! I have finally got my sorry ass in gear and stuck some new writing up in place where you lucky sorts can read it. Poems For Monoliths is a novelette comprising six interlinked short stories which, when read as a whole, tell a tale of interconnection and communication between the most unlikely of characters. I’m quite proud of it, and hope you’ll enjoy. Usual rules apply—if you do like Poems, please drop me a review and some stars. It really does make a difference.
Thank you.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey. I’m a long-time admirer of Mike’s work, from his comics to horror bangers like The Girl With All The Gifts (the film’s OK but the book is so much better). Infinity Gate is hardcore SF, a dizzying space opera set entirely on Earth—or rather, an infinite multiverse of different Earths. It takes a little while to get going but when it does, hoo boy, strap in.
Rob is watching…
This is more a reminder to myself to pick back up on this most excellent of alternate history shows. In the final season, For All Mankind looks to be embracing hints left in previous years that it’s going to become a de facto prequel to The Expanse. Talk about interconnectedness…
Rob is listening…
to one of, if not the greatest TV theme tunes of all time. Let’s jam.
Rob is eating…
I mean, there’s a gaping hole in this argument which any ovophobe will instantly spot. It’s like sausage sandwiches and cereal have been erased from existence. Still, I admire the commitment to the bit.
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
The annual U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s database of emergency room visits, and it’s as—ahem—eye-opening as you’d expect. The Fortean Times overview, which is how my radar got pinged, makes an excellent point—
The “Rectum” category is gender neutral, and also contains many gems, with a degree of variety that is testament to the richness of the human imagination.
The Slipped In The Shower List.
I’ll apologise in advance for the level of snark directed at machine learning (you may know it better with the application of the marketing term AI) in this chapter, but there were a couple of articles this week which helped confirm my biases. To begin, let’s consider just how easy it is to fool the machine.
The best hotdog-eating tech journalists
This searing character sketch by Sam Kriss for Harper’s on the sort of people who are apparently crafting our future is, to put it mildly, unsettling. No, let’s be honest. It’s terrifying and desperately sad in equal measure. These needy, dysfunctional man-babies are going to kill us all.
Finally, although it’s only AI-adjacent, this bit by Luke Fortney for the NYT on the use of smart glasses in food blogging really got me angry. If I was a restaurant owner I would make it clear that uses of these devices is not welcome and, if discovered, would lead to instant ejection. It’s an invasion of privacy, horribly entitled and honestly, fucking creepy.
Right. Deep breath, stretch it out, move on. I really enjoyed this piece from the brilliant Mike Sowden on the notion of land ownership. Does putting a fence round a field or waving a centuries-old deed really mean it’s yours? The subject is complex and touches on things like access, right to roam and how royalty came to define who ‘owns’ a forest or a tranche of moorland as a reward for loyalty. War is, of course, only ever about land—who gets to control it and the resources within. But, like I say, it’s a contentious topic. Would I want people marching through my back garden claiming right to roam?
A loving overview of the keystone movie in a killer triple bill. Yeah, sure, The Rock and Face-Off are great examples of manic high-concept 90s action blockbusters. But it doesn’t get any better than the film I’d finish the evening with.
Joe Quesada’s blog is a must-read right now for anyone with an interest in visual storytelling-telling. The tips on framing and how it relates to characters, power and relationship in a minute-to-minute timeline is absolute gold. The man knows his stuff, and I for one am taking extensive notes.
This Thread on a viewing of classic closet drama The Woman’s Hour struck me as a lesson in how far we’ve come and how easily we can backslide. We are inherently flawed as a species, quick to judge, eager to condemn anything which falls outside our lived experiences and prejudices. But forcing punishment on a person simply because of how they choose to love is wrong, and that’s a story which never gets old.
I like Cory Doctorow’s piece on how to swerve away from the constant stream of commodification and monetization on which modern society seems to float. But then, that isn’t helping me to quit the day job and spend my days writing. Please buy my books.
The Kryptonite Of The Platforms
Finally. C and I miss the Winter Olympics. We await the Paras with keen anticipation. If you are, like us, bereft by the lack of Ed and Tim on your telly, take solace in these incredible images of the event.
Different Views Of The Winter Olympics
To finish, here’s the most glorious example of geeky oneupmanship you’ll see this week. By way of context, Cariad Lloyd and Rachel Parris have performed a show based on the works of Jane Austen, so they both know of what they speak.
Further context for those who are unaware of the long-running BBC radio show Just A Minute, the notion is simple yet fiendish—speak for sixty seconds on a given subject without hesitation, repetition or deviation. Which explains Cariad’s slightly breathless delivery.
We started with a big fanfare, so we should Outro in the same way. The second round of WROB’s UK/US 90s indie war will drop shortly, and I am deeply unhappy that Eric Matthew’s ode to joy didn’t land within our tightly defined theatre of operations. There should be more trumpets in pop.
See you in seven, fellow travellers.
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 