Our trip into the capital last week was a real success. We ventured out on the hunt for interesting supplies and sundries to fuel C’s burgeoning passion for art. We are not alone — a visit to the new CassArts store in Kings Cross took half an hour to get to the tills, such was the crush of folks eager to make things with their hands. In a week when AI was all over the news for all the wrong reasons, it was healing and joyful to appreciate the simple pleasures of putting ink or paint down on smooth or nubbly paper. I used to draw all the time. C’s enthusiasm has got me wanting to pick up a pen again.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
Leo O’Connell’s excellent comic on an introvert’s worst nightmare hit me right where I live. The art has that chunky expressionist verve which comes from the graffiti aesthetic, executed with a real flair for character and humour. I cannot recommend this one highly enough.
Rob is watching…
Vigil. Despite the lukewarm reviews, C and I have always been drawn to the military-meets-cop-with-global-consequences show. Sure, the writers couldn’t keep up with the sweaty claustrophobia of the submarine-set first series, but expanding the remit hasn’t diluted the drama. The new season, set in Norway, is nicely SF-adjacent, with weaponised viruses, ATVs buzzing across stark Arctic landscapes and all the tensions of a Cold War heating to combustion point. The real fun, though, is in groaning at the terrible decisions our two lead detectives make. They’re genuinely terrible coppers, and that’s where the real fun lies.
Rob is listening…
C had an Echo And The Bunnymen playlist running when I got home yesterday, which neatly metastasised into 80s goth as the afternoon wore on. We’ve always been very fond of the Liverpool boys, catching them when they played Reading a few years back on an acoustic tour which quickly turned fully electric. I found this live version of Never Stop on The ‘OoTube, and it’s pretty darn motorik and widescreen.
Rob is eating…
A sandwich? Some soup? A salad?
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
Different ways of muttering the only realistic response to the news in many languages. I think we’ll all find this resource of use.
It’s extremely annoying to note how some of the worst people in the world — the Musks, Altmans and Theils — have based their awful worldviews on fundamental and bubbleheaded interpretations of classic SF. I read the same books they did as a youngling, and have no intention of tearing the planet to bits and rebuilding it as a technocratic dystopia, thank you very much.
Science Fiction Is Bad For You
The argument you could take from the above — that young men should not be allowed access to SF — is also wrong, of course. I view the universe of imagination opened up to me by the books I found in Essex libraries as a glorious positive, and would never think to deprive anyone of the experiences I have had. Knowledge is power. It’s how you choose to exercise it…
A long yet eminently readable guide on taking a standard horror plot and filtering it through different thematic approaches. Sounds a bit dry? Not for me. I know there are members of The Readership who will take the tips enclosed and absolutely run with them.
Notes On The Writing Of Horror
I love the argument presented here that a kid’s quiz show could serve as a kind of film school. I used to watch Screen Test regularly as a kid and well, actually, I think the guy might have a point. I had a distinct Proustian moment on hearing the theme tune. Took me right back to post-school moments with a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of pop.
It takes a baker to give us some insight into patience, care and attention to detail. I’ve been thinking about that a lot this week, so when Jack’s clip landed on my feed it seemed the universe really was trying to send me a message.
Rachael Sterling’s memoir on her mother, the great Diana Rigg, is so full of hilarious goodness that it would be rude and reductive of me to pull out a particular moment. Please, just dive in and enjoy.
The recent Reading Writers Writer’s Day had a guest speaker who, up until recently, placed stories with a lot of women’s fiction magazines. One of the major agencies that feed those outlets no longer uses human writers, instead supplying the market with AI-generated shorts. They are labelled as being authored by ‘the fiction team,’ which we instantly renamed ‘the fictional team.’ The same thing is happening in the magazine market worldwide, as slop becomes the new default.
Ugh, that made me feel a bit dirty. Let’s have a little human-driven positivity. This next clip is pointed with love, respect and awe at anyone who teaches for a living. I’m looking particularly at Pal Clive while I say this, but mass props to all the educationists out there.
Let’s end with an extract from Becky Chamber’s new novel, just to bring things back around to the joy and wonder of well-crafted and characterful SF. I love that she’s named a volcano Tantrum. A lovely touch from a writer who lives in the little details while delivering epic space opera.
In conclusion.
It’s difficult to explain how weird the 80s were if you didn’t live in the era, but this episode of The Tube, Channel 4’s ground-breaking music show, will probably give you a flavour. A heavy metal special from 1986 featuring such lords of roar as Ozzy Osbourne and erm, Bryan Adams. I have no explanation for what Muriel Grey’s wearing.
See you in seven, fellow travellers.
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 