Inviting Strangers
I don’t invent characters. I invite strangers. Out of my subconscious. Then cut them slack, to see what they’ll do.
Dead Channels
I was reading the end of Neil Gaiman’s ‘Neverwhere’ last night when I noticed a hat tip to William Gibson. As Richard Mayhew emerges from London Below he sees:
The sky was the perfect untroubled blue of a television screen, tuned to a dead channel.
It’s an echo of the first line of William Gibson’s ‘Neuromancer’:
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
Nice.
I’ve read that line of Gibson’s dozens of times in articles over the last twenty years. It’s a lazy quote; the first line of the first novel, and universally well regarded. But there is so much more.
I’ve recently been reading ‘Pattern Recognition’ again and have been amazed by the power and inventiveness of Gibson’s language as he introduces us to Cayce Pollard.
Damien:
Damien is a friend.
Their girl-boy Lego doesn’t click, he would say.
Jet lag:
She knows, now, absolutely, hearing the white noise that is London, that Damien’s theory of jet lag is correct: that her mortal soul is leagues behind her, being reeled in on some ghostly umbilical down the vanished wake of the plane that brought her here, hundreds of thousands of feet above the Atlantic. Souls can’t move that quickly, and are left behind, and must be awaited, upon arrival, like lost luggage.
Her new black 501s
… every trademark carefully removed. Even the buttons on these have been ground flat, featureless , by a puzzled Korean locksmith, in the Village, a week ago.
That’s just in the first few pages. I last read ‘Pattern Recognition’, partly in paperback and partly as an audiobook, a few years ago during a really stressful time. I’m sure there’s a lot I missed. Looking forward to finding out what.
Both Neil Gaiman and William Gibson are active Twitter users. Gaiman as @neilhimself and Gibson as @GreatDismal. They both seem very nice and surprisingly responsive to questions and comments.
The Only Thing
It’s reached the point where Attention Deficit Disorder is like the only thing I ever think about any more.
Elements Of Twitter Style
Red Sweater Blog – Elements Of Twitter Style
I have strong opinions about what works well on Twitter, and what doesn’t. I decided I would start writing down these opinions so that I can easily reference them in the future. This advice is as much a memorandum to myself as to any readers who might feel that I am preaching to them. I violate most of these recommendations on a regular basis, but I hope that writing this guide helps me to do so less often.
Daniel Jalkut’s Twitter guide is the best thing like it that I’ve read. I don’t agree one thousand percent with every thing in here but there is no bad advice. Also, read the first couple of comments.
Lost Finale
I managed to avoid finding out anything about Season Five of Lost before it was released here in Japan. I hope I will be as lucky with Season Six. I have a feeling that, now that it has ended, people will be more likely to talk about it. I’ve already had to click away from a couple of (non-Lost related) websites that looked like they might contain spoilers.
Fingers crossed. Eyes averted.
Pitchfork: Galaxie 500
Pitchfork: Articles: Temperature’s Rising: Galaxie 500
Damon Krukowski: It was an adventure from the start. I think every band experiences that same thrill– it’s like joining the circus.
Before reading this oral history of Galaxie 500 I really had no idea how strained things were in the group. I kind of wish I could go back to having just a vague notion of what went wrong. Still, while knowing this adds nothing to the music it doesn’t detract either.
Cold cut combo
This cold cut combo is perhaps the best encapsulation of the difference in philosophy between Android and the iPhone.
Pay what you want bakery
New Panera location says pay what you want – Food Inc.- msnbc.com:
“The national bakery and restaurant chain launched a new nonprofit store here this week that has the same menu as its other 1,400 locations. But the prices are a little different — there aren’t any. Customers are told to donate what they want for a meal, whether it’s the full suggested price, a penny or $100.”
Nice idea but I would hate this. I’d probably always pay the suggested price AND feel somehow ripped off. If I paid less I’d worry that someone somewhere would think (know?) that I’m a cheapskate.
43F: Dreams, Ambitions, and Star Wars Sheets
Watching the Corners: On Future-Proofing Your Passion | 43 Folders:
“To my mind, ‘success’ in the real world is much more the equivalent of achieving a new personal best; it’s not about whether you won the ‘Springtime in Springfield SunnyD®/Q105™ 5k FunRun for Entitilitus,’ and got a little ribbon with a gold crest on it.”
This essay by Merlin Mann is not that long but it’s dense and hard to parse.
Read it three times to get it and then twice more for kicks.
Forget about “may”. Let’s ask “why”?
What a dodgy link. The actual headline of the linked piece is “Japan may pick robots over immigrants”. Now the link on the front page is “Why Japan prefers robots to immigrants”.
