And I finally have internet.
No fiber optics in my neighborhood, so I had to apply for a phone line. Once that was finally installed, I applied for a wired DSL connection, once I got that up and running, it became apparent that having a connection isn't so different from not having one at all. It's that bad.
But an electrician who was here to work on something else entirely pointed out to me that all the phone wires in the building were aluminum!
So until I get those replaced with copper, I went ahead and got myself a 5G wireless DSL. It's capped at 140 GB a month, but it's smooth as butter and I'm no longer isolated. Installing it is also a breeze. You just go to the store, pay for it, bring it home with you and plug it in. Wish I'd done this from the get-go.
I haven't read a word, touched a pencil, or even looked at email since getting here. All I've been doing is getting the place in just enough of a working order to be able to sleep, shit, shower and work. Still no kitchen installed, still unclear when that'll happen, as there's a whole bunch of plumbing and wiring that needs getting redone first.
I imagine I should be able to get back to the drawing board in a couple days regardless.🤞
My apartment in Houston was a fucking hydra. Despite my hyper-organizational tendencies, clearing it out was a herculean task. I thought myself to be a minimalist but the process of clearing my place out proved otherwise. Hoping to approach my new digs a little differently.
Arrived in Cairo a few days ago with only 3 bags and a folding bike. Anticipated settling into my place here would be a speedy affair. Despite the absence of a kitchen, figured I could settle right in with just a bed and drafting table, but even acquiring those two things is taking longer than I've become accustomed to. Bed needs a full week for delivery, and the table around 3-4 days. Water heater needs to be installed too (It's cold here! Especially in the evenings and early mornings), and I have to coordinate with the licensed company which will send a technician all the way from Alexandria! Still need to look into getting internet installed. Today I had to change the phone number associated with my bank account. Not allowed to manually change it myself and couldn't get it done by phone either; had to physically visit the bank, get a number and wait my turn to tell the customer service employee to change my number for me, a process which involved him filling out a form and getting it stamped from two different managers. Doesn't go into effect until tomorrow, after which I can use the local apps to make electronic transfers, and pay my mobile bill by phone, or, or. Soooooo slow, which is very much at odds with the pace of construction and development across the city, which is just mind boggling. Not much has changed in any US city really over the past decade, but Cairo? It's ballooned to something like four times what was already a ginormous size, and everything that's supposedly new is already very much lived in and seamlessly integrated into the city's fabric.
I just want to get to work already though. All I need is a bed, table, hot water, and an internet connection. Shouldn't be too, too long to get these all in place. 😩
“We’ve become incredibly good at turning collective challenges into personal shortcomings.”
— Kai, from Dense Discovery #327
My Most Dangerous Year: “In my view, whacking corporate CEOs isn’t an acceptable method of solving grievances. But perhaps the Bonnie-and-Clyde-esque idolization of someone seen as striking a blow to the system is a symptom of capitalism run amok.” — Marlon Weems for Oldster.
Bauhaus Manifesto: Walter Gropius' manifesto from 1919.
How the Federal Government Fell: “What is happening across the federal government right now is unprecedented. But this is not Germany in the 1930s; it’s not the fall of the Soviet Union. We grasp at analogies to help contextualize current events that escape understanding. There are similarities, but what’s happening is new, very American, and very 21st century. In 50 years it will be talked about in the vein of ‘What happened to the United States in the mid-2020s.’”—Garrison Davis
Chinpokomon Diplomacy: “On the surface, the conversation went smoothly — at least for the American President, who announced Japanese concession after concession without ceding much in return. And Ishiba pointedly refused to engage with questions about tarrifs. It might make one wonder what Japan stands to gain. The short answer is everything.” —Matt Alt
Comics Sans Frontiers @ Rice University in Houston, March 20-23: Featuring keynote presentation by Art Spiegelman, original art by Jack Katz, and full program jampacked with participants from around the world. Sadly, I'll be out if the U.S. well before then.
BRIDGE by Matt Madden: Narrated by the artist.
You can't post your way out of Fascism: By Janus Rose at 404 Media.
War for Eternity: Warren Ellis on the book by Benjamin R. Teitelbaum.
General thoughts by Warren Ellis on navigating the current platform-scape: “My thing was, does anyone really want to fracture common culture and a shared marketplace any more than it already is? And an hour later, I thought, common culture is a delusion of my age. Common platforms, perhaps, but platforms are contingent and temporary. We are all 'creators' now.”
The Future Is Too Easy: David Roth's takedown of this year's consumer electronics convention in Las Vegas.
The Colors of Motion: Prints that stack the average colour of each frame from popular films into a timeline.
Doing nothing with your favorite people is really, really good for you: The fact that this needed to be an essay at all and is in fact being shared around without even an inkling of a “no-duh” attitude is evidence of one of the deepest maladies of Western civilization.
How communal living makes cooking easier, cheaper, and better: Echoing my very same sentiments as the above link does.
Ugur Galenkus uses photography to juxtapose war and peace.
As I dismantle my workspace and pack up my life (and realize I own way more stuff than I'd like to admit), I'm noticing an uptick in “for sale” and “for rent” signs pop up around the neighborhood. Willing to bet this is just the beginning, and many of these places will remain vacant for many years to come, unless prices are brought down to a tenth of where they are now. This is something that will of course not happen given that very few of these places are owned outright; Most home-owners are in fact beholden to banks and the unreasonably high mortgage-payments they're entitled to.
The American crash is a-comin'.
- Public Work: Search public domain imagery from The MET, New York Public Library, and other sources.