“Wow! This is incredible! Unfortunately, I don't think we're quite the right fit for...”
Whichbook: Rather than browse books by genre or author, browse books by mood.
How a Houston company got its art on the walls of stoners across America: “Founded in 1969, Houston Blacklight & Poster Company was once one of the biggest distributors of the bright, colorful posters that adorned dorm rooms, basements and garage hangouts and became synonymous, along with lava lamps and bongs, with hippies and the counterculture movement.” — This poster here, by George Goode, is one of my favorite samples included in the article:
Returnee Blues #1, 2026 – Mixed Media on paper, 50 cm x 65 cm | 19.6” x 25.6”
Thought I'd finally found a housekeeper to pop in once a week to assist with cleanup. But that was three Fridays ago, and every time she doesn't show up even though the date and time were of her very own choosing. Similar situation with the plumber who first promised to show up two weeks ago. I've set three different appointments with the mirror place, every time they say they'll call me the day of to confirm and never do. Carpenter too been dragging me on for four weeks now.
Not sure why the need to hound someone to do work for you before they do it even after they promise doing it is such a widespread phenomenon in Cairo. I remember only needing to contact a housekeeper back in Houston just once to agree on the day, time, and fees, and she stuck to the same schedule like clockwork for three years before I had to move (Tidyqueen, if anyone in Houston is reading this and looking).
It's such a tedious energy-sucking thing in Cairo, because on any given day I'm expecting someone to show up, I find it extremely difficult to lock in and really get into the zone of whatever project I have on my table; the anticipation of impending distraction lingering in the back of mind all day.
And some of the stuff that needs tending too isn't superfluous. We've got pipes blocked with weeks full of piss and shit at this point.
Now I know why all my homies have moved into compounds; a virtually non-existent development less than 10 years ago. They tell me whenever anything needs fixin', all they have to do is call a number and help is on the way in less than 24 hours. That's enough of a perk to explain the seemingly unquenchable compound craze that has taken over the country in recent years, but I still can't stand that shit. Nothing spells a seething distaste for “the plebs” quite like a gated “community”.
“[Lithium ion batteries are] the story of oil in the 21st century.” — Vital conversation between Nicolas Niarcohos and Novara Media's Aaron Bastani.
Also, an illuminating conversation on China between Jostein Hauge and Michael Walker.
Humbled to see that THE SOLAR GRID has been getting a fair degree of scholarly interest in recent years. These two popped up on my radar:
Contingent Futures and the Time of Crisis: Ganzeer's Transmedial Narrative Art — by Dominic Davies for Literary Geographies, 2022
Climate Change and the Future of the City: Arabic science fiction as climate fiction in Egypt and Iraq — by Teresa Pepe for Fragile Ecologies: Environmental Urgency in the Arts and Literatures of the Middle East, 2023
INSURGENT THOUGHT: Downloadable library of digital books on philosophy, “anarchist shit”, mysticism, and more. Instant download for me despite my allergy to extensive screen-reading. Via Warren Ellis' latest ORBITAL OPERATIONS.
Also via Orbital Operations: THE NIGHTLY RADIO.
Also, also: L'IL FACTORY BOOKS!
PAPER BULLETS: 110 Years of Political Stickers from Around the World by Catherine Tedford, dropping December 2026 from PM Press.
The Bird by Ahmed Naji.
My plan was to dive into PROJECT HOURGLASS by May 1st, but I'm not yet done with PROJECT ROSEWATER or KILLJOY, partly because getting anything built and/or installed in Cairo demands undivided micromanagement.
Kitchen is now a hair away from final-final completion (whenever you think you're done, a new loose thread seems to reveal itself). Renovation on the unit upstairs is finally finished (exceeeept for a minor plumbing thing and some woodwork that needs mending). Today I try to get mirrors installed on a big unfinished wall in the building entrance (the original plan was to create an original mural for it, but I'm learning to take things off my plate when the pile gets too high. and the mirrors will be a good fix).
Other things needed for the studio are: – Closet – Storage Unit for Works on Paper – Shelves and Cabinets for the washroom/storage room – Sofa (in an effort to make my life more difficult, there's a particular design for it I'm looking to get made). – Rocking chair (which will serve as my reading chair—settling into my old age with acceptance). – Side table (to go with said rocking chair—already have the marble slab that will serve as the tabletop, cut out of the kitchen counter to make way for the electric stove top, which means said table will need to be custom-built). – Floor lamp (for the reading/rocking chair) – Additional table on casters (also have a design in mind for it 🙃) – 3 Assorted table lamps – 1 wall-light fixture – Assorted mirrors (to reflect the light around the eerily dark corner of the studio) – 2 floating shelves
And then and only then will I finally feel situated in my new digs. Which puts me at... what? 50 years from now at this rate?
One of the highlights of the Manshur event I participated in a few days ago was the discovery of Zeina Maasari's stellar research project: Decolonizing the Page, which includes a superbly curated archive of gorgeously illustrated and/or designed Arabic books from the 1950s to 1980s, many of which I had never seen or even heard of before.
Looks like drawing endless waste and debris is becoming something of an accidental specialty of mine since embarking on THE SOLAR GRID.
The above image is from the concept art for PROJECT ROSEWATER, which I need to wrap up in less than one week. PROJECT REVERSE-EXODUS must also finish around the same time, and a couple days after that I'm due to partake in a public panel discussion in downtown Cairo. This, in addition to all the home renovation stuff. Busy few days.
Should try to squeeze in a break after that before embarking on the 10-month stretch for PROJECT HOURGLASS, during which I'm hoping all the home-reno stuff will be well behind me. 🤞