Fun Andy Weir interview, whose books I never read. I've only watched the movie adaptations, which weren't quite my jam, but judging a film-adaptation is no way to judge an author's work. Either way, the interview is fun and inspiring and does provide some food for thought.
The entire part 1 of COLLIDER by Warren Ellis and Jerome Eyequem, which is being serialized at Warren's Orbital Operations newsletter. Strong STALKER vibes, but clearly far more demented.
Steven Heller on his time as art-director for EVERGREEN, a magazine that “devolved” into a paperback periodical. Didn't even know this was a thing. Somewhere in the back of my mind I've been toying with the idea of a regular paperback zine of sorts for quite a long time now.
Kickstarter for Catherine Tedford's PAPER BULLETS: 120 Years of Political Stickers From Around the World forthcoming from PM Press, which I'm fortunate to have some work in.
Fonts-in-Use looks at fashion designer Tania Marcial's DELIVERY collection. Hard thrift-wear aesthetic.
More podcast note-taking today and a new plumbing issue I gotta look into, when all I'd really like to do is read and write right now. Should also start thinking about the next edition of the RESTRICTED FREQUENCY newsletter, which is supposed to go out in 4 days. Do what you love and never have to work a day in your life, they said.
#radar
The chair is finally complete! It would seem that it was being assembled for Tiger's enjoyment all along.
Cairo's a big ass city, blessed not with one Ikea but two, one on each end. The one closest to me ran out of the chair's cushions a long time ago and won't be restocking till next month. The other one had the cushions in stock, but when you order from Ikea's website, they only deliver from whichever branch is closest to you (...the fuck?). So I went ahead and trekked across the city to nab the damn thing myself and get it over with—And boy, it really is a big city. Felt more like making an out-of-town daytrip.
All I need now is a nice throw blanket and small pillow to make the setting complete (not sourced from Ikea as a small act of rebellion against the over-Ikeafication of spaces—says the man whose home is filled with close to 20 Ikea things).
#studio #cairo
I am a terrible multitasker. I thought I'd be able to alternate between writing and taking podcast notes, but when I'm in the writing zone (indeed in any zone), I find it very difficult to pull away and do something else. Even if I designate the something else towards the tail-end of the day.
So today I will attempt to power through 6 episodes, half the season we recorded. Now, each episode is quite long; an hour or more in some cases, which means more video-watching than I can handle. Basic logic would dictate spreading the episode-watching and notetaking across several days to ease the blow of the task at hand, but that would necessitate employing the kind of mental gearshift that I sorely lack.
Why am I like this?
#journal #work #podcast
Okay so today I decided to get a little too aspirational with the would-be reading corner. Pulled a couple plants out of the garden and potted them inside. I have no idea whether or not they will survive, but if they do... I may attempt to make this corner even more lush.
#journal #studio
One of my pet peeves of living in America was how fresh herbs were treated like gold. You'd get less than an ounce of the stuff squished into a palm-sized plastic container for 2 bucks or more. Egypt has the opposite problem. Fresh herbs are in great abundance, and they're always sold in big bunches that go bad faster than you can put to use. So today, we are oven-drying rosemary for the first time. 4-6 hours apparently on the lowest setting for best results.
Writing is going oh so swell today.
“Conan in a trenchcoat.” – May just be the best line in this Frank Miller/Rick Rubin interview.
#journal #work #radar
Eyeing my reading corner aspirationally until Ikea get their shit together and restock the chair's cushioning, which they only informed me was out of stock the day of delivery. A full week after I'd originally ordered it.
Haven't even had a chance to put this part of the space to any use and Tiger has already mauled one end of the rug to shreds. Comes with the territory of being chosen by a cat, I guess. And I really do need to have that tinted glass replaced. Fall is here and the sun has already shifted to where it seldom enters the space.
Given the above situation, not much reading has been getting done (I'm not great at reading in bed), but I did manage to write 11,451 words in September. Looking to churn out much more through October. Very little drawing this month. Hopefully I'm not too rusty by the time I do return to the drawing board.
STATUS:
#work #journal #studio
WORKSTREAM:
Got to see proofs for issue 2 of ELON magazine, which features my collab with Dominic Boyer, and it's fantastic! The Gigacities Collective have done a really great job at creating the new culture-jamming publication for our times. I'll remember to post again once it's out and there's more information on how to get it.
The complete THE SOLAR GRID box-set can now be nabbed through Asterism.
October is already here, which I'm gonna need to dedicate almost entirely to wrapping up TIMES NEW HUMAN if I can. Quite a bit of work travel slated for November, which knowing me will disrupt any semblance of flow.
Got the strangest email the other day inviting me to be interviewed about THE SOLAR GRID for a podcast... in exchange for a fee. Didn't even realize that was a thing now.
RADAR:
Great Kim Stanley Robinson interview over at the Crisis and Critique Youtube channel.
Watched SOYLENT GREEN the other night for the first time! What a great goddamn movie! Can't believe it passed me by. It must be Ganzeer-discovers-the-70s season over here.
STATUS:
#work #journal #radar
Better start to the morning today: Exercise followed by a chickpea scramble, together with cottage cheese mixed with diced tomato and kalamata olives and a side of cucumber.
Freshly-minted short story shipped off to Jared Shurin for his forthcoming edited issue of ParSec. The brief he sent me, a single image, was impossible to resist:
More TIMES NEW HUMAN rewrites this morning, reserving the backend of the day for email and podcast notes.
Inbox: 17, RSS: 5.
#journal #work
RADAR:
THE SOLAR GRID makes The Markaz Review's The Anthropocene Book List, a handsome list of 10 very fine books that I am humbled to see my demented graphic novel share company with.
Steven Heller showcases 10 cover samples of UN SEDICESIMO, a 16-page Italian quarterly that provides a blank slate for a different artist to do whatever they want with each time. How I wish more books and graphic novel covers looked like these.
WORKSTREAM:
Today, apparently, is brain fog day. A condition I must overcome because there is much writing to be done and quite a bit of email to catch up on. Four coffees and a handful of cigarettes for breakfast did not help.
Inbox: 17, RSS: 9
STATUS:
#journal #radar
My friends at Radix Co-op are debuting THE SOLAR GRID box-set at Printed Matter's New York Art Book Fair as we speak. If in New York, swing by MoMa PS1 and check it out.
Front cover preview until I get glamor shots of the actual box in all its glory.
#work #tsg #comix