Another day of surviving on a mere three hours sleep after awaking at 3:00am for no good reason. Orders dropped off at post office though, and a quick visit to the lab for bloodwork checked off (I'm rather particular about my health and try to get tested fairly regularly). These are now the very last remaining copies of THE SOLAR GRID #1 in existence:
Cover for the print edition of #9 underway today.
“There are interesting correlations between myths across different traditions, links forged between Wales and Ireland in particular, but also persistent tropes shared by numerous cultures, including “tripleism”, which plays a key role not only in Welsh myth, but also in Macbeth’s trio of witches and old nursery rhymes. Threeness is 'an endemic part of British and European Iron Age and Roman provincial symbolism'.” — Otherworld Wales at TLS, discovered via Warren Ellis.
Relatedly: “During the Old Kingdom, the Sun god used to appear in three forms: at dawn called khepri (Ḫpr), at mid-day called Re (R‹) and at the sun setting called Atum ™...”
Let me just interject here by saying that this is clearly the basis for what we now know to be the three-act structure in storytelling.
“By the Middle Kingdom, trinity developed by merging three divinities together such as god Ptah-Soker-Osiris (Ptḥ-Sḳr-Wsir), who was regarded as single divinity in some texts by stating a single pronoun (di.f) or by stating plural pronoun (di.sn). The ancient Egyptians merged these three gods because they represented three stages; creation, death and afterlife, as god Ptah formed the creation, god Soker represented the necropolis and god Osiris represented the afterlife. Furthermore, during the New Kingdom in the Book of the Dead in chapter seventeen, the idea of the trinity was expressed by mentioning “Osiris (Wsir) was yesterday, current day is Hours (Ḥr) and tomorrow is Re (Ra)”.” — The Significance of the Number Three in the Ancient Egyptian Religion by May Ahmed Housny and Kholoud Ahmed Emara. Not the best written paper tbh (chalk it up to ESL), but some great information there. Like this bit of madness:
“The ancient Egyptians believed that the human identity was divided into two main elements: materialistic and spiritual. Our main concern will be directed to the spiritual elements as it comprises three main elements which were: Ka (k3): It is the sole companion which is born with the creation of the human being, Ba (b3): It is the spiritual entity that can move between worlds of living and death, Akh (Aḫ): it is the illuminated spirit in which the deceased wished to be resurrected in.”
“Can Japan become an AI superpower without compromising everything that makes its content so beloved around the world?” — Great piece by Matt Alt.
Relatedly: “AI thrives when our need for originality is low and our demand for mediocrity is high.” — Ray Nayler for Time.
Unfortunately, the needs of corporate executives may not be in line with the needs of the audience. And as Alan Moore likes to point out, need and want are two very different things. Perhaps a tinge of creative elitism the way he puts it, but there's a great deal of truth to it.
On the complete other end of the spectrum, Bill Gates gushes about the use of AI in education.
Ordered by accident and almost tempted to keep it just for the terrible mis-registration on this copy's print job. Snooping around online and I'm not seeing any publicly available evidence of anyone else having come across such a terribly misprinted copy.
Almost want to send a picture directly to Dan Clowes just to ruin his day/week/life. But no, what good would that do without getting to see the look on his face?
“Siphonophores are colonial marine organisms made up of specialised but genetically identical units, zooids, that undertake different functions, such as feeding or reproduction. The best-known species is the Portuguese man o'war, which resembles a large jellyfish but is actually seven different kinds of zooid that cooperate so that the colony acts like a single organism.”
From Paul McAuley's THE SECRET OF LIFE.
I note that he does the thing that I love when its done in fiction: including actual non-fiction knowledge. Chuck Palahniuk will almost always slide a little nugget of knowledge in his novels (i.e. how soap is made in FIGHT CLUB or how long it takes to choke in CHOKE, and I think there was something about airplanes or bodybuilding or both in SURVIVAL). This strikes me as an essential function of storytelling: using story to ever so slyly act as a vector for knowledge. It isn't the only function, but it seems to be one of several essential functions. It is after all a tradition as old as time itself. The oldest story known to humankind, THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH, lets it be known that wood obtained from Cedar trees is ideal for shipbuilding (and indeed, the oldest known surviving boat, excavated in Egypt, is built out of Cedar). The myth of Osiris contains mumification instructions. Story is carrier wave for philosophical pondering, parable, moral compass tuning, and factual knowledge. Drama is, for the most part, a really great delivery system.
At least that's how I like it.
STATUS:
Awoke at 2:30 am for no good reason. It is now noon and I am dead and delirious, but I know not how to sleep during the day so I will continue to be dead and delirious till sundown. This always happens whenever I'm close to finishing a big thing, any big thing.
Trying to wriggle away from TSG for just an hour or two to tend to a few other things, but the Grid has me firmly in its grip right now.
Thoroughly enjoying Paul McAuley's SECRET OF LIFE in the very short reading breaks I manage to steal every now and again.
Now that I have fully shaken off the incessant doom-scrolling of all social media by not being on it at all, I am now more active on RESTRICTED.ACADEMY again, catching up on some fantastic threads that go back a couple years (!) but also starting a few new ones. Some of my favorites are:
I am told that today is the last day for Barnes & Nobel members to preorder DEEP DREAM with a 25% discount.
Edited by Indrapramit Das and published by MIT Press, I have a short story in it along with numerous other science fiction luminaries from across the globe.
Confession: I had no idea that Barnes & Nobel had a membership thing. In fact, I didn't even realize Barnes & Nobel was still around at all.
On March 2, 1812, this anonymous verse appeared in the London Morning Chronicle, possibly penned by Lord Byron (opinions vary on this):
Those villains, the Weavers, are all grown refractory, Asking some succor for Charity's sake— So hang them in clusters round each Manufactory, That will at once put an end to mistake.
The rascals, perhaps, may betake them to robbing, The dogs to be sure have got nothing to eat— So if we can hang them for breaking a bobbin, 'Twill save all the Government's money and meat:
Men are more easily made than machinery— Stockings fetch better prices than lives— Gibbers on Sherwood will heighten the scenery, Showing how commerce, how Liberty thrives!
I love the sarcastic tone, very contemporary. Somewhat akin to The Fugs' KILL FOR PEACE in attitude.
On a completely different note, how on Earth can 36 degrees Celsius be “feels like 43”?
Spent the entire goddamn day speed re-reading this entire book just to locate one single passage I needed for a bit in THE SOLAR GRID.
Frustrating, but necessary. I am however reminded by what a fantastic and well-researched read it is. I doubt this is going to be the last time I utilize Luddite history in a story. It's such a fascinating episode in history. Remember this is just a few years before Mary Shelley started writing FRANKENSTEIN and young Percy was frequenting pothouses. Lord Byron was already a famed poet, having written verse in favor of the Luddites actually, and the Napoleonic Wars were still ongoing.
The incessant bullying of one single child throughout his life may end up having played a major role in the reelection of Donald J. Trump apparently.
Not to overlook all the many other potential reasons, but it's good to have all aspects of the bigger picture.
Post office and grocery run out of the way. Lettering TSG08/#9. More cover art to do later. KS update to draft, and maybe find time to exercise and try a new recipe.
Already too much to squeeze into a single day tbh, because my evening hours belong to my son. I should also schedule a haircut already.
Started Paul McAuley's SECRET OF LIFE (one dollar on Kindle!) late last night and I'm hooked. At over 400 pages, it's a big fucker of a book though, so we'll see if it holds my interest to the very end. I note that the hardback is only $6, which would typically be more than an incentive for me to nab it, especially after having enjoyed the digital sample. But the cover art/design on that thing is enough to make me go uh, yeah, no thanks. If I'm gonna introduce another physical object into my life, it sure as fuck better be beautiful.