The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 33
The Writer’s Strike is over. It was won with a stunning set of concessions from studios who had sought to belittle, gaslight and bully the people who provide them with their content. This is incredibly good news for the creative community as a whole, and brings back to life a heartening and essential truth—unions work. I hope to see a swift resolution to the Actor’s dispute, which will get everyone back to work—properly compensated and with fewer fears for the future.
However, as writer Gerry Duggan notes, there’s more to do yet, especially around the vexed question of AI. I’ll be interested to see if his tweak to the standard copyright notice has legs…
The battle is won, the war continues.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
The fantastic 2000AD/Battle Action crossover, which sets up the neat concept of the two comics joining forces in 1982… with thrill-powered results. For the truly committed, take a look at the Judge Dredd Megazine mashup too!
Rob is watching…
Any film which features a bartender tipping twelve bottles of Woodford Reserve into a bucket has to be worth your time.
Rob is listening…
To the new Flat Worms album, Witness Marks. Punky, funky, maximum ramalama. Your daily commute goes faster with this cranked on the headphones or car stereo.
Rob is eating…
Beet-cured, home-smoked salmon. Salty, rounded, umami-packed, it’s livened up this week’s sandwiches a treat, I can tell you.
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
Plenty of these clips around, taking the richly deserved mick out of a weird ASMR video. The isle Of Wight ferry does a good one. But, as Darren from LinkMachineGo pointed out, this wins the prize. I have been wandering around all week murmuring ‘Bentley…tren’ to myself.
Who needs a life when you have this?
The minds of scientists are, you’d imagine, clean and shining places, palaces of logic and reason. I know a few scientists and I can assure you, this is not the case. They have as messy, random and cheerfully weird headclutter as the rest of us. The delightful thing about the IgNobel Awards, presented every year to the most supposedly pointless research papers, is the peek you get behind the careful methodology and objectivity into a world that’s a lot more Victor Frankenstein than Albert Einstein.
There is something about a Noo Yawk walk up. They are as much expressions of personality as places to live. When you’re forced to make the best from very little floor space, personality really comes to the fore. I have a feeling TLC would happily take a bath with a cocktail in hand while chatting as I cook. You know, I’d like that too.
Heavy Ninth Art geekery incoming. Those of you with a nervous disposition may wish to look away now. We should not forget that up until the mid-80’s, the comics industry was a heavy hitter, printing millions of funny books a week for a greedy readership. It was, effectively, a sausage machine. Here’s how the sausages were strung.
More Ninth Art content, but this one is more relevant to a wider audience. Maybe. Let’s talk about the essential relationship at the heart of comics—that which evolves between a writer and artist. Trust me, there’s a lot of good stuff in here involving different approaches to creativity, and the vital importance of collaboration.
When I Gave You That Script I Thought You’d Hate It
Further submissions from Daniel Lavery, following his previous application to become a bog person. I could happily live like this.
Submitting My Application To Become A Wealthy Peasant In An Old Painting
As streaming services start to shrink their libraries and we find the illusion of choice fizzing away to dust and lies between our fingers, the old argument starts to reassert itself. Piracy is a term used by greedy conglomerates. The rest of us prefer the word ‘preservation.’
The Bitter Southerner is publishing some hella good work right now. As a big fan of that Southern Gothic vibe and the music of Lucinda Williams, Wyatt Williams (no relation, I assume) nails a feeling and an atmosphere that is edging me nicely into an autumnal mood. Spooky but not. Oh look, just read it, sweet tea in hand.
Knitting is essentially a set of binary instructions which generate a snuggly end product. If you’re dealing with ones and zeroes, you can code. Or deliver code. I’m making this sound more complicated than it is. If your granny groks it, you can probably cope.
Knit one secret, purl one secret
There are great sandwiches—the rueben, the tuna melt, the fish finger, the sausage. And then there is the BLT. The pinnacle, the bearer of the crown. Let us celebrate the history, legacy and yes, future of the greatest sammich known to humanity.
The Complete(ish) History Of The BLT
Last up, a fine example of the science-fictional world in which we all live now. Many of the casinos in Las Vegas were recently subject to a ransomware attack, as hackers demanded millions of dollars to keep the money machine grinding. Most operators caved. MGM chose not to. 404 Media’s Jason Koebler took a day trip to the Bellagio to see how bad things were…
Wilco have released a new album. You have your instructions.
See you in seven, true believers.
