The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 38
Hello from Whitstable, where TLC and I have retreated for a long weekend and a bit of a reset. A day trip to Margate (the Essex kid in me still pronounces it ‘Margit’ like Chas And Dave) to convene with some art and that incredible light seems like a good idea. Also seafood. Lots and lots of seafood.
Of course, the short break lands bang in the middle of Nanowrimo, which means, I suspect, some early mornings to crank out the necessary wordage. Next week I seem to have organised social events over four out of the available five days. No, I do not believe in making life easy for myself. Hopefully the sea air will spark up some creativity because I’m going to need every last scrap.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
Did you not see the intro?
Rob is watching…
I’m always ready to learn some of the secret hints and tricks behind cranking out art at production line level. Right now, I’ll take all the help I can get.
Rob is listening…
to the sound of deadlines whirring past.
Rob is eating…
at The Whitstable Oyster House. Can you blame me?
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
Villains Falling To Their Deaths
I’m delighted to see John Constantine, rake-hell and magic’s greatest libertine, is making a return both to comics and potentially the big screen. He’s a fascinating character, the very definition of anti-hero. Here’s an overview written in 2014 which gives you the bones and some of the juice behind the man in the mac.
My favourite letter of the alphabet is having a millennial moment. Is this at all related to the vocal fry?
The Whoniverse has launched, and BBC iPlayer has finally become a clearing house for all the adventures in time and space you could possibly hope for (excluding, embarrassingly, the first story, subject to an ongoing copyright scrummage—and of course the 90-odd episodes which were wiped). Where should the newbie start? Probably not with Ed Jefferson’s Randomiser which will spit out any one of the hundreds of episodes available. When I had a go I got part 4 of Mawdryn Undead, which featured alien vampires and two Brigadiers. Fun!
Social media is becoming harder to navigate, as Xwitter’s implosion has opened up the field to a load of different new networks. There’s a big push towards the Instagram-adjacent Threads. But I increasingly find I’m drawn to the hopeful future of Mastodon, which is a lot easier to join and use than some folks would have you believe.
Some extremely serious and highly relatable tips to boost your wordcount this November. Honestly, I wonder why I didn’t try them sooner. Who needs a life when you can have writing?
I knew nothing about Ramona Quimby before starting this excellent overview on LitHub about her. She seems like a fine role model for girls everywhere. We need more DGAF heroines.
There’s Something About Ramona
There is an important distinction to be made between cheese on toast, a cheese toastie and a grilled cheese sandwich. For me, a toastie comes out of a Breville, one of those funny scalloped hinged hot plates. Cheese on toast is an emergency comfort blanket, doubly so if you have to break out a tin of beans to go on top. A grilled cheese is a snack I only make when I’m feeling a bit fancy. And never when I’m alone. It’s a love thang, you feel me?
Bruce Springsteen wielding that guitar on the cover of Born to Run makes for truly timeless rock and roll iconography. The sound, the look, the attitude. My first guitar was a Telecaster copy , and I still can’t tell you why I got rid of it.
Last up. Let’s have a little quiz. If you can do better than me—well, you won’t have to try too hard because I was lousy at it.
I’m going to Outro with Slift, a killer power trio from Lausanne, France. They make a most agreeable racket, and I find the twin cream SG look they’re rocking to be highly stylish. I hope you agree.
See you in seven, true believers.
