The Swipe Volume 1 Chapter 40
We’re coming up on the last week of Nanowrimo. Normally I’d be scrambling to hit wordcount, every day more of an effort. This year, I’m much more relaxed about the whole thing. I’m not even sure I’ll hit my self-imposed goal. What that means is I’ll probably continue writing into December, which is unusual for me. Rather than hitting the 50K and stopping, with the intention of taking a break into Christmas and picking up in the New Year, I’ll just gently carry on, letting the soft tide of the story carry me on. It seems like a more sensible, more sustainable way of completing a first draft, and one that won’t stress me the hell out.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
For my sins, Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks, an offshoot of the Bondiverse set in the mid-sixties. The villain, a monkey-handed, British-hating maniac called Julius Gorner, plans to flood the country with drugs and force a nuclear exchange. The book hits all the right plot points, but the inherent cruelty and misogyny at the heart of the franchise are sadly also in place. I honestly believe James Bond is a fictional figure whose time has passed. File him with Biggles and Bulldog Drummond and let’s move on, please.
Rob is watching…
I love the idea of fictional products which can tell a story. I do have a feeling this stuff has been around for quite a long time, though.
Rob is listening…
Context first. Then listen. This is so beautiful.
Rob is eating…
Theo Randall’s aubergine parm has become a favourite in these parts.
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
The greatest corkscrew ever.
I guess I’m still thinking on the idea of The Digital Garden, and a life outside the walls of social media. Taking an internet walk is something I do quite often, gathering up nice things to display for you, beloved Readership.
I recently bought a synthesiser, Behringer’s tiny, dirt-cheap JT-4000, as a way to teach myself the basis of waveform synthesis. It’s a lot of fun, and enables me to quickly and easily generate some really horrible noises. Of course, if I had the money and space, I’d be looking hard at some of the bespoke devices the folks at Love Hultén have to offer…
Lockdown seems to have done a number on my cash-carrying habit. I’ve slimmed my wallet down to a card-holder with a magnetic clip for the odd twenty, which only really ever gets used if I’m taking a cab (Reading taxis remain mostly, belligerently, cash-only). However, it’s still wise to have a little bit on you, particularly coins. A bit of shrapnel in hand can be useful.
Rebellion Publishing in Oxford is doing righteous work in protecting and sharing the long history of British comics. With their purchase of the IPC Fleetwood archive, they now have stewardship of 130 years of funny books—an essential record of our social history which can tell us a lot about the way we used to live through an era when cheap, disposable kid’s papers sold in the millions every week.
If you need reaction photos for your WhatsApp chats, the winners of the Comedy Wildlife Photo competition have you sorted. Honestly, you only really need the owls.
The noise made about how machine learning (I now refuse to use the marketing term) will change our lives is mostly just that. The results I’ve seen are tat, ways for scammers, plagiarists and exploitative bosses to make it easier than ever to create mediocre product. However, if ChatGPT allows me to create code out of simple descriptions, I could be interested in trying it out.
The End And Beginning Of Coding
A little Tumblr thread which quietly and gently blew my mind. I had to share this one. Hope your mind gets blown too.
Finally. We are avid viewers of Richard Osman’s House Of Games, as a little quizzing always helps ease us into the evening. A recent question made the point that Bruce Springsteen had some influence in the collapse of the Berlin Wall. This was news to me, so I did a quick search and… well, it’s one hell of a story, proving a truth I have known for a long time—you don’t mess with The Boss.
Can’t Start A Fire Without A Spark
Oh, the delight when this little slice of heaven showed up on Rob’s Infinite Feed this week. A song that starts big out of the gate and just gets wilder and louder and brighter. One of those pure expressions of joy and defiance, a killer performance from 1995 when Later With Jools was worth watching, and the perfect kickstart to the weekend. I feel well enough to—well, get out of bed and into the shower now, at least.
See you in seven, true believers.
