The Swipe Volume 3 Chapter 27
We are in the north, at the top of a hill accessible only by a track decorated with stern warning signs to turn back. Our base for the week is a clean, neat cottage, sturdy of wall and firmly planted. The borderlands have called again and we have answered. What that means for next week’s communications is anyone’s guess. For now, listening to the hiss and click of rain while pecking away at the keyboard, I’m happy to just be in the moment and watch the clouds cradle the hills.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
A History Of The World In 47 Borders by Jon Elledge. When we talk about maps, we’re often thinking of the invisible lines we draw to carve out territory rather than the territory itself. Jonn redraws that relationship, providing a new perspective on the divisions between the political and the physical. This is really good stuff — thoughtful and impeccably researched but funny and approachable.
Rob is watching…
Polish Animation after WW2. I urge you to join me. This is the sort of thing which would turn up in that ten-minute slot between the end of kid’s TV and the news on the BBC in the 70s. Wild, experimental stuff which I am absolutely certain was not meant for children. A contributing factor to my tastes and proclivities, I’m sure.
Rob is listening…
To WROB. My musical indulgence is back after a [checks watch] five year absence. I’ve had to tweak the working practices — most of my old methods have either stopped working or moved to a subscription/paid model. That has had positives, though. There’s a new voice in the mix, pal Jillian, who has helped massively in bringing this new era to life. Two fresh episodes are up. Please try out To Be Loved, the most recent drop. We’re both very proud of it. Link available in the sidebar as always, and I’ll update whenever a new drop lands.
Rob is eating…
Costco chicken enchiladas. Don’t you judge. They are packed with filling, full of flavour. Also, they come in a pack of two, and one will do C & I with guacamole and rice. That’s £12 for two delicious dinners. I’m a big Costco stan, and these yummy parcels of spicy goodness are a big part of that allegiance.
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
Ok, it’s only our immediate neighbourhood, but what an amazing, intricate clockwork filigree the solar system is. I spent a happy half-hour just swiping about.
Jonn Elledge again, in his capacity as newletter honcho. He compares a matched set of creation myths, all of which seem both equally implausible and wildly romantic.
I love the idea of a beautifully made physical object used as a map and guide to something ephemeral. I suppose that’s a way to describe every novel — they are, after all, a doorway into a different reality. In the case of the Internet Phone Book, the conceit becomes even more literal. The whole point is that it isn’t searchable online. Otherwise you’d just have a version of Google. Although to be honest a reliable alternative to that broken service would be nice.
I do love a really vicious restaurant review. Here is perhaps the greatest of all time — AA Gill’s assassination of L’Ami Louis in Vanity Fair from 2011. Surgically precise, utterly merciless.
On a more positive note, here’s the brilliant Gail Simone with a rally call for our uncertain times. Gail is one of my favourite writers, and her heart and warmth of soul shine through in this plea for inclusion and community. She is doing astonishing work on The X-Men right now. Go check it out.
When The New York Times get infographics right, they are unbeatable. I am very pleased, as a long-term astrology skeptic, to find out I am one of the proud members of that thirteenth starsign.
It’s a clear sign of my personality flaws that I spend far too much time worrying about this sort of foolishness.
A treat from Mindless Ones, whose newsletter I am honour-bound and duty led to mention, salute and endorse.
One last thing from Joseph Campbell via Austin Kleon.
New Suede! Is is possible for a band to have more than one imperial phase? I don’t know what the boys have been taking lately, but it’s fired them up no end. The latest album, Antidepressents, is the gothiest thing they’ve ever done, which warms the embers of my coal-black heart into a guttering glow. The perfect soundtrack to a rainy Saturday morning, here on a hill in the north, happily cloaked in rain.
See you in seven, fellow travellers.
