Guess what? In the year of our satan 2026 setting up new phones is still massive amounts of bullshit that steals a whole day of your life. Took me a dozen tries to upload a photo to this post because apparently WordPress doesn’t like photos from brand new iPhone 18 Pro’s?
(this is mostly posted to try and figure out the glitch with photo uploads)
STATUS: bleh. Off to see the new Godzilla film tonight if I live that long READING: THE ROUSE, China Mieville (UK) (US+) LISTENING:
New phones arrived, so doubtless I will lose a ton of today to setting them up. But our iPhone 14 Pro’s batteries are shot and the devices themselves are starting to glitch a bit, so it’s time.
For my next trick, I need to back 3000 photos off my current phone….!
Saturday night, I started to get sick. Not ideal, as on Sunday we had to drive down south to visit the kid and her partner. I was probably not good company for two days, as I got sicker and sicker on the drive down, and talking became very difficult. But it was, as ever, a joy to hang out with them, and we got to take them out for dinner one day and lunch the next.
I am still extremely fucked up, and the chances of my producing work this week are slim to none.
New Laura Cannell. I actually missed one of her releases, which I am still irritated by, but it’s also a reminder that being a completist is probably weird and unhealthy.
STATUS: deth READING: THE ROUSE, China Mieville (UK) (US+) LAST WATCHED: some weird true crime thing called TWISTED SISTERS about two apparently superhuman Swedish women, the Eriksson sisters – the footage of them being run over and then getting up, one of them punching out a cop and having to be restrained by six people, was quite something DRINK: whisky, chopped ginger, lemon juice, cinnamon honey, boiling water PAPERWORK: bought a pile of washi stickers of old astronomical/lunar images to use in the notebooks to mark things up with.
MISSION CONTROL: I can be contacted via the Cheng Caplan Company or Inkwell Management. Link in masthead to join my free newsletter.
Went to see The Owl Service play at the Fickle Pickle last week and I may have bought quite a lot of CDs from the merch table:
OPERATIONS: Planning to get at least a dozen pages out the door today. STATUS: Fell back a bit last night, lost too much time to processing stuff on the phone. In my defense, I am in the middle of handling a lot of bank-related stuff, and I lost a lot of time yesterday dealing with banking and ordering new phones. But today needs to be better. READING: THE ROUSE, China Mieville (UK) (US+) LISTENING:EA, The Alvaret Ensemble DRINK: made herself a blood orange Negroni last night with some success. One part each blood orange gin, Campari and vermouth, several dashes orange and cinnamon bitters, blood orange soda to taste PAPERWORK: started a new notebook last night. Filled the last one in a month.
MISSION CONTROL: I can be contacted via the Cheng Caplan Company or Inkwell Management. Link in masthead to join my free newsletter.
Hannah Hauxwell (1926-2018) lived alone and maintained a farm “in almost unendurable conditions of farmers in the High Pennines in winter,” notes a film producer. Upon the deaths of her immediate family, then 35-year old Hannah took over management of the farm and made it her life dwelling in solitude.Hannah came to media attention in 1972 when a random hiker told a researcher about Hannah. She was the subject of successive television documentaries chronicling her solitary life in the Northshire wilds: “Too Long A Winter” (1972), “A Winter Too Many,” (1989), “Innocent Abroad” (1992),
New issue of The Modernist magazine. First thing learned: those generic one-piece plastic chairs you see everywhere have a name. They are Monobloc.
OPERATIONS: This week is Beast Mode. Got a script out the door yesterday, need to get at least half of one out today. My to-do list takes up a whole index card, vertically. And I have to get next Sunday’s newsletter started, as I’m on the road this coming weekend. STATUS: Frantically trying to get my focus back! Last night I made roasted cabbage with black truffle sea salt as a side, and it was surprisingly successful. I now have a freezer compartment filled with chopped fruit. Already blew a bunch of time talking to the bank and dealing with accounts and I still need to call the phone company. See, this is why Brandon Sanderson has a team of a hundred people. Being a one-man-band for thirty-odd years is fucking exhausting. READING: THE ROUSE, China Mieville (UK) (US+) and aforementioned magazine. LISTENING: SOAKED, Philip Jeck + Jacob Kirkegaard
MISSION CONTROL: I can be contacted via the Cheng Caplan Company or Inkwell Management. Link in masthead to join my free newsletter.
Clocks went back and I didn’t notice. But mancub did. So I got beaten until I climbed out of bed to feed the little bastard.
MONDAY is the last day you can talk to your local comic shop to order GHOST DRIVE STATION.
Nobody orders for the shelf any more unless it’s a big DC or Marvel book. Your chances of seeing a copy on a shelf are slim to none. And comics shops need a signal that someone is going to buy something ahead of its publication date. If they don’t get that signal? They just won’t order any.
The order code/UPC is: 70985304934000111.
If you want a copy, you will need to email, text or message your local comics shop or drop in on them.
If you don’t? You won’t see a copy.
ACCESSIONS:
It was very well reviewed, appears to be pleasantly short, and suggested to be fresh. And 99p on Kindle, currently.
OPERATIONS: Beast mode. I have a frankly terrifying number of words to get out of the door this week, because I have some travel coming up. STATUS: Also trying to get ahold of my email – turns out my spam filter went mad at some point. If you’re waiting on an email from me, please nudge me. Pinch of cinnamon in morning espresso. READING:THE ROUSE, China Mieville (UK) (US+) LISTENING: TELYN RAWN, Rhodri Davies
MISSION CONTROL: I can be contacted via the Cheng Caplan Company or Inkwell Management. Link in masthead to join my free newsletter.
Went to Konsztrukting Soundz last night, for what turned out to be an abbreviated session. Here’s Lev Dudas, the creator and organiser, finishing the setup for what he did not expect to be a ninety-minute evening.
The first set, with Lev and Lawrence Casserley, was incredibly good, and later in the event Viv Corringham did a frankly magnificent vocal improv.
Going offline aside from messaging apps for the rest of the day, as I have lots of house stuff to do. And then Monday begins another very busy week.
