WARREN ELLIS LTD Articles.
The work authored by Sir Wilford Stanley Gilmore was truly substantial, running to more than two thousand pages, and the publisher in the brief foreword, rather unconventionally, did not concede to mandatory expressions of politeness praising those persons whose support had made the present volume possible; nor did he adhere to the custom of wishing to recommend, to a general audience, this lesser-known scholar to his readers’ distinguished attention, no, not at all; instead, employing a fairly harsh tone, the writer of the introduction objected to his readers’ potential accusations, according to which the whole thing would have been more comfortable, more easily navigable, as well as daintier, if it had been published in two volumes, and with this invective, thoroughly unjustified, presented with no explanation—not to mention the startling openness of its formulation or rather its unconstrained tone (almost continually employing such expressions as “go fuck yourselves,” “shit,” and “your mother’s cunt”)—the impression was created that the writer of this introduction was not any kind of separate personage but none other than the author himself…
Speaking of organ adoration, and despite the book’s title, there is very little explicitly sexual here. Describing the lingam worship of Hindu Shivaism, which takes place under “an umbrageous Bael” or “fine Ficus” — and, if both are lacking, “the poor god is often reduced to the stump of a tree” — the author cautions a potentially salacious audience: “My readers must not fancy that this worship is indecent, or even productive of licentiousness. It is conducted by men, women and children of modest mien, and pure and spotless lives.” He proceeds to admit that, at certain seasons, “the passions are roused and the people proceed to excesses” — but these are, he thinks, significantly less common than in the rites of Eastern Christianity.
Although published anonymously, the Phallic Series is undoubtedly the work of Hargrave Jennings (1817–1890), whom Paschal Beverly Randolph heralded as “the chief Rosicrucian of all England”.
ON DECK: Today I need to look at my scheduling for the next couple of weeks, to make sure I get everything landed on time with space around them to allow for problems and to ensure I have room to manoeuvre if something pops early. Beginning the WRITTLE 2 audio drama podcast episode 106 today.
INBOX: 40
LISTENING: MONUMENT podcast 321 S-Pill
READING: TOURS OF THE BLACK CLOCK has me hooked: just as I was starting to lose a little engagement, Erickson performs a masterful, surreal transition and redoubles the book’s energy.
OUTSIDE: “Physicists track sequential ‘melting’ of upsilons” – wtf is an upsilon you may ask, and i do not know
SHIPPING FORECAST: I need to collect thoughts later today.
This photo looked sharp as a pin on my phone. New phone is now going on the list of Things To Do. I will miss this iPhone 8, it has served me well, and I like Touch ID better than Face ID.
ON DECK: consult tranche 2, DEPT MIDNIGHT polishes, development, need to mark up the board EOD.
INBOX: 58. I need to clear that by end of day.
LISTENING: Hypnagogue Podcast 376
READING: I decided it was time to finally get around to TOURS OF THE BLACK CLOCK before winter ends. His THE SEA CAME IN AT MIDNIGHT is a favourite.
OUTSIDE apparently BBC employees are going on strike. Unrelated to the BBC’s absurd handling of the Gary Lineker thing. Which led to the surreal spectacle of ex-sportspeople having to be the moral compass of the BBC.
Fashion designer Paul Smith re-hanging Musee Picasso’s permanent collection.
Scientists have hypothesized for more than six decades the possibility of observing a different form of wave reflections, known as temporal, or time, reflections. In contrast to spatial reflections, which arise when light or sound waves hit a boundary such as a mirror or a wall at a specific location in space, time reflections arise when the entire medium in which the wave is traveling suddenly and abruptly changes its properties across all of space. At such an event, a portion of the wave is time reversed, and its frequency is converted to a new frequency.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the influential painters at the heart of the French Impressionist movement: Berthe Morisot (1841-1895). The men in her circle could freely paint in busy bars and public spaces, while Morisot captured the domestic world and found new, daring ways to paint quickly in the open air. Her work shows women as they were, to her: informal, unguarded, and not transformed or distorted for the eyes of men. The image above is one of her few self-portraits, though several portraits of her survive by other artists, chiefly her sister Edma and her brother-in-law Edouard Manet.
(I’m actually trying to find an efficient way to log podcasts I like and want to track later. BBC won’t give me an embed, but it will apparently generate a QR code?)
Wow, that photo is blurry. Pretty sure my old iPhone 8 is dying now. Anyway. Coffee’s ready. High winds outside have already destroyed one of the mini-greenhouses I built and sited yesterday.
ON DECK: tranche 2 of consulting job, DEPT MIDNIGHT polishes
INBOX: 63
LISTENING: Unclassifed
READING: dipped back into AGAINST THE DAY for reasons
OUTSIDE: “If anyone in this theatre commits an act of violence at any time during this show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute speech”