Posted on

The Zines of Austin Kleon and the Collages of Yasmine Seale

Here are two similar projects that turn on the art of collaging and remixing.

First, Austin Kelon’s flock of zines.

A zine (/zi?n/ZEEN; short for magazine or fanzine) is most commonly a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via photocopier. Usually zines are the product of a person, or of a very small group.

Last month Austin posted a tutorial on how to make an 8-page zine from a single sheet of paper. (It’s also possible to make 14-page zines too).

Continue reading “The Zines of Austin Kleon and the Collages of Yasmine Seale”
Posted on

My Introduction to ‘A Thousand and One Recaps’

Re-posted from 1001.recaps.org

So long as you are prepared to admit it, ignorance is an opportunity rather than a weakness.

— Ann Morgan, 31 December 2019

Why this book and why now?

Why do any of us read anything? I have been meaning to read the Arabian Nights, or The Thousand and One Nights, for many years. Whenever I tell anyone that I have an interest in non-linear fiction, they usually mention the nested, story-within-a-story structure for which the tales are famous. In response, I have always said that I would get around to reading the collection “at some point.” Continue reading “My Introduction to ‘A Thousand and One Recaps’”

Posted on

A Thousand and One Recaps

During the COVID-19 lockdown, I’ve finally got around to a project I have mean meaning to do for a while, which I hope will prove an ongoing diversion while normal social life is on pause.

It’s called A Thousand And One Recaps.

The idea is very simple: I’m reading The Arabian Nights, or The Thousand and One Nights, the famously rich collection of stories that originate in Asia and the Middle East. Continue reading “A Thousand and One Recaps”

Posted on

Will the #COVID19 Antibody Test Break Our Discipline and Make Things Worse?

We’re all in this together. But what happens when we’re not?

Earlier this week I posted a tweet that got plenty of attention.

When the COVID-19 antibody test becomes available, it will split the country – and the world – into two types of person: those who are immune to the virus, and those who are still susceptible.

In the long term, when we have established ‘herd immunity,’ this won’t matter.1 But in the short term it could prove incredibly divisive, and cause the disintegration of solidarity and co-operation that our country has demonstrated so far.

Continue reading “Will the #COVID19 Antibody Test Break Our Discipline and Make Things Worse?”
Posted on

Banter, Tragedy and the ‘Healthy Dissonance’ of #COVID19

Londoners during the Blitz

This afternoon, as I was hunched over my phone composing a draft of a tweet, I paused over what word I would use to describe the COVID-19 events of the past few weeks.

Shenanigans? Malestrom? Crisis? Hilarity? Tragedy? Nonsense? “This COVID19 business”?

I began to realise that, in our discussions about the virus, we all seem to be able to slide effortlessly between gravity and frivolity. We can at once be deeply affected and concerned by the death, illness, and risk to our frontline workers on the one hand; and sharing memes about day-drinking and homeschool #fails, on the other. We all seem to be experiencing a sort of mass cognitive dissonance. Continue reading “Banter, Tragedy and the ‘Healthy Dissonance’ of #COVID19”

Posted on

Video-Physiognomic Dysphoria

World Leaders Video Conference Call, 26 March 2020

Jillian C. York writes a short thread on looking presentable for video calls.

This reminded me of a passage in Infinite Jest where David Foster Wallace describes the phenomenon of Video-Physiognomic Dysphoria, the anxiety at having to present yourself on a video call. Continue reading “Video-Physiognomic Dysphoria”

Posted on

Three Science Fiction and Fantasy Books I’ve Been Thinking About A Lot During The COVID19 Lockdown

So, voluntary self-isolation becomes a mandatory lock-down.

Plenty of people have been discussing relevant films, TV shows and literature that deal with pandemics, deadly diseases and the like. GIFs from Shaun of the Dead, and all the other zombie movies, fill my timeline.

As for me, I have found that my mind keeps wandering back to three books I read in recent years, which all include moments of apocalyptic lock-down.

Continue reading “Three Science Fiction and Fantasy Books I’ve Been Thinking About A Lot During The COVID19 Lockdown”
Posted on

Quoted in the News Shopper

Don't Deny Me Acess To My Local School

Some good news! Remember the local campaign against propsed feeder schools? The Langley Park Learning Trust responded to the consultation, and have decided not to proceed.

I spoke to Monica Charsley, Bromley and Bexley correspondent at the News Shopper, about the decision:

Robert Sharp, a spokesperson for the Fair Access Langley campaign group, said: “We are delighted with the decision.

“So many people worked hard to raise awareness about the consultation, and the number of people who responded was a factor in the decision.

“But it is also pleasing that the trustees have engaged with and accepted the social, educational and environmental arguments raised by the community.

“However, we remain concerned that the Trust chose to consult in the first place.

“We urge them to be transparent about their reasons for doing so, and to reassure the community that they will not re-consult on this issue in the near future.”

Read the whole thing here.

Posted on

When does a moral argument become ‘settled’?

I want to say something quite precise about the nature of the ‘debate’ about transgender rights. It is not about the substance of the argument itself, but about how we are arguing about it.

The prompt for this is last week’s furore over a Suzanne Moore column in the Guardian, and the No Platforming of the historian Selina Todd. But it could just as easily be about any of the other controversies that have generated news media coverage and social media heat over the past few years.

First, did you notice how I put apostrophes around the word ‘debate’ above. I do that to acknowledge a point that transgender rights activists make constantly: that their right to exist should not be up for debate.

Continue reading “When does a moral argument become ‘settled’?”
Posted on

If You’re Worried About Political Correctness Going Too Far, then You Had Better Oppose The Threat to Judicial Review and Human Rights

Harry Miller at the Royal Courts of Justice

Are you the sort of person who gets annoyed with ‘political correctness’? Are you fed up with ‘woke’ students and minority rights activists seeking to police your thoughts? Exasperated with civil servants attempting to social engineer us all?

Well then you had better get behind the campaign to save judicial review.

Last week Mr Justice Julian Knowles of the Administrative Division of the High Court handed down his judgment in R (Miller) v The College of Policing and another [2020] EWHC 225 (Admin). Continue reading “If You’re Worried About Political Correctness Going Too Far, then You Had Better Oppose The Threat to Judicial Review and Human Rights”