crazyscot

This is more partial even than usual, because I've had some download problems that I've since fixed. But we can let that filter out to the second quarter; time waits for etc. etc.

This Is Not a Love Poem, Alexandra Dawson (Reckoning)

I Met You On the Train, J. R. Dawson (Uncanny)

The Doorkeepers, A. T. Greenblatt (Uncanny)

Unsettled Nature, Jordan Kurella (Apex)

Straw Gold, Mari Ness (Small Wonders)

No Kings/No Soldiers, A.M. Tuomala (Uncanny)

Blade Through the Heart, Carrie Vaughn (Reactor)

Antediluvian, Rem Wigmore (Reckoning)

I'm reading, and really enjoying, Annalee Newitz's Four Lost Cities.

I'm currently reading about Pompeii, and I was struck by the mention of about how little was recorded about that volcanic eruption and the cities that were "lost" in its aftermath.

I thought of how conspicuously absent our society's cultural response to the covid pandemic has been, even before Newitz themself drew an explicit parallel with the Spanish flu epidemic which apparently also had a similar effect.

I was struck by this because just this morning, I was in a meeting about an upcoming Mental Health Awareness Week event at work. I had to join a bit late so I don't know the context but as I joined, someone newish to my org -- which covers the whole country so we're mostly hybrid/remote -- said that starting this job was hard for me because going back to working from home was something he hadn't done "since covid." #CovidIsNotOver, of course. (I felt some kind of way listening to someone talk as if they were triggered by an event that is still ongoing if you ask me.) But he's totally right about how we haven't really addressed it in any meaningful way -- the lack of pragmatic mitigations almost requires us to participate in this cognitive dissonance of referring to the pandemic in the past tense when it's only the lockdowns, the testing, the mask mandates, the period of taking it as seriously as it warrants, which is past.

I was immediately reminded of that Audrey Watters piece I linked to the other day, about grief that isn't observed. If she's right that "it matters that GPT was released during the COVID pandemic (and ChatGPT shortly 'after')," (and how I appreciate the scare-quotes around "after" there!), this is a meaning that's lost if we don't talk about the covid pandemic.

I think covid is intimately linked to changes in transport infrastructure and the built environment that make my job harder -- hastily-enacted legislation to allow more tables and chairs on pavements means more obstacles that never had to undergo an Equality Impact Assessment; "pop-up" cycle lanes led to lasting trends in active travel infrastructure that still deprioritize pedestrians; e-scooters were seen as more useful in a world where people were discouraged to go anywhere but particularly to use public transport; I could go on -- and the further that lockdowns and other facets of pandemic mitigations get, the harder it is for me to address those things properly.

It's interesting to see what feels like such a modern ill also taking place as long ago as Pompeii, in as different a culture as that Roman one was. Is it such a fundamental human thing to just block out the bad times so thoroughly? I can't help but think we can do much better to look after ourselves, individually and as collective societies.

A couple of days ago, I determined that my webcam wasn't working on my laptop, for calls with my parents, or on my work laptop.

D kindly took it away the other day, and diagnosed it as Dead. He also reminded me we had one that I could use for work but doesn't work on Linux -- something I'd entirely forgotten about; I think I'd conflated it with the other webcam which had stopped working entirely...

He also sourced a replacement, sent me a link. Which I said was terribly sweet of him but I didn't really need, just for my parents when I could shuffle things around and just use the camera on the laptop. But it arrived the next day; he'd bought it for me anyway. "Thirty quid to keep your parents happen seems worth it," he said. Awww.

So, tonight I was so looking forward to the call with my parents starting with something other than my mom complaining that she can't see me.

Instead, the first thing she said when my camera pops on was "You're getting those deep wrinkles in your forehead too, like Grandma [my mom's own mother]."

Which a) only when I frown, or raise my eyebrows [so maybe this is the only way my parents will ever see me, lol] b) my grandma was a badass, so I hardly mind looking like her! c) to age is to live!

But most of all: she's treating me in a way she'd consider horrible bad manners if I behaved this way toward anyone.

Again. (A story I'm fond of trotting out is the time we were in a restaurant, my appetizer arrived, she looked disgusted at it and asked me warily what that was; I said "butternut squash soup" and she said "oh yuck!" A thing I'd have been told off for if I'd reacted that way to someone else's food that I both didn't have to and shouldn't have eaten!)

Can't believe D paid £30 for my appearance to be insulted like this, heh. It's a fancy webcam too; he said he got "only" 720p rather than the £50 1080p, and I was thinking this is already too big a number, I don't want my parents to see me in high definition (unfortunately for me, I said this as "that's too many p for my face!" which made D snigger because his mind is always in the gutter!). it's very zoomed-in too, which is unsettling for me too since I have to have my monitor so close to me. It's been such a long time since Mom commented on my facial hair and I'd like that to become a much longer time, an unbroken streak. She's gonna say whatever she wants as soon as she (thinks that she) is off-mic; all I ask is for her to be polite to my face!

Anyway.

Partner and I are in need of a solicitor for a fairly routine and non-urgent matter, so, looked up who it was we went to last time we had a routine life admin thing requiring the services of a legal professional.

(This was actually a bit more time-consuming than I anticipated, have I mentioned that archivists are really Not All That at keeping on top of their own papers? The cobbler's children syndrome.)

But, I found the name of the practice and looked them up on The Internetz and they are there, as having gone out of business some few years ago, on Companies House website.

And they are by no means the first solicitors I have had dealings with, though I think the ones in Kentish Town saw me through the purchase of First Flat and present dwelling and possibly various other legal matters, but are now no longer operating more or less adjacent to the Tube station.

I suppose that these days one should not anticipate that you have Old Mr Thing the attorney-at law and Young Mr Thing his son who keeps up the practice and Even Younger Mr Thing who is being brought on in the family tradition -

- and that these things come and go like everything else and they are no longer quite the repository of folk memory like in mystery novels.

Way back when I was starting out as a Wee Babby Archivist, I remember that a big thing of the day, practically A Crisis, was solicitors' records. As I was never actually employed in a repository where I had any direct dealings with the problem, I'm not sure whether this was due to practices going defunct, or just somebody going down into the cellar and realising that they still had all the papers from Jarndyce v Jarndyce back to its origins along with tons of other stuff. But anyway, there were Massive Amounts of Very Misc Material (quite surprising what turned up) which looking back I suspect had all sorts of issues around ownership to complicate matters even further.

(If anyone has recs for N London solicitors would be glad to hear of them.)

Posted by fromtheheartofeurope

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/liberation-the-unoffical-and-unauthorised-guide-to-blakes-7-by-alan-stevens-and-fiona-moore/

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/?p=65685

Second paragraph of chapter on third episode (“Cygnus Alpha”):

“Cygnus Alpha” gives us our third iteration of a totalitarian society (in this case, a theocratic one), demonstrating that, even on the outskirts of civilisation, oppression persists. We have surveillance, both human and divine; we have social control which is as much by the individual as by the state the prisoners are not being held against their will and, when offered freedom by Blake, most choose to stay, simply because it seems the easier option); we have state-sanctioned torture and abuse (and, upon seeing Blake’s condition after torture, Arco blames the victim, telling Blake that he should have stayed out of trouble); we have control using drugs (in the form of Vargas’s Big Lie, that the drugs consumed in the religious ceremonies keep them alive; we have guards who attack Blake in a scene reminiscent of the flashbacks in “The Way Back”. Sexual abuse is not mentioned, but we do have sex as an agent of social control: while Kara is visibly attracted to Gan, her kissing him seems to be as much a way of getting the most powerful man in the new group on her side as anything.

A comprehensive episode-by-episode guide to Blake’s 7, with each season introduced with notes on the overall production context, and clear opinions about which are the best and worst stories. Originally published in 2003, so before Big Finish started to produce audios featuring the surviving members of the original crew (and then their replacements), but an appendix covers the spinoff novels, plays and audios up to that point. I don’t agree with all the judgements – I have a sneaking affection, for instance, for “City at the Edge of the World”, while on the other hand I found the skeevy gender politics of the three episodes by Ben Steed unredeemable. However it’s good to have a chunky reference volume to pore over.

You can get Liberation here (for a price).

This was the non-fiction book that had lingered longest on my unread shelves. Next on that pile is Mantel Pieces, by Hilary Mantel.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/liberation-the-unoffical-and-unauthorised-guide-to-blakes-7-by-alan-stevens-and-fiona-moore/

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/?p=65685

Immediately in front of you, as you enter the palace, is the most important chamber in the palace: the Chara's court.

As you will have gathered by now, peninsularean royal life is centered upon the rulers' status as High Judges over their people. This can be seen most clearly in the Chara's court, which contains an impressive throne where the Chara sits as he hears his court cases.

The main doors to the court are gilded but plain in design, except for the inscription on them of a balance (scale) holding a bird in one pan and a sword in the other pan. This is the Chara's emblem, which appears on Emorian banners, on covers of the Chara's law books, and in many other places. The doors are two storeys tall and are made deliberately heavy. At the time they were built, occasional outbreaks of fighting still occurred between the Chara and his council. The fortress-heavy doors permitted the Chara to endure a siege by his council.

Today, the doors are guarded during council sessions. Assuming you have already gone through the protocol of entrance into the palace, you may simply give your name to the guards there; they will check the list of palace guests and then permit you into the court.

There is no seating in the court, except for the Chara, but you will see that Emorians stand in orderly rows. There is no special section for visitors; simply stand in one of the rows. The rows surround the Chara's throne on four sides. Which side is the best is hotly debated. I recommend the back side for new visitors. This will allow you to watch the Chara's arrival, but it will shield you from watching the face of the Chara transform into "the look of the Chara," which many visitors find as terrifying as a similar transformation in the face of Koretia's ruler.

Light conversation is permitted before the court session begins. The arrival of the Chara is signalled by trumpets. From that point on, you should remain silent and motionless. Even coughs and sneezes are considered so disruptive that you may end up expelled by the vigilant guards.

An exception to this respectful silence is if you bring a translator. Your translator should introduce himself as such when you enter the court. He may whisper a translation to you during the proceedings. Translators who use gestures to convey their information should take care not to bump into other visitors in the compact rows of listeners.

The court follows the same procedure during every case: The prisoner is brought forward under guard, the charges are read, and previously scribed accounts by witnesses are recited by the Chara's clerk. Witnesses are usually present in the court, so that the Chara may ask them questions if needed. The prisoner's own document of witness will be recited. He will be given an opportunity to declare aloud his innocence or guilt, to provide further witness to his actions, and to call upon any additional witnesses present in the court, who may have decided at the last minute to speak on his behalf. At the end of the case, the Chara will offer his judgment, using a time-honored ritual. The prisoner will then be escorted out of the court, either to be freed or to be punished. See the chapter on the Chara's law for more information.

If you are in the court as a witness, you may be asked to come forward. Stand at the foot of the thirty-step platform holding the throne, directly in the Chara's view. You should bow to the Chara, if your gods permit that. Eastern mainlanders may prostrate themselves, but should do so in the briefest manner possible; lengthy obeisances are not valued in the Three Lands. If your beliefs do not permit you to bow or make obeisance, then you should nod your head briefly, as a courteous acknowledgment of the Chara's status as High Judge. Lack of any gesture will be seen as insulting and may harm your nation's relations with Emor.

Wait until the Chara's clerk – the man at the Chara's right hand, who has been reciting the witness documents – signals you to speak. Thereafter, take your cues from the Chara, answering any questions he asks. Do not volunteer any information you have not been asked. Do not greet the Chara by words. Do not – may your gods protect you – compliment the Chara on his outfit or engage in other light chitchat. Emorians are highly formal people; only the eastern mainlanders take protocol more seriously than Emorians do. Whatever you may think of this strict formality, you should conform to it. Believe me when I say that southern peninsulareans find this nearly as much a strain as northern mainlanders do; nonetheless, if you take the trouble to visit Emor, you need to follow their sometimes onerous customs.

If you're tempted to make a public fuss, keep in mind that the small door at the north side of the court, through which the prisoner enters and exits, leads almost directly into the Chara's dungeon.

[Translator's note: The Chara's court is in session in Blood Vow.]

Wish to inform those that are interested in Clorinda Cathcart's Circle that Volume 25, Choices: Taking Decisions will appear this coming Friday, 27th March:

A Parliamentary election causes considerable upheaval to the summer plans of Society in general, and of Clorinda and her circle. But besides any choices concerning the government of the nation, several of them find that they have to make decisions touching on more personal matters.

1. Trump has delighted apocalyptic Christians. They say the End Times are coming

(tags:apocalypse religion Christianity politics Israel middle_east Palestine )

2. VFX artists vs. The Golden Gate Bridge

(tags:cgi bridge sanfrancisco )

3. The seven new towns set to be built across the UK, mapped

(tags:UK housing )

4. Iran says coastal attack will lead to full Gulf closure and mine-laying

(tags:iran middle_east usa war doom )