It was an awful week and a half, thanks for asking, and for more reasons than the obvious one. But I think I’m starting to walk it off.
Here are some links.
Infocult links us to Where London Stood, an academic site examining the literary and artistic trope of the ruined famous city, one with which we’re all too familiar with at this point, I suppose (though fortunately, it seems, not with the body count that usually comes along with it). This page focuses on its use in 20th-century sci-fi. I’ve said before how much I love post-apocalyptic horror, and the link to the ruined-city image is obvious–would 28 Days Later have done nearly as well as it did with both audiences and critics if not for that unforgettable walk through a moribund London?–so if you’re like me, you’ll want to check this out.
Matt Rota is an artist and cartoonist whose work I like. Eerie naturalism. Take a look.
One Louder links us to the Village Voice’s review of Analord, the 11-vinyl-EPs-and-counting analogue-only project by Richard D. James, aka Aphex Twin and AFX. As one of the many who found his last album to be a difficult listen, particularly compared to, well, all his other albums (among the most compulsively listenable in my collection), this sounds very promising indeed. However, I am not in the way of buying vinyl, so I will hope and pray that this finds its way onto CD eventually. (Or hell, mp3.)
In Sean-on-dead-tree news, the new issue of Giant features my reviews of Charles Burns’ masterpiece, Black Hole, as well as Chris Ware’s Acme Novelty Library hardcover. These are not yet reflected on GiantMag.com, but go visit anyway, and while you’re there, subscribe–people, this magazine’s latest issue featured a cast reunion for The Big Lebowski and, for no real reason, a two-page spread consisting of a picture of David Bowie exiting a limo during the post-Station to Station tour of Europe. I don’t know what else to tell you.
The Dark But Shining boys have big things cooking for the month of October, it appears. And I missed it when it happened, but M Valdemar made a barely audible noise of a Lovecraftian nature before resuming radio silence late last month. I guess I’m just gonna have to come up with something big for October…again…