this weekend's special is an Outside Context Problem! this amazing special is so unique, most shoppers will only encounter iATTENTION CULTURE SHOPPERS
this weekend's special is an Outside Context Problem! this amazing special is so unique, most shoppers will only encounter it once - in a millenium! please look for the infinity symbol tagged on our specially-marked OCP items.
on aisle 1, back by popular demand, we are excited to present faction upon faction of Culture Minds, as embodied physically by their glorious Mind Ships!!! shoppers, we have read your suggestions and we respond! you will find very few examples of those sad, silly creatures known commonly as "Cultured humans" throughout our festive OCP sale weekend. and that's not all... we proudly announce the debut of two marvelous new Mind Ships! at the front of aisle 1, the lovely and amazing Sleeper Service - necro-artist and secret agent! and lurking in the rear, unlisted on any official Culture registry... the remarkable Grey Area - avenger of genocides, torturer of torturers! ignore his nickname "Meatfucker" at your very own and very personalized peril!
on aisles 2 through 11, our hallmark OCP product The Excession continues to be available in ever-widening sizes and ever-changing formats. whether it be a black swan event, an unreadable black body sphere, a transport system for higher powers, or an ageless conundrum appearing since before the dawn of time, the Excession is tailor-made and custom-fit for thrilling contemplation of the infinite and - perhaps - cosmic oblivion!
on aisle 12-A we are excited to feature an exciting, one-time only Super Special... Warships! buy one, get 80,000 free! literally!!
we would also like to direct your attention to aisle 12-B... to our brand new line of society, The Affront! this bold new community brings a fresh and energetic perspective to many fronts: the gender war, the race war, the male-on-male war, and of course the timeless war between galaxies! you'll laugh at the barbaric shenanigans of this sociopathic "civilization" 'til your sides literally split open, entrails spilling and flying willy-nilly! BUY NOW - we guarantee you will soon find our special Affront products to be disappearing fast.
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and now for the review: i liked it. the writing was especially witty in this one; the concepts were typically grandiose. sadly, a rather deflating ending. and a feeling of, i dunno... thinness, somehow? just not a whole lot to think about after putting this one down - a rare thing for one of my favorite authors. but i did love how this Culture novel was all about the fascinating Mind Ships and their various factions - so many of them, i had to write a list to keep track. i love the Culture Minds. besides, who needs humans anyway? wouldn't you rather read about Mind Ships?...more
You are a man, you are a woman; you are judge, jury, and executioner. You are surrounded by murderers and assholes. Kill You Chose Your Own Adventure!
You are a man, you are a woman; you are judge, jury, and executioner. You are surrounded by murderers and assholes. Kill ‘em all! Then kill yourself. Your adventure is over.
one day when i was about 8 or 9, living in some chilly state, i bundled myself up until i looked like a little gray egg, hood over head, the hood's fuone day when i was about 8 or 9, living in some chilly state, i bundled myself up until i looked like a little gray egg, hood over head, the hood's furry fringe making my face a cameo portrait of a round genderless blob, and proceded to wait for my ride in the lobby of my apartment building. a young man came down to use the vending machines there, looked at me, and asked conversationally, "Are you a little boy or a little girl?"... i died a little bit, then squeaked out: "I'm a little girl".
i laugh at the story now but i also can't help but remember the sharp flash of humiliation, the quick decision that it was less embarrassing to be a girl mistaken for a boy than to admit that i could have been a boy who looked like a girl, and then of course the ample self-loathing that followed. it is interesting to think about the complicated emotions that my youthful self had to wrestle with.
i recently re-read House with a Clock in Its Walls and was taken aback by the memory of reading it for the first time at age 10 or so - and the memory i had had back then of my moment of mortification and sudden femininity. a memory of a memory! i was never a bullied or angst-ridden child, so that memory pops out as almost uniquely painful. the protagonist Lewis Barnavelt of House With a Clock was the first time i'd read about a hero who was unheroic, who lied to avoid embarrassment, who rather despised himself. reading about him, reading the story of a boy filled with anxiety and doubt and even self-loathing, was almost like a tonic: now here was an author who lived in the real world! here was a protagonist who knew exactly how i felt that day. Lewis Barnevelt is akin to Narnia's Edmund or Eustace - except Aslan does not step in to help him slough off his self-hating nature. he has to do it on his own. he does not go on a quest and he does not save the day; instead he grows by bits and starts, the shedding of each of his dark layers a small triumph - quickly forgotten by Lewis, almost unbearably affecting to me....more
Latawnya the horse woke up one fine spring morning, ready to eat and then ready to roll. She loved to gallop hither and thither. This was how she spenLatawnya the horse woke up one fine spring morning, ready to eat and then ready to roll. She loved to gallop hither and thither. This was how she spent most of her days, eating and galloping and cavorting with her best friends, Betty Blue and Sir Cedric Fairyweather. She remembered that once it used to be different. The little human boy who lived next door liked to ride Latawnya, he used to feed her treats and stroke her mane... he used to be her best friend. All that changed with the arrival of her nemesis, the little pony named Brown Sugar. Nowadays, the human boy only had eyes for Brown Sugar. Once he had enjoyed Brown Sugar, he never went back. It made Latawnya quite upset.
Exiting her stable, she noticed that the infernal Brown Sugar was already out and about. She trotted up to the little pony, who eyed her with a smug and callow expression. Barely knowing what she was doing, Latawnya reared up and struck Brown Sugar in the head with her front hooves. Brown Sugar was instantly knocked out, and dropped to the ground like a stone weight - just as the human boy's mother came out onto her back patio. The human woman saw the fallen pony, and cried out "Latawnya, whatever have you done! You are surely a Naughty Horse!"
Latawnya yelled "Neigh!"(1) then quickly galloped off. Latawnya was not the kind of horse to deal with such trifling things as consequences.
So she ran hither and thither in the wide open spaces, eventually coming upon her best friends. Betty Blue was looking depressed, tragic, and slutty - per usual. Sir Cedric Fairyweather was looking fancy, with little bells and ribbons attached to his lovely mane - also per usual.
"Neigh!"(2) said Latawnya.
"Neigh!"(3) replied her friends, in unison.
Together the three of them cavorted, enjoying the sun and each other's company, relaxing as only horses know how to relax. Although there was the usual gossip and bitching, it was clear that the three of them loved life, and sunshine, and happiness. They did not need DRUGS. They did not even know what 'DRUGS' really were. But little did they know, the dark spectre of DRUGS was about to enter their carefree, horsey lives.
There was a strong, handsome, musky-smelling horse who Latawnya and her friends had a big crush on. He could run the fastest, neigh the loudest. His name was Heathcliff Spiritcatcher. He was not a gentle horse nor was he a kind horse. He had a real cocky attitude - and his friends Sporty, Jocko, Frathorse, and Swifty McCrowbar were just as bad. In truth, they were all a bunch of equine assholes. But Heathcliff Spiritcatcher was truly a good-looking specimen of male horsiness... and that was all that Latawnya and her friends really cared about. Thus did the shallowness of their youth lead them all down that terrible path... TO DRUGS!
As the lovely morning ended and the equally lovely afternoon began, up galloped Heathcliff and his crew. Latawnya noticed that they had a new horse with them - a shady looking fellow with a sallow hide and strangely dilated pupils. Latawnya snorted at him suspiciously.
"Neigh! Neigh!"(4) said Heathcliff.
"Neigh!"(5) said Latawnya, Betty, and Sir Cedric in unison.
"Neigh?"(6) asked Heathcliff, tossing his head towards his shady new friend. Before they even answered, he said quickly "Neigh? Neigh. Neigh?"(7)
"Neigh!"(8) said Betty Blue.
"Neigh!"(9) said Sir Cedric Fairyweather.
"...Neigh..."(10) mumbled Latawnya.
And so the shady horse Rattleshirt ambled over to Betty Blue, shook his mane, and a little brown cube fell to the ground in front of Betty - who ate it right up. He did the same for Sir Cedric. When he looked over at Latawnya, she pointedly looked the other way. She had decidedly mixed feelings about this shady horse and she didn't understand why her handsome Heathcliff would even be hanging out with such gutter trash. He looked like he used to be a common racing horse! Latawnya gazed into the blue yonder and wondered what she should do in this odd situation. She began to ruminate on whether there would ever be a real future between her and Heathcliff.
Some troubling noises slowly brought her back to reality. She saw that Betty Blue was really out of it, whinnying in a confused yet excited manner. Jocko & Sporty quickly rolled up on Betty... and without further ado, began to take turns mounting her! Latawnya was shocked and upset. She turned to Sir Cedric, who had a glazed look in his eyes as he watched the sordid scene. And then Sir Cedric, in a rather stumbly gait, went over to Frathorse & Swifty McCrowbar... and presented himself rearward as they whinnied their approval! Latawnya just didn't know what to think. It was all so sudden, so horrible. These sorts of activities made her very uncomfortable. Latawnya felt that she was the kind of horse who always kept it real - but also kept it classy. Would her friends even be acting this way if they weren't under the influence... OF DRUGS?
She noticed Heathcliff and Rattleshirt smirking at each other - and then at her! Together they trotted confidently towards her, leering suggestively.
"Neigh? Neigh!"(11) said Heathcliff with a randy grin.
Latawnya didn't know what to say. She wanted to run away. She couldn't believe what kind of horse Heathcliff was turning out to be. She glanced down and noticed his member - it was stiffening! It was growing in anticipation... of what? He definitely had her confused with the wrong horse if he thought she could be had this easily! Suddenly she felt really pissed off.
She reared up and struck Heathcliff in the brow with her front hooves, struck him repeatedly, so hard that blood spurted everywhere. She turned and wildly dealt the same hand to the stunned Rattleshirt. Two horses went down. Brains spilled out and the blood ran red then black.
"Neigh!"(12) shouted Latawnya hysterically, and quickly galloped away from the grim tableau.
Latawnya had learned the ultimate way to Just Say 'No' to Drugs... a truly hard-earned lesson indeed!
(1) Fuck Off! (2) What up, my peeps! (3) What up, girl! (4) What up! It's a mighty fine day! (5) You know it! (6) Hey have you met my bro Rattleshirt? (7) Hey wanna do some drugs? My number one dude here just scored. Y'all wannna have a good time? (8) Gimme! (9) That would be divine! (10) ....Um, I dunno about that... (11) So you wanna party too? Get over here girl, let's get it crackin'! (12) Fuck Off!...more
I Remember: a young lad's journey into the dark side... abuse & degradation, times a million... droolingly graphic depictions of rape, pederasty, blood, piss, shit, the whole kit & kaboodle... bikers & whores & drug addicts, oh my!... is that some form of Stockholm Syndrome or is this the kid's true destiny?... everything is so fuckin ugly... i feel sick... i suppose Delany had his reasons.
i later gave this to a colleague who loves Delany. he enjoyed the book a lot. he called it "tender" - at least near the end of the novel. apparently it was tender enough to bring a few tears to his eyes. huh. maybe i have a heart of steel. or a low threshold for such things.
WARNING: nasty language ahead, including the use of some of my favorite phrases from the novel; these include such choice nuggets as mugwump jism and WARNING: nasty language ahead, including the use of some of my favorite phrases from the novel; these include such choice nuggets as mugwump jism and to turn a massacre into a sex orgy and a bubbly thick stagnant sound, a sound you could smell and the subject will come at his whistle, shit on the floor if he but say Open Sesame. anyway,
I’ll be honest, mugwump jism, it took me a while to get into Naked Lunch, to turn a massacre into a sex orgy. Three attempts, to be exact, a bubbly thick stagnant sound, a sound you could smell. I don’t mind stream-of-conscious writing, I don’t mind the Beats, I don’t mind postmodernism, I don’t mind graphic sexual and violent imagery, I don’t mind experimental narratives, the subject will come at his whistle, shit on the floor if he but say Open Sesame. But a work that combines all of those things in one fetid stew, in such an in-your-face way that could care less about creating any kind of empathy, and has such a complete disinterest in establishing easily-digestible form or meaning... well, it was off-putting mugwump jism. In a way it made me angry at Burroughs, to turn a massacre into a sex orgy. Who the fuck did he think he was, grinding my face in the muck and telling me that this foul nonsense was the new Now, a bubbly thick stagnant sound, a sound you could smell? I didn’t like how every fourth phrase seemed to be about shit or jism or asses or toothless mouths, the subject will come at his whistle, shit on the floor if he but say Open Sesame. I thought the extreme homoeroticism was gruesome and not very erotic, and it actually made me feel rather homophobic – and this is coming from a bonafide cocksucker, mugwump jism.
But the third try worked like a charm to turn a massacre into a sex orgy. Maybe I just needed to grow into the novel, and not take its challenging ways so personally, a bubbly thick stagnant sound, a sound you could smell. The writing became amazing to me – overindulgent (obviously) but also masterful, profound even, in its hair-raising descriptive passages, its deadpan dialogue, its drooling emphasis on bodily functions, decay, death, degradation, the subject will come at his whistle, shit on the floor if he but say Open Sesame. Its paranoia was no longer oppressive – if anything, it was freeing, mugwump jism. Naked Lunch’s ability to convey not just the darkness but the strangeness and black humor at the heart of both addiction and the various possible and existing forms of societal control became fascinating, to turn a massacre into a sex orgy. The radical changes in perspective, the decentralized plot and oblique narrative, all the grotesque, taboo fantasias suddenly felt mordantly playful and, well, “naked” in their need to convey a state of mind, a world view, a way of looking at the systems of the world... all of that actually became inspirational, in both the challenge of its intent and the radical nature of its result; and so the subject will come at his whistle, shit on the floor if he but say Open Sesame.
SCANALYZE: "brown-nose" is a casually derogatory term for blacks.
CAST INCLUDES: Norman House is a muslim african-american and a ruthlessly ambitious rising star in General Technics. in the early part of the novel, he acts quickly and sprays an amok terrorist's hand with liquid helium, causing it to freeze and then break off. later in the novel, he is given de facto control of the african country of Beninia, which is being taken over by his company.
:: this book made me angry at times ::
LOCATIONS INCLUDE: Beninia has somehow remained a neutral refuge throughout its history. it has resisted slavers, colonial forces, mass waves of immigrants, and many other external influences. its people are malnourished, poorly housed, and only marginally educated. there has not been a murder in Benina in over 15 years. its residents do not have a phrase to explicitly describe "losing your temper". instead they use a phrase that means "went temporarily insane". once, several years ago, in a different village, a boy saw a man "lose his temper" while arguing with his wife. everyone laughed at the man's outlandish behavior. so silly and so strange!
:: i lose my temper. it is one of my flaws. i say terrible things sometimes ::
PROFILE OF NOVEL: Stand on Zanzibar was written by John Brunner in 1968. it is a New Wave science fiction novel about a future dystopia. it won the Hugo Award in 1969. it won my heart and mind in 1990. i just reread it.
PROFILE OF AUTHOR: John Brunner has written over 50 books. this novel was inspired by the cut-up technique of John Dos Passos' U.S.A. Trilogy. i was occasionally reminded of William S. Burroughs and Kathy Acker. and Robert Silverberg. and William Gibson. and the way my own mind processes information.
PROFILE OF NOVEL: according to my best friend wikipedia, "Stand on Zanzibar was innovative within the science fiction genre for mixing narrative with entire chapters dedicated to providing background information and worldbuilding, to create a sprawling narrative that presents a complex and multi-faceted view of the story's future world. Such information-rich chapters were often constructed from many short paragraphs, sentences, or fragments thereof — pulled from sources such as slogans, snatches of conversation, advertising text, songs, extracts from newspapers and books, and other cultural detritus. The result is reminiscent of the concept of information overload."
SCANALYZE: "eptification" is a process in which the government can turn an ordinary man into a trained assassin.
CAST INCLUDES: Donald Hogan is a white american and a synthesist - a rather dilettante-ish position paid for by the government, in which the practitioner studies patterns in the mass flow of information. in the early part of the novel, his unwitting presence in a non-white ghetto inadvertedly causes a riot in which hundreds are hurt and a helicopter pilot is beaten to death. later in the novel, he is turned into a spy and sent to the angry country of Yatakang.
:: at times this book made me irritated and frustrated ::
LOCATIONS INCLUDE: Yatakang is a military dictatorship along the lines of modern-day Pakistan. it was once a part of the Philippines, which is now called Isola. Yatakang hates the U.S. and is on the verge of U.S.-sponsored revolution. Yatakang is home to a brilliant and humane geneticist. this brilliant geneticist may be able to create super-children.
:: i am half-Filipino. i do not want children, super or otherwise ::
1) due to overpopulation, nearly the entire world has severe restrictions around giving birth. people are obsessed with genetic make-up. if you have flaws in your genetic make-up, you are not allowed to have children.
2) overpopulation + ennui + a lifetime of frustration can equal many things, including the potential for murder & rape & incest. did you know that?
:: this book made me laugh a lot. a great sense of humor. malevolent, merciless, mordant wit. my favorite! ::
[Stand on Zanzibar can be an off-putting experience. many people do not like it. some find it challenging; some find it boring; some find it frustrating. it does not take it easy on the reader. it throws a lot of things the reader's way. the reader is given a mass amount of information to digest. can the reader find patterns in this information? does the reader even care?]
CAST INCLUDES: Shalmaneser is an all-knowing computer created by General Technics. is Shalmaneser growing consciousness?
SCANALYZE: "shiggies" are a common type of lady. to be specific, they are attractive, upscale, vaguely whorish young women with no permanent residence. they move or are passed on from guy to guy to guy. guys share shiggies. most young women appear to be shiggies. unless they are daughters, wives, or business leaders.
CAST UPDATE: Norman and Donald are roommates. one is full of cold anger and the other is full of passive idleness. they toke up together. they share shiggies. Norman likes the scandinavian babes and Donald likes the black hotties. the two go to a jail and then to a party together. the two have great and terrible things in store for them. later, they actually become friends. sorta.
#what is "friendship" anyway? #does anyone really know anyone?
CAST INCLUDES: Begi is a Beninian folk figure. he is a trickster of sorts. he exists to punish the greedy, the pretentious, and other assorted pricks and assholes.
((i have too many favorite scenes in this novel to count. my favorite may be the riot. or it may be a party that turns out to be a colossal fail. another favorite may be the scene in which a trained assassin takes down a mucker.))
SCANALYZE: "muckers" run amok. overpopulation and other factors drive them insane. that insanity endows them with the strength of many and causes them to seek the immediate death of everyone around them. they are a sign of the times.
:: sometimes, in crowds, i feel like running amok. but i don't. whew! ::
[i have a Goodreads friend who didn't care for this book. he said the plot didn't start for over a 100 pages and all the random snippets of information became wearisome. sometimes i read his reviews and i wonder my God, does he even like reading? still, his opinion is a valuable one to me.]
CAST INCLUDES: GT Buckfast. Eric Ellerman. Chad Mulligan. Poppy Shelton. Guinevere Steel. Sheena & Frank Potter. Arthur Golightly. Stal Lucas. Sasha & Philip Peterson. Victor & Mary Whatmough. Elihu Masters. Gerry Lindt. Dr Sugaiguntung. President Zadkiel Obomi. Jogajong. Olive Almerio. Grace Rowley. Pierre & Jeannine Clodard. Jeff Young. Henry Butcher. Bennie Noakes. all of these characters have POV chapters. ~ by the time the novel ends, ten are dead ~
#do you want to live forever?
(the constant racist language against asians really bothered me. is this because i am half asian? the novel itself is not racist. quite the opposite.)
CAST INCLUDES: Bronwen Ghose does not have a POV chapter. if i have one critique, it is that Bronwen in particular deserved one. a moving character, and a very appealing, very attractive one as well.
PROFILE OF AUTHOR: John Brunner also wrote a book called The Sheep Look Up. i love that title.
* Mr. and Mrs. Everywhere go everywhere... just for you! watch them from the comfort of your living room, on your television! they look just like you! *
Stand on Zanzibar should be read carefully, over time. there is too much going on, so you should go slow. i think if you read it too fast It May Become Like A Long Night With Too Much Coke And Too Many People And You Are Almost About To Lose It But You Don't Have Anywhere To Go So You Just Do Another Line And All Of A Sudden It Is Too Much But All You Can Do Is Smile Smile Smile And It Begins To Hurt And Your Brain Begins To Hurt And You Feel Like Freaking Out And Crying.
Stand on Zanzibar should be read quickly like a big rush of information just let it sweep all over you because you know that's what life is anyway just a big rush of random and not-random information so just take it all in like a good little sheep and maybe the information will eventually have some meaning or maybe not.
Stand on Zanzibar has a happy ending. that is, if you consider an ending where (view spoiler)[one protagonist is basically insane after being brainwashed by the government and the other protagonist learns that the only way to stop humans from being ferociously aggressive animals is to tamper with them genetically (hide spoiler)] to be a happy ending.
STAND ON ZANZIBAR IS ONE OF THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS EVER WRITTEN.
a work of bright and ruthless genius, the jfk assassination as recounted by some alien being from the far future. well actually, not really, not at ala work of bright and ruthless genius, the jfk assassination as recounted by some alien being from the far future. well actually, not really, not at all. well actually, at times it felt like it. is delillo less than human or more than human? the novel makes no attempt to be historically factual. actually, the facts presented are reasonable and sound. the novel is historically factual, as much as anything can be. the narrative is, of course, almost too complex to be detailed. although it is, in its way, a straightforward narrative, straight as an arrow, straight as any history of well-known events could be. conspiracy theories, so many of them, competing with each other, often making complete sense as they are told, only to be collapsed by the next conspiracy theory. the conspiracy theory as just one version of the many-told tale, stories handed down from teller to teller. an interesting conceit. actually, more than that - storytelling is perhaps the point of the whole novel. what is the truth in a story? who is the real person behind the historical personage, behind the character in the story? the novel wonders: can reality ever truly be represented? such a humorous book at times. the jokes are secret jokes, told with a straight face. the deaths are no joke, no joke at all. the novel is dead serious. the death of lee harvey oswald is a harrowing, moving experience, the best sequence of many excellent sequences in the book. the novel is powerful and yet filled with minutiae, with meaningless detail. each detail is packed with meaning. it is a Choose Your Own Adventure, of sorts. astrology is real, it defines us and all of our actions. astrology is an illusion, as is motivation and circumstance and conspiracy and history itself. Libra is a post-modern classic. well, actually...more
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