Islands in the Net

Islands in the Net – Bruce Sterling

My cover image — 1988 First Edition.

Wow, not available on Amazon.

Islands in the Net – Bruce Sterling

1988, the fax was the thing. Dated tech, but pause, I own both a nice, hardback first edition, lovingly “discovered” new in a bookstore, around 1988, and a more legible, less valuable digital copy, I’m rereading.

Remember 1988? To be honest, I don’t — too young. I was in AZ, think that was when there was still a Science Fiction bookstore, close to the campus. It’s a guess, but probably where that copy originated. Best way to date material, which bookstore was closest at the time.

“Genetics, Laura thought. You pass them on to the next generation. Then they relax and start to crumble on you. They do it anyway. You just have to pay a little extra for using the copyright.” Page 14.

Love novelist’s eye at work. My expression? “Genetics are a crap-shoot.”

“The erotic power of the Goddess can destroy evil.” Page 15.

Accurately presages the rising goddess movements.

The tech is sorely dated, but still, the concepts proved correct, just wrong about the technology. Close, but not quite. Still, as an alternative, it’s easy to see this is the way we could’ve been, and then? Elements that are here albeit in different guises.

Also accurately presages Steampunk. That author was one-half of the origin of that, just as a minor note.

“You’re modern people, you and David,” her mother said. “In a way you seem very innocent to us, oh, premillennium decadents.” She smiled wryly. “So free of doubts.” Page 44.

As an artifact, the book is priceless. In part, it is about the author thinks. But in part, it was valid extrapolation of what the Fire we are living in, what we thought it would look like. First point, you know, bandwidth does cost, just got exponentially cheaper than thought.

Deep Purple

Spurred by the passing of the “Purple One,” and using that as a keyword, an old Deep Purple album came up.

Made in Japan

Bought it on Amazon. $3.99 for the CD. Some tracks just sound right through a Marshall amp?

Deep Purple’s album Machine Head paved the way for the various versions of “metal” as we know it today. Deep Purple was part of the unholy triumvirate of Led Zep., Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple those who blazed the trail for more modern variants of the music now called Metal.

Made In Japan (The Remastered Edition) (Live) – Deep Purple

One my recent twitter fascinations is “Black Metal Cats,” wherein kitten images are paired with Black/Death Metal lyrics. Frequently, the cat images are Maine Coons, and those bad boys have the perfect countenance for Death Metal.

This is more about roots, and not about cats, or variations on themes in Metal today.

That album — I never owned the album, and I think most of the early oeuvre of Deep Purple predates my driver’s license, so that says something juvenile, in itself.

The 20–minute version of “Space Trucking,” with its drums, drum solo, organ solo, and riffs on riffs? A far cry from the days when music is packaged in a user–specified, consumer–oriented container that’s sanitized and timed for a commercial break.

“Highway Star” is a perennial road–music classic, and while I’m sure I have most of these songs in other formats, a clean rip of the complete album is worth it, for me.

All analog. Maybe now, it’s been “digitally remastered,” but who knows? Does it matter?

Artistic differences of epic proportions, played out agains the backdrop of modern media and music industry gossip, an induction to the hall–of–fame, and public bad blood? Ill will.

These are our roots, baby.

Previously noted.

That “Made in Japan” album — says it was a double album? I can’t say, I don’t recall, but the long versions with the live — almost jazz–like — solo work? Makes the price of admission worth it. Speaks to an era and time, I suppose, but good music? Good tunes, know no bounds in time and space.

Or Space Trucking

Made In Japan (The Remastered Edition) [Live] – Deep Purple

Made in Japan

Symbols and Such

This was going to get wrapped into a horoscope, but I’m unsure if I can wait that long.

One buddy up in Austin had an image of his tiny plot of land that he’s farming. Urban farming, best guess. The Google Satellite image showed a small square that was diagonnaly hoed.

Rows stretched NE to SW, with a gentle bow in the middle, bending the shape of the field to the contour of the earth. Proper agrarian techniques, be my guess, consistent with whatever this week’s urban farmer is supposed to be doing.

Austin: all–natural, pesticide and chemical–free, pasture–fed, free–range, cage–free, vegan — again — just a guess. Safe bet.

There is a universal symbol for RSS Feed. Me? Following my advice, I found the similarity.

Seemed to escape some.

Symbols and Such

That RSS symbol seems to be everywhere, now, and yet, by some standards, it’s really a recent development, and its symbol? The radio bars blasting out, or whatever? I wonder if those show up in any Mayan glyphs, or Egyptian. Perhaps even Graeco–Roman?

Who knows.

Symbols and Such

“This is a sorry sight”

Scottish Play, Act 2, scene 2, &c.

Pink Cake: The Quote Collection – Kramer Wetzel

Pink Cake: A Commonplace Book

#Shakespeare

“I don’t want to be ‘pretty,’ I want to be mad, bad and dangerous to know.”

No Outsourcing

Short bit about outsourcing but not in the conventional sense.

However, when I look for a new book to read, the first place I tend read reviews is Amazon. Websites. Book blurbs, and then, book blogs.

www.kramerwetzel.com will never be a large company, but that’s by design. From idea and inception, this place is run as a lean outfit with basically one person in charge of everything. This insures a low-overhead with savings passed on to the consumer. It also assures that there are no duplicates, or last week’s message for Virgo is this week’s message for Sagittarius. As if.

The focus is on individual craftsmanship, and custom-manufactured horoscopes, one at a time. Better that way, and with such a tiny operation? More customized service for the individual.

The advantage is fewer filters. The disadvantage is fewer filters.

At least none of this is outsourced.

No Outsourcing.

#Practice