I’m running pretty short of Berlin photos that I’ve not shared already (cue sighs of relief all round), but having done little or no photography in the last few weeks I am obliged to rummage in the crates once again. So, how’s about some Moorish retro architecture in the form of Berlin’s Neue Synagoge?

It will probably come as no surprise that it’s not the original, but a close reproduction of the 19th Century building which was battered during the war and subsequently razed to the ground. If you walk along Oranienburgerstrasse after dark^[1], you’ll notice a quiet policeman on the street in front, in a little roped-off region.

If only my native country were so careful to dissuade people from remaking the mistakes of the past.

Writing about music

The Dreaded Press chunters along quite smoothly now thanks to my volunteer reviewers. As mentioned before, things are winding down for the season – only one album came in the post this week, where I would normally receive four or five – so I’ve got a chance to consolidate some headway over the holidays and think about new strategies for the site.

And maybe finally do that redesign which I’ve been meaning to do since I installed the current hackabout of a theme over a year ago…

Album of the week

I’m going to cheat by picking two albums, but as they’re from the same band and have just been reissued simultaneously, I figure that’s fair enough. The albums in question are Heaven’s End and Fade Out by proto-shoegaze noiseniks Loop; if you like raucous fuzz and saturated soundscapes, grab yourself a missing link from the history of the style.

Writing about books

Despite last week’s triumphant completion of the epic Steampunk review, I managed to crank out a review of Lou Anders‘ Fast Forward 2 anthology for Futurismic. It was quite an easy review to write in some respects, because there was something positive to say about almost every story. Apparently I’m the only person who ‘read’ Picacio’s cover art correctly… though I suspect a number of other people did, but simply decided not to mention it in their review.

There’s still a hefty backlog of books that I read months ago but still haven’t reviewed, and new titles in the queue, some with deadlines. Plus I’ve almost finished Nick Harkaways‘ The Gone-Away World, which I think will have to be written about simply by dint of being such a unique and interesting book (not to mention one I wish I’d gotten round to sooner). Thank goodness for upcoming holidays, eh?

Freelance

The basic engine and visual framework of The Pretty Big Project have been installed, and the client likes it very much. But they want me to do something with one of the subsections that I’m not entirely sure how to go about achieving… I think I have a solution, but it’s not going to be particularly elegant from the back-end. That’s Saturday’s job – some “suck it and see” code testing^[2].

Other freelance stuff is business as usual; lovely.

Futurismic

A new month means a new story at Futurismic – in this case the return of Jason Stoddard, putting his fiction where his mouth is and following his own Positive SF manifesto in “Willpower“. I really enjoyed it, and the comments so far (both on the page itself and at io9) seem to concur. I’d be interested in hearing any further opinions from VCTB regulars. Because you have all read it, right?

Books and magazines seen

A quiet week again – seems like the publishing industry is slowing down for the season, too. Then again, there could be a lot more reasons; my sympathies go out to anyone working in publishing at the moment, because I’ve experienced what it’s like to work in an industry where the axe is hovering over everyone. Here’s hoping things perk up sooner rather than later – for everyone, not just the publishers^[3].

So, this week’s only input is a long-awaited BSFA care package. Lots of good stuff in Vector this time, and a bumper reviews section (including my review of David Levy’s Love and Sex with Robots). Some of the articles (not to mention the Elastic Press sampler) have already provoked some vigorous debate over at the BSFA forums; if you’re a member, be sure to drop in and share your thoughts.

Coda

I suppose it’s high time I gave some thought to what I’ll be doing over the Allegedly Festive Period, but I doubt it’ll be anything special. My mother’s visiting the south coast this year, so I’ll not be trekking to Yorkshire in the mobile purgatory of the National Express network again… *shudder*

Still, there’s time remaining for planning^[4]. In the meantime, the weekend has arrived, so I’d better make myself some food and get cracking with the free fiction round-up at Futurismic, hadn’t I? Have a great weekend yourselves, as best you’re able. Auf weidersehn!

[ ¹ - There are many good reasons to do this; great bars and restaurants, for example, in addition to many architectural marvels like the above. You might initially be as confused as I was by the preponderance of young ladies whose fashion sense seems to be grounded in the props department of a studio that made eighties hair-metal videos. It wasn't until one of them engaged me in conversation that I realised she wasn't waiting for a friend at all. Not a *specific* friend, anyway. ]

[ ² - Based on prior experience, that's about six hours of the day accounted for... ]

[ ³ - That said, I'm pretty alarmed by this slew of interest rate drops and tax breaks that are being announced over here in the UK. Are the Government postponing the inevitable, or simply spreading it out thinner over a longer period? Or are they making like Jack Bauer with a pair of wirecutters inside a device they don't fully understand? Guess we'll find out eventually, but I would feel a lot more secure had we buried our facile national nostalgia for the days of empire and joined the bloody Euro when we had the chance. ]

[ ⁴ - He said, with a confidence that might prove not to be borne out by events. ]

Once a sorry marker of the division of East and West, the restored Brandenburg Gate is once again a focal centre for Berlin… especially tourists.

You may be able to notice the huge swarm of bikers between the gate and the point-of-view; I have no idea what the occasion was, but it obviously had something to do with blatting off through Tiergarten in a big cheerful gang with a police escort. ‘Twas a nice day for it, too.^[1]

Writing about music

The music industry is slowing down for the Allegedly Festive Season (or at least the bits of it that release music I’m actually interested in), so things are winding down a bit at TDP – which is fine by me, and I doubt will cause any great complaints from my writers, either. That said, still plenty of interesting titles to get through before the year is done.

Album of the week

Not strictly an album but more an EP (and I’m slightly biased because they’re a local outfit) but I wholeheartedly recommend You Are Goldmouth by Munroe Effect. Because that’s how progressive post-hardcore is supposed to sound: sharp and pacey and powerful, full of light and shade, never overstaying its welcome. Go check ‘em out, and go see ‘em if they play near you. Tell them I sent you. Buy them a beer. Nice lads, good band.

Writing about books

THE STEAMPUNK REVIEW IS FINISHED. Well, it needs a final polish and error-check, but the thing is actually fully compiled.

It is also nearly three thousand words long, which may explain why I didn’t just rattle it off in an afternoon… though it also demonstrates one of the phenomena of procrastination when applied to large tasks done piecemeal, namely: “the longer you leave it, the larger it will seem to look^[2]“.

Now, which of my leviathan queue of reviews should I write next?

Freelance

Nothing special to report here, really. Nearing the end of The Pretty Big Project (indeed, hoping to have it nailed by Monday, or at least the bulk of it), and the long-awaited artwork for The Other Project has been chopped into a header bar (with some decorative bits) and raided for a colour scheme. It’s going to be a very interesting pallet to work with, too – quite different from the others, with the potential to be very striking^[3].

Futurismic

The good ship Futurismic sails on much as ever. Monday sees a new piece of fiction go live, of course; it’s from a writer who has published at Futurismic more than once before, and it’s definitely an example of the Positive SF manifesto in action. But it’s also a neat little story, and I’m sure it will get a reaction.

Advanced warning for those of you who read here – we’ll be shutting submissions over December, because poor Chris needs a holiday away from other people’s writing and a bit more time with his own. Plus he might want to, I dunno, see his loved ones or something. I know, I know, a bit selfish… but as I don’t pay the guy anything I guess I have to cut him a bit of slack, right^[4]?

Books and magazines seen

I’m not going to mention any names, but it appears Orbit aren’t the only publisher who send me wildly inappropriate books; this week saw the arrival of – among other things – a ‘romance thriller’ involving werewolves with a very tacky cover indeed. Seriously, I think if I never see another undead/lycanthropy novel during the next decade, I’ll be a happier man for it.

However, my delightful clients at PS Publishing have sent me over a bunch of our latest titles, and the latest issue of Talebones has arrived – a pleasant surprise, as I’d completely forgotten it existed, let alone that I had a subscription to it. Huzzah!

Not only that, but it has a story by James Van Pelt, who is one of my very favourite internet-based avuncular dispensers of writerly wisdom. Go check him out, if you don’t already.

London calling

Wednesday was nice – a day of culture-vulturing up in the Big Smoke. Myself and Justin Pickard met up at the Tate Modern and hoovered up some surrealism, impressionism and Viennese actionism (the latter of which is, erm, a trifle severe). We then (well, it was actually me) decided we could probably walk from there to Gower Street for the Battlespaces lecture. I was quite correct, but it took us the best part of two hours… still, we had a good natter and soaked up the hustle and bustle.

The Battlespaces lecture itself was excellent; I’ve commended Geoff Manaugh’s BLDGBLOG to you many times before (so if you’re not subscribed to it already, I want a good reason why), and I shall now be looking out for the arrival of Antoine J Bousquet’s forthcoming book, The Scientific Way of Warfare^[5]. This was the sort of brain-food event that makes you remember why you wanted to write science fiction in the first place… and that makes you despair of ever doing anything as weird and complicated as reality.

Then it was off to the BSFA shindig; it had peaked before we arrived, I think, but there were still a fair few people around and it was nice to catch up with some of the figures of fandom who I don’t get to see often enough. Then I had to make my way from Holborn to Seven Sisters to find my crash-spot for the night… thankfully I had help from a local, otherwise I might not be typing this now. All in all, a great day out – thanks to everyone who helped make it so.

Coda

And that’s about it, really – a busy week, but not an astonishingly interesting one from an outsider’s perspective, I’d imagine. But then I imagine they must all be like that, but the statistics show that you weirdos still read my blather every week, so I feel obliged to continue the ritual. That’s the kind of giving, caring guy I am, you see.

But I am also a hungry guy, so I shall now go fetch myself a Friday Curry. Yeah, I know, I had one last week. But I’m cold – that’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it. Enjoy your weekend, happy Thanksgiving for you American types, and take care of yourselves – auf weidersehn!

[ ¹ - No prizes for guessing that yours truly spent most of today wishing he were somewhere (and somewhen) else. ]

[ ⁵ - If Mr Bousquet's publishers are reading, a review copy would be very gratefully received. ]

As it’s been a week for remembering the dead, I guess this image of the controversial Berlin Holocaust Memorial is sort of appropriate:

Also, this shot visually encapsulates how I was feeling for the bulk of the period since last week’s FPB…

In short, I acquired some sort of nasty plague or another. Felt pretty tired Friday night, so stayed in and read a book. Woke up very late on Saturday with a woolly head and a sense of impending doom, so I sent Shaun my apologies and said I’d not be going to see the gig with him after all, shambled out to do some chores and went back to bed quite early.

From Sunday to Wednesday I managed to average about eight hours awake out of each twenty-four; my sinuses felt like they were packed with freshly poured warm concrete, I had no appetite whatsoever and thinking coherently was a genuine effort^[1].

Thankfully things started to clear down in the later half of Wednesday, and yesterday I was up and about and back to work again, and today I’m feeling comparatively chipper (though still pretty tired). All of which is rather uninteresting, granted, but it’s been included here to explain why I’m not going to have a lot to say about the past week. So…

Writing about music

Boy, am I glad I have other people reviewing for The Dreaded Press. I only yesterday wrote up last Wednesday’s gig…

Album of the week

One of my own reviews went live this week, because it was written last week (my schedule fu is strong). And so I commend unto you Live at Roadburn by Earthless:

… if you find the idea of twenty-minute tunes that consist chiefly of a solid rock rhythm decorated with oodles of super-fast pedal-drenched blues-scale fretboard meanderings a turn off, Earthless are not the droids you are looking for, and you can go about your business.

Right up my street.

Writing about books

I’ve hardly been able to read^[2], so writing has been out of the question.

Freelance

See above; web development requires a degree of coherency that has been sorely lacking.

Futurismic

Managed to scatter out some Futurismic blogging in my awake hours, but they were all a bit waffled and unfocused. Luckily Jonathan’s essay was in early and already set up to post. And hey – we’ve just accepted two new stories, which means we’re a month and a half ahead on fiction (theoretically)!

Books and magazines seen

Some non-fiction goodness: Quantum by Manjit Kumar, which is just the sort of pop-sci / history / biography mash-up I like. It’s also a big thick tome, so hell knows when I’ll have time to attack it…

Also the paperback of Charlie Stross‘ The Clan Corporate, which looks absolutely miniscule – are we seeing a return to the skinny novels of days gone by, or is that too much to hope for?

Coda

So, what else has happened? Not much, all told – although a guy called me up yesterday and took advantage of my tiredness to offer me a replacement for my now-ailing Nokia phone. I remember asking a lot of direct and simply-worded questions, and I’m pretty convinced that the terms and price of my contract aren’t changing as a consequence, so I think I’ll be OK. Also means I have another handset to flog off… a bit of spare cash is always good this time of year, after all.

Missed last week’s gig, but about ten minutes after I post this I’ll be roaring off to Brighton in a friend’s car to catch Russian Circles and These Arms Are Snakes… and by luck, Shaun C Green is celebrating his birthday at the same show. Given the week I’ve had, I doubt I’ll be drinking… but even so it’ll be nice to get out of town and have the cobwebs shaken loose from my brain by some loud music.

But that means I must be away and doing stuff, so I’ll wish you all a good weekend. Take care of yourselves!

[ ¹ - Yeah, yeah, "no change there, then". ]

[ ² - I did try, and the actual reading bit was possible; remembering exactly what I'd read two minutes afterwards wasn't happening, though. ]

Berlin graffiti again, this time from the stairwell at Tacheles. Bears are the totem animal of Berlin, though they don’t always and up looking quite so cheerily cheesy as this one does:

He appears to be some sort of mer-bear, also; or maybe he’s just wearing some sort of skirt? Artists, eh – who knows what goes on in their minds?

Writing about music

Another blissfully relaxed week on the music reviewing front; having two volunteers doing a couple a week is really lightening the load, and making my overall schedule a mite more human.

Album of the week

Technically reviewed last week (but published after FPB went out, so it still counts): Nottingham bass-less three-piece Lords delivered Everyone Is People, which I described as “simultaneously ramshackle and flawless, the most rock’n’roll anti-rock album ever, all the bombast and fakery stripped away leaving just the bare essentials – the grooves.”

I rather liked it, in other words.

Writing about books

Slow and minimal progress on the Steampunk anthology review has been made, but I finished off the latest typescript report this week, so I don’t feel too guilty about it. That said, I really do need to catch up on some of my book reviews – which is why the new schedule-with-breathing-space is such a pleasant thing to have.

Freelance

Still waiting on an artists’ agent to contact me regarding some licensing for a pending project… I thought it was the artists that were supposed to be feckless about easy money, and that the agents were sharp and on the case about it? Go figure; I’ll hassle ‘em again on Monday.

The other current project (which is quite a biggie) proceeds apace; it’s good to be able to just do an hour a day and see gradual progress being made^[1].

Futurismic

Things are trotting along nicely over at Futurismic; the newest piece of fiction is ready to roll out on Monday (first weekday of the month, y’see), and we’ve got a few potential purchases on the consideration pile, which is a good place to be^[2]. Ad earnings are low this month, but after last month’s bonanza that’s only to be expected, I guess.

It was very flattering to be contacted about featuring excerpt material from a major new science fiction title on the site, but sadly my ethics got in the way – the title in question was the new Orson Scott Card (who’s milking the Ender series once again), and I’ll not grandstand for homophobes and bigots, no matter how much traffic it might bring. Yeah, I know, I’m a fool… but Seth Godin says it’s more important to follow your heart sometimes. I just hope it pays off one day!

Books and magazines seen

Just the one this week, but it’s a striking item – not just for its title, God Killers, but for the cover artwork:

Liam Sharp is known for his comics artwork^[3], but he’s always wanted to write fiction as well, and this is his forthcoming first collection from Mam Tor Publishing (which appears to be the only place you can pre-order God Killers). In a rare situation for genre publishing, Liam not only chose the cover artist himself, but chose himself as the cover artist… so we can presume that the burly chap on the cover is actually a character.

Is it any good? I have no idea yet, but China Mieville’s a fan, apparently; gotta count for something.

Coda

Well, I’ve just caved in and activated the central heating, because when I came in from work it was the same temperature inside as it was outside, with the exception of the exhaust from my computer. I’m not looking forward to the bills, but it’s that or dressing like Captain Oates for the next four months and being incapable of doing anything even remotely productive or useful.

Now, while everyone else in the country is dressing up as the undead^[4], I’m going to shuffle around my steadily-warming flat, make myself some food (no Friday Curry this week, diet fans!), and get ready to head down to the seafront and review the two bands blessed with the double-edged ignominy of supporting Funeral For A Friend.

I shan’t be reviewing the headliners for two reasons: first of all, they wanted me to sign one of those intimidating release forms for the privilege (and surrender the freedom of the press to their image management team in the process); secondly, because I f*cking loathe the tawdry shite they peddle as music, and I can’t be bothered reviewing them honestly just to be bombarded by testosterone-raddled subliterate MySpace users who can’t see that their favourite band doesn’t necessarily have to be everyone’s favourite band^[6]…

Anyway… so far, so rock’n'roll, eh? Have a great weekend, and enjoy Halloween (or Samhain, if you’re keeping it old-school). Auf weidersehn!

[ ¹ - As opposed to sitting down at midday on Saturday with two cans of Red Bull and binging on PHP and CSS for eight hours, which has been tried before. Not good for the brain, and tends to produce a lot of errors and false leads. Hello, learning curve! ]

[ ² - Good for us, but we like to think it's good for the writers also. ]

[ ³ - He did the art for the Doug Rushkoff comic series Testament, which I bought as monthly singles and which I've plugged here more than a few times. ]

[ ⁴ - I mean seriously, can't we move on? Zombies are soooo post-Millennial, and vampires should have gone out of fashion when they stopped making new episodes of Buffy^[5]. ]

[ ⁵ - No such f*cking luck. ]

[ ⁶ - Seriously, book review flak is much easier to deal with, if only because you can actually decipher the words that they've typed at you. ]

This particular bit of graffiti from Berlin’s Köpenicker Stra?e needs no explanation or justification whatsoever:

In the interest of tourism advice, though, I’ll point out that it’s about fifty yards from Köpi, a justifiably legendary art squat/music venue which is well worth checking out if you’re in town (and have an ear for hideously loud guitars, naturally, not to mention a yen for hanging out with people who make scruffy old me look like I’m dressed for dinner at Buckingham Palace).

Writing about music

Well, this is the first week that I’ve had a full crop of reviews and not had to write one of them every day off my own back. Woo-hoo! My second volunteer (the delightful Dave Saunders – former DJ, promoter and band manager, among other sins and crimes), and has just the right acerbic wit for the job, too; go check his stuff out, why don’t ya?

Album of the week

Well, after three years working in a venue during the post-Millennial ska/punk boom, I never thought I’d find myself voting a ska album as my favourite of the week ever again… but the smart and witty noise of The Art of Saying Nothing by London collective Imperial Leisure won me right over. Colour me shocked.

Writing about books

Halfway through my piece on the VanderMeers‘ Steampunk anthology, but most of my critical energies have been expended on the latest manuscript report. Thankfully the manuscript in question is smaller and less FAIL-ridden than the last one… but it’s still pretty awful.

Freelance

I’ve started work on the latest web development project, and I’m just waiting for some artwork to come through so I can make a parallel start on another author site, so plenty happening in this neck of the woods. Plus there’s some big stuff in the pipeline at PS Publishing, so the few evenings I’ve had this week where I had a little time to myself have been greatly appreciated… I feel there may not be many more until we reach the Season That Shall Not Be Named^[1]!

Futurismic

It’s a weird old web: Futurismic’s traffic is up, but ad revenue and comments are down. Go figure. It’s been an emotionally difficult week in the editorial seat, too, for reasons that professionalism will not permit me to discuss…. other than that, though, business pretty much as usual.

Books and magazines seen

Two titles this week. First up is a new first-of-three sf novel called Seeds Of Earth by Michael Cobley^[2] from the Orbit stable. Cobley must be a new kid on the block, as I’ve not heard his name before; the book’s not out till March next year, and there’s no cover art on the intertubes yet, either. But it looks to be galactic-scale post-catastrophe human-diaspora space opera, which could (of course) go either way – I’m still smarting from the Palmer experience.

More familiar is Chris Roberson, whose End of the Century is coming out from Pyr in the new year.

A triple-time-strand narrative, apparently, and a reworking of the Grail-quest theme… literally. May have to give it a go at some point; I’ve never really gotten on brilliantly with Roberson at novel length, but I’ve always wanted to like his writing more than I did, if that makes any sense.

Coda

Well, it’s been a weird week. Unusually productive, not to mention burgeoning with unprecedented amounts of unallocated time^[3], but a psychological minefield nonetheless. The seasonal changes may be partly to blame, but I’ve been miserable as sin, utterly devoid of any enthusiasm for anything; momentum and deadlines have been pretty much all that’s kept me moving. Well, that and the swimming, which I’m already starting to look forward to as a part of my schedule, regardless of this whole “aching limbs” business^[4].

But hey, you don’t come here to hear me complain about things^[5] – and besides, dwelling on it won’t do any good for me or anyone else. So I’m gonna wrap this up here, sort out some final Friday tasks, and then treat myself to a Friday Curry. Who knows, maybe it’s the absence of ghee and cardamom from my diet that’s bringing me down.

Anyway, have a great weekend, people – look after yourselves!

[ 2 - This gentleman must be thoroughly tired of jokes about his Uncle Tom. ]

[ 3 - Unprecedented, yes, but certainly not unwelcome. Or, indeed, unnecessary. ]

[ 4 - Twenty-eight lengths, motherhubbards. Boom! ]

[ 5 - What you do come for remains a mystery, however. ]

This iconic Checkpoint Charlie sign is not the original, but it’s a very close simulacrum thereof:

Just a few yards to the left – in what is arguably Berlin’s most tacky tourist trap – a fake checkpoint booth is guarded my imitation soldiers in period uniforms, American and Russian. They will pose for photos while holding large national flags; you can get an ‘official’ Checkpoint Charlie stamp for your passport for a small charge.

History is almost as strange as our attitudes towards it.

Writing about music

Still playing the catch-up game from the massive glut of releases due the week before this; however, there are virtually none due the week after next, so that should provide a bit of cushioning. Second regular reviewer settling in, as well, so things are looking like they should become more reasonable over time^[1].

Album of the week

The prize this week goes to Toronto lunatics Fucked Up for The Chemistry Of Common Life, a sprawling psychedelic punk’n'roll album that never quite does what you expect it to.

An honourable mention to local popcore chaps Cut The Blue Wire for their début EP, too.

Writing about books

Finally got round to battering out a review of The Coming Convergence, which was harder than it should have been – principally because the book was telling me lots of stuff I already knew, so I didn’t find it anywhere near as interesting as I expect many less geeky people would do. High time I cleared some of my fiction reviews backlog, though… lucky it’s the weekend, eh?

Freelance

As mentioned previously, Tim Lebbon’s site is up and running, though a number of minor issues remain to be ironed out. Web development with Wordpress seems to be a game of compromises as far as advanced functionalities go; you can make it do [function x], but you may unexpectedly lose the ability to do [function y] as a result^[2]. Still climbin’ that learning curve…

Futurismic

Just finished swapping contracts and paying for the next piece of Futurismic fiction, which is about as different from the last one as you could possibly imagine – a very sober and metaphorical piece. I’m looking forward to seeing what people think of it.

Traffic is still strong over there, but ad revenue is way down this month; I think a lot of budgets have been tightened in response to the stock markets doing their creditable impression of the Himalayas^[3].

Books and magazines seen

Finally some actual science fiction material has turned up in the postbox! We have two Neal Asher titles from Tor UK: Prador Moon in paperback, and a hardback of his imminent collection The Gabble and Other Stories.

Then there’s two second-books-in-series from Orbit: one from Sean Williams, Astropolis 2: Earth Ascendant, and the other from Marianne de Pierres, Chaos Space.

I really enjoyed the first book of de Pierres’ Sentients of Orion series, so I’ll have to try making space for this one as soon as I can. I seem to be cramming in more reading time recently, so maybe it’ll be sooner rather than later… if I could only banish this pointless need for sleep!

Oh, and yet more poetry^[4] in the form of the latest issue of Obsessed With Pipework. Jolly good!

Coda

This has been the second week of my swimming regime; I’m pleased to say that I made it out twice again, and managed longer distances with less agony as well^[5]. I even seem to be losing weight already, though that’s based on a visual assessment (as I don’t own any scales). Still, less spare tyre is one of the results I’m looking for, so that’ll do nicely, thanks.

I’ve also generally been a little more energetic and cheerful this last week, too^[6], though that might also be due to the influence of my anti-SAD lightbulbs^[7]; they did a great job of fending off the seasonal blues last year, and I’m hoping they do so again. Sure, maybe it’s a placebo effect; it’s still £10 well spent if so.

Anyway, there’s still much to be done before my day is over, so I’ll bid you farewell; it’s off-week on the Curry rota, so I’d best go make myself something comparatively affordable and healthy to eat instead. Have yourselves a good weekend, folks – auf weidersehn!

[ 1 - That was the sound of me touching wood. ]

[ 2 - I suspect this is more to do with my bodging than with Wordpress, though the latter certainly contributes. ]

[ 3 - Not just corporate budgets, either. ]

[ 4 - They always come in waves, being as most of them are quarterlies or slower. ]

[ 5 - Still aching like hell all over, though. ]

[ 6 - With the exception of this morning, when I felt that given the option between getting out of bed or hibernating for the next few decades, the latter was hands-down winner. Psychology - it's weird like that. ]

[ 7 - Oh, you can laugh if you like. But remember you have the bulbs to thank for me not killing you for doing so. ]

A cheery title, no? The Wall’s destruction brought as many contradictions to Berlin as it removed, if not more, and they grow in sharpness over time. This is one of the last remaining sections of the “death-strip” that was caught between the two layers of the wall, in this particular case just next to the River Spree, a few minutes walk from the Ostbahnhof:

This area is best known as “The East Side Gallery“. The side of the wall facing the road (to the left of this shot) was painted by many famous graffiti and mural artists just after the Wall fell; their art is now scabbed over by the felt-tip scribblings of tourists. Here in the former death-strip, however, the other side of the wall is where the more hardcore painters would come to work without the legitimacy that the post-Wende hysteria leant to the Gallery.

Looking in the opposite direction to this shot, you would now see tent-town beach-bars bristling with brand names. Then, further still, the crowning irony: a section of the Wall that has been fenced off completely from public access, pending the arrival of more entertainment and retail venues. This is prime land for development, and commerce will have its way, despite the (arguably justifiable) resentment of those with long enough memories. Selah.

Writing about music

This week has been a bit of a screwed one for The Dreaded Press, largely due to me dropping a few balls in favour of other priorities. But that’s just the way I’m currently doing things; businesses with incomes come first, which puts TDP way down the list.

Album of the week

Still got some writing done though, and without any doubt the greatest pleasure was derived from reviewing Tail Swallower And Dove by These Arms Are Snakes. Fantastic and nigh-unclassifiable heavy music with rich inscrutable symbolism and brooding malice… something to watch stock tickers to.

Writing about books

To my shame, I’ve made no inroads over the last week on the reviews I have waiting to be written. That said, it’s probably be better to be in a position where I have four books that I’ve finished and just need to write about rather than four books waiting to be read and clamouring for a review as well. Silver linings, silver linings.

Freelance

Ah, now this is where all this week’s effort and energy has gone! Should have a new author site to launch early next week, and have been doing some design preliminaries on a new project that promises to be a lot more visually ambitious (and hence tricky and lengthy) than anything I’ve done as of yet. But hey, guy’s gotta raise his game, right? It’s a challenge, and I’m feeling confident about nailing it, too.

Futurismic

Nothing out of the ordinary to report at Futurismic, except an exceptionally persistent spammer who seems to bear a rather nasty grudge against a certain New-Yorican singer-songstress. The weird and omnidirectional obsessions these people possess never cease to amaze and appal^[1].

Books and magazines seen

It’s been another week of high volume and low interest on the books front, with yet more care packages from both Orbit and Tor/Macmillan packed full of stuff that drew nothing more than a resounding “meh”^[2].

But there’s one title that does look quite appealing, namely Lou Anders‘ Fast Forward 2 anthology from Pyr, which as some interesting contributors on its contents page as well as a garish but undeniably eye-catching Picacio cover:

Another brick for the to-be-read wall. Life’s such a chore, isn’t it?

Coda

Well, that was the first no-gig week in what feels like months^[3]. And as them what follows me on Twitter will already know, this week I got my lazy arse out of the house and down to the swimming pool – twice! The end results are a much clearer knowledge of just how horrifically unfit I’ve become^[4], and calf muscles that feel like someone’s clamped them onto my legs with an immense bulldog clip. But hey, you gotta start somewhere.

And the weekend starts right here; most of it will involve the ceaseless battering of CSS and PHP into this very keyboard, but there’s band practice to look forward to on Sunday as well as beers with friends this evening. And as I’ve been a good boy this week – staying in in the evenings, eating cheaply, getting work done and exercising, no less – I’m going to indulge in The Friday Curry. Biweekly is better than weekly, after all…

So have a good weekend, and do yourselves a favour – don’t watch the news, because worrying won’t make any difference. Auf weidersehn!

[ ¹ - Although, now I come to think about it, they're amazing simply by merit of being as banal, bigoted and stupid as the ones you encounter in real life. Go figure. ]

[ ² - Especially since the postman got me out of bed half an hour early for them both this morning. Grumble grumble. ]

[ ³ - Looking at my calendar, I think it actually is months. Blimey. ]

[ ⁴ - When I was nine or thereabouts, I could swim for literally hours at a time - if you lived in an ex-pat compound in Saudi Arabia, there was little else to do for kids. Currently, twenty lengths of a definitely-not-Olympic-size pool has me stiff-limbed and breathing like a nylon fetishist at an Ann Summers evening. ]

A notebook impression of Berlin:

“… a place where construction, demolition and renovation are constants. Apparently this is less the case now than it was, say, a decade ago. But still, almost everywhere you go, something old is being knocked down or scrubbed up, or something new is being built.

I kind of enjoy seeing buildings in these transitional states; there’s a peculiar vulnerability and nakedness to them that makes you look anew at their finished neighbours, trying to X-ray them with the mind’s eye to discern their articulation, the way their skeletons support the skin… ”

Pretentious? Moi?

Writing about music

Busy busy busy. For an assortment of reasons it’s just been me on scribbler duties this week, so I’ve been knocking out one review per day in between loads of other gubbins. Business as usual at The Dreaded Press, wot?

Album of the week

A last-minute bid for the crown from a band I’d never heard of before takes the prize this week; the last taboo of america by drill is a grimly political wrestling match between industrial and post-metal, and I like it very much indeed.

Writing about books

Little critical work other than notetaking this week (for all the usual reasons), though I have enjoyed reading the bulk of the latest issue of Interzone, which has some fine stories in it. And hey – now I’m no longer staff I can write reviews of it again if I want to. Hmmm…

Finally finished reading the most recent script, and am currently writing the report on it. The report already threatens to equal the script in length; maybe I’m pulling the punches a bit too much? Or not enough?

Freelance

Hectic week for the old administrivia, what with reaching the end of my second quarter as a freelance with a client list[1]. It’s still very satisfying to send out invoices… though I’d like to be able to put bigger numbers on a lot of them, naturally. Other business rolls on with nothing major or exciting to share as of the moment. We’ll keep you posted…

Futurismic

As mentioned before, we had a super new story at Futurismic this week and we got BoingBoing’d for it too, which is great news both in terms of temporary traffic spiking and general visibility beyond the sf blogosphere. Now I just need to work out how to pull that off every month!

Books and magazines seen

It never ceases to depress me that Orbit can sometimes mail me close to ten books in a week without sending one I’m even remotely interested in. Which isn’t a dig at their output[2] so much as at what seems to be a very wasteful procedure. When they put me on the list I suggested adding me to the ’science fiction only’ list… turns out there isn’t one. Selah.

So, that means the only title to plug this week is the latest edition of South poetry magazine:

Mmm, windmills.

Coda

Last night was the grand final of the local BOTB analogue, Showcase 2008. I’ve been judging and attending these for seven years now, and I can’t remember another final as having such a diverse line-up or good crowd vibe; no fights or hissy-fits, and all the bands were super cool to each other… Aeroplane Attack’s drummer’s other band didn’t win, but you can’t have everything. Still, nothing marks the end of summer in Velcro City for me quite so strongly; as far as my brain is concerned, we’re now battening down the mental hatches for the long cold ride through winter.

On the subject of Aeroplane Attack, it’s our first proper rehearsal on Sunday, and I’m really looking forward to it. Despite having buggered about with guitars since 1991, this will be the first time I’ve gone to a studio to practice actual original songs at full volume. How exactly we’re going to tote our arsenal of amps, drums and obscure stomp boxes uptown remains to be confirmed, but we’ll find a way. The power of rock compels us.

It’s also the first time in ages that there’s no major gig on the horizon for the next week, though I expect some local shindig will crop up and demand attendance. Last weekend’s This Ain’t No Picnic festival was a great laugh, though, and comes highly recommended[3]. We have a nebulous plan to blag our way onto the bill next year…

And here’s a shocking bit of news for you all – this will be the first Friday night at home in hell knows how long that I won’t be partaking in The Friday Curry. So if the Earth spins off its axis as Sarah Palin ushers in the second coming of Jeebus later this evening, we’ll know that I was doing something important… but this month is all about seeing where I can save money[4].

But hey, the weekend is the weekend, and while there’s work to do there’s also people to hang out with and fun to be had. So I’d best get the task list polished off, hadn’t I? Have a good weekend yourselves – auf weidersehn!

[ 1 - I know, I know, it's flown by. It's quite scary actually. ]

[ 2 - After all, it's my taste that causes the problem. A hundred thousand Laurell k Hamilton fans can't be wrong, right? ]

[ 3 - You owe it to yourself to check out Polysics, a band from Tokyo who come across like some high-energy acid-drenched hard-rock version of Devo. Their cover of "My Sharona" has to be heard to be believed. ]

[ 4 - Not to mention hopefully slow (if not halt) my alarming rush into the territory of Porky-bastardville; I really have to accept I can't just eat crap every week and expect to still shoehorn myself into 32" jeans without restricting my breathing. ]

If you think London’s graffiti is ubiquitous, then you’ve probably never been to Berlin – or indeed Germany in general^[1].

In addition to the visual noise of tags and scribblings, punctuated by everything from swift throw-ups to full-blown burner pieces, there’s a strong current of stencil and poster graffiti, all resonating with Berlin’s understandably unique take on politics and ideology:

“No revolution today”… There was a lengthy spraycan scrawl elsewhere (that I forgot to take a picture of) which read “run – the old world is right behind you”. *sigh*

Writing about music

The Dreaded Press rolls on neatly, with Duncan well settled and a few new writers in the pipeline. Unfortunately I have eleven CDs with a release date of 6th October waiting in the pile; with the best will in the world, they’re not all going to be reviewed before release date. I do wish the labels wouldn’t cluster releases like that. Bloody inconsiderate of them.

Album of the week

With absolutely no hesitation at all, the thirteen-minute seven-track fun-splurge of Think by Lovvers gets the crown this week. A joyous crazy racket; this is what the word pop should really refer to. They’re playing with a friend’s band in a local pub next week…

Writing about books

Last week’s head-cold (now mostly shifted, thankfully) put me on the back foot schedule-wise, so little concrete book reviewing work was accomplished. Plus I’ve been trying my best to rattle my way though my current script-review assignment… which is, to be diplomatic, a tough and slow read^[2].

Freelance

Mostly administrivia and final bits of catch-up this week, although Tuesday evening was totally consumed by the server migration of a couple of client sites. Or, more accurately, one of them…

A bit of advice for you, if you ever have to migrate a MySQL database for a PHPbb installation, be sure to backup the data *without* including the search result tables^[3], and to install a search table re-builder plugin as soon as you get the files moved. That little tip should save you about three hours of trial and error (and panic)… I’d provide links, but the software version in question is quite dated; just search the PHPbb community docs, they’re pretty comprehensive.

Futurismic

All seems pretty well over at Futurismic, though it’s getting very close to the next new fiction date and we still don’t have a definite story to run with next month. Chris (F’mic Fiction Ed) is being more picky these days – by his own admission, and rightly so – but that means we don’t have a pile of pre-bought material ready to roll out at the moment. It’ll all work out, I’m sure… but I can’t help getting a little nervous.

Aeroplane Attack

Some of you may remember me joining a band a while back; those of you who remember and are curious about what’s happening in that department may be intrigued to hear we’ve booked our first session in a proper rehearsal space, which we’re considering a first landmark on the route to gigworthiness. Really looking forward to being able to crank out the songs at high decibel levels… because that’s how they’re supposed to be played^[4].

Books and magazines seen

No books of note this week; however, one of the Little Brown subsidiaries sent out a huge showy package for what, to judge by the blurb, is the opener to yet another YA horror series. Talk about an anticlimax…

However, the latest Interzone turned up, with what is probably my favourite cover art of recent times:

Plus it’s a Chris Beckett special. If you don’t know why that’s a good thing, I recommend you buy this copy of Interzone and find out. Beckett is one of my favourite British short sf writers, and I’m not alone in that assessment; his work deserves your attention.

Coda

So, yeah, remember how I said last week that I’d be going to gigs less in future? Well, changing my life is like pulling a U-turn in an oil tanker – there’s a lot of planning involved, current momentum has to be taken into account, and the changes take a long time to express themselves in a tangible manner.

Which is why tonight I’ll be reviewing Swedish punk stalwarts Millencolin at The Wedgewood Rooms, and why I’ll be hopping on a on train Saturday morning to King’s College, London to attend this weekend’s This Ain’t No Picnic mini-festival^[5]… because they’ve both been booked for ages, basically.

And looking ahead at the next few months, there’s a fair few more such advanced bookings in the pipeline, too. So maybe I’d best stop saying “yes” every time news of a tempting show passes through, hmmm^[6]?

Anyway, a weekend away means I have stuff that needs to be done before I depart, so I’d best get my arse in gear and go fetch The Friday Curry, hadn’t I? Have yourselves the best weekend mathematically possible, and try not to watch the news – no point in getting depressed about stuff we can’t do anything to change, after all. Take care, folks – auf weidersehn!

[ ¹ - On the Deutsche Bahn train network, the approach seems to be "leave it there, it'll just come back if you paint it over, so why waste time and money?", a stark contrast to the UK attitude of fastidiously covering over these terrible social blasphemies on a monthly basis. Funnily enough, the trains in Germany are affordable, comfortable and run on time. I can't help but feel there's a connection between these things. ]

[ ⁶ - Like that's gonna happen. ]

FPB will be fairly brisk this week, as I’m still stuffed up with a nasty head-cold and very much wishing I was still in Berlin, mooching about the place and checking out the scenery. With that in mind, here’s a snap from my recent travels:

A sunny day, a new city to explore, a quiet outdoor bar in the mid-afternoon^[1], a beer, a pen and a notebook – what more does a man really need? Well, an income, obviously – which is why I came back. Selah. You’re not rid of me yet.

Writing about music

The Dreaded Press chunters along as always, though the start of student season means there’s lots of new stuff being released, and I’m a trifle behind as a result. But – having discovered that it’s much easier to write for TDP when I’m not stressing about it – I’m successfully not worrying too much. The realisation that it’s me doing the PR people a favour (and not the other way round) was a useful epiphany.

Album of the week

Lake Toba by Lukestar, by a hefty margin. Glacial post-hardcore meets post-rock-pop; a super album, and a breath of fresh air.

Writing about books

Still playing catch-up to some degree, so reviewing has been on the back-burner for the week. I have, however, started reading The New Utopian Politics of Ursula K Le Guin’s The Dispossessed. That sound you’ve been hearing? That’s the sound of a boot-strap novel reviewer who may possibly have bitten off more than he can adequately chew…

Futurismic

A quiet week on the comments front, but otherwise all seems well over at Futurismic. Looks like it’ll be another good month for ad income, too; fingers crossed.

Freelance

As announced earlier this week, I’ve finished and delivered Gareth L Powell’s site, which he seems very pleased with (and which other people have said nice things about as well).

Of course, I look at it now and feel it looks terribly derivative and pedestrian, and that I could doubtless have made more effort to give it some real zing… but I’m consoling myself by saying that’s a manifestation of the desire to improve, which can’t be a bad thing for a creative worker to have, AMIRITE?

Plenty more projects queueing up, as well, so the opportunity to raise my game is never far away…

Books and magazines seen

The latest issue (#82) of the poetry mag Iota arrived early in the week. There’s no scan of it online, but it comes (as always) with abstract monochrome photography for the cover art… gives them a recognisable and coherent image, but does little to assuage the conception of poetry as old-fashioned and self-indulgent. Which is a shame, because Iota’s content is usually pretty strong and vivid.

And a book, too – Pan Macmillan have punted over Peter F Hamilton’s The Temporal Void, which should come in handy should I ever need to ballast my airship or bludgeon an intruder to death – it’s very weighty at 746 pages^[2].

Coda

First week back in the day-job saddle, and it’s been predictably hectic, which may explain why I’ve caught this cold. Still, I got to see the mighty Swervedriver on Tuesday night, which was well worth the time and money. That said, it’s been a crazy few weeks for gigs, and looking at the bank balance I think I’ll be attending a lot less in the coming months. Still, what’s summer for if not having a bit of fun, eh?

Being unable to breathe through my nose (and, incidentally, unable to hear through my right ear) isn’t much fun, though, so I’ll be trundling off to request a double helping of extra chillies in The Friday Curry in the hope of napalming the bugs out of my system. It may not work, but it’s the only way I’ll be able to taste anything…

Here’s hoping you have yourself a good weekend. Auf weidersehn, meinen freunden!

[ 1 - The bar in question is out back of Tacheles, a quasi-legal artist's squat / gallery / club / venue on Oranienburgerstrasse. Well worth checking out if you're in the area; historians of underground art movements may be intrigued to know that this is where such UK-born techno crews such as Mutoid Waste Company and Spiral Tribe first ended up after the Criminal Justice Bill killed the free festival circuit. ]

[ 2 - It bills Hamilton as "Britain's number one science fiction writer" - not to dispute that title, but I wonder whether it's based on sales figures or some other metric, as I can think of a number of other potential claimants to the throne in question. ]