I’ve got a vague obsession with industrial and/or safety signage; having passed this one a number of times on my way to and from work recently^[1] I thought I’d grab a snap because, taken out of context (say, by an alien who couldn’t read the words and didn’t culturally associate green with safety), it could be quite sinister.

Imagine that the label read ‘extermination point’. See what I mean? Sinister.

Yeah, OK, so I’ve been working a lot this week.

Writing about music

Still very little action on the music reviewing front, as there’s still a few weeks before the promos on my shelves are due for release and I’ve been taking advantage of the slack in my schedule to do other stuff. Next week, however, we’re back in action.

It’s very interesting to note that since the beginning of this year I’ve had more review requests from obscure or unsigned bands through The Dreaded Press’s contact form than I did in the whole of last year: eight already, compared to three in twelve months. The times – and the industry – are a-changin’.

Speaking of music reviews – it looks like I may be starting to write for a rather different and unexpected venue some time in the near future. More news at eleven…

Album of the week

No fresh material to plug this week, so I’ll mention that I’ve been rinsing Saturnalia by The Gutter Twins in the last week or so. I got a copy last year and liked it well enough, but it’s not until you really get to know it that you realise how staggeringly awesome it is. Mark Lanegan’s vocals and lyrics are always a winner, but the addition of Greg Dulli’s wailing angst is simply inspired. Moody, dark but strangely redemptive – thoroughly recommended.

Writing about books

Nothing complete, but the assemblage and collation of notes, post-its and scribblings on Mind Over Ship is proceding slowly but steadily; I intend to get the bulk of it done this weekend, during the course of which I hope an underlying theme for the review will emerge…

Freelance

As announced earlier in the week, Alex Bell’s new website – or The Project Formerly Known As t’Other Project – is now up and running, and I’m very chuffed with it indeed (as is its owner).

The Big Project is still on hold pending customer input, but lots of little things have popped up to keep me busy in the last few days^[2], and there appears to be a raft of new work looming on the horizon, too. Which means it would be really helpful if I could actually get a solid termination date at the day job… just sayin’.

Starting to put some new plans in action over at PS Publishing, too, the most visible and interesting of which should be our new monthly competition in which you can win free special edition books. How do you enter? You just have to sign up for the newsletter emailing list; easy as that. Go take a look!

Futurismic

Last week’s hosting woes appear to have been successfully cured by the caching plugin, so that’s one major worry (and potential expense) out of the way.

Gareth L Powell’s guest-post series on marketing has aroused a little polite ire, but rather less than I expected it to; whether that’s a good thing or not, I remain undecided. I think I was hoping for a little more lively debate on the matter, but I can only assume that no one has ever felt quite as patronised by an F&SF renewal notice as I have^[3]. Selah.

Oh, and it looks like we’ve just decided on February’s piece of fiction, too! So it’s all go, especially with my efforts to double my blogging output over there; do let me know what you think, if you’re following along.

Books and magazines seen

A good haul this week. First, magazines – we have poetry from Obsessed With Pipework, and what has to be the most deliciously-covered Interzone I’ve ever seen:

I know that’s hardly an original statement at the moment, but the fact that so many people have pointed it out as an outstanding art/design combo has got to be a positive sign. I wonder how much of it is down to the layout breaking out of the usual vertical grid, and how much to the artwork itself? Whichever – it’s a stunner, and there are stories by three friends and one hero on the ToC. Can’t ask for much more than that.

And now, books. True to their word, Pyr have sent me the first and second volumes (Bright of the Sky and A World Too Near) of Kay Kenyon’s The Entire and the Rose series to fill in the gap in front of the third volume that I got before The Holiday Season.

So now I have a whole trilogy to add to my “oooh, I would really like to get on and read that” pile^[4]… as mentioned before, that concrete day-job termination date would be a very comforting thing to have right now. *sigh*

Props where props is due, though – Pyr make handsome books with a consistency that a lot of their bigger rivals can’t seem to manage.

Coda

A hectic but productive week, all said; didn’t quite meet all my targets and goals, but I got pretty close and I’m pleased about that. Onwards and upwards, and all that.

As mentioned before, I spent most of last weekend seeing an old friend, which was a lot of fun. In the name of honesty I should confess that I had a couple of glasses of wine as a result – which put a minor ding in my teetotality pledge for the year – but it was a special occasion, and I’ve not had any alcohol since (despite going down to what was possibly the most anarchic pub quiz ever presented on Wednesday night).

And here we are at the end of the cycle again, which means it’s high time I got myself something to eat before cracking on with the handful of tasks I need to have done before I can relax for the evening. So, on that note, I’ll wish you all a good weekend – take care, folks!

[ ¹ - I varied my route slightly to stave off ennui - walking can be a bit tedious, and I still haven't fixed the puncture on my bike. ]

[ ² - It feels like a sort of administrivia whack-a-mole game some days, to be honest. ]

[ ³ - Hey, phone-call from the fifties for ya - they want their marketing copy back? KTHXBAI ]

[ ⁴ - This pile is a subset of the "to be read" pile, which is sometimes more conveniently described as "my flat". ]

No fresh photography this week, so I thought I’d share this little gem from the SFF Masterclass that has languished on my cameraphone ever since. Of all the things you could name a hairdressing salon, would you think of choosing…

We laughed like drains and took pictures. Then a passing lady laughed like a drain at us taking the pictures, and seemingly failed to realise why we found it so funny. Good times.

Writing about music

Things have been a little lumpy and sparse over at TDP this week, for reasons that will be apparent later on. However, I finally have a new reviewer on board (a friend of Gareth L Powell’s, no less), and I think he’s going to work out nicely.

Album of the week

It’s a tricky call this week, but on the basis of sheer bubblegum fun and exuberance I’m going to go for Ice Cream Spiritual by Ponytail, which is mad as a sack of badgers.

Honourable mention goes to Lower Definition for releasing The Greatest Of All Lost Arts – a post-hardcore album that didn’t cliché me into a coma.

Writing about books

Haha, no, not really. See further down.

Freelance

Things are hotting up in this department, as it happens. Those of you who read John Jarrold’s blog may have seen him announce that his client Stephen Deas has a new website up and running… designed and tweaked up by yours truly! Go see what you think; it’s pretty simple to look at, but it works just as requested.

More projects are in the pipeline, and will be announced as they arrive. In the meantime, if you or someone you know wants something similar doing, do drop me a line!

Futurismic

Everything is fairly smooth over at Futurismic, web technology notwithstanding (see later). I’ve just this morning paid for next month’s story, which I am really pleased with and expect you all to praise unanimously when it is published[1].

Still looking for more book reviewers, by the way – especially of pop-science non-fiction stuff. Drop me a line if you’re keen.

The great migration

As referenced a few times above, I’ve been steering Futurismic and The Dreaded Press through a change of hosting company this week, which is always a fraught and tense experience (as some of you probably already know).

As far as I can be sure, everything seems to be running from the new locations now, so the DNS change went through pretty swiftly. Unsurprisingly, server response and uptime are already looking a lot stronger than they were this time last week… all that remains now is to get NetPivotal to terminate my account completely[2].

The unpleasantness of these shenanigans has been amplified by what appears to be some mystery virus that is making me ache all over and feel generally rotten, to the extent that I had Thursday off work to lay in bed and hide under the duvet from the crazed ranting of the man in the flat upstairs… it’s been one of those weeks, basically. Which is why I’m hideously behind on a lot of things[3].

Books and magazines seen

Laugh, oh ye gods and men, at the latest episode in the seemingly endless F&SF subscription – the August issue has arrived! Not so sure about the cover this time:

Maybe it one got lost in the post… but they’ve stopped sending me renewal notices, so I’m positive my sub must be expired by now. Perhaps they just really like me?

In the postbox just this morning is the summer package from the BSFA containing the latest issues of Focus and Vector. In an act of unabashed self-aggrandisement I’ll point out that the former contains the second part of my guide to blogging for authors, and the latter my review of Adam Roberts’ Swiftly[4].

Books, also; I seem to have been sent a second copy of David Louis Edelman’s Multireal (which is good, because the first one is off with a reviewer already). And just off the slow boat from Canada is the VanderMeers’ Steampunk anthology, courtesy SF Site:

Some more non-fiction for Futurismic from Icon Books in the shape of Future Proof, co-authored by Nick Sagan:

So many books, so little time. What I could really do with is a huge block of time to myself…

Holiday!

… so it’s fortunate I’m going to have one, isn’t it, hmm?

Yes indeed – from the August bank holiday right through to 14th September, yours truly will be day-job free. This is what happens when – after a lifetime of shitty factory jobs wherein you grew accustomed to never having any paid holiday worth speaking of – you forget to use up your allowance until the point where your line manager suggests, firmly but kindly, that you should disappear for a few weeks.

I’ve blocked it out on my calendar; it’s an intimidatingly huge chunk of time. And I’ve decided I’m going to go on a proper holiday for some of it, too – a week in Berlin by train looks very much on the cards. Any suggestions from folk who’ve visited there before will be gratefully received.

But mostly that’s going to be a couple of weeks with which to blitz some projects which have been far too long half-finished (TDP’s layout and theme, anyone?), and get a metric shedload of reading done. Something to look forward to… I need to get me one of those blog countdown widgets, I’m thinking[5].

Coda

So, a train-wreck of week with a light at the end of the tunnel – that’s a rare combination, but I think I’ll take it!

For reasons of health and for reasons of tradition, I shall now venture forth to discover whether the restorative properties of cumin and chillies can banish this lingering sensation of illness; The Friday Curry is renowned for miraculous cures of this type, so the wise old pilgrims say.

I hope your journey to the far side of the weekend is as eventful (or eventless) as you would wish it to be – hasta luego, amigos.

[ 1 - Yes, I mentioned this last week. I'll probably mention it next week too. It's that good a story. ]

[ 2 - Which may be a mission in and of itself. The usual procedure (with almost any hosting outfit) is to be told your account has been closed and then still be recharged and invoiced at the renewal date... I shall be asking for written confirmation, I think. ]

[ 3 - Astute readers probably realised long before I did that I mention all this stuff as a way of keeping myself honest to myself as a self-employed person. I'm my own boss, but you - the largely silent readers of FPB - are like my shadowy HR department. How's that for an extra weight on your conscience, eh? ]

[ 4 - That review was written before the good Professor Roberts became one of my clients. It remains to be seen whether he will still be one after he reads it... ]

[ 5 - If only so criminal webstalker types have a good idea of when to attempt to burgle my flat. ]

Following nicely on from the future hazard signs I found the other day, here’s something even less serious, but even more amusing:

We can thank the cephalopod-obsessed PZ Myers at Pharyngula for pointing that one out. Click on the image to be taken to the originating site – the original version is *much* larger than my reposting of it here.

As a side note, what is it about Cthulhu that makes Him so popular on the intarwebs? Maybe He has awaited the coming of this technology for spreading his influence far and wide – sometimes the signal gets a little scrambled, though.