Stitching up the circuit board
Mar. 24th, 2024 02:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolorosa_12Today is the first time this year that I have dared to hang my laundry out on the line in the garden — and I was delighted to discover (as I can see into the gardens of all the houses in our row of terraces) that almost every single neighbour had chosen to do the same. It's such a sign of the changing of the seasons, and it lifts my spirits every time.
After going to the gym on Saturday morning, and wrangling the landscapers who are continuing to work on our back garden, I spent the afternoon and evening in Cambridge with Matthias. The place was its usual chaotic weekend zoo; the centre of town was packed to the hilt both with tourists and with swarms of postgraduate students processing through the streets in gowns on their way to graduate, then spilling out into every restaurant, cafe and bar to celebrate with their families. Thankfully, Matthias and I had booked ahead in advance, and had an excellent dinner at the new high(ish)-end Japanese restaurant in town, enjoying sharing platters of sushi and sashimi, and cocktails.
We headed back to Ely fairly early on (hilariously, one shouty group of women on a hen party returning from London spilled off the train at Cambridge, to be replaced by another shouty group of women on a hen party returning from Cambridge, like some kind of one in-one out policy), and swung by our favourite cafe/bar for a nightcap, chatting to the women who run the place and slowly winding down.
Today, I've mostly been cooking, reading, doing laundry and so on, although I also managed to do quite a bit of work on my![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
once_upon_fic assignment, and feel I've navigated my way through the thorns with which my recipient's prompts initially presented me. It should be much smoother going from now on.
It's been a good and varied reading week: some old favourites, this very good short story, which I saw recommended in a Dreamwidth friend's locked post as something doing something incredibly clever with the experience of being an immigrant (as an immigrant myself, I agree emphatically: this is exactly what it's like).
I also finished one new-to-me book, More Perfect (Temi Oh), a near-future dystopian novel which retells the Orpheus and Eurydice myth in a setting in which human beings are physically and mentally connected to the internet (and to each other) through neural implants, to the extent that no one with such implants is able to experience the mental privacy of their own minds. Obviously, this extreme surveillance state seems normal (and even desirable) to people who have never experienced anything different, and the book is in some ways the dawning realisation that their safe, interconnected utopia is a horrifying dystopia in which individual freedom is impossible and the sense of community which people's permanently connected minds promises is nothing but a sham.
The book does some things very well: Oh's depiction of the experiences of the children and grandchildren of immigrants (the immense pressure to succeed, the weight of expectation), and allusions to real-world British political events (there is a moment in which a group of people is watching the results of a contentious referedum be counted, with the slow realisation that their side has lost that is so visceral and painful to read as someone who lived through Brexit that I found it almost physically excruciating) are pitch perfect, as is the near-future technology and the logical societal consequences of its widespread adoption. However, some aspects of the worldbuilding didn't work for me: the constant references to present-day pop culture (the notion that teenagers in the 2040s and 2050s would all be familiar with Harry Potter or Beyonce struck me as unlikely), and the trope in which a public, worldwide revelation of the truth of people's oppression is enough to trigger a peaceful revolution and usher in a new dawn of civil liberties and democracy (beloved of 21st-century dystopian YA, naive at best in my opinion, especially given the current power of disinformation in our own times). I suppose in essence I recommend the book, with some serious reservations.
I'll close this post with a link I came across viavriddy: Cybersafety and Privacy (Particularly in Online Fandom) by thebiballerina, with lots of sensible tips. It's a good reminder that we owe no one in any context (whether online, in person at work, or in person in social settings) full access to every facet of our lives, and keeping some of those boundaries intact is a good idea from a practial, personal safety perspective.
It feels as if Sunday is almost over, but there are still a few more hours of daylight (and laundry-drying), and time to finish my current book, eat a quick dinner, and then head off with Matthias to watch The Holdovers at the community cinema, which will be a nice, cosy way in which to close the weekend. I hope you've all also been having an enjoyable couple of days.
After going to the gym on Saturday morning, and wrangling the landscapers who are continuing to work on our back garden, I spent the afternoon and evening in Cambridge with Matthias. The place was its usual chaotic weekend zoo; the centre of town was packed to the hilt both with tourists and with swarms of postgraduate students processing through the streets in gowns on their way to graduate, then spilling out into every restaurant, cafe and bar to celebrate with their families. Thankfully, Matthias and I had booked ahead in advance, and had an excellent dinner at the new high(ish)-end Japanese restaurant in town, enjoying sharing platters of sushi and sashimi, and cocktails.
We headed back to Ely fairly early on (hilariously, one shouty group of women on a hen party returning from London spilled off the train at Cambridge, to be replaced by another shouty group of women on a hen party returning from Cambridge, like some kind of one in-one out policy), and swung by our favourite cafe/bar for a nightcap, chatting to the women who run the place and slowly winding down.
Today, I've mostly been cooking, reading, doing laundry and so on, although I also managed to do quite a bit of work on my
once_upon_fic assignment, and feel I've navigated my way through the thorns with which my recipient's prompts initially presented me. It should be much smoother going from now on. It's been a good and varied reading week: some old favourites, this very good short story, which I saw recommended in a Dreamwidth friend's locked post as something doing something incredibly clever with the experience of being an immigrant (as an immigrant myself, I agree emphatically: this is exactly what it's like).
I also finished one new-to-me book, More Perfect (Temi Oh), a near-future dystopian novel which retells the Orpheus and Eurydice myth in a setting in which human beings are physically and mentally connected to the internet (and to each other) through neural implants, to the extent that no one with such implants is able to experience the mental privacy of their own minds. Obviously, this extreme surveillance state seems normal (and even desirable) to people who have never experienced anything different, and the book is in some ways the dawning realisation that their safe, interconnected utopia is a horrifying dystopia in which individual freedom is impossible and the sense of community which people's permanently connected minds promises is nothing but a sham.
The book does some things very well: Oh's depiction of the experiences of the children and grandchildren of immigrants (the immense pressure to succeed, the weight of expectation), and allusions to real-world British political events (there is a moment in which a group of people is watching the results of a contentious referedum be counted, with the slow realisation that their side has lost that is so visceral and painful to read as someone who lived through Brexit that I found it almost physically excruciating) are pitch perfect, as is the near-future technology and the logical societal consequences of its widespread adoption. However, some aspects of the worldbuilding didn't work for me: the constant references to present-day pop culture (the notion that teenagers in the 2040s and 2050s would all be familiar with Harry Potter or Beyonce struck me as unlikely), and the trope in which a public, worldwide revelation of the truth of people's oppression is enough to trigger a peaceful revolution and usher in a new dawn of civil liberties and democracy (beloved of 21st-century dystopian YA, naive at best in my opinion, especially given the current power of disinformation in our own times). I suppose in essence I recommend the book, with some serious reservations.
I'll close this post with a link I came across via
vriddy: Cybersafety and Privacy (Particularly in Online Fandom) by thebiballerina, with lots of sensible tips. It's a good reminder that we owe no one in any context (whether online, in person at work, or in person in social settings) full access to every facet of our lives, and keeping some of those boundaries intact is a good idea from a practial, personal safety perspective. It feels as if Sunday is almost over, but there are still a few more hours of daylight (and laundry-drying), and time to finish my current book, eat a quick dinner, and then head off with Matthias to watch The Holdovers at the community cinema, which will be a nice, cosy way in which to close the weekend. I hope you've all also been having an enjoyable couple of days.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-24 03:25 pm (UTC)Normally I would say it's not unlikely for teenagers to be familiar with kids' books of decades past, since adults often recommend books that were formative for them. (As an '80s kid, I read many books from the '50s and '60s.) But in the case of Harry Potter specifically, the author's notoriety makes that seem questionable, unless we're talking about a dystopia where her attitudes have become the norm.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-24 03:35 pm (UTC)And as to Rowling, I can only hope that this is true, although sadly I feel that knowledge of her transphobia (and the extent to which it has come to dominate her thinking) is not widespread among the general population — certainly I see people who aren't particularly politically engaged or involved in fandom still casually talk about reading the books or watching the films, and I pass in and out of King's Cross train station fairly regularly, which is always crowded with hordes of tourists queueing up to get their photo taken in front of the 'Platform 9 3/4' plaque and visit the themed memorabilia shop.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-24 03:54 pm (UTC)I guess my assumption is that the longer Rowling goes on and the more unhinged she becomes, the more likely it will be that people will at least have heard something. She's starting to dabble in Holocaust denial now, so I'm afraid we may be very far from the bottom of the depths she can sink to and the full impact on her public image and her work's legacy.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-24 04:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-03-24 05:25 pm (UTC)However, some aspects of the worldbuilding didn't work for me: the constant references to present-day pop culture (the notion that teenagers in the 2040s and 2050s would all be familiar with Harry Potter or Beyonce struck me as unlikely),
Yeah, that's a little odd. It's not ENTIRELY implausible, I guess - but I think it's more likely one teen would have a niche interest in one of those things, rather than it being something all of them know. At most, they might incorporate elements of those works without understanding the source. That seems more likely. The way we repeat phrases from Shakespeare without knowing it. ("When there's a will, there's a way"*; "it is what it is".)
*According to my college Shakespeare professor, that was actually a sex joke, but don't quote me on that. The guy was a bit of an oddball.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-24 06:23 pm (UTC)At most, they might incorporate elements of those works without understanding the source. That seems more likely. The way we repeat phrases from Shakespeare without knowing it.
This feels more realistic to me as well.
According to my college Shakespeare professor, that was actually a sex joke
With Shakespeare, that seems a fairly reasonable assumption!
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Date: 2024-03-24 07:08 pm (UTC)I was a bit sad to discover that Cambridge city centre has TWO entire shops selling Harry Potter tat.
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Date: 2024-03-24 07:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-03-24 08:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-03-24 10:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-03-25 10:31 am (UTC)I think it is amusing reading a book published 10~ years earlier and seeing what the author chose as pop culture references. It is such a fraught exercise because sure Taylor Swift was popular ten years ago and is also popular today, but what if they chose Katy Perry whose fame has fallen dramatically since then.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-25 05:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-03-25 07:25 pm (UTC)Oh, wow, that story was really good and packed a punch. Thank you for sharing!
no subject
Date: 2024-03-25 07:29 pm (UTC)It's always interesting to see which pop culture phenomenons writers think will stick around. (Unfortunately I think HP will linger for a long time yet.)
Your weekends always sound so enjoyable, it seems like you live in really nice place as well.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-26 05:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-03-26 05:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-03-26 05:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-03-26 05:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-03-26 05:16 pm (UTC)I think it is amusing reading a book published 10~ years earlier and seeing what the author chose as pop culture references. It is such a fraught exercise because sure Taylor Swift was popular ten years ago and is also popular today, but what if they chose Katy Perry whose fame has fallen dramatically since then.
I know, right? That's why I always find it really grating, even if it's a current book referencing currently popular pop culture — I feel like I can already detect the seeds of irrelevance. My preference is always for authors to avoid these kinds of references altogether, or just talk about stuff that's already firmly viewed as 'classic' literature/music/film etc (like stuff on the level of Jane Austen or Shakespeare).
no subject
Date: 2024-03-26 05:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-03-26 05:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-03-26 05:19 pm (UTC)It is, but I always find it extremely grating, and wish they would avoid it altogether. Same goes for references to current technology or social media, unless the author is deliberately trying to write a historical novel.
I do like where we live, although it feels like far too small a town for me most of the time. I do my best with it, though.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-26 05:34 pm (UTC)There's one on the market square, between M&S and a chicken shop.