Weeknote 02/2024
“To learn which questions are unanswerable, and not to answer them: this skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness.”
Verbs
Anticipating: 3 Body Problem, Netflix
I loved The Three-Body Problem series of books by Cixin Liu when I read it some years ago. I was my gateway, in a lot of ways, into the huge world of incredible Chinese science fiction. The first novel of the series was a genuine, no-hyperbole, mind-blowing book that mixes science fiction, alternate history, and all of the best, deepest, and most awe-inducing ideas drawn from science, mathematics, and philosophy. There’s already a Chinese-produced TV series that is tackling the books, but this offering from Netflix looks very exciting. Now, the sticking point is that Benioff and Weiss - those guys who took Game of Thrones to previously unheard-of heights before trashing it in an almost pathologically comprehensive way are also behind this. But, as always, if an adaption or version of something you love turns out to be abysmal, you’ve always got the original. As I am sure fans everywhere are asking themselves though, I’m asking myself how the hell do you film books like this??
Watching: Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster, BBC
Attenborough, as always, is delivering incredible TV with the charm, confidence, and avuncular joy that he always does. In this case, a fossilised skull of a monumental aquatic reptile was discovered in the south of England and an extraordinary operation was undertaken to excavate from the cliffs in which it was found before the sea claimed it for its own. Attenborough’s child-like wonder is on full display as he talks of fossil hunting in his youth and it’s such a pleasure to see capable, passionate people doing the work that they love. Add into this, some astonishing science, and extremely likeable scientists, and it’s a winner from start to finish; and who doesn’t love a massive ‘dinosaur’ fish! I’m glad, too, that since airing there has been greater recognition given in the program to the initial who discovered the fossil, Philip Jacobs, as it was oddly conspicuous by its absence when we watched.
Reading: Mockingbird, Walter Tevis
A little more science fiction; this week I’ve read, no, inhaled Walter Tevis’ 1980 classic Mockingbird. To think that this comes from the same writer behind The Queen’s Gambit, The Hustler, and The Colour of Money is extraordinary as it reads like many of the great works of the golden age of science fiction from Asimov, Aldiss, Bradbury or Delany. If anything, it’s a sort of 1984 and Brave New World but with a sense of humour, and perhaps most reminds me of Yvgeny Zamyatkin’s We or the works of Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. It’s a dystopian novel, I suppose, but only in so far as the world we really live in is also a dystopian world. It was totally brilliant; clever, funny, philosophical, surprising, and tremendously paced. I’ve now read a collection of his short science fiction stories as well and these don’t disappoint either.
What is also very exciting is that the book is in the early stages of a film adaption - likely off the back of the success of The Queen’s Gambit, and with Israeli filmmaker Alma Har’el leading the project. I think it’s a book that would be eminently suitable for adaption on screen and I hope something comes of this project.
Trying: iA Presenter, for Mac
I’m a big fan of the output of Jack Conte - in his guise as musician, as well as film maker and YouTuber. As part of his Digital Spaghetti series he interviews creatives and YouTubers about their work in a really captivating and exploratory way. I’ve seen interviews with long-standing favourites on his channel, but I’m also often introduced to people who I’ve never come across before; usually because I’m not part of their primary “Gen Z” demographic. In a recent video he interviewed Natalie Lynn - a young film maker from the US who has started producing astonishing work, particularly in her series Borderless. The creativity, depth of thought, and sheer artistry she brings to bear on her film making is tremendously inspiring and she is producing work that is so far beyond the level one would think of from a) YouTube and b) someone so young - she’s only 22! There’s colossal talent here and I really can’t wait to see where she goes over the next few year.
Listening: The Left Hand of Darkness, BBC full cast recording
OK, I promise, the last sci-fi mention for this week! I have adored Ursula Le Guin’s writing (and her!) for years and The Left Hand of Darkness was my first introduction to her incredible body of work. This BBC full cast recording is abridged but I think it’s good to think of it more as a radio play adaption based on the original text, and it is so good. I’m listening to it now because Novi Sad is blanketed in snow and ice and hearing about Genley Ai’s time on the winter-bound planet of Gethen whilst walking Teddy in the cold is somehow particularly pleasing and evocative. The story is, obviously, heart-wrenchingly brilliant, and I think anyone who gives this a listen will end up finding themselves getting the book to experience the full wonder of Le Guin’s writing.
The artist deals with what cannot be said in words.
The artist whose medium is fiction does this in words.
The novelist says in words what cannot be said in words.
Irritatingly the BBC have removed the episodes from their podcast app, but it is still available in an audio collection along with an abridge full cast recording of the Earthsea novels. I suspect the recording is also available elsewhere online as well…
Words
Winter’s here.
Novi Sad is very much in the icy grip of winter now, with snow and cold winds making life outdoors a bit of a trial at times. Thankfully, the roads are largely clear as are the pavements on most of the main streets and Teddy is fully equipped with a winter jacket to keep him warm on our walks. The car is still under a big duvet of snow and will stay like that for the time being as I’m not super keen to combine my acclimatising to driving in Serbia with a big dose of winter driving conditions. We’ve been heavily drawing upon our supplies of Swiss hot chocolate from our trip to Switzerland before Christmas as well as making a lot of the usual hearty, warming sort of food.
I have been preparing for my workshop in Abu Dhabi which will be happening in a little over a week. I like to try and get as much in place before I’m on site delivering the workshop so that I can focus on my facilitation and my work with participants rather than be worrying about where particular resources are, or what the itinerary for the workshop has coming up in the next session. Unfortunately, I won’t get a great deal of time for myself in Abu Dhabi as the turnaround time is pretty tight but I am hoping I’ll be able to get some sleep on my overnight flight on the way there so that I can make the most of my free day on the Sunday before we begin on the Monday.
Alongside all of that, I am still plugging away at building connections, relationships, and possible opportunities for work for SWUX over the coming year. There’s some interesting stuff cooking, but it’s all very early stages right now, and over the next week I am hoping to get a few more things rolling to see where they might lead, too. It is slow, and difficult at times, especially as I am someone who likes to be doing things, and working on things, but it’s a process that is teaching me patience as well as affording me lots of opportunities to find my ways and means of being creative and productive.