Book of Sand

FINAL DE AÑO Ni el pormenor simbólico de reemplazar un tres por un dos ni esa metáfora baldía que convoca un lapso que muere y otro que surge ni el cumplimiento de un proceso astronómico aturden y socavan la altiplanicie de esta noche y nos obligan a esperar las doce irreparables campanadas. La causa verdadera es la sospecha general y borrosa del enigma del Tiempo; es el asombro ante el milagro de que a despecho de infinitos azares, de que a despecho de que somos las gotas del río de Heráclito, perdure algo en nosotros: inmóvil, algo que no encontró lo que buscaba. ------------------------------------------------ END OF THE YEAR nor the symbolic detail to replace a three with a two* nor that wasteful metaphor that summons a period that dies and another that arises nor the fulfillment of an astronomical process stun and undermine the highlands tonight and make us wait the twelve irreparable chimes. the true cause is the general and blurred suspicion of the enigma of Time; it is the amaz...

 I didn't use to watch reels or go to Insta first thing in the morning, although I did sometimes check FB.  Now it is an everyday thing and multiple times a day, of just skimming through "tiktok" reels on IG and FB. (They are much worse of FB.) Starting and ending my day this way is unhealthy and even though there are many interesting or cute things, there are also too many stupid, pointless and random things.  Consuming random short form content destroys my ability to form and follow coherent thoughts.  IG and FB are just designed to fragment and incrementalize your day so that you have no drive, direction or confidence.  You feel perpetually lost in an endless scroll of stupidity and vacuity. (If something profound or meaningful intrudes, it is decontextualized and appears only for one reason, to get likes, views and retweets.  Even if it is from the Dalia Lama. Following that my morning routine includes checking CNN for the daily outrage and horrible atr...

Saw it in 3D, words fail.  Need to see in IMAX. Just spectacular visuals. I didn't find anything about the story to be overly cliched, apart for the obvious 'anticolonial' vibe throughout which was perfectly on target.  At one point I remember thinking that the whole 'now we must become sea people' - 'fish out of water' trope was a clever way to mirror with NaVi culture the passage that Jake went through alone in the first one. In some ways the conflicts between the kids being bullied and trying to fit in, etc. was a bit reminiscent of ever kind of high school outsider drama (Karate Kid comes to mind), but maybe that is just the way kids are. At least it never tipped over into "Sullys stick together and everyone else is a caricatural monster of total psychopaths." The bully kids were just being kids. The anti-whaling message was as powerful and effecting as I expected.  The big surprise to me was that Quarich came back as a Navi, but how else would...

Had a chat with ChatGPT about the glass bead game which I described as "concept association." Thought that rather than a hard push in November, it might be better to set aside some time each week with the goal of writing 52 short stories of about 1500 words, one each week.  This would be 75,000 words at the end of the year. Using Auster's Travels in the Scriptorium, I thought about a conversation in, among and between books in a place like the Library of Babel.  Each story could be a synopsis of a book, idea, story or manuscript, or a biography of its purported or actual author, or a comparative interpretation of its significance, its precursors or descendants, or even an adventure about the history of the book object itself and its provenance.  M.R. James devotes a fair amount of space to describing esoteric books and manuscripts and their Latin inscriptions, etc.  His characters are often catalogers of ancient collections, Cathedral chronicles, or other abstruse se...

 Started reading The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall. I hadn't meant to, but was looking at books similar to House of Leaves, downloaded this one and was immediately hooked.  It reminds me of Neverwhere to be honest, I guess because British, but a very intriguing and clever idea. Feels like a Tom McCarthy novel, like Remainder, or even an early Alex Garland (Coma). Auster and Fight Club could also be references.  Jaws is obviously a big part of this. It was also mentioned when I was searching for material on S. by J.J.Abrams (aka The Ship of Theseus by V.M.Straka).  I guess because it has an unorthodox typography, but really it is just illustrated with images made up of letters. Strangely, there are scans of the S. book available (and also an audiobook) but they are 200+ MB, so I was reluctant to download. --- Finished it in 2 days and it was a compelling and enjoyable read. So in the end I would say it is not actually like House of Leaves, in the sense that the text ...

 Morning with Mike and Christina and some coffee, snacks and gifts, then over to Palmer's for a turkey dinner!  We watched the new BBC Ghost Story for Christmas - Count Magnus , which I liked a lot and enjoyed reading the story later. Also, watched Mr. Humphrey's and His Inheritance.  When I was home, I read that one as well as watched The Treasure of Abbot Thomas and The Stalls of Barchester.   Reading The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, I was struck by how much more was to be found in the text, as opposed to the BBC adaptation. (The adaptation however was top notch and the story contains a more thrilling set of discoveries and cryptic, coded puzzles than perhaps The DaVinci Code.) As was also the case with the Inheritance, in the detailed description of the Globe or Orb in the garden maze. Much of the occult, esoteric detail and scholarly references are omitted. It is clear from his stories that James speaks and reads Latin fluently and few of his stories lack at le...

 watched all of The Box of Delights

 A pair of shows from Japan that evoke strong emotional responses. Midnight Diner is a drama about a small izakaya in Shinjuku run by someone called Master who will cook whatever you want (and the show spotlights the diners choices of simple traditional fare) as well as the, often sad, stories of the patrons. The final episode of the three season run was a New Years' Eve special that saw many of the regulars and new arrivals returning for a special night together enjoying hand-made soba noodles - a New Year tradition in Japan. Terrace House has several seasons and is a lot like MTV's Real World where 6 people live in a share house and sometimes try dating each other. It is really more of a social drama (unscripted) about 20-somethings living and struggling in Tokyo today. It is surprisingly low-key and mostly omits the kind of childish  exploitation that other shows like this aim for. It is honest, sincere and overall, charming. 

 and Sushi Siam - isn't it too cold for sushi - had a nice lunch and the snow was just starting for what would be the big freeze, arctic vortex. We also had a nice cuddle and make out session before we left for lunch.  He told me his partner is vegetarian, and I guess so is his family, because he said he had to go grocery shopping to get the ingredients for a vegetarian Christmas dinner - he decided on meatless Shepherd's Pie, using mushrooms instead of lamb.  That might work, but what about the gravy, mushroom gravy I guess.  Might be ok. We talked a bit about the China covid spikes now that the lockdowns are over.  I could still detect some pride when he talked about how effective the China lockdowns were at the start.  He is still a bit reluctant to bad mouth China. He seems a little nervous around Duncan, although Duncan was happy to try to lick his hands and face and even rested his head in Yang's lap when we were seated on the couch.   Later...

I've been thinking about some of the shows that bring me comfort during the holiday season -  Natsume Yuujinchou has 6 seasons and a wonderful soft, uplifting, kind tone with some sadness and longing, great friendships and quiet contemplative mood, mixed with some excellent Yokai adventures, ghost-hunting and mysteries. Mushishi - only two seasons, but one of the most unique and special animes ever created. Perfectly drawn with impeccable voice acting. Understated. Some say boring and slow, but it is quintessentially Japanese in the vein of Tanizaki's In Praise of Shadows. Each episode carries its own special type of sadness. Unbelievably touching and heartfelt. Made in Abyss, Kino's Journey, Girl's Last Tour - heartbreaking, but beautiful. Dororo, maybe not unlike Demonslayer in many ways, but I think much superior.  

For Christmas: Whistle and I'll Come to You featuring the impeccable Michael Holdern, along with all of the other BBC 70's Ghost Story for Christmas featuring MR James and other ghost stories.  Lately remade by Mark Gatiss. And this insurpassable fan made version of Haunted Doll's House by MR James . Box of Delights the adventures of Kay Harker based on the 1935 book by John Masefield. (but really only the first episode, although there are brilliant bits scattered throughout this (animated encounter with Herne the Hunter, visit to a Roman Britain camp, the rats in the walls, the talking bronze head, the Greek philosopher - Arnold of Todi, the Waterfall Imp) the last few episodes are over the top and kind of a chore.  ( Full list at Internet Archive ) The BBC Narnia series was a direct result of the success of Box of Delights on PBS in the USA. I watched a lot of Star Blazers (which was the US release of Space Battleship Yamato in 1977) in the fall of 1979 and spring/summ...

 Went to '83 with Ben - he had pho and I had shrimp rice. ($18 for a few shrimp and a pile of rice seemed like a lot). Then we came home and watched a few eps of Jujutsu Kaisen.  We played around with ChatGPT for quite a while.  He seemed definitely interested in the capabilities and we tried to ask it questions that would stump it, but it always came back with an answer that was pretty good.  He said he wants to try it himself and see what it can do. I'm gonna miss him, he is leaving tomorrow for about 4 weeks.  He said he shopped for a present for me but in the end could not decide on one.  I gave him one of my scarves, since he forgot to pack his after Thankgiving. He will probably be very busy when he comes back.  His final semester, job hunting and also possibly a part-time job at one of the labs.  I will be teaching for the first half semester as well, so before spring break will be difficult. But I think we can make sure that there is some ...

 Sunday brunch with Ben at Harvest Market then home for some dog walking and anime-fest.  We wtahced some Chainsaw Man, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and then got hooked into Jujutsu Kaisen (or Sorcery Fight) .  Later after he left, I watched some Ajin: Demi-human on Netflix. I also showed him the trailers for Made in Abyss and Blame! Suggested Dorohedoro and Alice in Borderlands . We had a long discussion about Burning, Parasite and the art of film appreciation.  He says he has no creative spark himself but is able to appreciate a film maker's work and wished he could have been a director.  I get very animated when I am speaking with him, and also very coffee'd-up.  I try not to steamroll him and give him space to talk.  Often We have also been talking about AI text generation and AI ChatGPT a bit. ====================== Watched a lot more of Ajin and found it to be very compelling and interesting.  It taps into some of the same feelings th...

Matt Murphy Tell me about the character Felix Cheshirensis I'm sorry, but I am not aware of a character named Felix Cheshirensis in any of the works of literature or popular media. It is possible that you are thinking of a different character or that Felix Cheshirensis is a name that you have created yourself. If you have any additional information about the character you are interested in, I would be happy to try to provide more information or assistance. Otherwise, I suggest doing some research or asking a more specific question about the character or the context in which you encountered the name. Matt Murphy I made him up.  Let's imagine he likes clockwork automatons, puzzles and mathematics and solves mysteries.  Now can you describe this character. Certainly! Based on the information you provided, it sounds like Felix Cheshirensis is a character with a keen interest in clockwork automatons, puzzles, and mathematics. He is also skilled at solving mysteries and is perhaps a...

Matt Murphy Basel is a city in Switzerland and Switzerland is known for its clocks.  A bezel is a part of a clock.  So could you have a timepiece with a blue Basel bezel? Yes, it is possible to have a timepiece with a blue Basel bezel. The bezel is the outer ring of a watch or clock that surrounds the dial (face) and is often used to mark the passing of time or to display additional information, such as the date or the location of a second time zone. A bezel can be made of a variety of materials, including metal, plastic, or ceramic, and can be finished in a variety of colors, including blue. Basel is a city in Switzerland that is known for its rich history in watchmaking and is home to many luxury watch brands, so it is possible that a watch with a blue Basel bezel may be made by a brand based in or inspired by the city. Matt Murphy Can you imagine some fictitious Swiss watch makers names? Sure! Here are a few fictitious Swiss watch makers names:     Alpina Tim...