Yes I know I’m still tweeting, but I’ve largely been off social media/Twitter since January. The more time passes, the more weird and wacky what is going on, on social media begins to seem.

Until yesterday I had no idea that the video for the song Kim Petras did with Sam Smith was controversial? In addition, until the song Unholy dropped (because I follow Petras on instagram) I had never heard of Sam Smith full-stop. So being told about the extent and viciousness of backlash to a pop music video, made by someone who is ‘apparently’ very famous was wild.

It’s like receiving first hand reportage from an alien planet.

I know there is nothing worse than a convert/ex-smoker but honestly, people need to just listen to themselves .

Permanently Moved

Four Blocks of Ten

The year ahead is no longer one long road with 50 or so weekly stops along the way to the Christmas horizon.

Photo 365

The Ministry Of My Own Labour

• Meetings
• Calls
• Started write about web3 stuff again (gasp)
• Looked in to the OGL and the massive mess it (still) is.
• Stying to book some more guests for the new podcast.

Terminal Access

J+B over at BANHE were kind enough to give me a mention, Brian an account of his side of his trip to London I mentioned the other week.

Dipping the Stacks

A Brief History Of Street Food Sellers | Spitalfields Life

The ubiquitous ‘street food’ sellers of the modern capital have precedents dating back centuries, as Dr Charlie Taverner, author of Street Food: Hawkers and the History of London, explains.

“Proof of Body” – Joshua Citarella’s Newsletter

while this advice runs contrary to common sense, these guys are totally ripped. The proof that their claims are true is the physique of the bodybuilders themselves.

You Don’t Know How Bad the Pizza Box Is – The Atlantic

You’ll never get a pizza out of a box that tastes as good as it would have before it went in

Enhancing one life rather than living two: Playing MMOs with offline friends – ScienceDirect

Our survey data reveals both a direct relationship between playing WoW with offline friends and problematic online gaming and also an indirect one mediated by ‘immersion’ (defined as the extent that players feel like they are in a virtual world and in some cases actually their character).

Filtered for ants and laws (Interconnected)

How do you hold an ant accountable if they fail to deliver on a contract? Do individual ants even have agency? Can we require an ant colony to purchase public indemnity insurance?

Reading

I used an audible credit and listened to Armour of Contempt book 10 in the Gaunt’s Ghosts 40k series. Another fantastic outing for Dan Abnett. Really enjoyed some of the character progression in this novel, and the full circle storyline tying up unfinished business from earlier in the series. Fun book!

I’ve finally started reading Le Guin’s Steering the Craft on my kindle. Having worked my way though several writing books in the last few years I’ve been saving this one. I’m only about 40% though. Can’t wait to finish it and then go back to the beginning and do the exercises during ‘diary time’ after breakfast.

I made some more headway with The Man Who Invented the Computer by Jane Smiley. I put it down to read that rocket fuel book. I think this might be one the the last history of computer books I’m going t read for now, 5 books inside 12 months is a bit much. Plus I read those books on the development of the solid state transistor and early microchip industry. That said… I would like to know more about the german computer pioneer Konrad Zuse.

Music

thejaymo.net Spotify Playlist

Sleep Token

Sleep Token have gone from 200k monthly listeners at the beginning of 2023 to 1.9million. This is the sort explosive influence on/in culture that bears keeping an eye on.

When I first heard post-metal band Sleep Token I was fairly neutral on them. I love the bands lore and I’m pretty convinced that Vessel is for real about it. I liked 2021’s This Place Will Become Your Tomb more than their their first 2019 album.

Last month (just before kicking of their tour) Sleep Token dropped 3 tracks off their upcoming album.

Listen to this all the way though. WOW. This is all over the place in the best way.

Working with producer George Lever (I know him from his work with Loathe) has elevated sleep token to another level. Everything sounds so massive. Not only that, i feel like now for album 3, Vessel and the band have found their flow.

The track below is a good example of their new musical / genre hopping wheel house. Aqua Regia flows seamlessly from R&B, Jazz and pop. which is quite a thing for a metal band.

Ashnikko – You make me sick

Ashnikko (previously) has a new single out. Its .. quite full on; lyrics, production, everything – the video is somewhat eXistenZ and very NSFW .

Ashnikko continues to be one of the most punk-rock artists working in pop. Very cool.

Remember Kids: