Hello. Let us begin.
We’ve just returned from Thought Bubble in Harrogate, always one of the most joyful weekends of the year. It’s not one of those “Funkos as far as the eye can see” comic conventions, this is one with actual comics and actual creators. Hundreds of them. There’s just this incredible atmosphere of inclusion and inspiration, I love it. Emma Rios, Will Dennis and Jock did a great panel on the art of cover design; my boy had a whale of a time in the Phoenix workshop; but by far the highlight of the whole thing for me was getting to meet Simon Furman. Simon Furman. And he was lovely. If you ever get to meet and thank the person who made you read as a child, it’s quite overwhelming I can tell you.
It’s been quite a week for Bluesky. More of a stampede than a migration, the general vibe there right now is optimistic and troll-intolerant. It’s great to see actual humans at the core of it, rather than fascism or advertising – it’s absurd that chronological, non-algorithmic conversations should feel like such a novelty! That said, I’m trying to maintain a modicum of caution about it all. It remains to be seen how long this honeymoon period will last, and surely it’s only a matter of time before the awful people start to infect the place with their awful ways. One thing they absolutely must introduce is some form of verification process. Yes, you can change your handle to your domain name (as I have) but this is very far from perfect – not everyone has a domain to connect to, and it’s all too easy to set up a domain that looks like it could be somebody’s official site. To get a bit more understanding of why and how the Bluesky thing is happening, and where it sits in the context of other X-alternatives, check out these posts by Ian Dunt and 404’s Jason Koebler.
Threads, meanwhile, is … I mean it’s fine I guess. Certainly better than X, but it’s so infuriating that even though the core platform is great, Meta just can’t get out of their own way and they insist on throwing the timeline into a blender, which just means everyone is scrambling for engagement. I’m just using it as a scrapbook now, flinging up nice things that inspire me and maybe others.
Loving these polaroid composite-collages by Cyrus Mahboubian. Must get myself some black and white film and have a play.
A
commenter has spotted an unexpected connection between Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are and Piero della Francesca’s Dream of Constantine fresco in Arezzo.Actually, while we’re looking at picture books, this from the always excellent
:“Next customer is apologetically buying a picture book for an adult and I’m probably terrifyingly enthusiastic about what a great gift this will be. Do you know what happens when you gift an adult a picture book on Christmas Day? They read it, right away! And do you know what happens when you read a picture book as an adult? Your mood almost instantly, vastly, improves because there’s a brief window of time in which you are being cared for so completely - stimulated by beautiful images and colour, engaged by a thoughtful text, perhaps you’re being momentarily transported to a younger version of yourself who remembers reading books like this or perhaps you’re just enjoying being given a gift that feels like a real treat. Books always make gifts, but I think there’s something deeply special about gifting someone a few moments to be young again. “My husband won’t know why I’ve bought him this,” the customer said, but he will. When he’s read it, he will absolutely know.”
This is lovely: Lauren Laverne has found her own Desert Island Discs picks from when she was eleven. Okay so none of them are discs, but she did manage to invent the iPhone in 1990, so we’ll let her off.
Annie Atkins will be speaking at St Bride Foundation on December 5th about her new children’s book, Letters from the North Pole, which looks wonderful. Reminds me of Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters, one of the most magical books/objects/experiences.
Some great chat about book shelf organisation in last week’s The Rest is Entertainment, tellingly titled “Is Richard a Psychopath”. Colour, size, name … forgive my impertinence, but how do you shelf yours?
That is all.
"Troll-intolerant" sounds like a bubble, a therapy group. This cycle of relocation – X to Threads to Bluesky – just isn't sustainable and feels like an utter waste of time. It's never been more clear to me how important it is to build something that lasts, on Substack, Nostr, or both.