8/2 TOO MUCH INFORMATION

PIC: Leigh Morrison 1986

The Shapes - I Saw Batman in the Launderette (1979)

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

11 million bits of information enter and are processed by our brains. Of those 11 million bits only 0.0004% are registered in our conscious awareness.

What’s going on all the time, all around us, that we’re not equipped to see or understand?

It’s sure to be more fun than this!

Had a busy week writing other stuff – a couple of blue sky screen projects – and the news this week has been mostly too absurd and grotesque to make fun of, so a little late with this and just a quick in/out, hello and goodbye this gloomy Sat’day!

Our beloved leaders may have taken their politics from Orwell’s 1984, but a growing body of evidence points to de Sade’s 120 Days of Sodom as the inspiration for their weekends away!

On a somewhat adjacent note, I’m convinced The Traitors is part of a massive propaganda exercise designed to make us feel that a) all people are basically bastards, and b) democracy’s surrender to outdated, outmoded fascism is inevitable. This is the narrative that’s being pushed relentlessly on TV, in newspapers, and online these days. It’s the Pyramid, up to its old tricks of zero sum winner-and-loser games.

I don’t think most people are ‘bastards’ deep down. Bad people want that to seem true, because it takes the heat off them and renders their wickedness a simple fact of human nature they cannot control. Most people, however, are not like them. Most people simply want to muddle through life without being brutalised and oppressed, if possible. Most people just want to have friends and family and animals around. They want to to enjoy their hobbies. Most people don’t want to live in a state of permanent, conflict, paranoia, and performative cruelty, eyes glued to a daily political soap opera where ugly old men vie for our attention with such desperation and persistence - anything to hog centre stage - it’s almost painful to witness. Most people are nothing like the driven, damaged, overpowered, underdeveloped individuals who dream of dragging us all back to feudal slavery and droit de seigneur. Most people should swap notes, affirm their commonalities, and reject the suicidal, anti-human vision of our future that so entices the hyper-rich.

I was fine with a quiet birthday celebration this year. If I can’t have a fabulous West Hollywood rooftop spree, forget it, and right now I have no stomach for visiting the USA.

Instead, Kristan and I went for lunch at Scott’s in Greenock with its fabulous views and calm, civilised atmosphere, then watched Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning (I hope so). I count myself a major Tom Cruise fan but feel he’s had too much work done on his lovely face and even the impressive stunts, all that hanging awkwardly off of biplane struts while his spongy Botoxed mug does its best to ripple in the velocity wind, seemed manic and overdone in this one rather than exciting. His aerial stunts were nerve-wracking in the wrong ways, like watching an elderly man trying not to fall off the bus. Tom’s a handsome Hollywood star and could easily have opted to age naturally with minimal fillers, cragging and sagging like Clint Eastwood or Sean Connery, but the harsh demands of silver screen stardom rooted in Tinseltown’s terror of time and its toil have pushed our Tom down the pre-embalmed, low-lighting route to no good end. Otherwise, the film was alright and rattled along amiably for most of its length even as it left any pretence at realism behind in favour of science fiction. Why oh why must Tom Cruise ever grow old?

I enjoyed the Wonder Man series – although I felt The Studio did the same kind of show with a greater level of absurdity, humour and fidelity to the real day-to-day of studio execs. Aside from that, it was pretty great. The two leads make an appealing, chalk and cheese team, but it’s Ben Kingsley’s show, without a doubt. He steals every scene. Trevor Slattery is one of those rare, wondrous characters where you can’t wait for him to show up again, to savour every nuance of the performance. That brilliant rise in tone and pitch he does at the end of every sentence! I was trying to remember who does that naturally and I’m sure it’s Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor…

These shows set in the Hollywood film and TV business are like going to work for me, in a warm, nostalgic way. Every location is fond and familiar, every character feels like someone I’ve met. When I see those palm lined boulevards, I’m reminded how much I loved being in LA.

Birthday brought a bunch of great books – I’m still reading The Cuckoo’s Lea, which has been a slow-paced and charming experience, like a ramble through the countryside and the history of place with a lyrical, knowledgeable guide. Last night’s chapter was about owls and how they exist for most of us purely as an uncanny night sound - ‘ule’ pronounced ‘ulloo’ in Old English being the root of their name. Ornithology was one of a series of brief, intense passions when I was around 10-12 years old and it’s been a comforting delight to revisit those enthusiasms. In similar vein, I also have A Bad Birdwatchers Companion by Simon Barnes and, veering off piste a little, The Cabaret of Plants: Botany and the Imagination by Richard Mabey. Then there’s Lazarus: The Second Coming of David Bowie by Alexander Larman, which I’ll get to when the time seems right.

I also got Mark Z. Danielewski’s series, The Familiar. Five of these big books were released, of a potential 27-volume series. The idea was to do something that would play like a long-form television show, but Danielewski stalled on five and Tom’s Crossing happened instead. Kristan managed to track down the first four – and from what I’ve read so far, they’re reminiscent of the structure of Cloud Atlas, with multiple characters in various global locations and time periods. Looking forward to digging in.

That was my week that was! I took out the boring and miserable bits!

THERE IS NO TIME THERE IS NO SPACE

Following on from my short story Peter’s Thoughts which appeared here last week, there’s a brief piece about the genesis of the story at the Luna Press website. These little afterword bits accompanied the release of the anthology and this was mine:

Grant Morrison: Nova Scotia Vol 2 Anthology. Order Now!

SHADDAP YOU FACE!

Bobby – it’s alright so far. I expected to be a lot more decrepit but aside from some arthritic pain and worsening eyesight, I feel the same as I’ve done for decades. There must shortly come a time when the decline gets to be obvious but so far no big differences…

School is easy to hate, even without the violence…

Interested to see what you do with the Heap! In my shite version, the shambling remnants of Baron Eric Von Emmelman form a terrifying agglomeration with the Pile, the Mound, the Dune, the Hump… each a different, living mass of sentient soil, or sand, dung or plastic… may the Lord have mercy on our souls…

Jwparrishiii – Thanks! I’m more interested in making up my own stuff right now but that could change. I’ve done Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman (the New 52 Superman in Action Comics was close to what I’d do with a public domain Superman) and things like Winnie the Pooh or Bambi were well served by Disney and don’t interest me much.

Sean – Apollyon was Fantomex, but Wade Wilson is a good alternative, so I’ll leave it open as a possibility. The Filth was specifically modelled on Captain Scarlet. Captain Scarlet was itself based on Christian iconography – the good guys were headquartered on Cloudbase, with the ‘Angels’ jet fighter squadron. Colonel White was God and the SPECTRUM personnel were his messengers and soldiers. Captain Scarlet, who dies and is resurrected is Christ, Captain Black is the Antichrist, and the Mysterons on Mars are Satan and the demons in Hell.

For The Filth, I turned the metaphor upside down to create a Qlippothic version of SPECTRUM based not in the sky but the dirt. The colour-coded uniforms and future technology of the Hand organisation were inspired by Captain Scarlet.

The wigs worn by Hand agents were a nod to the ‘antistatic’ metallic bobs worn by the silver Moonbase girls from Anderson’s UFO, his live action show for an adult audience. I love that show – with it’s incredibly well-designed vision of how the near future would look if the ‘60s never had to end but just got more futuristic - and there’s some of that DNA in The Filth. UFO has a fantastic episode where heartthrob Paul Foster is marooned far from the Moonbase, and has to team up with a crashed alien to get back home, with tragic results. You can see echoes of that story in The Filth issue #5, with Ned Slade and Arno Von Vermun trapped in the microscopic world of the Crack.

You can shake the Devil’s hand and say you’re only kidding but by that time it’s probably too late…

Kevin S. – Steed and Mrs. Peel was pitched to me. They knew I was a fan of the show and it gave me the opportunity to interview Patrick Macnee (he was fantastic, the interview was never published, I still have the cassette tape in a box somewhere). I based the story on my memories of the show’s psychedelic period, where it was all killer undertakers, lethal cricket matches, and mysterious gentlemen’s clubs, and I tried to incorporate as many of the tropes of the time as I could.

Jonathan – phew! I thought I was going to have to answer that one again!

BrotherDuffy – sounds like you’re doing it right. you should check out Jack Kirby’s Makkari from The Eternals, for an updated Kirby take on Mercury. There’s also Marvel’s Quicksilver, using the poetic name for the element Mercury. These super-characters are useful as modern realisations of ancient powers. Mercury comes across as younger and less grand than Hermes but they are part of the same complex of concepts and what works for Hermes usually works for Mercury. I deal often with Mercury as Mercurius, a blended alchemical spirit which combines qualities of masculine/feminine and other binaries (as depicted on our last Tarot card, Art, here at Xanaduum on December 10 2025). Mercury likes speedy foods – so things like coffee, Red Bull or Monster Energy. For a more healthy approach, carrots are apparently Mercurial, perhaps because they’re orange, which is also Mercury’s colour. Almonds, ginseng and peppermint resonate with Mercury. Anything that brings energy, or a ‘buzz’. Alphabet Soup for sure! Jasmine incense is useful too!

Mark – I grew up loving all of those movies. Anything with Tom Courtenay, Rita Tushingham, and Murray Melvin in any combination. Billy Liar is one of the best of those ‘kitchen sink’ movies. A Taste of Honey is another cracker and the slightly later Up The Junction has a killer soundtrack by Manfred Mann, which I still listen to all the time.

Ken – I should never have said whatever you do, don’t check out Jethro! I wasn’t familiar with Stewart Millard’s channel but I am now! I remember all that stuff too well! And more….

Patrick – that was great…

fylGja – I’ve been fortunate enough to spend my life doing what I love for a living. I’ve been able to write superhero stories, travel and consume pop culture as a job. I’ve chosen to never raise children so my life has probably been a little bit less demanding than your mom’s!

I’m genuinely surprised that you have personal experience of belt and soap! I thought we’d left that era of savagery behind! What the fuck is wrong with adults sometimes?

As I suspected, your own interpretations of the bullet metaphors are more complex than my exhortation to think about what they have to say about life. The new My Chem shows are attempting to process and purify some dark cultural forces. I’m not surprised there’s some weird fallout.

Otherwise, I’m with you. The destructive powers set loose from their cages to wreak havoc on the 21st century are ancient, and ancient remedies may turn out to be useful. The Pyramid, the A-number #1 Eye in the Triangle at the top of the heap seems all-powerful but its end is foreshadowed and it will be superseded as the dominant social model by the Network. How that handover will be effected remains to be seen but there are numerous indicators of where it’s all going. As you say, it is imperative right now to maintain and strengthen our networks in the local community, online and beyond.

Ken - there are a ton of people to do what I do when I’m no longer there to do it! We pass on the electricity like a baton in a relay race…

Ks – I did not expect so many of you to have memories of brutal corporal punishment! In terms of the Qlippoth and the Abyss, I was following the so-called ‘Lightning Path’ or ‘Magician’s Path’ up the Tree of Life structure from the material world to non-dual awareness, so I knew that I’d get to the Abyss after my sojourn in Chesed (which produced All Star Superman among other things), so I took the formal Oath of the Abyss and chose to confront the experience head on and aware, with painful and enlightening results (arduous, agonising, and ego-annihilating in every sense, it nevertheless gave birth to my Batman run, Final Crisis, Nameless and Annihilator). I knew it was over when I’d exhausted the distinctive ‘taste’ of its energy was used up. It’s like the weather changing. The whole world looks different, viewed through a completely different filter. The release from the Abyss into the sphere of Binah, a state of consciousness governed by the Prime Feminine generative principle was marked by the arrival of two black girl kittens (Jinks ran away but we still have Jet - and the black panther is sacred to Binah) and various other significant events. That period was, as promised, intensely ‘feminine’ in its texture and influence and out of it came my Wonder Woman books, the Brave New World TV adaptation and Luda. I chose to end that period in May 2023, again because I felt a sense of completion and a change in the seasons, and since then I’ve been exploring the intense and directionless creative energies of Chokmah (I struggled with their formless ferocity at first until I remembered that these energies require to be incubated in the matrix of Binah, and there given form. Otherwise, they’re as much use as a chocolate oven.

Brkndwnbus - thanks!

Persefonnie – there were, there are, and there definitely would be Chaos witches among the St. Trinian’s girls! Thanks for the Glass Beams raga track. I loved that!

RaVi –

The Singing Detective is foundational for me and as you say others of my generation of writers. If you’ve been delving into that era, Edge of Darkness is the next big influential one. Very different from the Potter stuff, it’s a detective eco-thriller that veers into wild cosmic and mystical territory.

I wanted to write novels for most of my childhood and teens, and managed two – a short thing when I was 8, The People of the Asteroids, and another proper one called The Winds of Chaos which I finished when I was 19. In my teens, I was very much influenced by the great drama on the BBC – writers like Dennis Potter, David Rudkin. Alan Bleadale, Alan Bennett, Stephen Poliakoff – and became more interested in writing for television. I was diverted by the lure of the comics boom in the early 80s and found there a place where I could shine without too much editorial oversight. I finally got to write for TV and the screen when I went to Hollywood but as I’ve said before, aside from Happy! and Brave New World (and fingers crossed for the show I worked on last year) most of my work for TV, and there’s been a lot over the last 20 years, was never produced and has never been seen!

Is it that time already?..