Socialism, sci-fi, and wallpaper

[sabotabby]

“If a chap can’t compose an epic poem while he’s weaving a tapestry, he had better shut up, he’ll never do any good at all.” — William Morris

THAT’S RIGHT EVERYONE there is a William Morris museum in his old house.

Okay so William Morris is the most relatable historical figure. He was bougie as anything and wrote utopian science fiction and did LARP before it was called that, and loved pretty things, and also he was a hardcore socialist and published books on the Paris Commune and Kropotkin. And also was just the most brilliant artist, which I am not, but he basically sits at the intersection of all of my interests.





Then we took a long walk and met some boat cats, which apparently belong to people on the boats and I can’t take them home with me, no matter how much they clearly wanted to come home with me. There were even baby swans (less friendly).







Apparently there is a Canadian bar here. It looks like the worst thing ever and has a fuckzillion types of poutine. I am embarrassed for my country.

Comments

[franklanguage]

New favorite word: "fuckzillion."

I never did try poutine when I was an omni—nor a "caribou" when I was a drinker—but I will probably try vegan poutine if the opportunity presents itself.

[sabotabby]

You’re missing nothing. Poutine, vegan or not, is foul.

[chickenfeet]

There is good poutine though not of a type of which you would approve. C'est What's butter chicken poutine is good and one of JK's establishments did a duck confit poutne.

[sabotabby]

I’ve had paneer poutine (obviously pre-vegan) that was supposedly good, and it was also foul. I just don’t approve of treating fries like that.

[numb3r_5ev3n]

Oh cool! (And were they socialist kittehs?)

[sabotabby]

I don’t know where the link goes but aren’t all kitties socialist, really?

[curgoth]

I think the goal was this video from Rathergood where stompy kitties sing Laibach's Tanz Mit Laibach?

[numb3r_5ev3n]

Yeah I am not sure what happened there.

[numb3r_5ev3n]

It's the Rathergood stompy kittens :)

[sabotabby]

Ah yes. They were less stompy but just as cute.

[sara]

Wow, is that William Morris' protest banner?

That is even better than the one I made for the Science March and I am pretty proud of that one.

[kore]

This post will flush out all the Wm. Morris fans, heh.

[sabotabby]

GOOD.

[sabotabby]

Yes! Imagine a protest banner being pretty! Like an Actual Art. I used to make nice banners but nothing like that.

[kore]

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH I LOVE WILLIAM MORRIS I TOOK THIS WHOLE CLASS ON HIM AND READ HIS PSEUDO-MEDIEVAL POETRY ahem.

[sabotabby]

OH YEAH I would love to take an entire class on him. We just covered his work in Graphic Design History, and not nearly enough imo.

[kore]

His poetry is so beautiful! But really sad. And the Kelmscott books are gorgeous.

[ironed_orchid]

Thank you for describing William Morris asa LARPEr, that just made my day. William Morris was great, I think he needs more memes.

[sara]

...there are about six people in the entire world who'd be like OMG WILLIAM MORRIS MEMES and four of us are already here.

[ironed_orchid]

Hahahahahhaaaa!

Okay, maybe you have a point. but I bet there are a lot of people who learned about Kropotkin and others from shit posts and meme pages, and we can create William Morris fandom the same way.

[sara]

Hey now. I learned about Kropotkin the old-fashioned way: from Grant Morrison's Invisibles.

[ironed_orchid]

I learned about him from Michael Moorcock novels, particularly the Jerry Cornelius stuff.

[sara]

I could never find those. I read a couple of the mopey vampire sword ones and went meh, not my bag.

[ironed_orchid]

I don't mind the mopey albino sorcerer stuff, but my favourites are the End of Time, which is where Iron Orchid appears.

[sabotabby]

I should read more. I like his politics, but not always his prose so much.

[ironed_orchid]

I read his sword and sorcery stuff when I was younger, bored, and less choosy about what I read.

I do recommend the following series:
1. The Dancers at the End of Time series as a good place to start, they're silly and fun and a lot less angsty. I'm particularly fond of the shorter stories, but they rely on knowledge of characters and setting.
2. A Nomad of the Time Streams is proto-steampunk and airships and alternate histories, including Alt!Stalin.
3. The Von Bek Omnibus. Von Bek is angst and mysticism and searching for the holy grail during the 100 years war, and members of his family turn up in a bunch of other books. (I tried to read The Brothel in Rosenstrasse but couldn't get more than 10 pages into it.)
4. My absolute favourite of Moorcock's books are the The Second Ether sequence, but I don't know how much of that was a case of my having already read most of his stuff by the time they came out, because there are a lot of references to and cameos by his other characters/themes/etc. The quality of the writing is much better than his earlier stuff, and I think you would enjoy the multilayered narrative. Also, there are pirates.

I have tried to start Byzantium Endures several times, I have it in hardcover and as an ebook (it was in Nick's Anarchist SF bundle). But I keep sliding off it.

P. and I sent him an fan letter/poem in the late 90s about how we couldn't understand some of his tripier stuff from the late 70s like The Entropy Tango. We go a reply from the head of his fan club. (I don't recommend starting with that one.)

[kore]

Ooh, nice.

[rdi]

Mother London is also an amazing read. It’s kind of his love letter to the city.

[sabotabby]

HIGH FIVES

I need to make some. Pref. involving that quote.

[ironed_orchid]

William Morris memes for Pre-Raphaelite teens.

[kore]

LOL YES

[sabotabby]

He had a medieval moat in his place

And dressed up in his suit of armour, which he owned as a child, because one often gives suits of armour to one’s children

And then he pretended to be a knight and rescue his friends

And then when he was an adult they all dressed up in costume and painted portraits of each other

[ironed_orchid]

Total LARPing. Let's play at being pre-renaissance artisans!

[kore]

IIRC it was a total Thing for the Pre-Raffs and Victorians to make living tableaux of each other, paint/photograph the results, have amateur theatricals and wander around in costume. Well a Thing for the boho artsy types anyway.

[kore]

LOL and also wasn't Julia Margaret Cameron dressing people up for her photographs? She took pictures of Jane Morris, or am I misremembering?

[cloudsinvenice]

Oh my god I want to go and play at his house!

[sabotabby]

Right???

[notasupervillain]

I MISS POUTINE SO MUCH TAKE ME

also cool skirt

[sabotabby]

It is the best dress.

Poutine is gross. If you ever come back to Canuckistan, you can have all of mine.

[notasupervillain]

Is this a vegan thing? I've had very good mushroom gravy, and I don't know what to offer in terms of vegan cheese curds but how can you dislike any meal with fries as the base?

[sabotabby]

It’s a combining foods thing. The gravy and curds interfere with the texture of the fries.

[notasupervillain]

I disagree, but I see your point.

[rdi]

Morris was awesome and becomes more so as I find out more about him

[sabotabby]

I’d forgotten how truly awesome he was.

[pofflewomp]

Cooool! I went there long ago in my teens.

[sabotabby]

Someone saw a “William Morris says don’t relax” t-shirt at today’s thing:

http://pleasedonotbend.co.uk/work/william-morris-says-dont-relax/