Frolix-8

Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

Paul McCarthy at the S.M.A.K.

Ubik - "Old age, then, is in part a gradual succumbing to the force of gravity."

A Scanner Darkly - "Leading surveillance societies in the EU and the World 2007" AND "Bigger. Faster. Better. That's the bottom line."

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said - "Six years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, airport security remains a theatre of the absurd." AND "...the billboards will be able to be updated largely in real-time —right after a crime is committed, a child is taken, or an attack is launched."

We Can Build You - "You are quite right of course about what will happen in the early days of sexbots very few people indeed will be able to afford to buy one. But the robots-for-hire business model will work."

Time Out of Joint - "If you fail to maintain amorphous 'professional' standards of conduct in your free time, you could lose your job."

Dr. Futurity - "Surgeons are also looking at ways to avoid skin incisions altogether."

The Divine Invasion - "A GPS tracking device has helped police catch a thief that snatched up a porcelain baby Jesus from a neighborhood Nativity scene."

The Man Who Japed - "We have completely pulled it out of the ground, it is now lying flat."

Stability - "Britain is bottom in Europe because of its cameras, ID card plans and lack of government accountability." AND "The website of the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention (NBCP) crashed on Tuesday, just hours after its launch, as droves of people logged on to complain about corruption among officials."


Go redmeat.com

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Top Gigged Blogged 2007

If I'd been looking to award a 'Weirdest Gig Blogged 2007' gong, I'd be spoiled for choice; Faust and their cement mixer / angle-grinder combo? Sunn o))) and their tree? Turisas and their duck? Bearsuit and their, er, bear? Not to mention the trip that was the Imagined Village...

But it is the top gig we seek, the one gig to rule them all this year, the one gig which transported and inspired. Ordinarily it would be the aforementioned doomlords Sunn o))) and their collaboration with Boris but as they really can't be compared with anyone else musically, it wouldn't be fair. Plus they won last year. Which leaves a damn close race; Gringo Records' Tenth Anniversary was a great day, ending as it did with the nigh-on perfect triple-whammy of Lords, Bilge Pump and Part Chimp. Deerhoof were sparkling in June and Ojos de Brujo warmed up November a treat. Rush should have been in with a much louder shout but top gigs don't come from drum solos alone...

However it is ROCK which wins the day, as Heaven and Hell proved simply stupendous - a tragedy that they played to a half-full NEC on a Monday night and with a support band that would be better employed clearing minefields, but nonetheless, Dio-era Black Sabbath showed why they've gone on and on and on influencing countless bands over the years. I even waved that 'devil horn' hand sign at the great Iommi. Nearly.

I wish I'd taken photos as good as this chap's...

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Gig Blogged #64 - Damn You! Christmas Covers Party @ The Maze, Nottingham

The Damn You! Christmas Covers Party, featuring; Cuban Crimewave, the Jingle Belles, Souvaris, the Evil Hawks, Dearest and La La Lepus @ The Maze, Nottingham, Saturday 22nd December 2007

Now showing over @ palmereldritch.co.uk

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Philip K Dick Project Updated - Voices From The Street

Quotes are now up for Voices From The Street, over at palmereldritch.co.uk. Sample;

"This country is evil. We're big and rich and full of pride. We waste and we spend and we don't care about the rest of the world."

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Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ? - "Look everyone, I'm singing out of my twat!"

Return to Lilliput [I knew we'd get one eventually] - "Recent exploration activity in the northern region of India uncovered a skeletal remains of a human of phenomenal size."

Eye In The Sky - "City law said it is illegal for any two animals to have sex in public within Dibble city limits."

Clans of the Alphane Moon - "The biggest group found in the research were termed univores, people who are only interested in popular culture." [Warning - Torygrunt content]

Faith of Our Fathers - "We can’t have the obscenity of reality upsetting the masses."

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said - "We're all entitled to privacy, but we're not entitled to anonymity."

A Maze of Death - "We have your daughter. We are making her wash her hands until they are raw, every day. This is only the beginning. OCD."

A Scanner Darkly - "On October 15, 2004, Kenneth Sodomsky brought his computer to a Circuit City store in Wyomissing, Pa., and asked store technicians to install a DVD burner."

The Unreconstructed M - "It could even temporarily change its shape to look more like innocuous piece of trash hanging from the cable."

The Divine Invasion - "If you are a sinner or evil in nature, this product may cause burning, intense heat, sweating, skin irritations, rashes, itchiness, vomiting bloodshot and watery eyes, pale skin color, and oral irritations."

Radio Free Albemuth - "However, the way things are going, when the end of days comes, chances are that the messiah - or indeed the antichrist - will indeed be able to simply tap into a European Union database when he is separating the elect from the damned."

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Frolix_8 Welcomes Careful Eaters

Welcome, honoured Fimoculli. And a doff of my virtual cap to Rex.

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The Minority Report - Delegation, Delegation, Delegation

IT Tech – That was Caitin Marbles on the phone, asking for a spreadsheet on the shared drive. What do we do about that?

IT Manager – [ a bit stunned by the request ] Well...ring her back, yeah?

IT Tech – Yeah...

IT Manager – Like, NOW, and ask her exactly what she wants. Cos we’re gonna have to add that to our list of jobs.

IT Tech – OK, well, she said they already have one, yeah? But it's out of date. Nikki Pickle used to do it but she’s left now, so…

IT Manager – She wants an Excel spreadsheet creating on the shared drive?

IT Tech – Yeah.

IT Manager – [sighs] I’m going to have to ring her, aren’t I? [picks up phone, then drops it again] Tell you what, I’ll email her. [starts typing furiously]

IT Tech – [walking away] Sorry about that. Sorry for landing that one on you.

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SF Gospel's Ten Best Science Fiction Stories About Religion

Excellent piece over at the SF Gospel - The 10 Best Science Fiction Stories About Religion. PKD gets an honourable mention for Faith of Our Fathers and is cited as an influence on another tale, Rick Moody's The Albertine Notes.

I think the mention of 'Wash-35' in the context of fictional drugs was more likely a reference to JJ-180, the super-addictive time-and-space brain burner from Now Wait For Last Year. Putting my PKD pedantry aside for a second, though, the SF Gospel certainly makes me want to read the stories on the list, which can only be a good thing.

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Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

Now Wait For Last Year - "After centuries of wondering, men can finally work out if their partner really is 'fine' or not thanks to a new dress that changes colour depending on a woman's mood." [ It's a link to the Daily Scare site, I do apologise. ] AND "Is there any difference between drinking coffee to pep yourself up and taking a drug like Modafinil, which has been shown to increase alertness, planning and memory?" AND "It could really change the dynamic of a city"

Adjustment Team - "MPs are public servants paid for using public money - have they really nothing better to do than sit around writing guidelines on how to use a dustpan and brush?" [ Link's to the Torygraph. Again, apologies. ]

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said - "IF YOU SUSPECT IT...REPORT IT" AND "See Something, Say Something" [ via Nobody's Business ]

The Man In The High Castle - "It is an original reproduction. It is a hyperfake. " AND "I'm not opposed to mixed marriages but their children are washing out the identity of this country's indigenous people."

Survey Team - "The mission is much more difficult - and expensive - if the data is not obtainable at altitude and a lander has to be put on the icy surface to reach it."

The Divine Invasion - "I do not think it will make him less popular. However, I do think that some people who represent religious institutional views may try to make his political life difficult as a result of that."

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The Minority Report - Communication Breakdown, It's Always The Same...

You have been assigned the Helpdesk Ticket 1B28

Received 18/12/2007 15:37

Summary: Subject Reports

Detail: Student Number ##### - have entered data and clicked Save then when re-visit the student the Predicted Grade, Punctuality and Attendance aren't there. Also - can the comment about Saving be explained please.

The nebulous, impenetrable 'comment about Saving' in need of further explanation is some text next to a 'Save' button and reads -

ANY CHANGES WILL BE LOST IF THIS BUTTON IS NOT CLICKED

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Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

Dr. Futurity - "It provides a new way to create nano-based systems with what we hope will provide a novel way to someday engineer tissues in the human body."

The Man Who Japed - "English’s work often involves 'liberating' commercial billboards with his own messages..."

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said - "Police are stopping law-abiding motorists and rewarding their good driving with $5 Starbucks gift cards."

A Scanner Darkly - "The Stop/Search record form issued by the police states the reason for the stop as 'obtaining photos of poss [sic] sensitive material'..."

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ? - "The bot isn't terribly complicated, his belly glows red when he wants you to touch it, and when you do he lights up with joy."

We Can Build You - "Build yourself this $30 Android and make all the loneliness go away."

The Mold of Yancy - "...there are a large number who are appalled but are loyal to the leader and haven't spoken out about it."

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The Minority Report - You Can't Get Better...

The first phone call of the day...

Palmer Eldritch - Hello, IT Helpdesk.

Busy Colleague - Hello! How are you?

P_E - Fine. How are you?

B_C - Do you know anything about cars?

P_E - Er…

B_C - There's a funny light on my dashboard.

P_E - Right. Where are you? At home?

B_C - No, I’ve got to work.

P_E - Well, what colour is it?

B_C - Yellow

P_E - And does it have a shape or symbol or something on it?

B_C - Yes. It's yellow.

P_E - What's the shape?

B_C - It looks like an engine.

P_E - Yes, yellow lights are often to do with the engine. When did it come on?

B_C - Just now on my way to work.

P_E - And did the car do anything else? Make any odd noises?

B_C - No, it went like a dream. [laughs] This is like being at the doctor’s, isn’t it?

P_E - Well I’d see if it comes on again when you set off home today...

B_C - Oh I can’t do that, I’ve got things to do.

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Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

Sales Pitch - "Adverbarge and skyline"

Ubik - "My current view is that Disneyism, as a religion, is a reality."

Martian Time-Slip - "Fascinating new research from the United States, just published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, uses a 'babble stimulus', and could predict who is going to develop schizophrenia in the future."

A Scanner Darkly - "It's entirely unclear why any company might have been squirrelling this data away anywhere, never mind in Iowa."

The Cosmic Puppets - "It's a fascinating sort of duality about how these high-energy phenomena influence the environments in which they're embedded."

We Can Build You - "Do you think you have seen everything about robots?" [ video ]

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Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

Confessions of a Crap Artist - "I am making a small book and needs fact in regard to End of the world."

Dr. Bloodmoney - "...Ginger Cruz, a self-described wiccan, threatened to put hexes on employees and made inappropriate sexual remarks."

A Scanner Darkly - "Defeating the Shoe Scanning Machine at Heathrow Airport" AND "A lot of our decision making is directed by the subconscious."

The Zap Gun - "So it's looks like a very nice weapon."

We Can Build You - "Having a virtual reality robot that can realize its behaviors in the real world through a Mobot could have applications in a wide variety of areas, such as entertainment, education, and psychological treatments."

Now Wait For Last Year - "This new navigation-based system is yet another attempt at removing the driver from the equation..."

Nanny - "The robot can identify obstacles by directing laser beams in front of it in a semicircular pattern and reading the reflected signals."

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Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

Do Androids Dreams of Electric Sheep ? - "I just wish somebody would shoot it so we’d know what that was."

Clans of the Alphane Moon - "She was working after hours and thought no one else was in the building. Then she heard someone say over the loudspeaker that she was going to die."

If There Were No Benny Cemoli - "Beyond coerced confessions, there appears to be no compelling evidence to support the government's dramatic claims."

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The Sunn o))). We Love It.

Here's another pic from the weekend's big fight - Anderson vs. O'Malley at Butlin's, Minehead. Anderson's winning on points here, although O'Malley was having problems with his valves. But let's face it, performing at that illustrious venue is bound to send anyone 'a bit funny'.

Well done to the Illusionator for the find. And weller done to the photographer for taking the pic in the first place.

Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

The Man In The High Castle - "Reality? Probably made in Guangzhou a week before."

Stability - "A spokeswoman for McDonald's said the 45-minute restrictions had been introduced at about 40 restaurants because car parks were being abused."

Sales Pitch - " 'God, what have I done?' I exclaimed as I weeped and fell to my knees, 'What have I done?' "

A Scanner Darkly - "In dismissing one case, a Brooklyn judge noted that the law gives people 10 days to turn in property they find, and suggested the city had enough real crime for the police to fight without any need to provide fresh temptations."

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said - "Certainly our goal is to catch the thief; but if we can help create an environment which makes it more difficult for the thief to thrive, then that's a positive for our entire community."

The Hanging Stranger - "Nice move, genius."

The Zap Gun - "It'll use essentially off the shelf technology to see if combining aversive noises with light produce some special debiliating effects."

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Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

The Golden Man - "In evolutionary terms, cultures that grow slowly are at a disadvantage, but the massive growth of human populations has led to far more genetic mutations."

The Man Who Japed - "The news has become a kind of super-fiction..."

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ? - "I always had the feeling that he would turn on me some day..."

The Mold of Yancy - "Does the sun rise in the east? Has Labour enhanced rights and liberties?"

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More Shiny Black Sunn o))) & Boris

Look, I know I'm going off on one but really - you people who insist on choons and beatz and wordz and things don't know what you're missing. You can have your James Blunt. Really.

Berlin #1	Berlin #2
Berlin #3	Roskilde #1
Roskilde #2	Somewhere Out There

Gig Blogged #63 - Sunn o))) & Boris @ The Forum, London

Sunn o))) & Boris @ The Forum, London, Monday 10th December 2007

Now showing over @ palmereldritch.co.uk

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Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

The film PKD would've wanted you to see

A Scanner Darkly - "Equipped with the kind of personal customer data that is extremely valuable to advertisers and the ability to theoretically target each one directly, one might worry where this is going."

Nanny - "The size and weight of the Zaky simulates the hand of a mother, so you feel as if you’re leaving one hand with your baby – and your baby feels as if you’re still there touching him." AND " "There has been a tendency when policy has been drawn up to use the levers most easily available, and too often this has been schools and colleges. The must not be allowed to happen with the implementation of the children's plan." "

Stability - "The education official responsible for the science curriculum in the state of Texas resigned last month saying she was forced to step down after being reprimanded for informing colleagues of a talk on the conflict over the teaching of evolution."

Sales Pitch - "The billboard uses technology manufactured by Holosonic that transmits an "audio spotlight" from a rooftop speaker so that the sound is contained within your cranium."

The Ganymede Takeover - "Homosexual courtship might be sort of an 'overreaction' to sexual stimuli."

Radio Free Albemuth - "But, it turns out, the conspiracy theorists may not have been entirely off-base, after all."

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Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

Galactic Pot-Healer - "The Catholic Church has reacted with horror."

Dr. Futurity - "When it comes to children and school, safety always comes first… unless of course you live in China."

Sales Pitch - "It's early days to see how many will be recruited thanks to their virtual visit on Second Life but the navy is pleased with the result noting that some visitors spent almost all day aboard..."

The Variable Man - "With the PAM missile we can actually tell it which way to fly. You can fly it down the middle of the road in Baghdad and hit a target on the other side of town."

Nanny - "Over the next two to three years, we will put the robots to the test through trial applications and see what kind of business possibilities they present."

The Mold of Yancy - "The key to achieving the development goals is to concentrate on helping the very poor."

A Scanner Darkly - "Last year within airports in London and Waterloo international rail terminal 236 "swallowers" carrying £13m of class A drugs were discovered."

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Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

Reality, thank flickr

The Broken Bubble - "Spheres by PaulaGabriela"

Counter-Clock World - "Frequently Asked Questions about Caskets"

A Scanner Darkly - "Finley said the scans would reveal hidden medical problems, prosecutors said, and that CIA agents would then enter their homes and administer secret medications while they slept."

Ubik - "Explore a range of other lucrative opportunities in the metaverse..."

The World Jones Made - "For girls hanging out in Akihabara, bandages and eye patches have become a must-have fashion item."

Sales Pitch - " "She came home bubbly and happy about her report card," said Pagan. "On the cover was a McDonald’s ad. I was blown away." "

Second Variety - "Last year, we learned that Neural Robotics was planning to outfit their unmanned AutoCopter with 12-gauge shotguns. Now we have the video."

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ? - "If robots are going to work alongside humans, then they will need to stand up to accidental bumps and shoves, not to mention the occasional deliberate kick."

Foster, You're Dead ! - "The resulting global structure is so strong that it can dissipate the energies of multiple blasts without breaking, unlike other materials of this class."

Time Out of Joint - "What is it about the Moon and conspiracy theories, anyway?"

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - "Adopting a touch screen, the Barbie B2 comes in modern image with pure pink and silver."

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Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - "In this century, we are going to make the historic transition from the 'Age of Discovery' to the 'Age of Mastery'."

A Scanner Darkly - "For all the money the government has spent and all the people it's jailed, it's still failed to make a long-term impact on the availability of drugs."

Stability - "Bullshit."

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said - "I'm just curious about these things so I tried it, and boom, there was somebody else's name and somebody else's data."

Second Variety - "It's two feet tall, travels ten miles an hour, and... it'll blow a ten-inch hole through a steel door with deadly accuracy from 400 meters." AND "This robot features the impressive pliability of his lessor RB2000 brother while including new voice response sensors and weaponry."

Martian Time-Slip - "Congress is finally clamping down on the menace of human life on Mars..."

Which PKD Story Are We In Today ?

Merry Christmas, maggots

Now Wait For Last Year - "We're caught between a rock and a hard place because they're not a recognized state."

The Hood Maker - "THIS WEBSITE TELLS YOU HOW TO MAKE A THOUGHT SCREEN HELMET, THE MATERIALS AND TOOLS YOU NEED TO MAKE ONE, AND WHERE YOU CAN OBTAIN THE MATERIALS"

A Scanner Darkly - "A passenger simply steps on what looks like a twin mud scraper/shoe buffer, and within an average of 1.2 seconds an audio-visual signal either alerts the operator to concealed metal or gives the all-clear."

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said -