Paul Fairie

We need to make computers make our lives more fun, not have all the fun on our behalf.

(year 2186, two people eating beans from a tin near a fire)

person 1: what happened before we used to select which person to use as training data to make decisions on our behalf in parliament?

person 2: no idea i've never heard of this, let me ask chatgpt

MAN MARRIES MOTHER IN LAW --Turlock Journal, 27 Jan 1932

Let's go back to the good old days I guess

Hah

Thank you! The running has been so very helpful, yes!

Threat to his marriage QUESTION -- I'm four years married and I've discovered recently that I'm homosexual. This may sound unreal, but while I was never very interested in girls before marriage, I had no homosexual contacts either. Our marriage has been happy and although I am not highly sexed, our love making has been satisfying -- certainly my wife never complained. About six months ago I went abroad on a business trip and it was then that I discovered I was homosexual. When I return I found it impossible for a long time to make love to my wife. I blamed my impotence on health reasons, but as she's an intelligent woman I'm sure she guesses the truth. I don't want to hurt her and I don't want our marriage to break down, but I'm worried that she will find out what I really am. Have you any words of advice? Should I tell her? How would she take it? ANSWER -- You have a difficult problem -- one that you will have to face with courage and patience. My advice is to seek specialist advice before you take irrevocable steps. Not knowing your wife, I cannot say how she would react to the news that you have homosexual tendencies. If you feel that she would be sympathetic and would accept the revelation with courage, then it would ease your own state of mind to confide in her. On the other hand, if you feel that a confession would mean a breakdown of your marriage, you would be well advised to be as discreet as possible and hope that your secret will remain a secret. One way or the other, I feel it would help to discuss your problem with somebody who is an expert in this field -- your doctor will advise. --Sunday Independent (Dublin ed.), 16 Jun 1974

I wonder what happened after this letter.

Haha, I know a publisher who won't publish it

On the bright side, if this all works out ok in the end, it will be a great dinner party story.

I would describe my energy around the project as both "completely drained of energy" and "full of energy", both at the same time.

Thank you all for being so kind and understanding. I never thought you all wouldn't be, but still wildly appreciated.

A surprising number of promising leads to follow up with. Nothing ever certain of course, but I'll let you know if any of them become more than just promising.

Thanks! I'll look into them.

Hah, good idea, too ✍🏼

Thanks! It's been a thing.

😂 thank you

Just to make sure I get the vibes across correctly:

*a sigh so dramatic and long it feels slightly awkward*

If you did pledge/pre-order, you will get an email from me in the next few weeks with an update (for people not seeing these posts) and a few suggestions for next steps (once I have them).

And when I say "you will get an email from me", I mean "I have to write and send an email to 1400+ people".

Just in case you are wondering about the newspaper clippings book, and haven't seen this yet, an update (sigh):

Yeah, probably a self-published option would be an e-book. I've looked into it, and it would be hard to make a small run on a cost-recovery basis with tariffs and shipping particularly economical. If I could hand them out in person and use the printer close to my house... maybe. Otherwise 😬

Yes for sure! Will do the contest as usual in December.

Hah I did look into a zine route back in 2022.

Not on the Vision Board

1. Anything that involves crowdfunding or presales more than a few months before a confirmed publication date.

2. Giving up.

4. Sell it to a smaller Canadian publisher who does or doesn't do coffee table books (and rewrite as needed).

5. Remove anything that would have used the permissions budget built into the original Unbound campaign, add in some more fun stuff, and self-publish.

The Press Gallery Vision Board

1. Get an agent, sell it to a Big 5 publisher.

2. Get an agent, sell it to a smaller Canadian publisher (who does coffee table books).

3. Get an agent, sell it to a smaller Canadian publisher (and rewrite it so it's not a coffee table book anymore)

Thanks! It's all been quite a shame, especially in the last six months or so... Sigh.

Onward.

Thanks, the last bit of this process has been quite tiring.

I'll definitely let people know when it can be ordered in a more reliable way.

Thanks! And gee whiz, really..

AN UPDATE ABOUT THE PRESS GALLERY

I finally have an update about The Press Gallery, though it's not a good one -- while there is no official announcement I can find, I understand that the publisher (Boundless, who earlier this year, bought Unbound, who went bankrupt) is winding up as well.

Yeah, it's been in a bit of a weird grey area for a while with nothing in particular to communicate other than just 🤷🏼‍♂️ for about 8 months in a row there. Will regroup and start sending it around next week.

No, all mine again!

Yes! The very same. Mine was in the back of a few as well.