William Gibson in WaPo:

"One of the things I've been doing in the eBay era -- I've become a really keen observer of the rationalization of the world's attic. Every class of human artifact is being sorted and rationalized by this economically driven machine that constantly turns it over and brings it to a higher level of searchability. . . . The tentacles of that operation extend into every flea market and thrift shop and basement and attic in the world. . . .

"Every hair is being numbered -- eBay has every grain of sand. EBay is serving this very, very powerful function which nobody ever intended for it. EBay in the hands of humanity is sorting every last Dick Tracy wrist radio cereal premium sticker that ever existed. It's like some sort of vast unconscious curatorial movement.

Through the Looking Glass - washingtonpost.com

Just a reminder...

William Gibson's new book - Spook Country - comes out tomorrow.

William Gibson - Spook Country - August 7, 2007

Tito is in his early twenties. Born in Cuba, he speaks fluent Russian, lives in one room in a NoLita warehouse, and does delicate jobs involving information transfer.

Hollis Henry is an investigative journalist, on assignment from a magazine called Node. Node doesn't exist yet, which is fine; she's used to that. But it seems to be actively blocking the kind of buzz that magazines normally cultivate before they start up. Really actively blocking it. It's odd, even a little scary, if Hollis lets herself think about it much. Which she doesn't; she can't afford to.

Milgrim is a junkie. A high-end junkie, hooked on prescription antianxiety drugs. Milgrim figures he wouldn't survive twenty-four hours if Brown, the mystery man who saved him from a misunderstanding with his dealer, ever stopped supplying those little bubble packs. What exactly Brown is up to Milgrim can't say, but it seems to be military in nature. At least, Milgrim's very nuanced Russian would seem to be a big part of it, as would breaking into locked rooms.

Bobby Chombo is a "producer," and an enigma. In his day job, Bobby is a troubleshooter for manufacturers of military navigation equipment. He refuses to sleep in the same place twice. He meets no one. Hollis Henry has been told to find him.

Spook Country. Great title. I know already I'm going to love this book.

August 7th is the tentative release date. Start counting the days..

Amazon.com | William Gibson's Spook Country

The other day I had a chance to flip through a friend's copy of Kurt Vonnegut's new book. Its one of those rare volumes that you can flip to just about any page and find at least one great truth present that makes you laugh out loud.

Its clearly targeted to a younger crowd. This is a perfect book to give to a teenager. MemeStreams user Opheria put together this selection of quotes:

“I think that novels that leave out technology misrepresent life as badly as Victorians misrepresent life by leaving out sex.”

“One of the most impressive ways to tell your war story is to refuse to tell it.”

“If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don’t have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts.”

“I don’t know about you, but I practice a disorganized religion. We call ourselves ‘Our Lady of Perpetual Astonishment.’”

“The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the whole planet would be named Bush, Dick and Colon.”

“We are all addicts of fossil fuels in a state of denial. And like so many addicts about to face cold turkey, our leaders are now committing violent crimes to get what little is left of what we’re hooked on.”

“We are here on Earth to fart around. Don’t let anybody tell you any different.”

“Bill Gates says, ‘Wait till you can see what your computer can become.’ But it is you who should be doing the becoming, not the damn fool computer.”

“The only proof he needed for the existence of God was music.”

“…I don’t think people give a damn whether the planet goes on or not. It seems to me as if everyone is living as members of Alcoholics Anonymous do, day by day.”

“…do you know why I think George W. Bush is so pissed off at Arabs? They brought us Algebra.”

“If you actually are an educated, thinking person, you will not be welcome in Washington, D.C.”

“Life is no way to treat an animal, not even a mouse.”

“Our President is a Christian? So was Adolf Hitler.”

“Doesn’t anything socialistic make you want to throw up? Like great public schools or health insurance for all?”
“I have one reality show that would make your hair stand on end: C-Students from Yale.”

“Only nut cases want to be president. This was true even in high school. Only clearly disturbed people ran for class president.”

“What is it, what can it possibly be about blow jobs and golf?”

“…it is time we thanked God that we are in a country where even the poor people are overweight. But the Bush diet could change that.”

“The good Earth - we could have saved it, but we were too damn cheap and lazy.”

“Rules only take us so far, even good rules.”

Amazon | A Man Without A Country - Kurt Vonnegut

] Hunter S. Thompson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound
] at his home in Woody Creek on Sunday night. He was 67.
]
] Regarded as one of the most legendary writers of the 20th
] century, Thompson is best known for the 1972 classic
] "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." He is also credited
] with pioneering gonzo journalism - a style of writing
] that breaks tradition rules of news reporting and is
] purposefully slanted.

This is shocking.. I've been hit with a wave of sadness. I wonder why he killed himself. I can't picture him offing himself without something to say about it.

Rest In Peace Hunter. July 18, 1939 -- February 20, 2005

DenverPost.com - Hunter S. Thompson commits suicide

The items being purchased are 10,000 New International Version (NIV) Bibles with a custom-designed cover. The Bibles include Army-designed color photographs and text inserts.

War may be hell, but infowar is making a bid for heaven.

"Guns, guns, guns, and the bible carved this nation out of the wilderness.." US Nation Building technique appears in full effect, for better, worse, or same.

SOCOM wants Bibles

"Okay," said Jackie.

"Yep," said Rattle, "this is just what you think it is. A children's book about catching your parents smoking weed. Praise Jah!"

It's Just a Plant, a children's book

The section about fighting with Gibson is funny, but the comments about accountability in the writing profession is the part you shouldn't miss.

Slashdot Neal Stephenson Interview

] There's been a big discussion - especially since Iraq
] about whether America is an empire or not.
] Certainly we're involved in a lot of countries, and we
] have a kind of imperial reach, and people see us that
] way. But Americans are really not comfortable with this.
] They don't like the idea of ruling other people, and
] they're not in it for the long haul. They have no desire,
] like the British did in India, to rule in perpetuity. One
] of the big problems is that we are subject, as a
] democracy, to momentary enthusiasms for undertaking
] projects of various sorts. But a lot of times we don't
] have the staying power to see them through to the end.

Johns Hopkins Magazine - Fukuyama interview

September 1999 version. Currently #591 on B&N. Useful when trying to understand the Bush adminstration, this handy reference will easily fit into your trench coat pocket.

Barnes & Noble.com - The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli