Crash log of the Singularity

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Elizabeth Sandifer

Elizabeth Sandifer created Eruditorum Press. She’s not really sure why she did that, and she apologizes for the inconvenience. She currently writes Last War in Albion, a history of the magical war between Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. She used to write TARDIS Eruditorum, a history of Britain told through the lens of a ropey sci-fi series. She also wrote Neoreaction a Basilisk, writes comics these days, and has ADHD so will probably just randomly write some other shit sooner or later. Support Elizabeth on Patreon.

9 Comments

  1. D.N.
    May 4, 2020 @ 12:02 pm

    “…or Monty Python, whose surviving members seem increasingly determined to become edgelordy Brexiteers who complain about how people are easily offended snowflakes…”

    John Cleese and Terry Gilliam, yes.

    Eric Idle and Michael Palin, no.

    Reply

  2. prandeamus
    May 4, 2020 @ 2:44 pm

    For all that you have said recently about this series being hard to write, El, I very much value the following sentence:

    “More likely, what one will find is that comedy has repeatedly normalized the idea that power is supposed to be corrupt, absurd, and stupid, and that while one might complain about this, there’s no realistic prospect of changing it.”

    I’m not sure I fully agree, but I will take up the challenge of considering it. Thank you.

    Reply

  3. Christopher Brown
    May 4, 2020 @ 5:36 pm

    Dang. And here I was hoping to get an analysis of all the nihilistic themes of The Horns of Nimon (for real) and get a doom-laden take on Anthony Read (slightly more sarcastically).

    Nonetheless, this has been a fantastic series, and this was a huge high note on which to end it. I’m sorry that it turned out to be an unsatisfying project, but I assure you the effort wasn’t wasted. Best of luck with your upcoming projects which I hope will give you the creative satisfaction you’re looking for.

    Reply

    • Christopher Brown
      May 4, 2020 @ 5:38 pm

      Just a thought that an in-depth, erm, reading on Anthony Read probably is worth doing; it would certainly be the contrarian move, and thus probably worth exploring.

      Reply

  4. Christopher Brown
    May 4, 2020 @ 8:26 pm

    “Adams, meanwhile, has spent the time in which his friends have squandered their own reputations keeping quiet and, for that matter, only taking a slight dent to his productivity compared to the last decade or so of his life.”

    While we’re on that train of thought, I’d make some comment about Terry Jones not saying anything offensive for the last few years, but I’m not sure how it’d land.

    Reply

  5. Greg S.
    May 5, 2020 @ 12:54 am

    Reposted from Patreon comments:

    Thank you so much for this El. I think this is my favorite of all your commentaries, owing largely to me being an enormous Douglas Adams fanatic ever since I first read The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy novel in 1982. (Being from the US, I hadn’t heard the radio show yet.)

    I think the reason I enjoy Adams’ fiction so much is because it always portrays a worldview that is perfectly aware that everything that happens in the universe is based entirely on random chance, but it is hard to escape the feeling that the universe has it out for the individual personally. (Mildly amusing aside: it wasn’t until today, when I checked online to make sure I was using the correct phrase, that I realized “have it out for” and “have it in for” have the exact same meaning. I chose “out” for aesthetic reasons.)

    I quite enjoyed your thoughts on comedy’s power to actually effect positive change. It reminds me of a quote from another comedic hero of mine, Tom Lehrer. In latter day interviews he responds to questions about if his satirical songs might have helped bring about positive change with: “I’m fond of quoting Peter Cook, who talked about the satirical Berlin cabarets of the ’30s, which did so much to stop the rise of Hitler.”

    Congratulations El. If Dalek Eruditorum had to end, it is nice that it ended on a strong note. The sentence “Douglas Adams, meanwhile, has spent the time in which his friends have squandered their own reputations keeping quiet and, for that matter, only taking a slight dent to his productivity compared to the last decade or so of his life” made me both laugh and admire the mind that wrote it in the same way that the best Douglas Adams wordsmithing does.

    Reply

  6. Jarl
    May 5, 2020 @ 2:17 am

    Oh this was a lovely way to go out. I was a bit upset about not getting to see some of your nihilistic takes on future episodes, but only in the long term. In the short term, I’m totally fine taking a break from this kind of work during this kind of apocalypse. And to have such a superb breaking off point, I love it. 100%.

    The joke about Adam’s productivity in particular feels… wholesome. Like the end of the world is worth it for that.

    Reply

  7. wyngatecarpenter
    May 6, 2020 @ 1:49 pm

    “what one will find is that comedy has repeatedly normalized the idea that power is supposed to be corrupt, absurd, and stupid,”
    And so we have Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. Johnson first became widely known to the British public as a result of his appearences on a satirical comedy panel show. Nigel Farage also made a few appearences back in the days when he was just the leader of fringe party pursuing a minority cause.

    Reply

  8. John G. Wood
    May 11, 2020 @ 8:47 am

    Just wanted to add my thanks for all you have published here to date – it’s no exaggeration to say you’ve changed how I see the program. I’m sorry DE is coming to an end (at least for now), but I’m looking forward to the next volume of TE and the next chapter of LWiA. Take care of yourself!

    Reply

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