Mapping Madness

Mapping Madness
Originally uploaded by Snurri.

"There are three cartography firms in the city, a number which would be insupportable in even the largest of normal metropolises. For a city that changes as quickly as this one, however, it is barely enough. From the beginning there were subtle differences between the city pre- and post-Exile, aside even from the obvious (such as the elision of all memory and record of the city's name); certain cul-de-sacs abruptly became through-streets, alleys became thoroughfares, and walkways opened between buildings which had once shared common walls. Overnight on May Day of 1969 a large tower--formed, an analysis later showed, of solid volcanic rock--appeared in the intersection of Orange Street and Adams Avenue downtown (see p.89 for more on the 'Black Tower'), creating a would-be traffic circle for the herds of derelict cars lining the city streets. (May 1st has always been a significant date in the city, such that certain inhabitants refuse to leave their homes after midnight on April 30 in anticipation of some cataclysm like the May Day Earthquake or the May Day Buffalo Manifestation.) Two weeks later, the enclave now known as the Rising Sun neighborhood appeared in the midst of Lakeside, bringing with it a great number of former Tokyo residents, homes and all. . . . It is rare that a month passes without some appearance of, say, a Kinshasa slum or a market from the heart of Ulaan Bator. At the very least many shadowy figures have made sudden appearances here, with or without their places of residence. Most are sorcerers of one stripe or another. Some have become prominent citizens, working with the Gemini Club or the Mayor's Department of Uncanny Activity. Others have been scourges to the citizenry; the necromancer Nigel Ravenswood comes to mind, and the pyromaniacal Cyril de Saavedra. . . . All this accretion of avenues, not to mention denizens and their habitations, keeps the cartographers of Kane Sisters, Mighty Maps, and Swenson and Sing very busy. On occasion their tripartite rivalry has resulted in open conflict, although mostly it is limited to the exchange of vitriol in the pages of Streetwise Journal, known as the most regularly published of the city's scholarly journals (as well as the least regimented about peer reviews). The primary item of debate is the question of whether the city is in fact expanding with the addition of real estate, or whether the city streets have in fact been shrinking incrementally over the years, keeping the total area of the Exile constant. Swenson and Sing hold the former opinion, Kane Sisters the latter. The cartographers of Mighty Maps, a firm made up primarily of former garbage gangsters, claim a preference for focusing on the practical rather than the theoretical, and publish more maps than journal articles. . . . For now, there is enough business from the city and various trade concerns to sustain all three firms in varying levels of prosperity." (p.280)

The Confused Post

"Veronica Mars" was so weird last night. I mean, OK, I missed the first couple of minutes, and I was a little drunk. But I couldn't figure it out. I guess Veronica was investigating this dance group or something, so she went undercover to try out for them? Only I couldn't actually figure out which one she was. I think Wallace was there, too. He looked kinda disturbingly hot in drag. Anyway, the whole thing was in this sort of faux documentary style? They kept on flashing up people's names, only they weren't characters I remember seeing before, and I had trouble telling them apart because it seemed like there was a regulation hair length for this dance troupe. Oh and the dialogue was REALLY bad. And Keith was like pretending to be a choreographer? I think. All through the thing they kept playing that "I'm a hot freak and your girlfriend goes to sleep at 10:30" song by that Saber-tooth Mannequin person, too. That was annoying. Anyway, this one girl got sick, and I think some of the other girls that were auditioning might have killed her? Then Mac gave this little speech about empowerment, and she was wearing fishnets and a cutoff dirndl top and stuff . . . I think I must have passed out at some point, because I missed the end, but then they said it was going to be continued next week? I thought they weren't doing the arcs anymore? Did anyone see it?