1st July, 2023: Neuromancer.
It’s official.
I’ve got an earworm.
Well … not necessarily an earworm!
The song is the very catchy Prisencolinensinainciusol*: by Adriano Celentano.
It’s written in Gibberish that’s supposed to sound like English.
But — as catchy as it is? — it was the dancers that caught my eye.
It’s definitely strange!
Let’s move on, shall we?
Yesterday’s Teaser saw Olga†, Mum‡ and Debbi§ putting in their answers: with everyone scoring five out of five.
Let’s see how everyone does with today’s questions, shall we?
Q1) Neuromancer was published on 1st July. Of which year of the 1980s?Q2) Who wrote Neuromancer: Isaac Asimov, Bruce Sterling or William Gibson?Q3) The book is part of the Sprawl Trilogy. Name one of the other two books in the Sprawl Trilogy.Q4) The book is a what novel: steampunk novel, cyberpunk novel or hard sci-fi novel?Q5) The novel’s main (male) character is a man called Case. Case is a what: hacker, footballer or plumber?Q6) The book’s main (female) character, Molly, was a bodyguard, and a mercenary. And what else: cyborg, chef or shepherd?Q7) Molly has an old friend called the Finn. The Finn is a what: a fence, burglar or hacker?Q8) The Neuromancer of the novel’s title is a what: AI, robot or zombie?Q9) Neuromancer has a sibling called what: Wintermute, Summertalk or Cyberdyne?Q10) Finally … ? Neuromancer’s climax takes place in a what: an ocean liner, space station or kibbutz?
Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …
Q1) 30th June saw parts of Tunguska heavily damaged by an explosion. In which year of the 1900s?A1) 1908.Q2) Where IS Tunguska: Russia, Poland or Latvia?A2) Russia.Q3) The damage was caused by an exploding what: asteroid, aeroplane or thermobaric bomb?A3) Asteroid.Q4) That item exploded in what’s called a meteor air … what?A4) A meteor air burst.Q5) Finally … ? The item that caused the damage was said to be travelling at roughly Mach 80. In other words, at roughly eighty times the speed of what: sound, light or taste?A5) Sound. (Wikipedia tells us it represents ‘the ratio of flow velocity past a boundary to the local speed of sound.’ Apparently.)
Here’s one quote …
“The sky above the port was the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel.”The opening line of Neuromancer.
And another …
“He never saw Molly again.”The last line of Neuromancer.
And a playlist …
Today’s questions will be answered in tomorrow’s Teaser.
Decisions about scores are final.
Thank you for coming: have a good day.
* Outside of anything else? The thing got me thinking of both The Year of the Sex Olympics … and the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band’s Humanoid Boogie. It’s possibly the delivery.
† Oh, Saint Peter and Saint Paul? They seem to get paired together, a lot, Olga. Now I think of it, I think Jude’s school had the day off for it.
I know there’s a lot of discussion about sweeteners. I think one — Stevia, is it? Steviol? — can’t be fed to dogs: as it does too much damage to their livers/kidneys. Another problem — from where I’m sitting? — is the price. I can get a 5kg bag of sugar for £4·75: that will last me several months, at the rate I use it. Or a 500g bag of sugar for 75p: that’s about three weeks worth. Or get a 125g bag of Splenda of £3·00.
You can see why I buy the sugar, can’t you?
‡ Hello, Mum!
§ It is is a bit cool, Debbi. :D (Douglas Adams is supposed to be the customer who bought the first Mac in the UK. Stephen Fry bought the second.)
Oh, I’ve caught episode three of Star Trek Strange New Worlds, last night. They put in a job of work on that one! Want me to send it over … ?
3 comments:
1 1984
2 William Gibson
3 Count Zero
4 Cyberpunk
5 Hacker
6 Mercenery
7 Cyborg
8 AI
9 Wintermute
10 Space station
Q1) 1984
Q2) William Gibson
Q3) Cyberspace
Q4) cyberpunk novel
Q5) hacker
Q6) a cyborg
Q7) a fence
Q8) AI
Q9) Wintermute
Q10) a space station
Thanks, Paul. Yes, I understand, although perhaps we need to get used to not relying so much on sugar. After all, if we need to add so much sugar to things, it is perhaps because we don't like them that much. As I don't drink milk, tea or coffee, I normally only bought sugar if I had guests coming for a visit, but I do enjoy some diet soft drinks, and yes, I should just drink water.
That would be fine. I still need to see the first. You wouldn't believe what I've been up to. :)
I'm judging screenplays for the Austin Film Festival now. It's a very good, but time-consuming experience.
1. 1984 (Now, there's a year for ya!)
2. William Gibson
3. Cyberspace
4. cyberpunk novel
5. hacker
6. cyborg
7. a fence
8. AI
9. Wintermute
10. space station
Post a Comment