Remember, remember the fifth of November...

...the gunpowder treason and plot.

Heaven, by Ian Cohen and Jack Stewart. And a coincidentally perfect companion video. I'll borrow this nice sentence from a review of these authors' other book: "Although their characters and world-building lack believability, the authors wield scientific speculation with cheerful abandon, providing some real old-fashioned sense of wonder." That pretty much sums it up right there, in what I probably would have said in several sentences. I will add that as much as it's hard to read in being...well, written by a couple of academics, it is artfully constructed in terms of structure, so that's something. Lots of incredibly interesting ideas, loosely shoved into an unbelievable, even for science fiction, setting. So, worth reading in the one regard, if you're up for the challenge of non-stimulation.

One thing I noted about the All Souls Procession last night was the odd beauty of hundreds of cameras constantly flashing. From within the parade, and from the multitude of people watching on the sidewalks, it was like a constant lightning storm. I wonder how a procession of a couple hundred years back would think about that.

-interesting burial alternatives