Before Constantine, Fox Mulder, or Scooby-doo, strange things were investigated by E. and H. Heron's iconic shamus Flaxman Low. In my new interview with editor Alexander B. Joy, he talks about assembling the #ShortStory collection, "Flaxman Low: Occult Detective."
paulsemel.com/exclusive-in...
📖🔎👻
Another old project of mine that looks nice.
www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=52346
#pico8
Piercingly true sentence of the day: "what is an essayist if not someone speaking to you in words [you] can’t find yourself."
An interview about the new Flaxman Low volume! Read my conversation with Paul Semel here:
Great read. I'm glad this essay exists.
This one is so good, lol.
![wiki page: List of games that Buddha would not play
XA 7 languages ~
Article Talk
Tools v
1. Games on boards with 8 or 10 rows. This is thought to refer to ashtapada and dasapada respectively; however, later Sinhala commentaries refer to these boards also being used with games involving dice. 2
2. The same games played on imaginary boards. Akasam astapadam was an ashtapada variant played with no board, literally "astapadam played in the sky". A correspondent in the American Chess Bulletin identifies this as likely the earliest literary mention of a blindfold chess variant. 5]
3. Games of marking diagrams on the floor such that the player can only walk on certain places. This is described in the Vinaya Pitaka as
"having drawn a circle with various lines on the ground, there they play avoiding the line to be avoided". Rhys Davids suggests that it may refer to parihara-patham, a form of hop-scotch.
4. Games where players either remove pieces from a pile or add pieces to it, with the loser being the one who causes the heap to shake (similar to the modern game pick-up sticks).
5. Games of throwing dice.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:abwhtmenw23nljo67qljuczv/bafkreicdiedjz6xo6bw4senwf3tt5eijulrdp442pbss4xeyaqviu5s7ze)
wiki page: List of games that Buddha would not play XA 7 languages ~ Article Talk Tools v 1. Games on boards with 8 or 10 rows. This is thought to refer to ashtapada and dasapada respectively; however, later Sinhala commentaries refer to these boards also being used with games involving dice. 2 2. The same games played on imaginary boards. Akasam astapadam was an ashtapada variant played with no board, literally "astapadam played in the sky". A correspondent in the American Chess Bulletin identifies this as likely the earliest literary mention of a blindfold chess variant. 5] 3. Games of marking diagrams on the floor such that the player can only walk on certain places. This is described in the Vinaya Pitaka as "having drawn a circle with various lines on the ground, there they play avoiding the line to be avoided". Rhys Davids suggests that it may refer to parihara-patham, a form of hop-scotch. 4. Games where players either remove pieces from a pile or add pieces to it, with the loser being the one who causes the heap to shake (similar to the modern game pick-up sticks). 5. Games of throwing dice.
6. Dipping the hand with the fingers stretched out in lac, or red dye, or flour-water, and striking the wet hand on the ground or on a wall, calling out "What shall it be?" and showing the form required— elephants, horses, etc.. 7. Ball games. 8. Blowing through a pat-kulal, a toy pipe made of leaves. 9. Ploughing with a toy plough. 10. Playing with toy windmills made from palm leaves. 11. Playing with toy measures made from palm leaves. 12. Playing with toy carts. 13. Playing with toy bows. 14. Guessing at letters traced with the finger in the air or on a friend's back. (letters in the Brahmi script) 15. Guessing a friend's thoughts. 16. Imitating deformities.
unbelievable jam idea
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and surrounding areas of the exclusion zone, seen February 10. The town of Futaba is visible to the right of the plant, and Okuma to the left. Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP
15 years ago today, the world watched Fukushima-Daiichi being shattered. As an editor, I'm seeing the narrative shift from "safety at all costs" to "tripling capacity" (as seen at yesterday's Paris Nuclear Energy Summit).
But is the nuclear disaster over? (1/n)
#Fukushima15 #NukeSky #NuclearEnergy
If we were destined to lose, I am at least grateful for this hater's feast that Judge has provided in the meantime.
Trusting Aaron Judge in the clutch is like trusting Elon Musk to launch your rocket: It will blow up in your face while idiots still insist on his greatness.
this doesn't hurt kobe's legacy. he's still one of the 10 best shooting guards in lakers history
Reposting for the afternoon crowd:
What even is this? It looks gorgeous.
It's beautiful!
Review (SF): Flaxman Low: Occult Detective: E and E Heron **** - surprisingly readable 1890s short stories featuring psychologist Flaxman Low encountering psychical research oddities then considered scientific. popsciencebooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/flax... #bookreview #sciencefiction
A copy of "Flaxman Low" by E. and H. Heron on a plain background. The cover features a stylized illustration by Seth of a monocled man holding a card that reads "occult detective".
"Flaxman Low," a new volume in our Radium Age Series, collects the weird—and weirdly delightful—adventures of fiction’s first occult detective: mitpress.mit.edu/978026205165...
The Singularity is upon us: Apple's AI summarized a text message that read "I'm still down to clown if you are" to.... "clown event still possible."
I'd love if you bought the book, but you could do me an even bigger favor if you asked your local or institutional library to buy a copy. I pitched this volume to make its stories more accessible, and putting it in libraries will help me realize that goal. More on that here:
Thanks! This has been a long time coming.
You can read more about this volume (and the Radium Age series as a whole) in this writeup by series editor Joshua Glenn.
Happy Publication Day to me! FLAXMAN LOW: OCCULT DETECTIVE is now available through the MIT Press!
This is a cursed statement, but I'm down for it.
Yes!!! I wrote an entire book about one of these games! Legend of the River King is much better and wiser than anyone gave it credit for.
Flaxman Low: Occult Detective officially drops tomorrow! Can't wait for it to be out in the world.
My condolences. Please don't hesitate to post any fundraising/PayPal links if you need help with costs, or just a dinner to make an evening a little easier.
NO NO NO YOU DON’T
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