5 ms·

An online archive of Agrippa: A Book of the Dead

92 points by benbreen 4y ago

pringk02 4y ago
Fascinating. Despite being a Gibson fan I didn't know about this poem or its distribution, nor that he had this kind of technical know-how -- though I don't find myself surprised
- vidarh 4y ago
  I never saw the real thing, but copies of it were all over the now (fittingly) long gone BBS's I was using at the time. I don't think Gibson did the distribution. The artists book at least was done by Dennis Ashbaugh[1] and he might have been behind the software as well? The concept apparently came from the publisher, Kevin Begos Jr. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Ashbaugh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Ashbaugh
- blacksmith_tb 4y ago
  Another bit of recommended Gibson ephemera, if you haven't seen it already, is the documentary No Maps for these Territories[1], which certainly had lots of biographical details I didn't know about. 1: https://archive.org/details/NoMapsForTheseTerritories https://archive.org/details/NoMapsForTheseTerritories
- WilTimSon 4y ago
  I guess it tracks with him being able to write intricate and detailed sci-fi, the man knew what he was talking about. There's a reason he's still revered as one of the greatest examples of the genre.
ncr100 4y ago
Yay art! (Albeit hugged close to death, this morning) Story: I owned a 20MB hard drive, attached to the side of my Amiga 1200, in the 1990's. Internet was a discrete, dial-up experience. One morning the drive clanged unnaturally loudly. And the shaky desk on which I computed transmitted a strong thud force. My HD had decided to slam its head into its cylinder spindle. I believed I would lose all my work. I backed it up, and later Maxtor honored its warranty, ultimately restoring my precious files. Gibson's poetry experience reminds me of this moment - all my special data being threatened to go, "poof!" (link to his full poem: https://web.archive.org/web/20190322065716/http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/source/agrippa.asp https://web.archive.org/web/20190322065716/http://www.willia...)
- vidarh 4y ago
  When my first HD for my Amiga refused to spin up one day (an A590 with whatever brand of drive was inside it; I can't recall), I ended up opening it up, and manually "helping" the motor. Once it had spun up, I was able to access the files again. I meticulously backed everything up (to floppies... it was only a 20MB drive as well), but could not afford a replacement at that moment. I was able to keep using the drive for another 6 months at least before I replaced it. Every time I cold-started the machine I would have to open the enclosure and help spin it up with my fingers... (of course being very careful about backing up anything essential regularly).
  - ncr100 4y ago
    That is a fantastic story. These HD's were EXPENSIVE, back in that day. I'm impressed no bit-errors crept into your drive, at least none that you mention here. Did you use a clean-room (a humid bathroom) or did you just YOLO it?
- hummus_bae 4y ago
  [dead]

92 points by benbreen 4y ago

Fascinating. Despite being a Gibson fan I didn't know about this poem or its distribution, nor that he had this kind of technical know-how -- though I don't find myself surprised

vidarh 4y ago
I never saw the real thing, but copies of it were all over the now (fittingly) long gone BBS's I was using at the time. I don't think Gibson did the distribution. The artists book at least was done by Dennis Ashbaugh[1] and he might have been behind the software as well? The concept apparently came from the publisher, Kevin Begos Jr. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Ashbaugh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Ashbaugh
blacksmith_tb 4y ago
Another bit of recommended Gibson ephemera, if you haven't seen it already, is the documentary No Maps for these Territories[1], which certainly had lots of biographical details I didn't know about. 1: https://archive.org/details/NoMapsForTheseTerritories https://archive.org/details/NoMapsForTheseTerritories
WilTimSon 4y ago
I guess it tracks with him being able to write intricate and detailed sci-fi, the man knew what he was talking about. There's a reason he's still revered as one of the greatest examples of the genre.

ncr100 4y ago

Yay art! (Albeit hugged close to death, this morning) Story: I owned a 20MB hard drive, attached to the side of my Amiga 1200, in the 1990's. Internet was a discrete, dial-up experience. One morning the drive clanged unnaturally loudly. And the shaky desk on which I computed transmitted a strong thud force. My HD had decided to slam its head into its cylinder spindle. I believed I would lose all my work. I backed it up, and later Maxtor honored its warranty, ultimately restoring my precious files. Gibson's poetry experience reminds me of this moment - all my special data being threatened to go, "poof!" (link to his full poem: https://web.archive.org/web/20190322065716/http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/source/agrippa.asp https://web.archive.org/web/20190322065716/http://www.willia...)

vidarh 4y ago
When my first HD for my Amiga refused to spin up one day (an A590 with whatever brand of drive was inside it; I can't recall), I ended up opening it up, and manually "helping" the motor. Once it had spun up, I was able to access the files again. I meticulously backed everything up (to floppies... it was only a 20MB drive as well), but could not afford a replacement at that moment. I was able to keep using the drive for another 6 months at least before I replaced it. Every time I cold-started the machine I would have to open the enclosure and help spin it up with my fingers... (of course being very careful about backing up anything essential regularly).
- ncr100 4y ago
  That is a fantastic story. These HD's were EXPENSIVE, back in that day. I'm impressed no bit-errors crept into your drive, at least none that you mention here. Did you use a clean-room (a humid bathroom) or did you just YOLO it?
hummus_bae 4y ago
[dead]