51. How do Dune surfers get rid of their sandworms?
I.
In Dune: Part Two, the Fremen people travel through the desert on giant sandworms. The main character, Paul (who is given more names in the film than you can remember), learns to use this form of public transport in a breathtaking scene. As I watch the worm whizzing towards the horizon at breakneck speed, I find myself wondering: how do you get off and get back home?
A Google search makes it clear that I’m not the only one wondering this. For years, people have been opening Reddit threads to discuss it. It turns out: author Frank Herbert explains it in his books. Sort of.
When a person stands on a sandworm, they use a special hook to lift a section of the worm’s thick skin. This exposes a sensitive area, keeping the worm on the surface. This is how the creature prevents sand from getting inside. The rider then drives new hooks with cables into the skin to steer the sandworm. A worm can then travel hundreds of kilometres a day, until it gets tired and dives back under the sand. When the creature slows down, the Fremen slides down the side.
And then you just have to hope you’re roughly at your destination, I suppose. Some things (especially sci-fi and fantasy stories) are perhaps best not fact-checked to death.
Warner Bros has put the surfing scene online, but I should warn you that it’s much cooler to see this on the big screen for the first time. View at your own risk.
---II.
Anyone who has ever read a Metro newspaper on the train will be familiar with the daily strip Dating for Geeks. The series followed a number of characters who were looking for love, but in the meantime were absorbed in their geeky passions for things like comic cons and Back to the Future. Even after the free newspaper stopped publishing it, the entertaining comic strip series continued on the website of artist Kenny Rubenis. A massively supported crowdfunding campaign helped him keep it going for a few years.
I’d come across the strips now and then and catch up on them. That’s how I followed Dating for Geeks for about ten years. And now it’s over, because it was time for something new. “After ten years, I felt it was time to give the series a fitting ending,” writes Rubenis on Facebook. “Jasper had by now grown from a hopeless bachelor into a father who was engaged to the love of his life (apart from Star Wars), and after his wedding, his story would actually be finished.”
But the final strips proved the hardest. Rubenis had wanted to finish the series on 2 January, but it ended up being late February. Consequently, loads of new strips appeared over the past few weeks. That involved more work than he had anticipated. Judging by the number of likes and comments on Facebook, many people are going to miss Dating for Geeks. It’s lovely that a Dutch comic still has so many loyal readers after ten years.
The final printed collection of Dating for Geeks will be published later this year under the title TheEnd_FinalEdit_Def_Def_Version2b. But you can also read back through everything (!) via the website. “Drawing Dating for Geeks for ten years was a dream come true,” writes Rubenis. “Thank you for everything!”
III.
In Glasgow, a group with the mysterious name House of Illuminati organised the event Willy’s Chocolate Experience. Families were lured to a magical chocolate factory via a website. Colourful AI-generated images promised an enchanting experience. In reality, it turned out to be a bare warehouse with creepy people in fancy dress and crying children.
People who attended the event (at £35 a ticket) were furious. So furious that the police were called. Not long after, the event was shut down. But fortunately not before disappointed families shared photos and videos on social media. Schadenfreude is entertainment too.
Gizmodo published the script for the actors at the event. The website describes the text as “fourteen pages full of ChatGPT’s nonsense and hallucinations”.
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---PS.
Dune director Denis Villeneuve picks a few favourite shots from his own films. He’s extremely good at capturing, as he puts it, “that beautiful sci-fi shit”. But the shot Villeneuve picks from his film Enemy is also mind-blowing. That was a real tarantula!
---A friend of the blog and fellow David Lynch/Twin Peaks fan, Arjan, tipped me off to this video of a lad watching Twin Peaks for the first time. He sets himself a challenge: can he figure out who killed Laura Palmer before the series reveals the answer? On his wall hangs a proper crime board with photos of the suspects, and after every episode he voices his suspicions. It’s very entertaining, but the best part is sharing the experience with someone watching Twin Peaks for the first time (and enjoying it). If only I could experience that again…
Warning: naturally, this video is full of spoilers.
[Here is part 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODtHLl_lXng).Willem (one half of The Opposites) is back with his second solo album, Spuug van God. Nine tracks, lasting half an hour. Willem no longer feels the need to rap about fame, but remains true to himself. That makes his songs vulnerable and personal. The title track is a fine example of this.
---Liam Gallagher also has a new album (https://open.spotify.com/album/3Neqbz02HyUyqoI5G3AS1K?si=c_SNxotsRViMCPpIrK6lww), made with The Stone Roses guitarist John Squire. Incidentally, Squire is given plenty of space alongside Gallagher. After listening a few times, I haven’t quite reached the same conclusion as Het Parool (“Liam Gallagher and John Squire have created their best work since Oasis and The Stone Roses”), but this is definitely a good match that produces some lovely Britrock.
New York fashion icon Iris Apfel (the woman with the glasses) has died. She was 102. A while ago, I watched the documentary Iris made about her.
---Europapa is Joost Klein’s Dutch entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. After just one listen, it sticks in your head. And it’s already a hit on YouTube. It’s also great fun to watch reaction videos from people in other countries.
---I had a laugh: Indiana Jones and the $3,500 Headset.
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