alexxkay | May 2020: A long-delayed Patreon update

Well, my theoretically bi-monthly Patreon hasn't been updated in seven months. Open heart surgery, closely followed by a global pandemic, put rather a damper on my ability to be productive. But I'm back! Luckily, "re-opening" for me merely involves moving from bed to chair, not anything unsafe. Some of this was done back in October 2019, other stuff mostly in May 2020.

· Annotated “Round the Bend” section 13: “Asylum Song”, in which Lucia returns to her own time and space, accompanied by an Alan Moore-crooned summary of her adventures. Some highlights:

o This appears to conflate two different incidents in Beatles history. In 1966, many American churches organized bonfires of Beatles records in response to John Lennon's remark that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus". The song "I am the Walrus" did not (as far as I can determine) spark any bonfires, but did get banned by the BBC, specifically because of the lyric "You've been a naughty girl, you've let your knickers down".

o "thereal worlds" - "The real words", "ethereal worlds".

o "How's-your-father" is British slang for "sexual intercourse". The "no more" is not as obvious, but may have to do with the song's preoccupation with death.

o "Manac es cem, J.K." This is the initials of the five 'canonical' victims of Jack the Ripper, arranged as a phrase. It can be interpreted as "Maniac is come, Jack." The J. K. may also be taken to refer to J. K. Stephen. It appears this phrase was originated by Iain Sinclair in White Chapell Scarlet Tracings, which was a major influence upon Moore's From Hell.

· Did a minor pass over all of "Round the Bend" to finish all the notations that essentially had "finish this later" on them. This makes the chapter officially first-draft complete! Art is never finished, only abandoned, but I feel really good about what I've accomplished here.

· Integrating reader comments on six months of various projects. Comments on "completed" projects slow down a lot, but if you let it go for six months, it does make quite a considerable pile. Thanks to all those who continue to chip away at it!

· Oh, and continued my occasional service as Dragaeran Librarian to Steven Brust.

Projected for next time and beyond: Well, eventually the other 34 chapters of Jerusalem, of course. But with my momentum broken, I'm thinking of taking a break to do something else. Maybe putting my contributions in on some of the other Moore projects that Joe Linton has done without me in the last few years?