Marginalia

[coalescent]

Beyond easy comprehension:

Every year, 8.5 million Chinese peasants move into cities. Most of their destinations are mere specks on western maps, if they appear at all. But their populations put them on a par with some of the world's megalopolises. Britain has five urban centres of more than a million people; China has ninety. A few - Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Nanjing - are well known around the world. The names of many others - Suqian, Suining, Xiantao, Xinghua, Liuan - are unfamiliar even to many Chinese. Nowhere is the staggering urbanisation of the world more evident than in Chongqing. Never heard of it? This is where the pace and scale of urbanisation is probably faster and bigger than anywhere in the world today. This is the Coketown of the early 21st century.

Also in the Guardian, Colin Greenland reviews Black Juice. Elsewhere, Paul Witcover says that Steph Swainston's "truest forebears are to be found in comic books". Not sure about that.

despotliz says smart things about drug testing.

Fascinating post by lasultrix about sexual equality in dystopian novels.

Itzkoff log, supplemental: Karen Joy Fowler writes about Octavia Butler for Salon (ye gods, the letters!), and in the process takes a swipe at Itzkoff. Michael Schaub responds. megmccarron comments here. And somehow nobody told Marusek about the fuss until now.

Oh, what the hell: just this once, I'm going to pimp something I wrote. It's about a book you should all read, obviously.

One for the fanzine designers: what your font says about you. [via Gwenda]

And finally: old news, but this demo of Spore is just astonishing. Half an hour long, and worth watching to the end. [via Jed]